Photo Caption: Members of the international delegation of peace activists on WCDMZ’s 10-year Anniversary Solidarity Trek to Korea staged historic artwork by Korean American interdisciplinary artist Yong Soon Min, “Movement Towards” (2018) at the Civilian Control Zone during WCDMZ’s 10- year anniversary trek to Korea. Min’s lifelong work exposed the lasting reverberations of the Cold War and Korea’s division. Photo by Yoon Ra
This year, Women Cross DMZ celebrated our 10-year anniversary of organizing, educating, and advocating for an end to the Korean War and forever wars everywhere. Amidst a global rise of militarism and fascism, we continue to strategize and weave our intergenerational, grassroots movement for peace in Korea with antiwar struggles for demilitarization and decolonization.
As we reflect on a decade of feminist peace-building, it’s clear to us: no democracy can thrive under militarism. Our 2025 accomplishments show how we have moved forward in developing our narrative, legislative, and grassroots advocacy, as well as creating collective spaces to build community.
In this next chapter, we will need your continued support to ensure that Women Cross DMZ can meet this moment and play a central role in ending this forever war. Your tax-deductible contribution, in whatever amount is meaningful to you, ensures we can effectively mobilize in the face of today’s global challenges. Donate here.
Here are some of our key accomplishments in the last year:
- We successfully organized our 10 Year Anniversary Solidarity Trek to Korea, where we commemorated our 2015 historic crossing of the DMZ and brought a delegation of feminist peace leaders from the U.S. to meet and mobilize with fellow civic society and peace activists in Korea, building transnational solidarity and calls for an end to the Korean War.
- We published Women’s Rights Under the Division System in Korea, a report years in the making led by Korean women across borders, which sheds light on the profound and persistent impact of the division system and ongoing militarization of the Korean peninsula on women’s human rights, revealing the gendered consequences of U.S. military base violence, landmines and unexploded ordnance, and family separation.
- In response to the martial law fiasco in South Korea in December 2024, we engaged in rapid on-the-ground mobilizations, legislative and media advocacy to support the South Korean democracy movement.
- Along with our grassroots and faith-based partners, we organized the tenth annual Korea Peace Advocacy Week to urge members of Congress to support legislation supporting peace in Korea – namely, H.R.1841, the Peace on the Korean Peninsula Act. Over 150 constituents from 29 states joined in over 70 in-person and virtual meetings with Congressional representatives and Senators.
- We held political education webinars with hundreds of attendees on the first summit between Lee Jae Myung and Donald Trump, feminist lessons from the South Korean democracy movement on thwarting martial law, and connections between the fight for justice for Jeju 4.3 Uprising survivors and Japanese American resistors of World War II mass incarceration.
Looking ahead, our initiatives for 2026 and beyond include:
- Publishing ground-breaking feminist analysis: We will continue to highlight the impact of war and militarism on women in Korea and globally through analysis, educational initiatives, media advocacy, and more.
- Advocating for progressive Korea peace legislation: We will continue advocating for the Peace on the Korean Peninsula Act and changes in military spending on the Hill, including amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act.
- Training the next generation of leaders: We will organize a series of convenings for next generation activists to build skills in legislative advocacy, combating far-right agendas, and seeking redress for historic injustices.
- Feminist counter to the “New Cold War”: We will convene leading feminist activists and produce policy papers that promote dialogue and civil society engagement on issues pertaining to North Korea, Russia, and China.
- Militarism and Democracy: We will organize activists, scholars, policymakers, and journalists to engage in critical conversation about the ways in which U.S. forever wars and militarism undermine democracy both at home and abroad.
To find out more about what we’ve accomplished and what we’re planning in the year ahead, read our 2024-25 Annual Report.
