We have amplified our message on major global stages, including at the UN, in the halls of U.S. Congress, and at the Nobel Peace Summit, as well as in the headlines of every major news media. We’ve spoken to thousands of people on college campuses and in churches, synagogues, community centers, bookstores and private living rooms in over 30 major cities around the world.
Read moreIn 2017, when President Trump threatened to “totally destroy” North Korea, we organized online teach-ins to provide much-needed historical context and analysis to understand how the U.S. and North Korea were on the brink of war. We’ve held webinars with global experts on topics such as how sanctions harm innocent lives and how to transform the ceasefire to a peace treaty. In 2018, Christine Ahn joined Sen. Bernie Sanders for a MoveOn teach-in commemorating the 15th anniversary of the U.S. war on Iraq, with 80,000 online viewers.
Using feminist framing that centers women’s voices and prioritizes inclusivity, sustainable development, and social justice, WCDMZ aims to open people’s minds and hearts that peace through step-by-step diplomacy is the only solution for resolving the Korean conflict.
Christine Ahn addresses panel of South Korean parliamentarians at the Council of Foreign Relations, Washington, D.C.
“WCDMZ has injected new energy and vision into the struggle to end the division on the Korean peninsula and promote peace and security.”
—Ramsay Liem, Professor Emeritus, Boston College
We have organized delegations to the White House that have included Korean-Americans separated from their families in North Korea, children of U.S. soldiers still searching for their fathers’ remains from the Korean War, humanitarian aid organizations working in North Korea, and U.S. veterans for peace. We also maintain lines of communications with the South Korean and North Korean governments as we urge all parties to include women peacemakers to assure the success of the peace process towards the signing of a durable peace agreement.
Read moreIn Ottawa and Vancouver, with our Canadian sister organizations, we urged the Trudeau administration to pursue a more constructive approach that aligned with its feminist foreign policy. In Seoul, our delegation met with diplomats at the U.S., U.K., Japanese, Swedish, and Canadian embassies to discuss women’s critical role in supporting the Korea peace process. With the Korea Peace Network, WCDMZ members have urged members of Congress to support the peace process. Working with Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), we provided substantial input on a Congressional resolution to end the Korean War.
Working with members of the global campaign Korea Peace Now!, we led a delegation of women lawmakers from South Korea to dialogue with members of Congress on how to push the Korea peace process forward and include women.
Women Cross DMZ delegation meets with Stephen Biegun, U.S. Special Representative on North Korea, at the State Department, Washington, D.C.
“Real, successful diplomacy requires step-by-step reciprocal actions and confidence-building, not ‘grand bargains’ and all-or-nothing demands.”
—Gloria Steinem, Christine Ahn, Abigail Disney, Suzy Kim, Jody Williams in an op-ed for TIME Magazine
In 2016, WCDMZ held working meetings in Bali, Indonesia, with North and South Korean women. We organized several events during the UN Commission on the Status of Women, including a session on “Women’s Leadership in the Korea Peace Process.” Members of our delegation joined over 1,000 Korean women, men and children to walk along the southern border of the DMZ on the anniversary of our 2015 crossing. In June, with the newly formed Korea Peace Network, we helped organize a conference at George Washington University, “Engaging North Korea: U.S. Policies to Improve Bilateral Relations.”
Read moreIn May 2018, we held an international women’s peace symposium at the ROK National Assembly and a women’s DMZ peace walk with over 1,200 South Koreans.
In December 2018, as part of the global campaign Korea Peace Now!, WCDMZ helped organize a meeting of women from North and South Korea, China, the U.S., and other countries to discuss how to work together and support peace on the Korean Peninsula.
We have helped catalyze new collaborations such as the Korea Peace Network and mobilize a broad grassroots network of local and national peace organizations. We’ve also coordinated high-profile letter campaigns and strengthened relations with North Korean and South Korean women’s groups.
Women Cross DMZ delegates at Gwanghwamun Square outside of the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, South Korea.
“It’s time to move forward and finally bring closure to seven decades of war. A brighter future for Koreans, Americans and the world depends on it.”
—Christine Ahn, Executive Director, Women Cross DMZ