Category: Newsletter

Our September KPNGN meeting is happening on Thursday, September 12 at 5pm PT/ 8pm ET! Mark your calendars and register here. This month, we’ll be hosting discussions on the recent Democratic and Republican National Conventions and their implications for Korea peace, as well as what the upcoming 2024 elections mean for furthering peace on the Korean peninsula.

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SAVE THE DATE: Berkeley Crossings September 20 Screening

Crossings (2021) by Emmy award-winning filmmaker Deann Borshay Liem, is coming to Berkeley! Crossings follows 30 women peace activists from around the world who crossed the DMZ from North to South Korea, calling for peace on the Korean Peninsula. A screening event for the documentary will be hosted by UC Berkeley’s Center for Korean Studies on September 20 at 5pm PT. Filmmaker Deann Borshay Liem and WCDMZ Co-Director Christine Ahn will lead a discussion following the screening.

Register and learn more info about the event here.

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RECAP: No Nuclear War Drills! 8/18 DC Action

The U.S.-South Korean tabletop exercise “Iron Mace 24” was held from July 30 to August 1. It was the first war drill simulating a hypothetical nuclear war in Korea. From August 19 to 29, Ulchi Freedom Shield, one of the most extensive war drills in the world, was conducted. Korea Peace Now! DC members and allies protested in front of the White House, demanding that Biden should halt these offensive military war drills, which are provocative in nature and harmful to our environment.

Credit to HK Suh

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UPCOMING EVENT: Korea Peace Study Group

On Friday, September 13 at 5 pm PT/8 pm ET, John Kim and Johnny Atlas will present their research on several of the United States’ presidential candidates, focusing on their positions on Korea, especially on ending the Korean War! We hope you’ll join us for this timely topic. Register here.

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WATCH: End the Travel Ban to North Korea! KTOWN SOCIAL CLUB EP. 42

WCDMZ Co-Directors Christine Ahn and Cathi Choi sit down with Ktown Social Club’s Michael Kim and Michael Won to discuss ending the US travel ban on North Korea and building a movement for peace in Korea and ending the Korean War.

From Chinatown to Vietnam: Locating Histories of Asian American Anti-Imperialism

Historian Mark Tseng-Putterman presents his research on Asian American anti-imperialism during the Cold War period, focusing on how Asian American activists worked across ethnic, class, and generational lines. This presentation, first shared at KPNGN’s February 2024 meeting, shares how prior generations of Asian American anti-imperialist activism can inform our work today to end the war in Korea and end U.S. militarism globally.

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READ: The US has renewed draconian North Korea travel ban, yet again

Cathi Choi discusses the harmful consequences of the State Department’s decision to renew the travel ban on North Korea and the missed opportunity for constructive diplomatic engagement with the DPRK.

Links from the KPNGN Education Committee:

• KPI at US Out of Korea Rally – San Francisco, 8/17: Paul Liem, from the Korea Policy Institute, recently spoke at a US Out of Korea Rally about how conservative forces in Yoon Suk Yeol’s S. Korea have been moving the Korean Peninsula in a direction that is not conducive to peace and is, in fact, increasing the chances of new hostilities breaking out.
• The Selfie—and ‘Sports Diplomacy’—That Brings North and South Koreans Together: We felt inspired to see athletes from both sides of the DMZ celebrating their Olympic successes together in such a natural way. Tensions have been escalating on the Korean Peninsula and there has not been an abundance of good news lately. The Olympic photo story delighted and inspired us.

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STAY TUNED: Korea Peace Now!’s Intergenerational Learning and Healing Series will be back this fall! In the meantime, our first two events are available to watch now on YouTube:

• Intergenerational Trauma and the Korean War: Healing Across Generations, Helena Soholm & Joseph Han
• KPNGN Reflections on Unbind Your Heart: Korean Han / Grief Transmutation Ceremony, One Year Later

Looking forward to seeing you next week!

Sincerely,

Cathi Choi and Echo

We are skipping our August KPNGN meeting, but will resume with our regular schedule of meeting the second Thursday every month on September 12 at 5pm PT // 8 pm ET! September’s meeting will also resume the KPNGN New Member Orientation three-part series. Please mark your calendars. Registration link to follow.

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WATCH: New Interview with KTOWN SOCIAL CLUB, “End the Travel Ban to North Korea”

Women Cross DMZ Co-Directors Christine Ahn and Cathi Choi sat down with KTOWN SOCIAL CLUB’s Michael Kim and Michael Won to discuss ending the US travel ban to North Korea and movement-building for Korea peace. Watch the interview here!

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RECAP: July 27 Armistice to Peace Rally in Washington D.C.

