Text Fwd: [Seoul Conference] Thanks/acknowledgements and photos/reports for the Seoul Conference

Sent by No Base Stories of Korea on April 24

1st letter

Hello, everyone,

I am sending this to all the international participants/ organizers/ speakers, members of the Korea organizing Committee, Korean speakers/ performers/ volunteers/ reporters and Koreans who are directly or indirectly involved in organizing the special or additional events for the International Conference against the Asia Pacific Missile Defense and for the End of the Arms Race from April 16 to 18, 2009.

If there are any missing email address, please forward this to them so that we, Korea organizing committee can send our great thanks to them.

Above all, I apologize for the late email that has never been my intention. Several stuffs has continued with me after the conference which I am willing to do the job.

I first need to apologize for the polluted air in Korea. I guess some of you may have felt sick of it. Mary Beth Sullivan, one of the main speakers for the conference was sick for last two days but I was grateful of all her continued care and moving kindness while I was sorry that I could not enough care of her. Hope you are much better now, Mary Beth, we love you!

Thanks to Bruce Gagnon, I became to know that one of the GM board members and one of the speakers for the conference, Lindis Percy was in jail as soon as she returned back to Seoul for the demonstration fine issue. I forwarded Bruce Gagnon’s blog in mine and also put the Korean translation from the conference literatures. As her speech was about the UK cost for keeping the US imperial military bases in the UK, it was obvious that she was resisting with her body against the financial contribution to any space war systems. I spread the news to the Koreans and hope many Korean reporters report on it so that we are more aware of the global space war system that is one of the important issues of the global Peace movements. I also thank Elizabeth Barclay who is delivering the news to Lindis in jail. Please contact Elizabeth Barclay, Elizabeth.Barclay@nexusdsl.co.uk and Bruce Gagnon, globalnet@mindspring.com for more news on Lindis’s struggle.

http://nobasestorieskorea.blogspot.com/2009/04/text-fwd-lindis-percy-gn-board-member.html

I found that I forgot many important things in my life so I may miss my thanks to some of you. Please pardon me in advance and remind me of your contribution for the conference, reading this.

Above all, I am very grateful to express thanks to all of you. Without concern, care, kindness, love of each of you, the event was not possible. I have been forwarding the reports and photos in my English blog. I need to put the captions but please look through the below if there are any of your beautiful faces here. I am expecting more photos be forwarded. I will put in the blog as I am forwarded with it. So please come by the blog from time to time.

http://nobasestorieskorea.blogspot.com/2009/04/photos-fwd-pyeongtaek-visit-by.html

http://nobasestorieskorea.blogspot.com/2009/04/images-of-seoul-intl-conference-april.html

http://nobasestorieskorea.blogspot.com/2009/04/more-imagesseoul-itll-conference.html


Otherwise, the content of the whole conference including the GN website and Bruce Gagnon’s blogs can be shown in the last link.

http://nobasestorieskorea.blogspot.com/search/label/2009%20Global%20Network%20Conference_Seoul


__I wanted to express thanks to all the GN board members, especially to Bruce Gagnon, Coordinator/ secretary of the Global Network against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space (GN) who was one of the key organizers and Key note speaker for the events and reported his Korean trip in his blog. He also put more reports on the Korean trip in his blog so please look through his blog.

http://space4peace.blogspot.com/2009/04/full-korea-trip-report.html

__My great thanks also goes well to Dave Webb, Chairman and webmaster of the Global Network against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space and Loring Wirbel, GN board member who put the all the great reports and videos all together in the websites. As for Loring, as a video artist myself, I know how it is such a labor to put the videos in the website. Thank you so much, for Loring for all your kindness and quick, wonderful works!

http://www.space4peace.org/

http://iconocurmudgeonclast.blogspot.com/2009/04/korea-conference-day-1-demilitarized.html

http://iconocurmudgeonclast.blogspot.com/2009/04/korea-day-2-conference.html

http://iconocurmudgeonclast.blogspot.com/2009/04/day-3-pyeongtaek.html

__ I also want to express my great thanks to the friends of the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict, North east Asia, http://www.gppac.net/page.php?id=1663, for making this conference vital. Park, Jung-Eun in the People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD) and member of the Korea Organizing Committee was a thankful main organizer for making this happen.

