Women Cross DMZ joined the Futures Beyond Militarism conference held at the University of Texas Austin, along with our Feminist Peace Initiative partners, Grassroots Global Justice Alliance and MADRE. This convening of scholars and activists examined global alternatives to militarism and ways communities envision and enact sustainable and interdependent futures.
WCDMZ Executive Director Cathi Choi joined a panel with scholars Mark Tseng-Putterman and Kyle Kajihiro, moderated by Christine Ahn, WCDMZ Founder & Institute of Policy Studies Fellow on the opening panel, “U.S.-China Rivalry and the Militarization of the Pacific.” Panelists explored the mainstream framing of the U.S. and China as a “rivalry” and how this narrative conceals multiple histories of colonization, connecting U.S. imperialist violence across China, Korea, Hawai’i, the Middle East, and globally. Panelists spoke on recent U.S. marine deployments targeting China and the history of U.S. aggression and expansion across Asia and the Pacific, the ongoing U.S. military control and occupation of Korea, as well as links between anti-Asian violence at home and abroad and the conditions of inclusion in the U.S. empire.
Other panel discussions throughout the conference highlighted the fight for sovereignty as a broader struggle for the right to life and agency, and how intertwined movements are resisting militarism across the Pacific. The conference also included a screening and discussion of the documentary Mālama Mākua on the multi-generational fight to reclaim and restore ancestral land in Hawai’i, which was seized by the US military. We were honored to join this collective and collectively imagine demilitarized futures.
Last week, South Korean President Lee Jae-myung reposted a video showing IDF soldiers throwing a body off of a building in the occupied West Bank, writing:
“If this is true, then I need to look into what measures were taken [after this incident]. The ‘comfort women’ issue, the Holocaust, and wartime killings we take issue with are no different.”
Despite backlash from conservative and far-right figures, Lee continued in a series of posts on X, labeling Israel’s actions as “anti-human rights and anti-international law” and stating, “No matter what situation, international humanitarian law must be upheld and human dignity must be an uncompromising, top-priority value.”
This marks one of the first times in recent years that a South Korean president has voiced outspoken criticism of the Israeli government and military’s war crimes. In doing so, Lee invoked an enduring national wound: the systematic sexual slavery of women and girls by the Japanese imperial military and the following decades-long denial and erasure by the Japanese goverment.
What President Lee did not say — but what a historic lawsuit filed in South Korean court in September 2025 argues — is that the United States military and South Korean governmentoperated a similar system of sexual violence, trafficking, and human rights abuses for decades. And that both governments worked together to keep it buried.
Find resources and learn more here.
Please join our Spring Benefit on March 13, 2026, 5:00 – 7:00pm!
You will meet a special group of our esteemed friends and supporters, and enjoy delicious Korean hors d’oeuvres and lively musical performances. This event will raise much-needed funds and mark the 11th anniversary of Women Cross DMZ – our organization and movement for peace in Korea.
If you would prefer to donate by check or wire transfer, please contact susan@womencrossdmz.org.
Thank you to our generous supporters:
The UT Austin Center for Asian American Studies will host “Futures Beyond Militarism: Confronting Violence, Restoring the Sacred,” a two-day conference bringing together international scholars and activists to examine global alternatives to militarism and ways communities envision and enact sustainable and interdependent futures from April 23-24, 2026. Women Cross DMZ Executive Director Cathi Choi will speak at the “US-China Rivalry and the Militarization of the Pacific” panel event, moderated by Women Cross DMZ Founder Christine Ahn, on Friday, April 24 at 9:45am CT. RSVP and learn more here.
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 the Inclusive Global Leadership Initiative (IGLI) for an International Women’s Day webinar to hear these stories of hope, courage, and persistence. Hear from WCDMZ Executive Director Cathi Choi, Ruth Mumbi, Catalina Martínez Coral, Julia Zulver, and Marie Berry.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Women Cross DMZ, info@womencrossdmz.org
On International Women’s Day, over 100 prominent global women leaders and organizations have sent a letter calling on the U.S. Congress to pursue accountability measures and redress for Korean women survivors of the U.S. militarized sex trade.
The letter, signed by leading directors of women’s rights organizations, peacebuilders, scholars and experts from across the globe, urges the U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services, to hold the U.S. Forces Korea accountable for their role in gender-based human rights abuses inflicted at U.S. military camptowns and other areas in the Republic of Korea from the 1950s to 2010s – including trafficking, prostitution, forcible detention for purposes of administration of STI treatments.
“History has long shown that war and militarism harm women and girls disproportionately,” stated Cathi Choi, Executive Director of Women Cross DMZ. “Korean women have borne the costs of more than seven decades of the ongoing Korean War. As women in the U.S. and across the globe, we are proud to stand with the courageous survivors and advocates to call on our government to pursue measures for accountability, redress, and justice.”
