The Korea Peace Action held a ceremony today (June 25) at 11 a.m. on the steps of the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts. The event, entitled “Korea Peace Action Campaign Launching Ceremony: Stop Hostility, Move Toward Peace! No War! Yes Peace!” brought together representatives of various religions, civil society, and peace activists to explore ways to break the cycle of hostility that fuels the threat of war and to strive for harmonious coexistence on the peninsula.

⭐️Stop Hostility, Move Toward Peace!
No War, Yes Peace!

From 2020 to 2023, the Korea Peace Action conducted the Korea Peace Appeal,  an international campaign to end the Korean War and sign a peace agreement.  Unfortunately, the situation on the Korean peninsula has become more challenging as the channels of dialogue have been completely cut off and the inter-Korean military agreement, which used to serve as a safety net, is no longer in force. As a result, there have been instances of mutual provocation and psychological warfare.

The Korea Peace Action, which has joined 607 religious groups and civil society organizations, and 80 international partner organizations, will advocate for the right to peaceful survival with peace-minded citizens. This right has been overlooked by the governments of the two Koreas and neighboring countries that prioritize war, confrontation, retaliation, and punishment. Through various peace actions, we hope to contribute to the resolution of the escalating war crisis and to gather voices calling for opposition to war and the realization of peace. This year, we will be organizing the following activities.

☮️Monthly online and offline peace actions
☮️Korea Peace Action Day on July 27(Sat)
☮️Border Peace Action
☮️Proposing policies to the 22nd National Assembly for resolving the Korean Peninsula war crisis
☮️Strengthening international network cooperation and advocacy
☮️Other Emergency Peace Action

The launching ceremony was attended by representatives of various religious and civil societies working for peace on the Korean peninsula. The attendees gathered to resolve the crisis of war and create hope for peace. After the ceremony, the participants marched to the Government Joint Complaint Center in the annex of the Government Complex. There, they submitted their complaints to the government’s online complaint campaign, which ran for a week from Tuesday, June 18 to Monday, June 24. The campaign collected 2,677 signatures from citizens who participated and submitted a complaint to the Ministry of Unification and the National Police Agency as representative applicants. Additionally, approximately 40 participants submitted offline complaints in their individual names to the Ministry of Unification and the National Police Agency. These individuals urged the authorities to restrict the distribution of anti-North Korea leaflets.

The Korea Peace Action is a coalition of civil society and religious organizations that has been operating under the name of Korea Peace Appeal Campaign from 2020 to 2023. In light of the intensifying war crisis on the Korean Peninsula, this year we are committed to networking and conducting various peace initiatives to once again pave the way for peace on the Korean Peninsula.

Korea Peace Action Declaration
Stop Hostility, Move Toward Peace!

We are here again to put an end to the vicious cycle of hostility that drives the clouds of war. We are here to build a Korean peninsula where we can coexist in peace. 

For three incredible years, from 2020 to 2023, we organized the Korea Peace Appeal Campaign. The Campaign was an international campaign urging the world to end the Korean War and establish a peace agreement, and create the Korean Peninsula and a world free from nuclear weapons and nuclear threats. Last year, on the 70th anniversary of the signing of the armistice, the campaign organized a series of incredible peace actions to end the Korean War in over 400 locations in South Korea and abroad. It also presented 200,000 signatures from the Korea Peace Appeal, collected worldwide over the past three years, to the United Nations and the governments of the countries involved in the Korean War, advocating for peace.

However, today the situation on the Korean Peninsula is even more volatile, which makes it an even more thrilling time to be here. The channels of dialogue have been completely cut off, and the inter-Korean military agreement, which served as a minimal safety pin to prevent conflict, has been rendered ineffective. This has led to some pretty intense demonstrations and a whole lot of psychological warfare. In a dramatic turn of events, mutual hostilities between the two Koreas have escalated in response to the leafleting of the North by South Korean civilian groups. Instead of cracking down on the leafleting and managing the crisis, the ROK government has been emphasizing "war immortality" and "immediately, strongly and until the end"

While the government of Yoon Suk-yeol is sticking to  its guns with Cold War, confrontational and military solutions such as “solution through force,” “northward policy for freedom” and “military cooperation among the United States, the ROK and Japan,” The DPRK’s nuclear and missile capabilities have become more advanced. In a thrilling turn of events, the lives of the people on the Korean peninsula are caught in the middle of a trilateral military conflict. The world is currently facing some exciting challenges, with conflicts in Ukraine and Palestine claiming innocent lives and warnings that another war could break out in East Asia.

In the face of the threat of armed conflict, war, and danger, we are relaunching the Korea Peace Action to advocate and call for the right of all living beings who call this land home to live in peace. We will join 607 religious orders and civil society organizations, over 80 international partner organizations, and peace-loving citizens to advocate for our right to live in peace. It is time for governments of South and North Korea and neighboring countries to recognize this right and focus on peace, cooperation, and constructive solutions. We’re here to amplify the voices for peace that are not being heard.

We will act to lift the cloud of war over the Korean Peninsula and prevent the risk of accidental conflict. This is our mission, and we will succeed. We will also call on both South and North Korea to cease hostile rhetoric and actions that threaten each other and to restore the minimum channels of dialogue to immediately resolve the crisis. This is an amazing opportunity for South and North Korea to come together and work towards a brighter future for all. We believe wholeheartedly that dialogue and negotiation rather than sanctions and pressure are the way to solve the problem. That’s why we’re taking action to urge the ROK and the DPRK, the DPRK and the US, and all parties to the Korean War to improve communication, end the war, live together in peace, and create a Korean Peninsula and a world free of nuclear weapons and nuclear threats. Our solidarity will not be limited to peace on the Korean peninsula alone. We will stand together and take collective civic action to stop the winds of war blowing across the world and ensure that all beings, human and non-human, can coexist in peace and harmony.

Korea Peace Action is thrilled to engage in all forms of peaceful action at home and abroad to promote peace and prevent armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula. We will be ready to spring into action at a moment’s notice when the crisis on the Korean Peninsula escalates. We will propose policies and alternatives for the prevention of armed conflict and the establishment of peace on the Korean peninsula, and we will call on the National Assembly, the government, and the international community to take action. We will stand together to defend the right to live in peace and make our voices heard, including those living in border areas and those suffering from military tensions on the Korean Peninsula. We will amplify our international solidarity efforts to connect the voices calling for peace on the Korean Peninsula with the global call for a peaceful and sustainable world.

Citizens, let’s work together to achieve peace! We can do it! All we have to do is engage in discussions about peace and take actions to promote peace. We want you to get involved in all the exciting, peaceful initiatives happening on the Korean Peninsula!

• We want peace. We are against war.
• Let’s put an end to all military actions and hostilities that create a crisis of war!
• Let’s restore the inter-Korean military agreement and the inter-Korean channels of dialogue!
• Let’s put an end to hostilities and improve inter-Korean and DPRK-US relations!
• Let’s end the Korean War and establish a peace agreement!
• Let’s resolve the conflicts with dialogue and cooperation instead of sanctions and pressure.
• Let’s create a Korean Peninsula and a world free from nuclear weapons or nuclear threat!
• Let’s put an end to the vicious cycle of the arms race and wars once and save people and the planet together!

👉 Korean Version