Responding to South Korea’s “Failed Coup”
Cathi Choic / Women Cross DMZ

(January 8, 2025) — Happy New Year! I’m thrilled to be writing to you as the new Executive Director of Women Cross DMZ. This year marks a significant milestone for our organization as we celebrate our ten-year anniversary! Since crossing the DMZ in 2015, Women Cross DMZ has built grassroots power for Korea peace, created political will for policy change, and shifted the narrative of the Korean War from “forgotten” to the United States’ oldest “forever war.”

In the past month, we’ve witnessed the consequences of this unresolved conflict: President Yoon Suk Yeol instigated a “failed coup” by abruptly declaring emergency martial law in South Korea, citing “threats posed by North Korea’s communist forces and … anti-state elements.”

Millions of South Koreans fought to defend their democracy, overturning martial law in just six hours. Since then, disturbing reports have revealed that Yoon intended to stoke war with North Korea as a pretext for martial law and justification for his authoritarianism. Yoon has also resisted arrest, with his legal team claiming immunity by pointing to the US Supreme Court’s ruling on Trump. Meanwhile, right-wing South Korean demonstrators wave US flags and have adopted Trump’s “Stop the Steal” slogan in protesting Yoon’s impeachment.

Not surprisingly, feminist leadership has been vital to countering these authoritarian and right-wing threats. Young women have led the people-powered movement to oust Yoon (who was elected on an antifeminist campaign), adopting as their unofficial anthem the song “Into the New World” by K-pop group Girls’ Generation.

We are reminded once again about the gendered impact of militarism and authoritarianism. Just weeks before all of this unfolded, I traveled to Korea to meet with leading women peace activists to learn firsthand how the unresolved Korean War has impacted women’s lives.

Lee Jung Ah, president of Gyeonggi Women’s Association.

Lee Jung Ah, president of Gyeonggi Women’s Association and a longtime peace activist, said that after years of interviewing women in her province bordering the DMZ, including defectors from North Korea, camptown sex workers (“kijichon”), “comfort women,” and landmine survivors, she realized that all women, regardless of their background, are “living in conditions of war.” 

This year also marks the 80th anniversary of the division of the Korean Peninsula. Decades of division and war have harmed women, the environment, and the overall state of peace and democracy.

On the Fight for Democracy in South Korea
WBAI Radio

As we enter a second Trump administration in the United States, we face a challenging and uncertain road ahead. Our peace movement must become savvier and more creative in the coming years. Women Cross DMZ will continue building solidarity across movements and borders, as the movement for Korea peace is tied to efforts for gender equity, environmental justice, and peace globally. We will continue to stand together against the authoritarian regimes who would rather see us isolated and bereft.

We need your support! Here are ways you can plug into our work:

• Join our Korea Peace Now! Grassroots Network: Our first meeting of the year will be Thursday, Jan. 9, at 5pm PT // 8 pm ET.Register here. We will discuss how to get involved in planning direct actions, mobilizing for protests around the inauguration, and supporting legislative advocacy for R.1369, the Peace on the Korean Peninsula Act.
• Support Feminist Analysis and Narrative Change: In March, we are planning to launch reports on Women’s Rights Under the Division System and Feminist Peace. We will launch these reports at the United Nations for the69th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. Stay tuned for details!
• Bridge Domestic and Foreign Policy Divides:An estimated one out of every six Koreans living in the US is undocumented. As we anticipate large-scale deportation efforts and a surge in anti-Asian violence under Trump, particularly against Asian women, we are planning a conference at the University of Washington this fall to draw linkages between how wars fought abroad foment violence at home. Stay tuned for more info and how you can get involved.
• Donate: Our work depends on community support from people like you.Please help sustain our movement and donate here. And if you cannot donate, please share our work and our message with others.

As one South Korean protester reminded us, “The country belongs to the people.” While authoritarianism adapts transnationally, we must organize to build more people power, claim our institutions, seed narratives to challenge militarism and war, and develop our analysis with even greater force. Through our resistance, healing, and joy, we can create a more peaceful and hopeful future for Korea and everyone around the globe. I am honored to walk with you all on the path into this new world.

In peace,
Cathi Choi