PSPD launch the Center for Peace and Disarmament
PSPD launch the Center for Peace and Disarmament
Editor:
The Center for Peace and Disarmament (Peace Center) of the People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD) was launched in 2003 after a one-year preparation. The following article is edited from a paper published in the launching workshop of the Peace Center.
Peace Movements in Korean Society
1. Recent Experiences and New Awareness of Problems
Since the start of the Cold War and the changes due to the division of the Korean Peninsula, peace and security issues have always figured prominently in the discourse of South Korean civil society. After the inter-Korean summit in June 2000, hopes for reconciliation and reunification between south and north Korea called for a change from a cold war order to a peace system, while at the same time disagreements regarding policies on reunification and north Korea started to come to the surface. The “Sunshine Policy” has been criticized as a “romantic theory of reunification” and a “no-strings- attached donation.” Conflicts within the civil society are a clear indication that there is still support for the Cold War structure that has been in place for more than 50 years; they also indicate the weakness of the civil society on issues related to peace and reunification.
The peace movements within the civil society that rose between 2001 and 2003 show that South Korean civil society, which had experienced the Korean war and national division, was breaking away from rigid perceptions concerning war and was starting to accept new values concerning peace. Experiences such as the Inter-Korean summit, improvements in north-south Korean relations, the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup, anti-war movements against the war in Afghanistan, movements against the F-X project, candlelight rallies in the memory of the two middle school girls killed by a US military truck, debates on peace and war during the recent presidential elections, and movements against the dispatching of troops to Iraq and against the war in Iraq have all led peace-loving people to reject “the choice of war as policy” and “theory of pro-security” and voice their concerns. Furthermore, peace movement organizations sprung up to work not only for peace on the Korean peninsula but also for world peace in international solidarity with peace-loving people in other countries.
Such changes have induced conflicts within South Korean society on security issues and US policies. The crisis between the US and North Korea also have intensified interest on these issues in the civil society. Korean people started to become more interested in ways to overcome the crisis and to build a peaceful system on the Korean Peninsula and in East Asia. These interests contrasted with the widespread militarism and military culture that are deeply rooted in Korean society.
2. Tasks Facing the Korean Peace Movement
Three pressing issues facing the Korean peace movement are as follows:
1) How to set up an agenda for the peace movement in Korea?
2) How to extend anti-war movements to peace movements in daily life? How can the experiences unique to Korea be translated into the universal peace movement?
3) How to explore new vision based on the reflection of Korean society and civilization of the 20th century?
The Korean peace movement must free itself from security-oriented policies and the so-called 53 system, and provide new vision of peace and order on the Korean Peninsula and in East Asia. The unbalanced triangular relations between south and north Korea and the US show two sides: a divided system and South Korea-US alliance. The dissolution of the regional security cooperation system is inevitable to abolish these uneasy relationships. Major differences in terms of population, economy and military power among the states in East Asia also make it unfeasible to maintain the regional security cooperation system based on the security centered state. The system is possible only if all East Asian countries agree on no war.
From this perspective, South Korea should not be the focus of peace in East Asia but must act as a bridge or a balanced pendulum. From the view of new security and order in the 21st century, the reality based on south Korea-US alliance is antithetic to the new world view. And so, the South Korea-US alliance should be reconsidered under the diplomatic frame of peace.
The peace movement is a cultural movement for the establishment of a peaceful culture. First of all, the peaceful cultural movement rejects the theory of war of national liberation. Ultimately, peace must be discussed as a lifestyle. Coexistence, the diversity of life, and tolerance should be practiced in daily life. We have to talk seriously about the ethical destruction caused by the ‘national interests theory.’ This theory is deeply rooted in the daily life of the Korean people. The culture of peace frees us from our nationalistic interests. When we are thus free, we can counter globalization that causes inequality and conflicts.
The peace movement demands an exploration into a new socio-economic system without any oppression. The peace movement is an environmental as well as an equalitarian movement. If we do not free ourselves from the unjust socio-economic system, the national interests theory can repress us at anytime. The national interests theory clearly showed its unequal character during the debate on the dispatch
Finally, the peace movement demands the creation of a new social identity. That identity can only be created without the ‘growth-first policy,’ ‘state-centered policy,’ and ‘security-oriented policy.’ The formation of the new identity also needs new vision and rationale. The vision of coexistence and the rationale for universality are not far from the teachings of peace-loving Kant. Above all, the awareness for breaking away from the fear of death and the rationale for controlling oneself against profits are traits that must be attained by peace lovers. Also required are a ‘partially deformed reason’ to free oneself from the rationale of security and economics and a ‘secondary or voluntary deformity’ to break free from what we know. In this aspect, we have to pursue changes in our language and habits as well as changes within the citizens’ movements. We also need to undertake media monitoring.
3. Activities of the Peace Center
The Peace Center of PSPD has activities planned in three categories:
1) Evaluating policies concerning peace in Korea and East Asia and proposing alternatives
At the moment, the most urgent issues concern the nuclear conflict between North Korea and the USA as well as the related crisis on the Korean Peninsula. The policies of the government will be evaluated and alternatives from civil society will be proposed. In the long term, we aim to build peace and a system of corporation on the Korean Peninsula and in East Asia by countering the US-centered power system. If a regional solidarity is needed, we will make efforts to establish a solidarity of civil societies in East Asia.
2) Monitoring military defense and reforming the military
The ultimate aims peace and disarmament are the reductions of arms and breaking away from security-oriented policies. It might seem too idealistic, but citizens’ monitoring of the military and security sectors must be expanded to take up issues with the increase of military weapons and human rights violations in the military. Monitoring National Assembly sessions on military issues must be set up and an alternative Citizens’ White Paper should be published to counter the White Paper published by the military.
3) Public education & Peaceful Solidarity
Leadership based on a peace paradigm must be developed and disseminated. The development of a theory cannot be separated from public education. Research activities and systematization of public education must go hand in hand. Development of educational materials for peace education will be an important aspect. Also, a peace movement network and an international solidarity of anti-war peace movements must be formed.
The Peace Center has not yet carried out concrete activities. We believe that the activities of the Peace Center must grow out of the participation by the public. We are determined to find the type of peace movement activities that would be successful in the field.
Contact numbers: Tel: +82-2-723-4250
fax :+82-2-723-5055
Contact persons: PARK, Jung-Eun jjepark@pspd.org
LEE, Tae-Ho Lee gaemy@pspd.org
KWON, Sang-Hoon shkwon@pspd.org
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