Ending the Korean War – Films and Talk

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Wednesday, August 16, 2023 | 6:30pm to 8pm

Online Talk: RSVP

July 27, 2023 marked the 70th anniversary of the Armistice that stopped the fighting of the Korean War in 1953 – but did not end the war. With no peace treaty, the dangerous possibility of renewed fighting continues today. Meanwhile, families remain separated between the North and South, sanctions and a travel ban for Americans for the North, and all sides continuing to build up their militaries and arms.

Join Third World Newsreel with MU Films, Nodutdol, and the Documentary Forum at CCNY to view films about the human toll and tense situation on the Korean peninsula and hear from activists, scholars and filmmakers on what’s at stake, and what people are still doing today for peace and reunification.

Films To Be Self-Screened Prior to Online Talk

Two films are now currently streaming, and two more will be free to stream from August 11 to 16, 2023:

  • CROSSINGS – A women’s peace delegation travels through North Korea to the South to promote peace. (2021 Deann Borshay Liem, Mu Films)
  • GEOGRAPHIES OF KINSHIP – An examination of the history of the international adoption of South Korean children – stemming from the Korean War. (2019 Deann Borshay Liem, Mu Films)
  • MEMORY OF FORGOTTEN WAR – The human costs of military conflict through deeply personal accounts of the Korean War (1950-53) by four Korean-American survivors. (2013 Deann Borshay Liem, Mu Films)
  • NORTH KOREA: BEYOND THE DMZ – A view of life in North Korea, the film follows a young Korean American woman seeking to find her relatives. (2003 Takagi and Park, Third World Newsreel)

Please RSVP in order to receive the film link and then join us on August 16, 2023 to hear from our panelists:

  • Aiyoung Choi, activist
  • Suzy Kim, author and activist
  • Jamie Tyberg, activist
  • Hye-Jung Park, filmmaker and activist

Co-Sponsor
Asian American / Asian Research Institute – CUNY

Author Bio

Presented By:

Aiyoung Choi is passionate about creating change in the world through education and activism. She is dedicated to ending violence in any form, and building a more just and peaceful world.

Born in Korea during World War II, she grew up in Shanghai, Taiwan, and Japan, and came to the U.S. for college in Illinois. She subsequently moved to New York City which is now home. Originally a painter and sculptor, her interests shifted to teaching, publishing, human resource management and public relations, and after formal retirement has been working as a consultant to nonprofit organizations. She has served on numerous boards of directors, including the Coalition for Korean American Voters, Black & Korean Mediation Project, Korean American Family Service Center, Asian Americans for Equality, New York Women’s Foundation, Manhattan Country School, Union Theological Seminary, and Asian Women Giving Circle, among others.

In 2015 Aiyoung’s commitment to world peace took a big step forward when she joined 30 prominent international women peacebuilders to cross the demilitarized zone from North Korea to South Korea, calling for an end to the now 70-year Korean War, reunite separated families, and ensure women’s leadership in the peace process. She is currently Board Chair of Women Cross DMZ, a global movement led by women to avert war and press for diplomacy and a peace-first approach to end the Korean War with a formal peace agreement.

Aiyoung has received numerous awards for her vision, compassion, and leadership, and is a mentor to many, both young and old.


Presented By:

Suzy Kim is a historian and author of Among Women across Worlds: North Korea in the Global Cold War (2023). She teaches at Rutgers University, the State University of New Jersey, and is co-founder of Women Cross DMZ.