Korea Peace Day & DEEP Reportback

I attended the Korea Peace Day & DEEP Reportback at Silver for an event. The event included an NYU professor giving a brief history and timeline on the North Korea situation, followed by a veteran from the National Campaign to End the Korean War. The night ended with a panel of speakers who went on the DEEP trip to North Korea.
The professor who spoke touched on a lot of similar topics that we discuss, such as "who" is giving us our information is going to seriously effect our perception of the issue. For instance, he described how North Korea sent a satellite into space, which Obama and the US called a missile. This slight change in wording will completely change the perception of the event, and reminded me of our reading from Loewen.
The National Campaign to End the Korean War spoke next, and this portion of the night was involved a lot in actually taking social action. They spoke about how they went to Washington DC to speak to congress about moving towards a resolution and even gave us an online petition that we can sign in order to help move this process along. These Veterans For Peace are also planning a trip to Korea to work with Korean war veterans in hopes of opening up a dialogue about a resolution.
This night taught me a lot about what I didn't know and also about some great ways to get involved. Hearing the stories of those who traveled to North Korea, and how their families in South Korea were scared or against the decision was interesting to hear. I learned how South Korea taught its students that North Korea was an evil place, and how North Korea taught its students a dislike for the United States. History is so strongly influenced by the point of view it is being given from, and this showed in many ways during this event. What I took away from the event is that there is still a major issue in North Korea. There has been a war going on for almost 60 years, one that has separated families and loved ones. The event served as a wonderful insight to the issues, opinions, and possible resolutions. What made the even that much better was that it also offered actions that we can take, even thousands of miles away from the conflict.

The website, which is worth researching and signing if you feel you want to, is www.endthekoreanwar.org