Women, Peace, and Security
on the Korean Peninsula and in East Asia
: International Cooperation and the Role of Civil Society
Tuesday, August 19 – Wednesday, August 20, 2025
15th Floor, Central Park Room, Kensington Hotel Yeouido
Organized by the Center for Korean Women and Politics
Sponsored by Hanns Seidel Foundation Korea Office Women’s News
The year 2025 marks the 25th anniversary of United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security (WPS), a landmark resolution that called on the international community to protect the rights of women affected by conflict and to ensure women’s participation in peacebuilding processes.
However, 25 years later, women’s rights and participation continue to be structurally excluded on the Korean Peninsula, where division and military tension persist. In particular, the human rights situation of North Korean women remains one of the most vulnerable yet least spotlighted gender issues in the international arena. Despite suffering from systemic gender-based violence, economic exploitation, and political repression due to prolonged isolation and sanctions, the issue continues to receive limited global attention. North Korean women face serious violations of human rights throughout both survival and defection, which should be addressed not only as a humanitarian concern but also as a core issue of peace and security.
Objectives
Ultimately, the conference seeks to lay the groundwork for building an international network in which women in East Asia can take the lead in contributing to the establishment of a peace regime and the advancement of human rights.
Analyze the human rights situation of North Korean women from a WPS perspective
Share the implementation experiences of WPS in South Korea and neighboring countries
Seek strategies for international cooperation
through solidarity among women’s civil society in East Asia
Program
Day 1: Tuesday, August 19
14:00 - 15:00
15:00 - 17:00
Opening Ceremony
Opening Remarks Kim Eun-ju / Executive Director, CKWP
Welcome Address Sohn Bong-scuk / Chairperson, CKWP
Congratulatory Remarks Jin Sun-mee / Member of the 22nd National Assembly
Kim Jong-soog / President of Korean
Women’s Development Institute
Bernhard Seliger / Representative,
Hanns Seidel Foundation Korea Office
Session I Reflecting on the 25th Anniversary of UNSCR 1325
– Peace and Women on the Korean Peninsula
Chair Park Eui-kyung / Emeritus Professor, Chonnam National Univ.
Presentation 1 Hyun In-ae / Representative, Korea Peninsular Future Women’s Institute
"North Korean Women's Human Rights
through the Lens of UNSCR 1325"
Presentation 2 Director, Center for Gender Impact Assessment of KWDI
"Status of UNSCR 1325 Implementation in Korea"
Discussion Takenobu Mieko(竹信 三恵子) /
Deputy Representative, Women’s Association for Peace and No Military Expansion
Shen Hsiu-Hua / Advisor and former Chairperson, Awakening Foundation
Kim Ellie / Research Professor, Ewha Institute for the Humanities
Kim Jeong-soo / Director, Women Making Peace
Day 2: Wednesday, August 20
10:00 - 12:00
12:00 - 13:00
13:00 - 14:40
14:40 - 15:00
15:00 - 16:40
16:40 - 17:00
Session II 2024 Research on Social Change
in North Korea by Defector Researchers
Chair Cho Jung-ah / Senior Research Fellow, Korea Institute for National Unification
Presentation 1 Yeom Seung-woo / PhD candidate, Univ. of Utah
"New Media Strategy and Messaging of the Kim Jong-un Regime"
Presentation 2 Lee Jin-song / PhD candidate, Univ. of North Korean Studies
"North Korean Youth’s Attitude Toward the Korean Wave (Hallyu)"
Presentation 3 Kim Kyung-sook / Visiting Prof., Yonsei Univ. Medical School,
Division of Unification and International Health
"Elements of Civil Society in North Korea"
Discussion Seo Jeong-ho / Professor, Gachon Univ.
Lee Si-hyo / Research Professor, Myongji Univ.
Jo Hyun-jung / Research Fellow, Korea Institute for National Unification
Lunch
Session III WPS Activities and Internation Cooperation in East Asia
Chair Yi Hee-young / Professor, Daegu Univ.
Presentation 1 Tanaka Yuko(田中 優子) / Representative,
Women’s Association for Peace and No Military Expansion
"Role and Challenges of Women’s Civil Society in the Formulation
and Implementation of Japan’s National Action Plan (NAP)"
Presentation 2 Peng Yenwen / Executive Director,
National Alliance of Taiwan Women's Associations
"Role and Challenges of Women’s Civil Society
in Taiwan’s Implementation of CEDAW"
Discussion Kwon Yeon-i / Visiting Scholar, Univ. of Tokyo
Lee Kyung-ah / Research Professor, Hoseo Univ.
Jang Hye-young / Member of the 21st National Assembly
Break
Session IV Roundtable: Building an Asia Women’s Network
Chair Kim Eun-kyung / Director, Sejong Leadership Institute
Congratulatory Remarks Kwon Hyang-yup / Member of the 22nd National Assembly
Ahn Myung-ok / Member of the 17th National Assembly,
Co-chair of the Korea-Vietnam Women’s Forum
Kim Hyo-sun / Publisher, Women’s News
Presentation Kim Eun-ju / Executive Director, CKWP
"Proposal for the “Asia Women Initiative for Parity and Peace"
Discussion S.Korea: KimMin Moon-jung / Representative,
Korea Women's Association United
Kim Jeong-soo / Director, Women Making Peace
Park Ji-hyun / Former Interim Leader of Democratic Party
Moon Ah-young / Representative, Peace Momo
Song Kyung-jin / Country Representative, Asia Foundation Korea
Lee Jung-ah / Representative,
Gyeonggi Women's Association United
Cho Eun-young / President, The National YWCA of Korea
Minhee · Kim Jihye / Activists, Platform C
N. Korea: Hyun In-ae / Representative,
Korea Peninsular Future Women’s Institute
Kim Ryeon-joo / Master's student at Yonsei Univ.