__ The GN, GPPAC friends all donated the big money to the Korea Organizing committee that we are so grateful. Tim Rinne also individually donated the big money and I could not believe it when I saw it in the book he presented to me. Tim Rinne was the wonderful host for the last very successful 2008 GN conference in Omaha where he has been doing the struggle against the U.S. Strategic Command for long time. Tim, I can hardly express my thanks to you because I am afraid that you are in bankruptcy because of it. I promise I will not use it for cookies and will report the amount to the Korea Organizing committee correctly! So thank of you. But I forgot how much you donated to me. So please remind me.

__The vital participation of about 20 Japanese friends truly made this conference tremendously meaningful. We are so thankful of their donation, as well. We especially thanks to Atsushi Fujioka and Makiko Sato who lead the wonderful organizing works. Yumi Kikuchi was a great interpreter and we so thank of her interpretation contribution for making the conference so fluid. Atsushi Fujioka, Terumichi Morioka individually gave us the big donation. The last two with Hibiki Yamaguchi were among the Japanese friends who kept their trip to the April 19, Mugeon-ri and we are so grateful of their concern in Ohyun-ri people’s struggle against the expansion of the Mugeon-ri military training fields. I so thank of you, for your dedication and kind support.

__ And How about the precious gifts and materials from Bruce Gagnon& Mary Beth Sullivan, Corazon Valdez Fabros, Katy Rose, Makiko Sato, Hannah Middleton, Harpreet Kalsi, and Lotus Yee Fong whose gifts I would definitely share with the Korea organizing committee members on our evaluation day, April 29. Tom Sturtevant, an oldest international speaker/participant and a Korean war veteran gave me the banner of the Veterans for Peace which I am very grateful of and would deliver to the Veterans for Peace in Korea in chance, All of you are so kind and generous!

__ My great thanks goes to Atsushi Fujioka, Jo McIntire, and Ms. Oh, Mi-Jung in the Solidarity for Peace and Reunification of Korea(SPARK), who forwarded me the beautiful photos that I forwarded in my blog, as well.

__ Many of you, including Koji Sugihara thankfully gave me your contact address or writing so that we, the Korea organizing committee can share and bridge the future solidarity with you.

__ Please let me not forget, Mary Lynn Sheetz in the Alterni-Tees, Colorado Springs, Colorado, whose beautiful shirts design made the conference glorious. Jieun in the PSPD made the great job for the shirts to be produced. We have the remains so if you want more T shirts, you may let us know as soon as possible .

__ I must thank to all the Korean volunteers/ participants/ performers/ reporters and Korean committee members. Without you, this could not happen and I promise to preserve each of your beautiful memory.

Among the Korea Committee members, Wooksik Cheong, Peace Network was in charge of coordinating the whole events and fund. Without his hard work for getting the fund, we could do conference in the slate house. He was one of the main speakers in the conference and one of the leading theorists/ activists regarding the issue of the MD in Korea. Peace Network was also in charge of the translation, publishing conference literature and interviews. The role of Ms. Lee, Je-Young, Mr. Jung, Yong-Joon, Peace Network was vital, here. Jung-Eun Park, in the PSPD, as mentioned above, contributed to have all the wonderful GPPAC friends in our conference and wrote the draft for the statement of the international conference.

http://nobasestorieskorea.blogspot.com/2009/04/text-fwd-statement-of-international.html

The PSPD has provided the meeting place for the Korea Organizing Committee and we are so grateful of it. Jieun, in the PSPD has vitally done many practical things regarding events and I am so thankful of her. Without Cho, Young-Hee, a representative of Women Making Peace, the rent of the conference venue could have been much harder. Her role here was critical. Choi, Eun-A, policy director of the Korean Alliance for Progressive Movement thankfully reserved the trip buses and edited the reference material for the events for the conference. Kim, Kyung-Mee, Women Making Peace thankfully made the name cards for the participants. Parkjung, Kyongsoo , member of the National Campaign for Eradication of Crimes by U.S. Troops in Korea was the youngest member of the committee. He was in charge of managing Korea organizing committee blog (http://space4peace.tistory.com/) and symposium display, making the conference banners.

