Women’s peace walk to be held at a U.S. base in South Korea

On May 24, an international delegation from Women Cross DMZ will collaborate with the Gyeonggi Women’s Association in a commemorative peace march at the Camp Humphreys, a  U.S. military base at Pyongtaek, South Korea.  The special focus of these two groups is on the fact that war and militarism disproportionately harms women.

This free event will be held Saturday, May 24, 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. (Korea time),  beginning at Naeri Culture Park, Pyeongtaek (Naeri 260, Paengseong-eup, Pyeongtaek-si)

The date, May 24, is International Women’s Day and is also the 10^th anniversary of the original crossing of the Demilitarized Zone by an international group of 30 women peace activists under the sponsorship of Women Cross DMZ. The group included Nobel Peace Prize winners Leymah Gbowee and Mairead Maguire.

Every year since the 2015 march that crossed the DMZ, the, Gyeonggi Women’s Association has organized an annual march to coincide with International Women’s Day for Peace and Disarmament.

This transnational act of solidarity is particularly timely as democracy is under attack in the U.S.,  South Korea is on the cusp of electing a new president, and growing tensions between the U.S. and China raise the risk of war in Northeast Asia.

The walk around Camp Humphries is designed to raise awareness about the need for peace on the Korean Peninsula from the perspective of gender equality.