Over 100 Global Women Leaders Call for Justice for Korean Women Survivors of U.S. Militarized Sex Trade | March Newsletter
March 9, 2026
Posted in: Newsletters
Dear Friend,
In honor of International Women’s Day, over 100 global women leaders and organizations have called on U.S. leaders to pursue accountability measures and redress for Korean women survivors of the U.S. militarized sex trade. Read the letter in full here.
On Saturday, the South Korean Gender Equality Minister Won Min-kyong issued a historic apology to these Korean women survivors whose rights were violated in “brothels built around U.S. military bases, marking the South Korean government’s first official apology.” Won said, “We will make every effort necessary to ensure that the history of human rights violations suffered by the victims is not forgotten and that they live the rest of their lives with dignity and fully restore their damaged honor.”
For more on International Women’s Day and the Korean War, read Executive Director Cathi Choi’s op-ed published today in Foreign Policy in Focus, “This International Women’s Day, Let’s Renew the Call to End Wars.” You can also learn more about the gendered impact of the Korean War here with analysis from Suzy Kim, Professor of Korean History at Rutgers University; Na-Young Lee, Professor at Chung-Ang University; and Women Cross DMZ Board Chair Ji-Yeon Yuh of Northwestern University.
🏵️ Upcoming Events
Feminist Wins in a World on Fire: Stories of Power from Kenya, Korea and across Latin America | March 9, 2026 (TODAY) at 2pm EST | Virtual Event
Across the globe, feminists are confronting authoritarianism, gender backlash, and violence — and they are winning, even as backlash intensifies. From Kenya to Latin America to Korea, women organizers are changing laws, shifting public understanding, and building power for a more just future. In a world that often feels like it is on fire, join IGLI for an International Women’s Day webinar to hear these stories of hope, courage, and persistence. RSVP here.
Korea Peace Now! Grassroots Network Meeting| March 12, 2026 at 5pm PT/8pm PT | Virtual EventWe’re celebrating International Women’s Day and excited to host Women Cross DMZ Board Chair and Professor Ji-Yeon Yuh to discuss the role of women in the Korea peace movement. Immediately after, we’ll have Part 3 of our orientation, including a Q&A session and discussion on current political affairs. RSVP here.
Social Healing through Advocacy: Women’s Leadership in Historical Redress | 70th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70) Parallel Event | March 13, 2026 at 8:30am EST | In-Person Event
WCDMZ will be in New York at the 70th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70) hosting a parallel event: “Social Healing through Advocacy: Women’s Leadership in Historical Redress.” Register here.
Unbind Your Heart: Historical Grief Transmutation Ceremony | April 5, 2026 at 2:00-6:00 pm PST | Zucigim Farm, San Gregorio, CA | In-Person Event
WCDMZ is an organizational partner for Unbind Your Heart, a historical grief transmutation ceremony guided by trained healing practitioners with decades of ritual and clinical training. Join this afternoon of communal healing rituals by and for people whose lineages were forged in the violence of U.S. empire. Register here.
📍 Take Action
Take Action on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) now!
Congress is beginning to draft the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2027; this is the bill that funds the Department of Defense, and by extension the U.S. military, and dictates a large chunk of U.S. defense policy. The 2026 NDAA exacerbated conditions by: (1) Locking the U.S. from returning wartime operational control of South Korea’s military back to the South Korean government for the first time ever; (2) Preventing the reduction of 28,500 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea for the first time in 5 years. Members of the House Armed Services Committee and Senate Armed Services Committee are now fielding policy and budget requests from the public before they draft the first version of the bill. Our main goal right now is to push elected officials to adopt policy language that will not block efforts for Korea peace. Our demands include:
- An official plan for a peace process to formally end the Korean War
- Challenge the joint U.S.-South Korea war drills
- Stronger transparency around Pacific Deterrence Initiative spending
We must challenge these harmful, ineffective, and costly policies head-on. We can no longer spend endlessly to flame the fans of forever war in Korea. Urge your representatives to stop military escalation now.
Tell Congress: Stop Trump’s Reckless Plan to Restart Nuclear Weapons Tests
For the first time in decades, a U.S. president is threatening to restart nuclear weapons testing — a dangerous and unnecessary move that would put countless lives, communities, and even our planet at risk. Experts agree that there is no military or technical justification for explosive nuclear weapons testing, but there are potentially devastating consequences if we test again. Congress has the power to stop this — they can block any funding that would allow explosive nuclear weapons testing to resume. This issue is too important to our future for our elected officials to stay silent: let your elected representatives know that we cannot allow Trump to drag us further into a disastrous global arms race.
More than seventy years after the Armistice, the Korean War remains legally unresolved. With the U.S.–China summit expected this April, there is a rare opportunity for the United States to lead a diplomatic breakthrough and move from a ceasefire to lasting peace in Korea. We call on President Trump to take decisive action to formally end the Korean War and help secure lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula. Add your name to urge the President to choose peace over perpetual conflict.
📚 Recommended Readings
From the Korea Peace Now! Grassroots Network Education Committee:
- Fresh reports of drone incursions in DPRK raise stakes on the Korean peninsula. This article takes a deeper look at the recent discovery of drone incursions into DPRK airspace from South Korea, including the alleged confession of the drone incursion by a member of a start-up drone manufacturing company which also runs anti-DPRK media publications.
- 한미일 연합 훈련 거절한 軍, 미중 전투기 대치하자 美에 항의. This article reports on the ROK’s refusal to participate in coalition war drills with the U.S. military and the recent China air force standoff.
- UN Security Council to grant sanctions exemption for humanitarian aid to North Korea: Source. This article reports on the UNSC 1718 committee’s decision to approve a waiver for 17 humanitarian assistance projects led by South Korea, the U.S., and international organizations following talks between South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
✌️Follow Women Cross DMZ and Korea Peace Now! on Instagram! Say hello and check out our accounts!
🛍 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.
In peace,
Women Cross DMZ