Korea’s Nuclear Crisis and Peace

Especially in the face of the nuclear crisis in North Korea, our primary goal remains: to bring peace to the Korean peninsula by making it a nuclear-free state. Humanitarian exchanges and cooperation between South and North are necessary to achieve this goal.

Environment and Peace

The imbalance of natural resources and gaps between the global South and global North are some of the causes of environmental destruction. Wealthy countries in the North, for example, are exploiting the environment through their insensitive over-consumption, while poor countries in the South are suffering from the lack of natural resources, even basic resources such as water. Therefore, our work for peace needs to extend to ecological and environmental areas, based on the conviction that environment and peace, nature and humanity are interdependent realities.

Religion and Peace

Although peace is the fundamental hope and value that every philosophy, religion, and humanity has held throughout history, conflicts are still being initiated and justified due to religious causes. Roughly 75% of international wars occur due to religious conflict. Thus, peace among religions is directly related to the realization of peace on earth. Furthermore, the proper understanding of the different religions is fundamental to peace. Interfaith dialogue and respect for religious difference are an important part of the work of building peace.

Gender Justice and Peace

Sexism is one of the main obstacles hindering peace. In Asian societies, where patriarchy is still strong, we must emphasize the importance of the gender justice issue. Sexual violence and discrimination and all kinds of injustices based on gender must be critically challenged and overcome. Peace between women and men will contribute to the liberation of both towards their full humanity.

Human Rights and Peace

Human rights are the foundation of peace. From the right to live, to the right of freedom of thought and expression, to the right to work and the right to be happy - all these rights are vital elements of human life. Sadly, they are not guaranteed but are often violated by oppressive traditions, cultures and social structures, and even by unfair laws. In the case of Korea, human rights were widely and persistently violated in the name of national security, from the time of the Korean War. Human rights were further violated in the name of economic development in many Asian countries. Today migrant workers face serious human rights issues. Solving human rights issues is therefore essential to peace making and peace building.

Education and Peace

Critical to the above tasks are the educational tools and programmes. Depending on what kind of education people receive, they may understand peace differently and have different levels of commitment to bringing it about. School education, unfortunately, is becoming more and more competitive, rather than people-centred or peace-oriented. Moreover, the gap between wealthy and poor is widening, which contributes to further imbalance in education, allowing only a privileged minority of students access to good education. Under such crippled educational conditions, it is hard to image how education can serve to promote peace. Therefore, peace-driven rather than success-driven education must be introduced and nurtured.

International Politics and Peace

A nation’s peace cannot be achieved in isolation from other nations; it is strongly connected to the peace of the international community. Solidarity work for peace has become most essential in this day and age. In order to resolve conflicts between more powerful and less powerful nations, global cooperation based on respect is necessary.