Jeju Island Now: The Long Struggle for Peace

Co-sponsored by the Asian/Pacific/American Institute at NYU, Nodutdol, NYU Department of History, and NYU Department of East Asian Studies.

Since 2007, the people of Gangjeong on Jeju Island and their supporters have struggled everyday nonviolently against the building of a naval base that would support the South Korean military and the aims of the US military. As a result of their work for peace, the tiny village of Gangjeong now has one of the highest “crime” rates in all of South Korea. More than 220,000 police officers (as of 2012) have been stationed there, and so far more than 700 arrests have been made, leading to approximately 200 court cases for more than 650 people, approximately $270,000 in fines levied, and 46 imprisonments. More than 30 internationals have been blacklisted, deported, or denied entry. All for the “crime” of peacefully resisting the construction of a naval base that threatens villagers’ livelihoods, the local ecology, and the peace of northeast Asia.

Hee Eun “Silver” Park and Paco Michelson, peace activists from the Jeju Island Anti-Naval Base struggle, will share their story of the struggle through their personal experiences. We will also present the new documentary film, Gureombi, The Wind is Blowing, by Korean director Sung Bong Cho, before its wide release.

A roundtable Q&A on US/ROK Militarization in Korea featuring Hee Eun “Silver” Park, Paco Michelson, Charles Hanley (Pulitzer-prize winning AP journalist on Korean War), Jeongmin Kim (PhD Candidate, NYU Department of East Asian Studies), Monica Kim (NYU Department of History), and Marilyn Young (NYU Department of History) will follow.

Registration not required.