The Korean Resource Center LA (KRCLA) is hosting an evening of conversation and food on Tuesday, April 28 at 6pm PT, as we reflect on Saigu and renew our spirit and purpose as people of the Korean diaspora. We’ll be joined by community activists who have been on the frontlines challenging the systems that sowed the seeds for Saigu.
Panelists:
🌺 Cathi Choi, Women Cross DMZ Executive Director
🌺 Dr. Min Yang, Justice for Yong Yang
🌺 Anna Cho-Sun, LA Tenants Union
🌺 Richard J. In, KACE
🌺 Asian Youth Collective
Tuesday, April 28, 2026 from 6:00 – 8:00 PM
📍KRC Crenshaw, 900 Crenshaw Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90019
We’ll have plenty of food to go around, but feel free to bring a dish to share!
This is an in-person public event and registration is not required. Reach out to isaac@krcla.org for questions.
Join Women Cross DMZ for a webinar discussing the key findings of the newly released report, “Women’s Rights Under the Division System in Korea.” The report sheds light on the often overlooked consequences of Korea’s division, exposing the militarization, human rights violations, and family separations that continue to impact women’s lives today. Read the report here.
The webinar will include:
– A discussion of the gendered consequences of Korea’s division, including landmines and unexploded ordnance, U.S. military base expansion, and sexual violence at military camptowns.
– Firsthand insights from experts, activists, and contributors to the report on how militarization and geopolitical tensions disproportionately affect women.
– Policy recommendations and actionable steps for how governments, policymakers, and the international community can support women’s rights and peace efforts on the Korean Peninsula.
Speakers:
This webinar is a must-attend for policymakers, activists, scholars, journalists, and anyone passionate about human rights, peace, and gender justice. RSVP here.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 3, 2024
Women Cross DMZ calls on President Biden, President-elect Trump, U.S. lawmakers, and democratic leaders around the world to condemn the illegal imposition of martial law by South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, and join growing South Korean calls to safeguard their hard-won democracy by calling for President Yoon’s resignation.
Thanks to a swift vote by the South Korean National Assembly and thousands of South Koreans who poured into the streets in protest, President Yoon was forced to revoke martial law. As we celebrate the power of the people to fight back, we should all be alarmed that a single individual can unilaterally endanger democracy, the safety of ordinary people, and peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.
On December 3, 2024, President Yoon abruptly declared emergency martial law in South Korea in an unplanned national television broadcast, citing “threats posed by North Korea’s communist forces and to eliminate anti-state elements.” In the weeks leading up to this, opposition party leaders and thousands of South Koreans were calling for Yoon’s impeachment. In response to this growing outcry and in an attempt to quash dissent, Yoon declared martial law. Within two hours, 190 National Assembly Members (including members of Yoon’s own People Power Party) fought back armed special warfare soldiers who tried to seize the legislature, and unanimously voted to overturn the martial law.
Since Yoon took power in 2022, tensions between South Korea and North Korea have remained high with growing threats of renewed fighting on the Korean Peninsula. South Korea has also witnessed historic democratic backsliding as Yoon’s administration targeted critics, journalists, labor unions, and peace and reunification activists. In two years, the Yoon administration has been embroiled in a series of endless scandals including political corruption and alleged election interference. His approval rating sank to 17 percent last month. Yoon also gutted the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, blaming feminism for South Korea’s low birth rates instead of the systemic patriarchy where women earn 31 percent of their male counterparts. Last month, the Yoon administration banned Women Cross DMZ Founder Christine Ahn from entering South Korea where she was to deliver the keynote speech at an international youth peace summit in Gyeonggi Province with no explanation or due process.
President Biden has previously touted an “ironclad” alliance with Yoon’s government as his legacy. However, Yoon’s attempt to suspend democracy and human rights in South Korea demonstrates that President Biden’s close ally is unfit to govern one of Asia’s biggest democracies and puts the Korean peninsula at further risk of an outbreak of war. Before Yoon further exploits military tensions on the peninsula, Biden and world leaders must condemn Yoon’s dangerous actions and support the South Korean people and their elected officials calling for Yoon’s resignation.