On the 71st Anniversary of the Korean Armistice Agreement, members from Korea Peace Now!, Korean American Peace Fund, Candlelight Vigil Washington DC, Veterans for Peace, ANSWER Coalition, Ending Korean War Teaching Initiative, and Korean drumming troupe Han Pan joined together for a rally and a march from the White House to the Lincoln Memorial. We called for the United States to end its longest-running conflict by ending the Korean War with a peace agreement.

Photo by HK Suh

Photo by Monica Chang

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REGISTER: “Humanitarian Engagement with the DPRK in the Midst of a Hardening Political Climate” with Joy Yoon

Join us for a webinar with Joy Yoon on her work providing humanitarian aid to North Korean people on Thursday, August 22 at 5pm PT/8pm ET. Register here!

Joy Yoon is the co-founder of Ignis Community, a nonprofit organization that specializes in treating children with developmental disabilities. She is one of the few Americans who has actually spent over ten years living and working in the DPRK and is the author of the books, Discovering Joy: Ten Years in North Korea and Crossing the Divide: Learning to Love in North Korea. She and her husband’s work inside the nation has included humanitarian outreach, social enterprises, and medical treatment and education, which has been featured in TIME, Mission Frontiers, and the Wall Street Journal. Joy specializes in Educational Therapy and is the Director for Special Education at the Pyongyang Spine Rehabilitation Center in North Korea where she works with children who have cerebral palsy, autism, and other developmental disabilities.

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WATCH: Midsummer Dreams for Korea Peace: Celebrating Our Narrative Changemakers

ICYMI: Women Cross DMZ’s July 2024 fundraiser is now available on Youtube!

Photos by Taylor Kaltman

We honored three pre-eminent champions of narrative change for peace: Bruce Cumings, foremost historian on the Korean War; Deann Borshay Liem, Emmy award-winning documentary filmmaker; and Viet Thanh Nguyen, Pulitzer Prize-winning author. Their artistry and scholarship have reshaped our memories of the Korean and Vietnam Wars by uplifting the voices of those most directly impacted.

We also heard from intergenerational feminist leadership from Women Cross DMZ — Christine Ahn and Cathi Choi — whose work is charting new paths for Korea Peace. Dohee Lee, renowned multidisciplinary artist, nourished our souls with a special performance with music, song, and dance. Thank you so much to our community for supporting our work to end the “forgotten” Korean War and cultivate the next generation of Korea Peace activists!

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SIGN BY AUGUST 23: Petition to End the Travel Ban on North Korea

Since 2017, U.S. citizens have been prohibited from traveling to North Korea, a draconian holdover from the Trump administration. This overly restrictive policy has prevented Koreans from returning to their hometowns and visiting their loved ones in North Korea, and time is running out for many of them.

The travel ban on North Korea has also hindered humanitarian workers from delivering urgently needed assistance, and others from engaging in meaningful educational and cultural exchanges, which are crucial to fostering trust and understanding between two nations that have been at war for seven decades.

Ending the travel ban would also be a good-faith action and signal that the United States wants to engage in diplomacy toward peace — which would benefit both Americans and Koreans. We call on President Biden to fulfill his campaign promise “to reunite Korean Americans separated from loved ones in North Korea for decades” by ending the 2017 ban and allow U.S. citizens to once again travel freely to North Korea.

The deadline to sign onto the petition is August 23. Add your voice to demand the US stop separating Korean families here and share with your communities.

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LIVE: Crossings is now available to watch for free until August 31!

The film, by Emmy award-winning filmmaker Deann Borshay Liem, follows 30 women peace activists from around the world who crossed the DMZ from North to South Korea, calling for peace on the Korean Peninsula. The groundbreaking mission of Women Cross DMZ is framed with historic newsreels and punctuated with contemporary news coverage.

To date, we have screened Crossings over 75 times to thousands of people around the world. At each screening, participants consistently tell us that this film provides important context about the Korean War and that they are inspired by our activism and organizing. While it is a herculean effort to end a more than 70-year war, we know that the more people who are educated about this issue, the more support we will gain to finally end the Korean War.

Crossings is currently streaming on the PBS app and Youtube with captions and Korean subtitle options, available to watch for free until August 31. Crossings is also available on:

• PBS Passport
• AppleTV+
• Prime Video

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STAY TUNED: Korea Peace Now!’s Intergenerational Learning and Healing Series will be back this fall! In the meantime, our first two events are available to watch now on Youtube:

1. Intergenerational Trauma and the Korean War: Healing Across Generations, Helena Soholm & Joseph Han
2. KPNGN Reflections on Unbind Your Heart: Korean Han / Grief Transmutation Ceremony, One Year Later

In peace,

Cathi Choi

Register for our monthly KPNGN National Meeting this Thursday, July 11 at 5pm PT / 8 pm ET. We’ll debrief the recent No to NATO Action in D.C., Cancel RIMPAC in San Diego, as well as preview upcoming campaigns and actions around July 27. We’ll also discuss the ongoing campaign to End the Travel Ban to North Korea. Register for the meeting here!

