Challenging Militarism: Feminist Lessons from Korea
US militarism impacts women everywhere
Shana Tova!
Happy birthday Farley, Taly, and Alvin, best wine guy in the world!
Congrats to Sarah Sampras, winner of last week’s book drawing of Erin Sikorsky’s book, Climate Change on the Battlefield: International Military Responses to the Climate Crisis.
A busy week! This week I learned about Swerve Sports, a sports channel “where women rule the game.”
This week, I handed my pen to Cathi Choi, Executive Director of Women Cross DMZ. It’s an organization focused on mobilizing women worldwide for peace in Korea. She writes about how US militarism impacts women—and how Korean women are pushing back.
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At home and abroad, US militarism and state violence are eroding our collective safety. In one of his first executive orders in office, Trump issued a crackdown on immigrants. At Trump’s urging, Congress signed over $150 billion to ICE, making it the largest police force in the country and richer than most of the world’s militaries. In the months following, armed federal agents detained over 300 South Korean nationals at a Hyundai plant in Georgia. This raid marked the largest single-site immigration raid in US history, and greatly strained the relationship between Washington and Seoul. Trump has also posted about turning Chicago into a war zone and renamed the Department of Defense as the “Department of War.”
But we didn’t get here overnight. In order to fully understand this recent escalation, we must examine the long legacy of US forever wars abroad, which has normalized state violence and repression at home. This is particularly important for women, given that militarism exacerbates gender inequality by reinforcing patriarchal values in society and depleting resources that would otherwise bolster social programs. The Korean War offers many lessons.
The Korean War is the United States’ longest-running overseas conflict. For over 75 years, the US has refused to sign a peace agreement. This forever war has harmed Koreans across the peninsula, especially women, and contributed to the escalation of anti-Asian violence, domestic police technologies, and rampant war spending in the US.
Currently, the US stations 28,500 troops in South Korea, costing taxpayers $4 to $5 billion annually. It also spends nearly $1 trillion on its overall military budget, the largest in the world—more than the next nine countries combined. Meanwhile, we have seen Congress slash spending on education, housing, and healthcare and other social programs which tend to benefit women most. The US military continues to act with impunity across the Korean peninsula, leaving deep scars among the population, including the killing of two 14-year-old girls in South Korea in 2002 and the killing of unarmed civilian fishermen in North Korea in 2019.
Feminist peacebuilders know that wars abroad normalize militarized violence at home. But when women lead, societies are more likely to see sustainable and lasting peace. In order for that peace to be sustainable, solutions must be informed by those most impacted. In one recent model of this, a group of women in South Korea launched a landmark lawsuit targeting the US military over prostitution.
Advocates behind the lawsuit are seeking redress for the long legacy of the US military’s human rights abuses against Korean women who catered to US soldiers during the 1960s and 70s. Among other abuses, women were beaten, locked up in facilities with barred windows, and forcibly treated for sexually transmitted diseases, including heavy doses of penicillin which could sometimes send the women into deadly shock.
This lawsuit is one example of many initiatives driven by feminists leaders who refuse to normalize state violence and continue to challenge the root cause of militarism. The South Korean Supreme Court has found Korean women suffered abuse as “comfort women for US military,” finding that government forces “systematically and violently“ detained them in camptowns against their will. Reports also revealed that many women were abducted as teenagers, lured under false pretenses, and held in economic bondage. The plaintiffs are demanding a formal apology from the US military and compensation of 10 million Korean won for each plaintiff ($7,191 USD).
Korean women also led efforts to defend South Korea’s democracy last December. The far right ex-president Yoon Suk Yeol attempted to stage a coup and declare martial law to shore up authoritarian power in the face of declining political popularity. While South Koreans successfully ousted Yoon, the impeachment ordeal revealed a surge of pro-Yoon far right forces, especially among Young South Korean young Korean men, emboldened by MAGA’s proliferation in South Korea, They violently raided courthouses, threatened female judges, and touted slogans like “Stop the Steal” and displayed photos of Trump.
Korean women have offered examples of challenging militarism, confronting patriarchy, and building transnational solidarity. Feminists all across the globe can follow suit. We must build stronger transnational coalitions to end forever wars; increase public awareness of militarism’s impact on our lives; andredefine security through the lens of safety, dignity, and well-being. As we continue to organize and educate for peace, we must also identify the transnational networks, including the war-driven oligarchs, spreading far right ideology globally and threatening the security of women at home and abroad. Transnational solidarity, women’s leadership, and creative advocacy will be essential to build the world we all deserve. —Cathi
Cathi Choi is the Executive Director of Women Cross DMZ, a global movement of activists mobilizing to end the Korean War, reunite families, and ensure feminist leadership in peacebuilding.
