✌️ Celebrating 10 Years of Korea Peace | May KPNGN Newsletter

Dear Friend,

This month marks ten years since the historic crossing of the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) by 30 women peace activists, led by Women Cross DMZ founder Christine Ahn. Together with thousands of Korean women on both sides of the DMZ, these women called for an end to the Korean War, the reunion of separated families, and women’s involvement in the peacebuilding process. Since then, Women Cross DMZ has co-launched the global campaign Korea Peace Now! Women Mobilizing to End the War in 2019 and established the Korea Peace Now! Grassroots Network.

For this month’s national grassroots meeting, Thursday, May 8 at 5pm PT/8pm ET, we will hear from participants of the 2015 crossing and watch clips from Deann Borshay Liem’s 2021 film, Crossings, which documented this momentous journey for Korea peace. Register here.

Following the meeting, at 6pm PT/9pm ET, join our KPNGN New Member Orientation series on the same Zoom link. The Membership Committee will host Part 2 of this ongoing series, presenting an overview of the Korea Peace Now! Grassroots Network, followed by a small group discussion.

🗓️ Register for Korea Peace Advocacy Week 2025!


Register to participate in this year’s Korea Peace Advocacy Week, June 6-13, 2025! For ten years, Korea Peace Advocacy Week has brought hundreds of people around the country to advocate for their members of Congress to support Korea peace legislation. This nationally coordinated action is particularly timely as tensions on the Korean Peninsula run dangerously high. We must urgently advocate for diplomacy in pursuit of a binding peace agreement to formally end the Korean War. Participants will join 30-minute virtual meetings with their congressional representatives, share personal stories, and urge members to support legislation focused on Korean peace. We will also offer an online training session for participants over Zoom in advance of these meetings. Register to receive details.

🗓️ RSVP: Upcoming Events

May 6 | 📚 Feminist Playbook Launch in D.C.

On Tuesday, May 6 at 10am ET, the Feminist Peace Initiative will launch The Feminist Peace Playbook and share a first look at a press conference at the House Triangle in Washington D.C. The Feminist Peace Initiative is led by Grassroots Global Justice Alliance, MADRE, and Women Cross DMZ. Our coalition includes veterans, academics, and Nobel Peace-awarded human rights activists and members of diaspora communities impacted by U.S. foreign policy in Palestine, Israel, Afghanistan, Korea, Vietnam, and Latin America—all bringing unique perspectives to stories on U.S. militarism at home and abroad. RSVP here.

May 10 | 🎬  WARmerica’s Fate 2 Movie – Washington DC Screening

On May 10, Korea Peace Now! and Metro DC DSA’s Internationalism Working Group are hosting an in-person screening and discussion of WARMerica’s Fate 2, a South Korean documentary by filmmaker Kim Cheol-min. Please join us as we learn about US economic and military dominance in a quickly changing, multi-polar world! Snacks will be provided! RSVP here.

May 24 | 🎬 Crossings 10-Year Anniversary Screening

On Saturday, May 24, Women Cross DMZ (WCDMZ) and International Women’s Day for Peace and Disarmament will host a joint screening of Crossings online. In 2015 — on the 70th anniversary of Korea’s tragic division by the United States and the former Soviet Union — 30 women peacemakers from around the world crossed the Korean Demilitarized Zone, the most militarized border in the world from North Korea to South Korea, calling for an end to the war that has divided the two Koreas. WCDMZ’s delegation included two Nobel Peace laureates, feminist icon Gloria Steinem, Abigail Disney, retired U.S. Army Colonel Ann Wright, academics, humanitarian aid workers, faith leaders, and others from a dozen countries, including several nations that fought in the 1950-53 Korean War, and led by WCDMZ founder Christine Ahn. RSVP here.

📚RECOMMENDED VIEWINGS:

From the Education Committee:

  1. U.S. military considering permanent deployment of F-35 fighter jets to S. Korea provides information about U.S. plans to escalate militarization on the Korean Peninsula. The US is considering permanent deployment of F-35s to Gunsan in South Korea, where base expansion would threaten the habitat of migratory birds. Join the Korea Peace study group in June for more information about migratory birds and their habitats in Northeast Asia.
  2. Diplomacy or Deception? Trump’s N. Korea Strategy provides analysis on how Trump claims that he wants to engage in diplomacy with N. Korea, yet he has allowed the provocative and dangerous U.S./ROK war drills to escalate in frequency, scale, and scope.

ICYMI:

✌️Follow Korea Peace Now! on Bluesky! Say hello and check out our new account!

🛍 Support the Korea Peace Movement: Show your support for Korea peace with one of our tote bags, hats, baby onesies, and clothing, available here. All funds will support Korea Peace Now!, our U.S.-based movement for peace in Korea led by Women Cross DMZ. Art by Peter Holland and lazy blender.

Sincerely,

Cathi Choi & Echo

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