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2015 Crossing

In 2015 — 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 strip of land that has separated North and South Korea ever since a “temporary” ceasefire halted the Korean War in 1953. 

Gloria Steinem, Christine Ahn, Leymah Gbowee, and Mairead Maguire were among the 30 women peacemakers who crossed the DMZ in 2015.
Gloria Steinem, Christine Ahn, Leymah Gbowee, and Mairead Maguire were among the 30 women peacemakers who crossed the DMZ in 2015.

With this historic act we called for three things: an end to the Korean War by replacing the 1953 Armistice Agreement with a permanent peace treaty, the reunification of separated families, and women’s involvement at all levels of the peacebuilding process.

Our delegation included two Nobel Peace laureates — Mairead Maguire from Northern Ireland and Leymah Gbowee from Liberia — feminist icon Gloria Steinem, 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.

Despite criticism that we were hopelessly naïve and playing into the sinister plans of one side or the other, we held a peace symposium in Pyongyang with hundreds of North Korean women and walked arm-in-arm with 10,000 Korean women on both sides of the DMZ, on the wide boulevards of Pyongyang and the cobblestone streets of Kaesong, and along the barbed-wire fence in Paju. We held a second international peace symposium in Seoul. We did this on May 24, International Women’s Day for Disarmament.

Quilt-stitching ceremony at the Women’s Peace Symposium in Pyongyang. Photo by David Guttenfelder.
Quilt-stitching ceremony at the Women’s Peace Symposium in Pyongyang. Photo by David Guttenfelder.

Crossing the most militarized border in the world was no simple task. We had to gain approval from both Korean governments and the UN Command, which has jurisdiction over the DMZ…

Women embrace at a quilt-stitching ceremony at the Women’s Peace Symposium in Pyongyang. Photo by David Guttenfelder,
Women embrace at a quilt-stitching ceremony at the Women’s Peace Symposium in Pyongyang. Photo by David Guttenfelder,

Crossing the most militarized border in the world was no simple task. We had to gain approval from both Korean governments and the UN Command, which has jurisdiction over the DMZ. Eventually, we did gain permission from all involved parties. Our peace walk ​also garnered international support​, including endorsements from U.S. President Jimmy Carter, authors Alice Walker and Naomi Klein, Nobel Peace Laureate and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the Dalai Lama, actor Robert Redford, and physician Deepak Chopra.

However, we were not the first ones to cross the DMZ. In fact, Korean women were the first to cross the DMZ in the name of peace. In 1989, university student Lim Su-kyung traveled to Pyongyang to attend the World Youth Festival and was arrested upon her return at Panmunjom. With her action, she hoped to inspire reunification. In the 1990s, South Korean women crossed the DMZ and met their counterparts at Panmunjom, and then in Tokyo, Seoul, and Pyongyang. (And in the two years before our 2015 crossing, two delegations — five New Zealanders by motorbike and 32 Korean Russians by motorcade — crossed the DMZ, with approval from both Korean governments.)

…we were not the first ones to cross the DMZ. In fact, Korean women were the first to cross the DMZ in the name of peace. In 1989, university student Lim Su-kyung traveled to Pyongyang to attend the World Youth Festival and was arrested upon her return at Panmunjom.

We hoped to build on that important legacy with our 2015 crossing. After all, women have long been crossing borders to end wars and call for peace. Women Cross DMZ continues to mobilize people across borders to press for peace, diplomacy, and women’s inclusion in peacebuilding. 

Christine Ahn and Gloria Steinem share a message of peace at the Joint Security Area. Photo by David Guttenfelder.
Christine Ahn and Gloria Steinem share a message of peace at the Joint Security Area. Photo by David Guttenfelder.
Additional reading

Declaration of 2015 International Women’s Walk for Peace & Reunification of Korea

Women Crossing the Korean Divide: Reflections and Resolutions

Select media coverage

The New York Times: With Plan to Walk Across DMZ, Women Aim for Peace in Korea; Peace Activists Cross Demilitarized Zone Separating Koreas

AP: North Korea supports Gloria Steinem-led women’s walk across the DMZ; Gloria Steinem Lands in North Korea for Peace March Across DMZ

TIME: Gloria Steinem Joins Female Activists in North Korea for DMZ Peace March

CBS News: Bridging the DMZ: Women’s peace march aims to heal Korean rifts

Los Angeles Times: Women peace activists cross Korean DMZ amid heavy security and criticism

Huffpost: Why Gloria Steinem, Other Women and I Plan to March to the World’s Most Fortified Border; Women’s Delegation to Cross the DMZ

Buzzfeed News: North Korea Has Given A Gloria Steinem-Led Peace March The Thumbs Up

NKNews.org: Criticizing human rights before DMZ march ‘bananas’ – Steinem

Hankyoreh: North Korea pledges support for Women’s DMZ Peace March

The Christian Science Monitor: Can women end Korean War? After DMZ crossing, Gloria Steinem says ‘Yes’

Boing Boing: These Women Have Crossed the Line: 30 activists cross North Korea DMZ for peace


 

2015 Delegates

Gloria Steinem

Gloria Steinem

Honorary Co-Chair
Leymah Gbowee

Leymah Gbowee

Honorary Co-Chair
Mairead Maguire

Mairead Maguire

Honorary Co-Chair
Christine Ahn

Christine Ahn

Executive Director
Kozue Akibayashi

Kozue Akibayashi

Committee Member
Janis Alton

Janis Alton

Delegate
Medea Benjamin

Medea Benjamin

Delegate
Deann Borshay Liem

Deann Borshay Liem

Delegate
Aiyoung Choi

Aiyoung Choi

Board President
Hyun-Kyung Chung

Hyun-Kyung Chung

Delegate
Jean Chung

Jean Chung

Delegate
Gay Dillingham

Gay Dillingham

Delegate
Abigail Disney

Abigail Disney

Delegate
Ewa Eriksson Fortier

Ewa Eriksson Fortier

Committee Member
Jodie Evans

Jodie Evans

Delegate
Patricia Guerrero

Patricia Guerrero

Delegate
Erika Guevara Rosas

Erika Guevara Rosas

Delegate
Meri Joyce

Meri Joyce

Committee Member
Jane Jin Kaisen

Jane Jin Kaisen

Delegate
Suzy Kim

Suzy Kim

Delegate
Vana Kim Hansen

Vana Kim Hansen

Delegate
Gwyn Kirk

Gwyn Kirk

Executive Committee Member
M. Brinton Lykes

M. Brinton Lykes

Delegate
Liza Maza

Liza Maza

Delegate
Netsai Mushonga

Netsai Mushonga

Delegate
Lisa Linda Natividad

Lisa Linda Natividad

Delegate
Hye-Jung Park

Hye-Jung Park

Committee Member
Ann Patterson

Ann Patterson

Delegate
Suzuyo Takazato

Suzuyo Takazato

Delegate
Ann Wright

Ann Wright

Secretary

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