Mobilizing Women Globally for Peace in Korea
May 2015 DMZ crossing
In May 2015, on the 70th anniversary of Korea’s division into two separate states by cold war powers, thirty international women peacemakers from around the world walked with thousands of Korean women, north and south, to call for an end to the Korean War, reunification of families and women’s leadership in the peace process. We held international peace symposiums in Pyongyang and Seoul where we listened to Korean women and shared our experiences and ideas of mobilizing women to bring an end to war and violent conflict. On May 24, International Women’s Day for Peace and Disarmament, we successfully crossed the 2-mile wide De-Militarized Zone (DMZ) that separates millions of Korean families as a symbolic act of peace.
Since our historic crossing, we have continued our journey to mobilize women globally for peace in Korea. We seek to do this by…
- Raising global awareness about the urgent need for peace in Korea
- Expanding and deepening relationships among women leaders and organizations in North and South Korea and globally
- Promoting women’s leadership in peace-building processes on the Korean peninsula and region
- Building capacity and partnerships for greater impact and sustainability
2020 Women-led
Korea Peace Treaty Campaign
NOVO Foundation: Radical Hope Fund
The NoVo Foundation chose Women Cross DMZ, Nobel Women’s Initiative and PeaceWomen for a $2 million dollar grant supporting the launch of our 2020 Women-led Korea Peace Treaty campaign. Over a thousand organizations applied. We are honored and grateful for their support and solidarity.
“In 2015 when thirty women leaders from around the world formed Women Cross DMZ — and actually got permission from North Korea, South Korea and the US to cross that land-mined and desolate strip dividing Korea — it was a radical act of the imagination. Now, the Novo Radical Hope Fund has contributed $2 million to this peace effort, and leaders on all sides are running to catch up with their followers.”
– Gloria Steinem, June 2018
#WomenPeaceKorea: A New Era
May 23–27, 2018
On May 23-27 we traveled to Korea for the #WomenPeaceKorea: A New Era Delegation of thirty women peacemakers from sixteen countries to support the historic peace process unfolding in Korea.
In partnership with the Nobel Women’s Initiative and Women’s Peace Walk (SK), we strategized with Korean women on how to ensure women’s inclusion in the official peace process, convened an all-women’s symposium at the Republic of Korea National Assembly, met with key South Korean officials and the foreign diplomatic community, and walked along the DMZ calling for a Peace Treaty in a historic crossing of the Reunification Bridge.
Facts
4 Million people died in the Korean War of 1950–53, most of them Korean civilians.
10 Million families are still separated by the DMZ.
70 Million Koreans live in a state of war due to unresolved conflict.
60+ Years after the war ended with a temporary cease-fire agreement, we’re still waiting for a peace treaty.
$1 Trillion is spent by USA, China, Russia, Japan, and South Korea on militarization, fueled by unresolved conflicts.
Featured
Women Cross DMZ: Who We Are Video
Copyright 2018 Women Cross DMZ
Vigil to Celebrate Diplomacy with Korea
June 11, 2018
The White House
Washington, D.C.
6 PM – 7 PM EST
Learn more. . .
Media Advisory: WOMEN SECURITY EXPERTS URGE A RETURN TO KOREA – US TALKS
Press conference
May 25, 2018
11:30 AM Korea Standard Time
Gwanghwamun square
Seoul. South KoreaLearn more. . .
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"Imagine this scene: Tens of thousands of people, mostly families with children, are labeled by the government as a threat to our nation, used as political tools by opportunistic politicians, and caught in a vast gray zone where their civil and human rights are erased by the presumption of universal guilt. Thousands are moved around to makeshift detention centers and sites, where camps are thrown together with more regard to the bottom line than the humanity of the new residents...At least during the internment, when I was just 5 years old, I was not taken from my parents."
This will surely be recorded as one of the cruelest programs in American history.