My great thanks goes to Mr. Lee Si-Woo, who willingly accepted our request for the guide of the DMZ trip and was a wonderful guider for all of you with the interpreter Mr. Lee, Sang Yon; Mr. Kang-Sang Won, one of the symposium speakers, was wonderful organizing the Pyeongtaek trip with all the dedicated Pyeongtaek activists; Dr. Park, Sung-Yong, a leader for the World March for Peace and Nonviolence event in Korea, whose wisdom and kindness has truly helped to proceed the events smoothly. Finally, I am grateful of Mr. Lee, Haeng-Woo, a Korean American activist, who has dedicated himself for long time for the Korean peace and reunification movement. He was the person who first unofficially suggested to the GN the Seoul conference. His help was so critical and vital that we rudely enforced him to be healthy enough not to die at least by the end of the conference. It seems he has to live at least 30 years more because of us now!

_ I must thank to Kim Yeon-Hee and others in the Seoul Women’s Plaza, Without their kind help and advice, many things were impossible.

_I must thank to Mr. Kim, Jong-il, a SPARK staff and chairman of the Pan-Korea Committee against the Expansion of the Mugeon-ri MilitaryTraining Fields and Joo, Byung-Joon, chairman of the Village People’s Committee against the Expansion of the Mugeon-ri Military Training Fields. With the presence of Co-executive Chairperson, Bae, Jong-Ryol and Co-representative, Pyun, Yeon-Sik of the SPARK, and village people who have struggled long day enough, the Mugeon-ri trip was such a success and we are grateful of all their hard preparation for the event. Hannah Middleton, a GN board member has kindly suggested to write the letter to the SK government on behalf of the village people. Bruce Gagnon has suggested to have a solidarity link between the farmers in Ohyun-ri and ranchers in the Colorado Springs, in Colorado, who have been also against the army base expansion there. Many visitors of the Mugeon-ri said that the Mugeon-trip truly moved their hearts. We are so grateful of all your international solidarity.

_ I must thank all the musicians, volunteers and reporters for the conference. dopehead zo, Lee, Ji-Sang, contacted by Jieun made the conference truly beautiful. Ms. Yang Hae-Woo contributed her service works for the hotel information and personally donated a night money for the free accommodation of the Seoul Women plaza. I have never seen her face. Please show up your beautiful face, Hae-Woo, thank you so much. Beside her; Ms. Kim, Mi-Kyong has contributed a day for the symposium, standing at the registration desk. Mr. Oh, Chul-Keun was a key help for inviting Mr. Lee, Si-Woo, with Mr. Lee, Haeng-Woo. Agatha Haun, a professional translator has helped al lot for the translation in the building process of the conference. Ms. Jin, Bo-Kyom was a Korean translator for Vision 2020 which we, Koreans could utilize some day. She and Mr. Lee Sang Yon also helped the translation of the bios. Mr. Kim Young-Je, Korean Confederation of the Trade Unions, Mr. Shin Dong-Wan, Mr. Jun, Sung-Pyo and Ms. Cho, Won-Yong and her Eartizen café friends helped the organizing events for J. Narayana Rao who is contacting people in Korea by staying a week longer and planning the holding the GN conference in India, October, 2010. Kim, Sang-Kyun, a MBC reporter corresponded the trip to Mugeon-ri and showed us a DVD where the interview by the GN chairman Dave Webb beautifully featured. The reporters from the DMZ focus, Yeonhap News, Hankyoreh have thankfully done interviews and wrote the reports. We are grateful of you and hope that you help our efforts to stop the space war systems including the missile defense and arms race. Dr. Kim Seung-Kuk, in Peace Making, an online internet newspaper is thankfully planning to forward the conference writings which would be shown in more than dozen countries.