Japan: Tanaka Yuko(田中 優子) / Representative,
Women’s Association for Peace and No Military Expansion
Takenobu Mieko(竹信 三恵子) / Deputy Representative,
Women’s Association for Peace and No Military Expansion
Narita Miyu / Master's student at Seoul National Univ.
Iida Suzuha / Political Science and
Diplomacy student at Seoul National Univ.
Taiwan: Shen Hsiu-Hua / Advisor and former Chairperson,
Awakening Foundation
Peng Yenwen / Executive Director,
National Alliance of Taiwan Women's Associations
Closing Remarks
Opening Ceremony
Kim Eun-ju
Executive Director, CKWP
Sohn Bong-scuk
Chairperson, CKWP
Jin Sun-mee
Member of the 22nd
National Assembly
Kim Jong-soog
President of Korean Women’s Development Institute
Bernhard Seliger
Representative, Hanns Seidel Foundation Korea Office
Speakers
Session I Reflecting on the 25th Anniversary of UNSCR 1325
– Peace and Women on the Korean Peninsula
Park Eui-kyung
Emeritus Professor,
Chonnam National Univ.
Hyun In-ae
Representative,
Korea Peninsular
Future Women’s Institute
Cho Young-ju
Director, Korean Women’s
Development Institute
Kim Jeong-soo
Director,
Women Making Peace
Shen Hsiu-Hua
Advisor and former Chairperson,
Awakening Foundation
Kim Ellie
Research Professor,
Ewha Institute for the Humanities
Takenobu Mieko
(竹信 三恵子)
Deputy Representative, Women's Association
for Peace and
No Military Expansion
Session II 2024 Research on Social Change in North Korea by Defector Researchers
Cho Jung-ah
Senior Research Fellow,
Korea Institute for
National Unification
Yeom Seung-woo
PhD candidate,
Univ. of Utah
Lee Jin-song
PhD candidate,
Univ. of North Korean Studies
Kim Kyung-sook
Visiting Prof.,
Yonsei Univ. Medical School,
Division of Unification and International Health
Seo Jeong-ho
Professor, Gachon Univ.
Lee Si-hyo
Research Professor,
Myongji Univ.
Jo Hyun-jung
Research Fellow,
Korea Institute for National Unification
Session III WPS Activities
and Internation Cooperation in East Asia
Yi Hee-young
Professor, Daegu Univ.
Kwon Yeon-i
Visiting Scholar, Univ. of Tokyo
Tanaka Yuko
(田中 優子)
Representative,
Women’s Association
for Peace and No Military Expansion
Peng Yenwen
Executive Director,
National Alliance of Taiwan Women's Associations
Lee Kyung-ah
Research Professor,
Hoseo Univ.
Jang Hye-young
Member of the 21st National Assembly
Session IV Roundtable: Building an Asia Women’s Network
Kwon Hyang-yup
Member of the 22nd
National Assembly
Kim Hyo-sun
Publisher, Women’s News
Kim Eun-kyung
Director,
Sejong Leadership Institute
Kim Eun-ju
Executive Director,
CKWP
Ahn Myung-ok
Member of the 17th National Assembly, Co-chair of the
Korea-Vietnam Women’s Forum
KimMin Moon-jung
Representative, Korea Women's Association United
Kim Jeong-soo
Director,
Women Making Peace
Moon Ah-young
Representative, Peace Momo
Park Ji-hyun
Former Interim Leader of
Democratic Party
Song Kyung-jin
Country Representative,
Asia Foundation Korea
Lee Jung-ah
Representative, Gyeonggi
Women's Association United
Cho Eun-young
President,
The National YWCA of Korea
Minhee
Activists, Platform C
Kim Jihye
Activists, Platform C
Hyun In-ae
Representative,
Korea Peninsular Future Women’s Institute
Kim Ryeon-joo
Master's student at Yonsei Univ.
Shen Hsiu-Hua
Advisor and former Chairperson,
Awakening Foundation
Peng Yenwen
Executive Director,
National Alliance of Taiwan
Women's Associations
Tanaka Yuko
(田中 優子)
Representative,
Women’s Association for Peace and No Military
Expansion
Takenobu Mieko
(竹信 三恵子)
Deputy Representative, Women’s Association for Peace and
No Military Expansion
Narita Miyu
Master's student at Seoul National Univ.
Iida Suzuha
Political Science
and Diplomacy student at Seoul National Univ.
Directions
15th Floor, Central Park Room, Kensington Hotel Yeouido
16 Gukhoe-daero 76-gil, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul
Center for Korean Women and Politics
Address
800 Gukhoe-daero, Yeouido-dong, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul
