On January 11, near Gyeongbok Palace station, the citizen peace action "Peace Belong to People" was held.
As Yoon Suk-Yeol, Kim Yong-Hyun, and other insurrection instigators pushed forward the emergency martial law, circumstances continuously revealed that they were trying to provoke local war. This included the infiltration of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle into Pyongyang, attempts to strike at the origin of trash-laden balloons, and the induction of militarized conflicts near the Northern Limit Line (NLL).
The citizen peace action urged to stop hostile action provoking North Korea, including balloon propaganda and loudspeakers. Insurrection instigators are risking people's, even the Korean Peninsula's, lives and safety in danger of war. The action reflected the problems of using war and division as politics.
The Korean Council joined the action with a statement condemning the Yoon administration, which is threatening the safety of the people and raising the threat of war for political hegemony.
Statement of Gamza
Dear everyone, you may remember the anger and fear of the night of December 3. Then, do you know what day December 4 was? December 4 was a Wednesday. When I heard this unbelievable news of martial law, the first thing that came to mind was the Wednesday Demonstration, which has never been stopped for the past 30 years. Fear and courage crossed each other. Even if the martial law did not lift the night, I vowed to attend the Wednesday Demonstration.
I am a fellow citizen, a feminist, an asexual, and a sexual assault survivor who longs for a just resolution of the issue of Japanese military sexual slavery. The Yoon Suk-Yeol administration has been suppressing our voices with anti-women, anti-human rights, and anti-historical politics since he was elected. The history of the struggle of numerous of our predecessors to uncover the truth of the Japanese military sexual slavery is in danger of being disbanded by deliberate slanderous operations of the governments of both South Korea and Japan. They say that I am a spy who is trying to divide the country to resolve the issue of the Japanese military "comfort women." They say that I am an anti-Japanese force and an obstacle to diplomacy because I want justice for the halmonies. They stigmatize the voices that future generations must have peace and rightful history education as anti-state forces. They are batching women who insist that women's bodies should not be used as tools and claim that those insists are from "gender-dividing femies (pejorative term of feminists)."
When we first started the Wednesday Demonstration in 1992, we knew it would be a long battle. Even back then, we were already hearing hate speeches such as "Why are you dredging up the past?" The Wednesday Demonstration continued with solidarity and support from people, and it has become a vital sphere that symbolizes human rights and peace. The National Human Rights Commission, taken over by Yoon Suk-Yeol's entourage, justifies extreme rights' attempts to end the Wednesday Demonstration. The atmosphere of anti-human rights discrimination and oppression, created by those who seek war, must be gone by punishing the insurrectionists led by Yoon Seok-yeol.
Now, we must reflect on our role in this era of hatred. If human instinct is oblivion, we must remember our nature against it. Memory is painful, but it is the cornerstone of the future. Hatred cannot defeat love. Loving the world correctly is the same as loving myself. It is a declaration that we will burn discrimination with the flickering candle in our hearts and watch over the world's darkness with a light brighter than the midday sun. Everyone! This Wednesday, the Wednesday Demonstration turned 33 years old. It is the 1682th demonstration. This number represents our time remembering history and fighting for justice. I believe that you are citizens with an unwavering light. Let us look at each other when we are in need, talk to each other, and prove hope through our existence. Please send us your strength so we can correct the history of justice being shaken. Let me finish with a slogan. “We Shall Win!”
On January 11, near Gyeongbok Palace station, the citizen peace action "Peace Belong to People" was held.
As Yoon Suk-Yeol, Kim Yong-Hyun, and other insurrection instigators pushed forward the emergency martial law, circumstances continuously revealed that they were trying to provoke local war. This included the infiltration of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle into Pyongyang, attempts to strike at the origin of trash-laden balloons, and the induction of militarized conflicts near the Northern Limit Line (NLL).
The citizen peace action urged to stop hostile action provoking North Korea, including balloon propaganda and loudspeakers. Insurrection instigators are risking people's, even the Korean Peninsula's, lives and safety in danger of war. The action reflected the problems of using war and division as politics.
The Korean Council joined the action with a statement condemning the Yoon administration, which is threatening the safety of the people and raising the threat of war for political hegemony.
Statement of Gamza
Dear everyone, you may remember the anger and fear of the night of December 3. Then, do you know what day December 4 was? December 4 was a Wednesday. When I heard this unbelievable news of martial law, the first thing that came to mind was the Wednesday Demonstration, which has never been stopped for the past 30 years. Fear and courage crossed each other. Even if the martial law did not lift the night, I vowed to attend the Wednesday Demonstration.
I am a fellow citizen, a feminist, an asexual, and a sexual assault survivor who longs for a just resolution of the issue of Japanese military sexual slavery. The Yoon Suk-Yeol administration has been suppressing our voices with anti-women, anti-human rights, and anti-historical politics since he was elected. The history of the struggle of numerous of our predecessors to uncover the truth of the Japanese military sexual slavery is in danger of being disbanded by deliberate slanderous operations of the governments of both South Korea and Japan. They say that I am a spy who is trying to divide the country to resolve the issue of the Japanese military "comfort women." They say that I am an anti-Japanese force and an obstacle to diplomacy because I want justice for the halmonies. They stigmatize the voices that future generations must have peace and rightful history education as anti-state forces. They are batching women who insist that women's bodies should not be used as tools and claim that those insists are from "gender-dividing femies (pejorative term of feminists)."
When we first started the Wednesday Demonstration in 1992, we knew it would be a long battle. Even back then, we were already hearing hate speeches such as "Why are you dredging up the past?" The Wednesday Demonstration continued with solidarity and support from people, and it has become a vital sphere that symbolizes human rights and peace. The National Human Rights Commission, taken over by Yoon Suk-Yeol's entourage, justifies extreme rights' attempts to end the Wednesday Demonstration. The atmosphere of anti-human rights discrimination and oppression, created by those who seek war, must be gone by punishing the insurrectionists led by Yoon Seok-yeol.
Now, we must reflect on our role in this era of hatred. If human instinct is oblivion, we must remember our nature against it. Memory is painful, but it is the cornerstone of the future. Hatred cannot defeat love. Loving the world correctly is the same as loving myself. It is a declaration that we will burn discrimination with the flickering candle in our hearts and watch over the world's darkness with a light brighter than the midday sun. Everyone! This Wednesday, the Wednesday Demonstration turned 33 years old. It is the 1682th demonstration. This number represents our time remembering history and fighting for justice. I believe that you are citizens with an unwavering light. Let us look at each other when we are in need, talk to each other, and prove hope through our existence. Please send us your strength so we can correct the history of justice being shaken. Let me finish with a slogan. “We Shall Win!”