New WCDMZ report released today examines how US-China competition impacts Korea 

Posted in: Newsletters

 

Dear Friend,

Today, Women Cross DMZ released a new report, U.S-China Competition and the Korean Peninsula: From Confrontation to Peacebuilding. The report looks at how the Korean Peninsula has become the fault line for rising U.S.-China tensions, with negative implications for the prospects for peace. It’s more timely than ever.

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula are running dangerously high, not only because of the unresolved Korean War but also as a direct result of the U.S.-China rivalry. As the authors of our report argue, peacebuilding in Korea offers a much-needed opportunity for U.S-China cooperation, which would help to reduce tensions, build trust, and, most crucially, avoid a possible war. Read the report here.

Please join us on Wednesday, October 26 at 10 AM EST for a moderated discussion with some of the authors of the report. They’ll discuss the implications of the U.S.-China rivalry on the Korean Peninsula, as well as the opportunity that regional peacebuilding presents for U.S.-China cooperation. Register for the event here.

Speakers:

• Kevin Gray, Ph.D., Professor of International Relations at the University of Sussex

• Dong Jin Kim, Ph.D., Senior Research Fellow in Peace and Reconciliation Studies at the University of Dublin

• Youkyoung Ko, Consultant at Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom

• Colleen Moore, Advocacy Director of Women Cross DMZ

• Moderator: Jake Werner, Research Fellow at the Quincy Institute

Crossings Premiere in Korea:

In other news, I just came back from Korea where we screened Crossings in Imjingak, Cheorwon, and Seoul for the first time. The response was overwhelming, and it was amazing to watch the film with some of the South Korean activists who helped organize the 2015 crossing.

Above: Screening Crossings at Imjingak near the DMZ with members of the Korea Peace Appeal campaign.

It was particularly moving to screen Crossings in my hometown, Seoul, with my family, friends, and the peace movement. Among the hundreds of people that attended were former Ministers of Gender and Unification, major leaders of the Korean women’s peace movement, foreign diplomats, and reporters. The film was received positively and the room was filled with tears and hope for a peaceful future.

After the screening in Seoul, I attended a conference at the Border Peace School and met many residents of Cheorwon and the Korean diaspora who have devoted their lives to working for peace in Korea.

In Cheorwon, farmers grow rice to send to North Korea but they are currently unable to do so due to sanctions and the state of war.

Recent Media Coverage:

Earlier this month, our Advocacy Director Colleen Moore and I were featured on the NK News podcast, where we talked about the urgent need to end the “forever war,” what makes the armistice agreement fundamentally insufficient, multilateral support for a new approach to Pyongyang, and how a flooded river in Korea helped inspire our 2015 DMZ crossing. You can listen here.

Colleen Moore was also featured on a Flashpoints segment for KPFA on October 11, speaking on the rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula. You can listen to the show here.

Upcoming Events:

Women Cross DMZ is proud to announce that we are co-sponsoring the War Prevention Initiative’s Feminist Foreign Policy Essay Un-Contest! Winners whose submissions are selected will receive $500 get published in the Peace Science Digest and have opportunities to join discussions on feminist foreign policy. Learn more here.

To mark the 22nd anniversary of the landmark UN Security Council Resolution 1325, I will speak at an event co-sponsored by Seton Hall University’s School of Diplomacy’s Center for Peace and Conflict Studies, the United Nations Association, and Inclusive Security on Tuesday, October 25, from 3-4:30 pm EST. I will speak about the role of women in advancing peace on the Korean Peninsula. You can register for the event here: bit.ly/registerWPS.

Upcoming Crossings screenings

• October 21, 5:30 PM ET: Crossings screening at the Boston Asian American Film Festival (BAAFF), Emerson Paramount Center, Bright Family Screening Room, 559 Washington St., Boston, MA. Buy tickets here.

• October 29, 1 PM PT: Crossings screening at the United Nations Association Film Festival (UNAFF), Mitchell Park Community Center, 3700 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto, CA. Buy tickets here (choose session 20). Filmmaker Deann Borshay Liem and I will attend the screening and participate in a Q&A afterward.

We hope you can make these events!

With gratitude and hope,

Christine Ahn

---

All news