“War and militarism are bad enough without human rights abuses, gender-based violence, and sex trafficking committed and facilitated by one’s own allies,” stated Ji-Yeon Yuh, Associate Professor, Northwestern University. “As women in the United States, we stand in solidarity with the survivors of these horrors, and we call on our government to be a true ally to South Korea by pursuing redress for any and all harms inflicted by the USFK on women in South Korea.”
“As a retired United States Army colonel and U.S. State Department official, I have seen firsthand the human rights abuses that result from U.S. militarism and military bases abroad,” stated Ann Wright, Veterans for Peace. “We show our solidarity with the Korean women survivors, whose case is not only a fight for them but justice for all victims of U.S. militarism’s effects.”
The Honorable Roger F. Wicker
Chairman, U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services
425 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
The Honorable Jack Reed
Ranking Member, U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services
728 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
Re: Need for Investigation; Records Release; and Public Hearings on U.S. Military Human Rights Abuses in South Korea
March 9, 2026
Dear Chairman Wicker and Ranking Member Reed:
We, the undersigned, are global women leaders united in our solidarity and support of the Korean women survivors of U.S. militarized sex trade. On International Women’s Day, we are writing to you as peace leaders to express our vested personal interest in seeing these women obtain justice.
We urge you as Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Armed Services, to hold the U.S. Forces Korea (U.S.F.K) accountable for their role in gender-based human rights abuses inflicted at U.S. military camptowns and bases in the Republic of Korea (R.O.K.). In a recent lawsuit filed in 2025,1 the U.S.F.K. are identified as enablers and perpetrators of sexual violence in the R.O.K. during the 1950s–2010s.2 The U.S.F.K. is also accused of overseeing detention facilities located at U.S. military base camptowns in which the women were subjected to severely coercive measures related to actual or presumed sexually transmitted infections (STIs). This lawsuit is a follow-on to a 2022 South Korean Supreme Court ruling which found that the R.O.K. government, in the process of operating and managing military camptowns, justified and encouraged prostitution of the plaintiffs who were “comfort women” for the U.S.F.K. and illegally incarcerated them to “help South Korea maintain its military alliance with the United States and earn American dollars.”3
In September 2025, a group of survivors of camptown sexual violence in South Korea filed the first-ever lawsuit targeting the U.S. military,4 presenting deeply concerning and grave allegations about the U.S.F.K.’s role in South Korea. It contends that the U.S. military was involved in encouraging, abetting, or at least acquiescing to the visits of U.S. service members to brothels where women and girls were held against their will as “comfort women.” The context of the charges are that: the women were indoctrinated into a system of sexual slavery for U.S. service members,5 subjected to weekly STI tests, and incarcerated in STI disease control facilities run by the U.S. and R.O.K. governments6 that resembled prisons and forcibly injected with high-doses of penicillin, which was only available in the R.O.K. through U.S. imports. These allegations implicate the U.S. military and government in serious violations of human rights, international law, and enduring moral responsibilities tied to U.S. military presence abroad.
Studies have long shown that in war and militarism, women are disproportionately harmed and sustain severe human rights abuses.7 For decades in South Korea, military camptowns surrounding U.S. bases have been the site of harm and human rights abuses against Korean women. This is yet another chapter in the long history of the disproportionate impact and harm sustained by women in Korea as a result of U.S. militarism.
It is essential for the U.S.F.K. and U.S. government to show transparency and accountability, and engage with the allegations appropriately. This moment presents an opportunity for the United States to deliver justice to survivors and engage in redress and accountability.8
We are therefore urging that the Senate Armed Services Committee do the following:
We understand the sensitivity of these issues and the importance of preserving the U.S.–R.O.K alliance. However, moral clarity, transparency, and justice for survivors are essential to upholding core U.S. values and maintaining global leadership on human rights.
As advocates committed to democratic ideals and gender-based justice we welcome the opportunity to schedule a meeting with each of you to discuss this important topic.
We thank you for your consideration and look forward to your response. Please do not hesitate to contact Cathi Choi at cathi@womencrossdmz.org with any questions.
cc: All Members of the Senate Armed Services Committee
Sincerely,
Note: Organizations/Affiliations Listed Only for Identification Purposes.
Organizational Signatories
Footnotes:
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.
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 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:
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.
From the Korea Peace Now! Grassroots Network Education Committee:
✌️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
Congress is beginning to draft the National Defense Authorization Act (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.
Why does this matter for peace efforts in Korea? The NDAA outlines Congressional military spending priorities in Korea. The 2026 NDAA exacerbated conditions by:
* Blocking the U.S. from returning wartime operational control of South Korea’s military back to the South Korean government for the first time ever
* 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 (HASC) and Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) 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 at bit.ly/actndaa.