_ I should not forget my parents, Choi, Jong-Sik and Kim, Myung-Sim who had to tolerate this person for long time at the cost of their great anxieties and were indispensable ally of my works.

_ I must have missed some people. Please remind me him or her. There are many invisible people here who truly helped organizing in some ways like Susan Barbarisi(U.S.A.); Kyle Kajihiro(Hawaii); Meri Joyce(Japan/Australia); Kang, Byung-Yong(Pan-Korea Association for Reconciliation) ; Choi, Eui-Sik(translator); Peter Gallo (Gwangju News); Hyun, Ho-Heon (South Gyeonggi branch, SPARK); Jo, Jeong-Whun (Tongil TV); Jeong, Myeong-Seon (Tongil TV) ; Lee, Yun-Hee (YMCA) ; Oh, Hye-Ran(SPARK); Oh, Jong-Ryul (Korean Alliance for Progressive Movement); Seo, Mi-Won(IMC-Korea) and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Korea.

Let’s try to preserve our beautiful memories together and build our future solidarity for all the peace works.

Thanks very much,

Best warm wishes to all of you.

Sung-Hee Choi
(in charge of the finished jobs of the international participants’ registration and collecting writings for the Seoul conference)


2nd letter

Dear all,

I am so sorry to forget many friends to express my great thanks. Some of them are Anna Polo, representative for Europe for Peace, http://www.europeforpeace.eu/, Dennis Redmond, Director of World Withour Wars/ USA and Jan Tamas and the friends in the Czech Republic who have been struggling against the US radar base, part of the US’s global space war system. Anna, Dennis and the friends in the Czech Republic have supported a lot of the Korean peace movements by uploading the articles on the Korean people’s struggle. For example;

http://www.nenasili.cz/en/3428_statement-of-international-conference-against-the-asia-pacific-missile-defense

I forwarded many articles on the struggle of the Czech Republic in the blog. The friends in the Czech Republic and European Solidarity movement with the people in the Czech Republic have been truly inspiring.

http://nobasestorieskorea.blogspot.com/search/label/Czech%20Republic%2FPoland%2FEastern%20Europe

I became to know Anna and Dennis for the solidarity hunger strike with the people in the Czech Republic last year. During the process, Both understood the importance of the sharing information globally and kindly uploaded the articles on the Koreans’ struggle on their websites. By that building basis, Anna and Dennis gratefully came to Seoul. It is a great joy for me that I can work with them again for the world march event in Korea, lead by Dr. Park, Sung-Yong and much helped by Muriel Bossier who have done lots of works for the world march event in Korea. Thanks to Bruce Gagnon, Afterdowning Street was also the Korean movements’ ally, which gratefully uploaded the articles on Korea, there.

I also forgot Agneta Noberg, GN board member, who thankfully forwarded the article to me. Her presence was so vital. She was one of the force that made us laugh all the time. I love you, Agneta!

VIDEO: Nano-thermite in the WTC dust on 9/11.

Read the article at

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=13188

Otherwise, Corazon Valdez Fabros from the Stop the War-Philippine, International Network for the Abolition of Foreign Military Bases (No Bases Network) and Katy Rose from the American Friends Service Committee Hawaii Area Program and the DMZ-Hawai'i / Aloha 'Aina network have done long and hard journey to gratefully give us the speech. I so specially thank of you because your presence made the conference truly meaningful. We also thank Kyle Kajihiro for his invisible contribution to this.

We are also so grateful of the Nigerians participants who came despite long flight and shared the concerns. We also thank the international students from the Sungkonghoe university, thanks to, Francis Dae-Hoon Lee, PSPD, who made their participation possible and made a great speech sought by many people. The students came from Pakistan, Burma, Turkey etc. There are also other international participants who came to Seoul with entusiastic concerns. We are so greatful of all of you again.

Thanks very much, all of you.

* It is a great help for us to remind the people. So please don’t hesitate to remind me the people whom I must express thanks.

Sung-Hee