New Orleans hosts reportback on U.S. imperialism in Korea

New Orleans, LA – On Saturday, October 24, the New Orleans Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) hosted a “U.S. Out of Korea” event with around 20 attendees. Speaker Meredith Aby discussed U.S. imperialism in Korea and her recent trip to the southern part of the peninsula as a part of the Jaju Solidarity Delegation. Aby is a Central Committee member of the FRSO and a seasoned anti-war activist who founded the Minnesota Anti-War Committee in 1998, and a steering committee member of the Anti-War Action Network.

The Jaju Solidarity Delegation was organized by Nodutdol, a Korean diaspora activist group. The delegation included international activists from the U.S., the Philippines, Guam and Hawaii. Participants joined demonstrations against U.S. occupation in Korea this past August. Aby reported on their visits to several U.S. military bases in the Republic of Korea (ROK), where they learned about the history and breadth of U.S. occupation in the country. She learned from local Korean activists about their various struggles for independence.

“What Americans refer to as the ‘forgotten war’ is called the ‘war that never ended’ by Koreans,” said Aby, while discussing the history of occupation.

Shortly after Korea gained its independence from imperialist Japan, the U.S. swooped in and divided the peninsula along the 38th parallel, splitting the country, and separating families. The U.S. also enacted various laws which disallow ROK residents to visit the northern part of their country and forced dispossession of their lands for U.S. military base expansion. There are currently 80 U.S. military bases (or U.S.-controlled Korean bases) spread across the country.

Aby’s presentation focused on the consistent pattern of dispossession, physical and sexual violence, and environmental degradation caused by the U.S. presence and control over Korea. She also highlighted the various instances of communities, villages, political and workers’ groups rising up against the occupation. On August 15, the delegation joined tens of thousands of Koreans in the streets of Seoul on Korea’s national liberation day. The people demanded peace, sovereignty, reunification with the northern part of the peninsula and an end to U.S. occupation.

Aby also relayed that, shortly after the Jaju Delegation’s visit, the ROK government resisted pressure from the U.S. to send South Korean troops and other military assets to the Strait of Hormuz and Iran. When the public became aware of Trump’s demand, demonstrations and mass protests erupted in the streets. ROK President Lee Jae Myung refused Trump and suggested that what Korea needs is operational control over its own military – something that has never been said by an ROK leader. This defiance is a clear sign that the U.S. is a declining imperialist power.

The event ended with questions and comments from the attendees. “I’m inspired by the Koreans who continue to demand their freedom from the still-growing number of U.S. military bases and influence in their government. I believe that every American has a duty to support their cause,” said Augusta Elebash from New Orleans Stop Helping Israel’s Ports.

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