War Resisters' International visit to South Korea

From 8-18 August 2004, WRI's CO Campaigning Worker visited South Korea, where he took part in a peace camp organised by Solidarity for Peace and Human Rights, one of the main groups behind Korea Solidarity for Conscientious Objection (KSCO).

The camp took place in an alternative school about one hour drive from Seoul, and some 30-40 persons participated, two thirds of them women. The participants came from different peace and CO groups, and the programme included nonviolence training, Esperanto, a women only meeting on problems of women activists, vegetarianism, and more.

The purpose of WRI's visit to Korea was to discuss cooperation after the recent Supreme Court decision against conscientious objectors (see below), and to begin preparation for the WRI Seminar 2005, which will be held in Korea in June next year. WRI and its Korean partner organisations are enthusiastic about the first WRI meeting in East Asia for decades - or ever? Get in touch with the WRI Office if you are interested in the seminar, or want to help organising it.