We would also like to re-share our Korea Peace Now! Grassroots Network Community Agreements, which serve to create a safe space for members of the Korea Peace Now! Grassroots Network to build community based on a culture of respect and trust across differences in order to foster a more impactful movement. These mutual commitments can also be used to hold each other accountable if and when conflicts arise. Please review the agreements if you haven’t done so already, which include our shared principles and values.

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Join us in DC on July 27 for ✌️Armistice to Peace: DC Action to End the Korean War✌️

In 1953, the United States and North Korea signed the Korean Armistice Agreement, which temporarily halted but did not formally end the Korean War. This unresolved war has kept families separated and is the root cause of tensions on the Peninsula. Rally and march with us in Washington DC to end to the Korean War! Everyone is welcome to join.

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No meeting in August. We’ll be closed for a summer break August 5-16. We’ll resume these monthly calls (which take place the second Thursday of every month) on September 12 at 5 pm.

Looking forward to seeing you this week!

Sincerely,

Cathi Choi and Echo

Last month, Korea Peace Now! launched an online public educational series to critically understand the impacts of intergenerational trauma stemming from the Korean War and other U.S. forever wars.

Through dialogue, political education, and storytelling, this series aims to empower our community to take action for peace, build bridges across generations, and forge a path toward realizing our collective security and liberation. Our speakers will highlight how intergenerational healing informs their work and efforts to end the ongoing Korean War. We will also discuss how the fate of the Korean War is inextricably intertwined with all movements seeking to end U.S. wars and militarism globally.

📣 JOIN US: Reflections on Unbind Your Heart: Korean Han / Grief Transmutation Ceremony, One Year Later, this Wednesday, June 12, at 5pm PT/8pm PT. Register here!

For our second gathering of the Intergenerational Learning and Healing Series, we will hear from Jungwon Kim and Yoon Ra, who will share their reflections from last year’s Unbind Your Heart: Korean Han / Grief Transmutation Ceremony where participants transmuted collective, generational grief and rage, 한 / Han, into a wellspring of righteous anger and strength to call for an end to the Korean War.

Both speakers will discuss the process of blending grassroots community organizing with ritual, performance, and song in order to transform and counter state violence and warmaking. They will also share about their work more broadly and why we must prioritize community, ritual, and spiritual resistance in organizing and narrative-building practices. After their presentations, participants will have the opportunity to share their own stories in smaller breakout rooms facilitated by each speaker.

Don’t forget to check out the recording of our first gathering, Intergenerational Trauma and the Korean War: Healing Across Generations, where we heard from award-winning author Joseph Han and psychologist and shaman Helena Choi Soholm. Both speakers shared their approaches to healing intergenerational trauma and grappling with their families’ histories, the legacies of U.S. imperialism, and the ongoing war in Korea. Watch here!

✌️JOIN: Join us at our KPNGN National Meeting this Thursday, June 13, at 5pm PT/8pm ET! We’ll continue with Part III of our New Member Orientation! This is the third and final session of our three-part series. In Part III, the Membership Committee will host a Q&A session and open discussion to empower newcomers and longtime activists alike to speak up for peace on the Korean Peninsula. Bring your questions about the Korean War, our movement for peace for Korea, advocacy, or anything else that might be on your mind. This session is for you all! Register here.

To learn more about the history of Korea Peace Now! and Women Cross DMZ’s work, the Membership Committee recommends watching this short video on Korea Peace Now!

🗣️ LEARN: The KPNGN Education Committee suggests reading the following article:

• The New Cold War Is Sending Tremors through Northeast Asia – This dossier from the Tricontinental Institute for Social Research discusses the U.S.-led “New Cold War” against China and its destabilizing consequences for Northeast Asia, in particular the Korean Peninsula, the Taiwan Strait, and Japan.

📺 WATCH: “River of Peace” with Hannah Lee

As part of WILPF’s recent U.S. 35th Triennial Congress, KPNGN member Hannah Lee gave a presentation on Women Cross DMZ and KPNGN’s origins, campus organizing, and collections of personal reflections as well as Koreans’ solidarity with Palestine and shared history as we prepare for an East Asia conflict. Special thanks to KPNGN member Tina Shelton, one of the organizers of the WILPF Congress, for arranging this opportunity. Watch here!

WELCOME! Please join us in welcoming Women Cross DMZ’s new communications consultant, Solby Lim!

