{"id":753,"date":"2019-09-25T18:04:57","date_gmt":"2019-09-25T22:04:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/koreapeacenow.org\/?p=753"},"modified":"2019-10-04T15:31:01","modified_gmt":"2019-10-04T19:31:01","slug":"we-went-to-the-dmz-with-gloria-steinem-to-call-for-an-end-to-the-korean-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koreapeacenow.org\/we-went-to-the-dmz-with-gloria-steinem-to-call-for-an-end-to-the-korean-war\/","title":{"rendered":"We Went to the DMZ with Gloria Steinem to Call for an End to the Korean War"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Our delegation of women leaders from the United States, South Korea, and Japan \u2014 including feminist pioneer Gloria Steinem \u2014 just returned from South Korea, where we attended the DMZ peace forum<\/a>, visited the DMZ, and demanded an end to the Korean War and women\u2019s inclusion in the peace process outside the U.S. Embassy in Seoul.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We began our trip with a tour of the DMZ \u2014 the so-called \u201cdemilitarized zone\u201d \u2014 that separates North and South Korea. In reality, this narrow strip of land has one of the highest concentrations of landmines on earth; is flanked by barbed wire, explosives, and armed soldiers on both sides; and divides tens of thousands of families. Among the attendees were Siegfried Hecker, a nuclear scientist and foremost expert on North Korea\u2019s nuclear program. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Christine Ahn, Gloria Steinem, and Siegfried Hecker meet with representatives of the local government at Imjingak near the DMZ. Photo by Jean Chung<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Gyeonggi Province’s Vice Governor for Peace, Lee Hwa-young, speaks to the international attendees of the DMZ peace forum. To his right is Chung Dong Chae, chief executive officer of the Let’s DMZ organizing committee. Photo by Jean Chung<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Our first stop was Imjingak Resort, located just 7 km from the Military Demarcation Line \u2014 the actual line dividing the two countries, which is surrounded by the DMZ \u2014 where we met with officials from the local government. A barbed-wire fence has become a living memorial to loved ones in North Korea. Christine Ahn, executive director of Women Cross DMZ and international coordinator of Korea Peace Now!, and Gloria Steinem wrote their own message of peace and tied it among the thousands of ribbons adorning the fence. Waving in the wind, the ribbons are a heartbreaking and sobering reminder of the painful division caused by the ongoing war. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Christine Ahn and Gloria Steinem shared a message that read: “Women Cross the DMZ — for peace!!” Photo by Jean Chung<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Next we traveled to Camp Greaves, a former U.S. military base that was turned over to the Korean government in 2007 and is now the site of a youth hostel and a museum. Displayed inside the Quonset huts dotting the hillsides are remnants and reminders of the human impact of this long war \u2014 for example, photos of thriving communities in Pyongyang before the war, portraits of Korean War orphans, recreated military quarters, and factoids on the legacy of the war: <\/p>\n\n\n\n