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One of the highlights from this week was Maria Ressa announcing AI Red Lines. I’m a signatory to it, along with 200 others, calling for international red lines to prevent unacceptable AI risks.
Trump’s UN speech
I didn’t think it was possible for Trump to shock me anymore. And yet… at the UN this week, the US president went on a rambling tirade against climate activists, Brazil (though he did say he bumped into the country’s president and liked him), and the UN. He went on a crazy screed about how he offered to install marble floors at the UN. Dude, MARBLE IS SLIPPERY and cold. Zulfina encapsulates the “embarrassing” speech. (Letters from a Feminist)
Ukraine/Russia
In a 180, Trump said this week that with NATO and Europe’s help, Ukraine could take back all the territory Russia has seized. If you’re scratching your head, join the club. Our great orange leader does have a tendency to parrot the last thing he’s heard. Given that he was sitting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky when he said this is one explanation. Yet, another, is that Trump is washing his hands of the war—and, as the FT reports, getting ready to blame Europe for any failure. Despite inviting Putin, who has an international warrant out for his arrest for war crimes, to Alaska, Trump has not been able to end his war of aggression on Ukraine. He called Russia a “paper tiger,” noting that only a “Real Military Power” would have completed the job in “less than a week.”
Well, Russia responded, as Ketrin Jochecová notes. “We’re a bear.” (Politico) 🐻
At least they have a sense of humor.
Palestine
At the UN this week, the UK, France, Canada, Belgium, and Australia officially joined 147 other countries in recognizing Palestine as a state. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wasted no time in saying that there would be no Palestinian state. Shira Efron notes that Israel cannot “wish away a Palestinian state.” At the same time, she notes that recognizing Palestine will not necessarily help Palestinians. It actually gives Netanyahu reason to “suppress Palestinian self-determination.” (Foreign Affairs)
Now that there are 152 countries that recognize Palestine as a state, Palestinian leadership needs to unite around a plan for an eventual solution, but also governance, writes Zizette Darkazally. (Chatham House)
Russia and NATO
Well, Russia did it again. On September 9, Russia launched a number of drones in Poland. Ten days later, Russian jet fighters entered Estonian air space. The question now is: Should NATO respond? With Zelensky this week, Trump said that under the right circumstances, it should. Natasha Bertrand and Kylie Atwood note that European capitals are divided. (CNN)
On Estonia’s threat, Emma Burrows notes that the Baltic nation is extending a fence on its border. But it’s not clear that it will guard against Russia. (AP)
US
Censorship at the Department of Defense. There are new restrictions for reporters covering the body, including signing a document that they will not publish classified or unclassified information without authorization, reports Kerry Breen. (CBS)
Listen: And yesterday, Pete Hegseth summoned top military leaders worldwide back to the Department of Defense. No one knows why. Former Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh on the move. (NPR)
In August, the US pulled out of the UN’s human rights review. It is, as Allison Love points out, a mandatory process where countries review one another’s human rights records. IT’S A MECHANISM TO TRACK AND PREVENT HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS. No other country has pulled out—ever. (Women’s eNews)
Africa
In Malawi, 85-year old Peter Mutharika returned to power. He beat out incumbent Lazarus Chakwera in the September 16 presidential election. Mutharika first came to power in 2014 and served through 2020. Rachel Savage reports. (Guardian)
Asia
Back to Afghanistan? Yes, it was the week of crazy comments from the White House. Trump said he hopes to see Bagram Airbase in Afghanistan returned to US control. 🤔 Chantal Da Silva tells us what that’s all about. (NBC)
Americas
So much for America First. Argentina’s economy is a free fall. Stocks have plummeted, along with the Argentine peso. The markets seem to doubt the president’s ability to cut costs and reform, following a number of electoral losses. Natalie Sherman on how the US has stepped in to say it would “do what is needed” to help stabilize the country’s economy. 👀(BBC)
Opportunities
If you’re about to graduate undergrad or have graduated in the past few years, consider this Scoville Peace Fellowship. Apply by Oct 20.
In Brooklyn, the Ms. Foundation is looking for an Operations Coordinator.
The Rockefeller Foundation is hiring for a Manager, Innovation.
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