Block the Expansion of the US military Bases at Pyongtaek!

No War on the Korean Peninsula!

"July 10 Peace March"

A new historic milestone has been reached in the struggle against the US military facilities in South Korea!

The "July 10 Peace March", hosted by the People's Coalition against the Expansion of the US Military Bases at Pyongtaek, was a complete success in terms of the number of participants and the nationwide support for the rally. About 10,000 participants came from every province of South Korea, showing that the entire country is opposed to the expansion of the US military bases at Pyongtaek.
As participants came to Pyongtaek from all over the country ( Cheju, Pusan, Kwangju, etc.) for the same purpose -- to say "NO to the Expansion of the US military Bases at Pyongtaek" -- it means that stopping the expansion of the US military bases at Pyongtaek concerns not only the residents of Pyongtaek, but people throughout the country.

Many participants, including me, worried the day before the march that there might be fewer participants because the weather forecast predicted that it would rain cats and dogs, but fortunately, there were only clouds - no rain. Like many other participants, my colleagues, my wife and I traveled to Pyongtaek by a chartered bus. We arrived a short distance from Daechu Elementary School, the site of the rally, and joined colleagues from other SPARK branches. While SPARK members and people from other organizations walked to the rally spot, they waved yellow flags and chanted "Land for food, not war!", "No to the expansion of the US military bases at Pyongtaek!".

When we arrived at the entrance of Daechu Elementary School, the inhabitants gave us a warm welcome and distributed yellow cloths. On the cloths the participants would write special messages and wishes for peace and attach them to the perimeter fence around the base during the human chain activity when the participants would surround the US military base, Camp Humphreys. 
As the rally began at 2:00 pm with the performance of Korean folk music, the school playground was filled to overflowing, with more than 10,000 participants cheering and waving yellow or orange flags saying "No to the expansion of the US military bases at Pyongtaek!"

When the popular singer-songwriter Ahn Chi-hwan (SPARK's public relations ambassador) energetically sang his famous song "People are More Beautiful than Flowers", the participants cheerfully applauded, raising their hands in the air.
Kwon Yong-gil, Democratic Labor Party congressman, apologized for his party's failure to block the ratification of the bill about the US military bases' relocation to Pyongtaek last year and he announced, "I am quite confident that pro-peace people power could keep this land from being converted into the US military bases.
"Taking the stage near the end of the rally were the inhabitants who have held nightly candlelight rallies -- 313 as of July 9. While they pulled down a huge banner saying "Our land is the land of life and peace, we'll never let the US army have it." and enthusiastically sang together the song "Pyongtaek is our Home", the participants gave them huge applause to encourage them.

Father Moon Jong-hyon, executive chairman of the People's Coalition, declared that "the July 10 Peace March is just the beginning of the protest against a war on the Korean peninsula. We will extend this protest across the country." and suggested, "Let's march to the US base to do the human chain activity."

However, there were many clashes between the participants and the police when the participants were trying to march to the US base to form a human chain around the base and attach the yellow cloths to the perimeter fences. In response to the US Army's request for police protection of the facilities, more than 6,000 riot police deployed in several rows around the base to prevent the demonstrators from reaching the fences.

Although the police attacked the demonstrators savagely, they couldn't repress the strong will of the protesters. In the end the participants could attach the cloths to the fences. Everyone was encouraged by this symbolic victory. Therefore, the peace activists and the local inhabitants became confident about blocking the expansion of the US military bases.

As the July 10 March was very successful in terms of the number and enthusiasm of the participants, the protest movement is gradually gathering strength.