Solby is a Korean diasporic researcher and storyteller based out of New York, NY. She graduated magna cum laude from Barnard College in 2022 with a degree in History and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, where she completed a thesis on a cultural history of internationalism as forms of political and cultural intimacies between northern Korea (DPRK) and Third World Liberation movements during the 1960s. As an undergraduate student, Solby worked as editor and intern for Barnard’s Communications department, pitching and writing profile stories and campus news starting her sophomore year.

Solby earned her master’s degree in Oral History from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences in 2024, where she created Tidal Notes: A Critical Oral History of Asian and Asian/American Student Organizing at Columbia and Barnard, 1990s to 2020s. Additionally, she served as the public programming fellow for Columbia’s Oral History Master of Arts (OHMA) program as a graduate student.

Looking forward to seeing you this week!

Sincerely,

Cathi Choi

Thank you to everyone who came out to the Korean American March for Peace in Korea on Saturday, April 27! We rallied, marched, and gathered to demand an end to the U.S.-South Korea joint war drills and for a peace agreement between the United States and North Korea at Dam Hammarskjold Plaza in New York City. We met up with fellow organizers at the Korean American Peace Fund, Korean Council for Reunification and Cooperation of Greater New York, Korea Peace Now!, 6.15 U.S. Committee for Reunification of Korea, and Heungsadahn NY. Check out photos of the march below, and see more photos here!

✌️JOIN: Join us at our KPNGN National Meeting this Thursday, May 9, at 5pm PT/8pm ET! Register here.

We’ll talk about what the legacy of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islanders Heritage Month means for the Korea peace movement. We’ll also be joined by Ji Hye Choi, a youth organizer with Mariånas for Palestine who will share about their solidarity work on Guåhan (Guam) and across the Mariånas towards supporting a permanent ceasefire and peace for Palestine. Finally, we’ll hear updates from KPNGN committees about upcoming opportunities to organize and advocate.

Immediately after, we’ll continue with Part II of our New Member Orientation at 6pm PT/9pm ET! This is the second session of our three-part series, happening regularly following national meetings. In Part II, our Education Committee will present a brief history of the Korean War, followed by a small group discussion. Use the same Zoom link as above. Register here.

📣 SAVE THE DATE: Intergenerational Trauma and the Korean War: Healing Across Generations: A talk with Joseph Han and Helena Choi Soholm, on Wednesday, May 29, at 5pm PT/8pm ET. Register here!

Join us for the inaugural event of Korea Peace Now’s Intergenerational Learning and Healing Series! The Korean War was the “the most brutal war of the 20th century,” with more than 4 million killed in three years, mostly Korean civilians. Seventy years later, the Korean War has still not ended. However, it is often referred to as “the Forgotten War,” as its history and legacy are not widely understood or known by those in the United States. Many Korean War survivors live with severe trauma, which is then inherited by their descendants, resulting in an ongoing cycle of violence, secrecy, silence, and shame. Through intergenerational dialogue, political education, and storytelling, this series aims to unearth narratives of the Korean War and its ongoing legacy, and build bridges across generations.

We will hear from two speakers on addressing intergenerational trauma and healing through their own artistic and professional practices. Award-winning author Joseph Han and psychologist and shaman Helena Choi Soholm will share their approach to healing intergenerational trauma and grappling with their families’ histories, the legacies of U.S. imperialism, and the ongoing war in Korea. We will hear brief presentations from both speakers and then break out into smaller groups facilitated by Joseph and Helena, during which time participants will have the opportunity to share their own stories. Join us on Wednesday, May 29, at 5 pm PT/8 pm ET! Register here for the event. More details to follow.

🗣️ LEARN: The KPNGN Education Committee suggests the following materials:

1. Interview with Ji Hye Choi – Hear Ji Hye Choi, a young organizer with Mariånas for Palestine, discuss demonstrations for peace and demilitarization happening in the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) and Guam, as well as connections to resolutions calling for a ceasefire in Gaza in this episode of Fanachu Podcast.
2. New U.S.-led attempt to monitor sanctions on North Korea – This article discusses a U.S.-led investigation into creating a new mechanism for monitoring sanctions on North Korea after the UN panel overseeing Pyongyang’s compliance with international sanctions was dismantled.
3. Rising concerns about unprecedented U.S. war drills in Korea – This article reports on the ramping up of U.S.-South Korean war drills and the impact of continuing political and military provocations against North Korea, as well as the role of Korea and war drills in the new U.S. Cold War against China.

📺 WATCH: The KPNGN Korean Language Caucus is hosting a film screening of WARmerica on Wednesday, May 15, at 5pm PT/8 pm ET. The screening will be followed by a discussion on strategies for hosting community screenings. Note: The film will have English subtitles, but the discussion will be held in Korean only. Register here!

Looking forward to seeing you on Thursday!

Sincerely,

Cathi Choi