Can You Hear It? Companies' Cry for Peace
Can You Hear It? Companies' Cry for Peace
Hello, this is Chris & Partners.😊 Last September, President Moon Jae-in attended the UN General Assembly and mentioned an end-of-war declaration—it was an issue, right? Because peace plays an important role in our lives, you can see that not only nations but companies, too, take great interest in peace. Today we'll take time to glimpse companies' moves for peace.
Various peace events
There are parts where effort is applied nationally for peace, but there are also parts where effort is added at the corporate level. In companies' case, they hold peace-themed conferences and festivals, spreading the meaning and importance of peace. Rather than creating a heavy atmosphere, you can see them striving to raise awareness of peace enjoyably by planning events many people can easily approach.
1. The ‘Inter-Korean Peace Wish’ Paris Fashion Show
Designer Yang Hae-il, under the theme ‘Stepping into Inter-Korean Peace,’ held the 2022 Spring/Summer Paris Fashion Week contactless HEILL fashion show on September 11 and 17 in the Cheorwon-gun border area. Carrying the meaning of inter-Korean peace, the HEILL fashion show was held at the National Registered Cultural Heritage No. 22 Cheorwon Workers' Party Building and No. 26 Seungil Bridge, as well as Cheorwon-gun's hidden scenery—Jiktang Falls, Sambuyeon Falls, the Hantan River columnar joints, the Eunhasu Bridge, and more. Designer Yang Hae-il said, “I came to hold this fashion show hoping Cheorwon-gun becomes a central city opening a forum for inter-Korean exchange,” adding, “I'll do my best to make it a collection that conveys the importance of inter-Korean peace to France and the whole world.” The footage filmed at the show was broadcast live on October 2, during Paris Fashion Week held in France, and afterward it is also aired via Dong-A TV and a French channel. Paris Fashion Week, where the HEILL show footage will be introduced, is one of the world's four most authoritative fashion shows and is known to play a role in deciding the direction of world fashion, so it seems it will be an occasion to make the importance of inter-Korean peace—and Cheorwon—known to fashion people around the world.
2. The DMZ Art Project
The Let's DMZ Peace Art Festival <Again, Peace> planned events across diverse fields—not only performances but exhibitions, academia, a film festival, and more. Hosted by the Gyeonggi Cultural Foundation and the Gyeonggi Museum of Modern Art, the ‘DMZ Art Project—Again, Peace,’ planned as the ‘Exhibition Village exhibition and experience project’ within the Let's DMZ Peace Art Festival, ran for about a month, May 20 – June 15, 2021, at Imjingak Pyeonghwa-Nuri. It provided various things to see—not only peace-themed paintings and installations but also performances. This exhibition was planned to convey the importance of inter-Korean exchange and peaceful unification and to spread the ecological, cultural, and historical meaning and value of the DMZ, where division and healing coexist. The exhibition theme ‘Again, Peace’ expressed the wish for peace to come again to the current closed-off situation between the two Koreas, holding the hope that a permanent new peace will arrive on the Korean Peninsula.
Companies' efforts for peace
In the past UN Day article, we introduced peace conferences held internationally. Domestically too, you could see various peace events held—seminars, forums, and more. Though this year made holding events cautious due to COVID, let's look at peace events that were held online.
1. The 2021 Korea-US Think Tank
The 2021 Korea-US Think Tank is a joint seminar hosted and organized by the Jeju Peace Institute. It is an online seminar discussing US-China strategic competition, domestic public-opinion trends on the Korea-US alliance, and the effect of domestic opinion on US-China relations on general foreign policy. Experts from home and abroad gathered, and starting with the 1st seminar on July 23 this year, it ran online up to the 4th seminar on September 30. The 1st seminar centered on US-China strategic competition, the 2nd on the North Korea issue and the May Korea-US summit, and the 3rd on the state of US public opinion. The 4th seminar held presentations and discussions by Korea-US relations and media experts under the theme ‘Press and Public Opinion: Korea-US Relations as Reflected in the Korean Press.’ The 5th seminar is scheduled to be a forum discussing how the US press handles Korea-US relations, so it'd be good to watch with interest.
2. The Korea Global Forum for Peace (KGFP)
The Korea Global Forum for Peace is a multilateral international conference hosted by the Ministry of Unification, where experts on the Korean Peninsula and inter-Korean relations from home and abroad gather, serving as a forum for public discourse leading the international community's discussion of peace and unification on the Korean Peninsula. Over a total of three days, August 31 – September 2, 2021, 27 partner institutions from home and abroad and about 300 speakers took part, with discussions held under themes such as peace on the Korean Peninsula and sustainable North Korea policy. In particular, 2021 was a meaningful year marking the 30th anniversary of the Inter-Korean Basic Agreement and the 30th anniversary of the two Koreas' simultaneous UN membership, and UN Secretary-General António Guterres took part as a speaker to discuss sustainable North Korea policy. Through the international peace forum, the Ministry of Unification is showing continuous efforts for the international community's ongoing interest in denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula and building peace, and for establishing a new vision of inter-Korean relations and building consensus at home and in the international community on policy. So far, you could see many companies and industries showing interest in peace and wishing for world peace and peace on the Korean Peninsula—we found that more diverse fields than expected are working hard for peace. Going forward, it'd be good to take interest in the various peace events to be held and to watch the future outlook for world peace and peace on the Korean Peninsula.
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