Cort's darker side | Cort Bass Guitar Reviews

Cort's darker side - why Cort bass guitars repel me now


I used to be a fan of Cort bass guitars, mainly due to the fact that Cort is a Korean company and I am a Korean, and also because Cort bass guitars seemed to be the best bass guitars for beginners, being cheap but with quality. If you've read all my reviews on Cort bass guitars, you would have seen that most of the reviews are favourable(Cort bass guitars ARE actually good). However, I came to know something about Cort which made me dislike it since.

Cort started as a very small company with little capital. The workers had to work in windowless factories, under the constant risk of getting their fingers cut in machines and getting respiratory diseases. They also always received minimum wages($1000 a month). Some worked in Cort bass for more than 20 years withough ever having enough money to own a Cort bass guitar. However, they kept on working hard because they were simply happy at the fact that the acoustic, electric and bass guitars made with their own hands were being distributed all over the world. They were hopeful that someday, their hard work will pay out, that they will work in better conditions and receive higher wages.

However, Cort's owner, Park Young-Ho, who meanwhile became one of the richest man in Korea thanks to the workers, had other thoughts. He thought that the minimum wage he was giving to those Korean workers were too high, so he started moving the guitar plants from Korean to Indonesia, where wages are cheaper. Recently all of Korean plants were shut down, leaving the Korean workers jobless. They received hardly anything in compensation. Obviously, the workers were very very angry; they have now been protesting for 2 years, even following Park all the way to Germany to make a deal with him. However, Park remains stubborn.

We all know that the world is more and more affected by consumerism, where people are looking for cheaper products. Park responded to this consumerism and moved his plants to Indonesia to bring down prices. As a result, Cort bass guitars remain very competitive. Park's decision may have been rational in the business world. However, I find his actions to be a violation to humanity. If it wasn't for those Korean workers who wasted their life for Park and his Cort bass, he would not be where he is now. If Park had any morsel of humanity in him, he would be treating those workers with thankfulness and respect. But he has chosen to be rich over to be human. If those workers were given enough care, they may have turned into professional luthiers and possibly Cort could have been a high end bass guitar company like Warwick.

I always had wanted to buy a Cort bass guitar, especially Cort bass A4. Now I'm supporting the Cort boycott movement, and I'm spreading the word to persuade other people to support it as well. If you want a cheap and a good bass guitar, Cort is one of the best choices. But think about those rejected workers before buying a Cort. I really don't like the idea that music is becoming corrupted with money and consumerism. What about you?

Let's all boycott Cort bass guitars for the workers!