In summer 2009, three Korean American college students worked at Nodutdol as summer interns to learn about and participate in the national campaign to call for a Peace Treaty to end the Korean War. As part of their internship, they organized a teach-in to commemorate July 27, anniversary of the signing of the Korean War armistice. The teach-in was part of a national weekend of candlelight vigils in Honolulu, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Washington D.C. organized by the National Coalition to End the Korean War (www.endthekoreanwar.org).

Below is a report of the New York City event, written by intern Hyein Lee-

On July 25, 2009 Nodutdol and Veterans for Peace hosted “Unlearn War: Proliferate Peace” at the Solidarity Center in Manhattan to commemorate the July 27, 1953 armistice signing in Korea. The armistice only temporarily halted military warfare on the peninsula and no peace treaty was ever signed to permanently end the Korean War. Nodutdol and Veterans for Peace sought to raise public awareness for the necessity of a Peace Treaty and finally putting an end to the Korean War. Over seventy guests, comprised of students, scholars, peace activists, and veterans, attended the event.

The event featured Christine Ahn of Korea Policy Institute, who outlined the history of U.S. policies in Korea, and delivered a heartfelt speech urging Korean Americans to do our part in bringing about peace on the Korean peninsula. The audience teared up with Ahn as she spoke about the pain and struggles shared by the Korean people. After that, the reverberating sounds of poongmul troupe Hanool provided a welcome cathartic release.

Thomas Kennedy of Veterans for Peace shared his personal experiences as a soldier during the Korean War and criticized American intervention for dividing the peninsula. He concluded by saying we must “hate war and love peace with all our hearts.”

An excerpt from Deanne Borshay’s video documentary entitled “Korean War” presented oral histories of Korean War survivors who shared their childhood memories of growing up during the war. “Questioning the Korean Peninsula,” a short video based on street interviews conducted by the Nodutdol interns showed a diverse spectrum of opinions about U.S. policies in Korea among young people in New York.

Guitarist and spoken word artist Taiyo Na, and Joe from Brown Rice Family paid tribute to their Korean American roots, immigrant struggles, and hope for peace on the Korean peninsula through music and poetry.

Reverend Me-il Lee of the Korean American National Coordinating Committee gave the closing remarks, pointing out the military industrial complex as responsible for maintaining the division in Korea, and urging young people to continue the legacy of Korean American participation in the struggle for peaceful reunification.

As part of their internship, the interns also participated in weekly studies to learn about the history of Korea’s division and the Korean people’s struggle for peaceful reunification. They launched an online blog (www.peacetreaty.wordpress.com) to create an interactive forum for college students to share their family stories about war and division, as well as their visions of peace and a unified Korea. They also created an organizers toolkit to enable students to self-organize around the issue.



Below is intern Grace Park’s reflections on the internship experience-

Walking into a room of progressive, passionate, down to earth women of all ages was what made the internship at Nodutdol a great experience. Their stories and energy were what pulled the internship together. Working together and building relationships were the best part of the internship. These are friendships that I hope will continue into the future as well. Of course the delicious community meals and outings were like the frosting on top. The study sessions were definitely what I loved about Wednesdays.

I applied for this internship because I wanted to learn about my own history. The spirit of the Korean people after 1945 (the day of liberation) was something I had never read about until now, and it was a proud moment for me to know that my ancestors had their own progressive movements and ideas of creating a better country for their people. The sessions were an important place of dialogue and discussion and I learned a lot from the different perspectives that were being presented during our group studies. My perception of North Korea has changed significantly since the internship. Before, I had condemned this country as having the worst human rights violations, yet how could I say this, and still consider North Koreans my brothers and sisters? Now, I believe I have more of a historical framework to stand on that will help me as I continue my studies about Korea.

As I leave Nodutdol to go back home, it’s hard to believe all that we accomplished during a span of 8 week- the launch of the Peace Treaty blog, the Peace Treaty toolkit, and the July 25 event. All three projects were a great success, and I hope they will continue to have an impact beyond this summer. I hope people will always remember the two Asians with the big cardboard around our necks yelling, “Peace for Korea!” in Union Square Park. The work that Nodutdol does is very important, and it is really inspiring to see Korean Americans, Koreans, and people of other ethnic backgrounds come together for a cause that is frequently overlooked, especially in the Korean community. I know that I will come back to Nodutdol in the future, and I am thankful to the Nodutdol family for all their love and support.

About Nodutdol eNews

Nodutdol eNews is the monthly e-mail newsletter of Nodutdol.Through grassroots organization and community development, Nodutdol seeks to bridge divisions created by war, nation, gender, sexual orientation, language, classes and generation among Koreans and to empower our community to address the injustice we and other people of color face here and abroad. Nodutdol works in collaboration with other progressive organizations locally, nationally and internationally as part of a larger movement for peace and social change.

View the complete archives of Nodutdol eNews »