Hyun-Sook Kim Lee 

South Korea

Fall 2003 Residency

I want to see a society where everybody feels happy, everybody feels equal, everybody feels dignity. Human dignity. That is my vision. It's not different from yours or others.

Hyun-Sook Kim Lee is the co-founder and Executive Director of Women Making Peace, a non-governmental organization (NGO) established in 1997 with the goal of creating a culture of peace on the Korean peninsula. She helped open the door between North and South Korea in the 1990s after half a century of division, by getting the first humanitarian aid to the North and encouraging the first people-to-people visits. She seeks to open the door wider in this century and is challenging those who continue to rattle swords, both in her country and abroad.

Women Making Peace is a multi-dimensional organization that views gender equality, demilitarization, denuclearization, respect for human rights, and the eventual reunification of North and South Korea as several of the necessary steps to making peace a reality. Like the organization she co-founded, Hyun-Sook is a multi-faceted and passionate activist for peace, devoted to building the women's movement in South Korea. This wife and mother is steadfast in her support of democratization efforts and helps to educate the international community about the plight of the Korean peninsula.

Hyun-Sook was raised in post-WWII Korea in a Confucian society marked by extreme poverty, heightened tension and militarization due to the political division between the North and South. Despite the masculine dominance in her society, from a young age Hyun-Sook challenged gender roles by using her intelligence and tact to champion important social causes. After graduating from high school, Hyun-Sook enrolled in the Hanshin Theological Seminary where she studied a globally conscious theology that discussed issues concerning politics and international affairs. Intrigued by these topics Hyun-Sook began to consider the presence and impact of such issues within her own community.

Hyun-Sook pursued numerous opportunities, allowing her to expand her knowledge, and exposing her to social justice challenges. After earning her masters degree, Hyun-Sook became Chief of the Women's Desk at the Korea Christian Academy. There, she and several colleagues initiated a program aimed at raising awareness and eradicating domestic violence in South Korea. The Korea Women's Hotline she established served as a catalyst for the progressive women's movement in Korea. The revolutionary hotline telephone access allowed victims of domestic abuse to receive guidance and support, and it was instrumental in establishing domestic and sexual violence as criminal acts in South Korea.

In 1984 Hyun-Sook traveled to England where she encountered the women's global peace movement. Returning from England, Hyun-Sook was full of ideas and possibilities. She decided then and there as soon as her personal obligations to her children and her professional commitments were completed she would devote her life to peace activism; she would be 50 years old at that time. She did participate in the first invitation of women from the North to come to the South in the early 1990s, but, serendipitously, it was1996 as Hyun-Sook turned 50 that she was unexpectedly contacted by her mentor and ex-congresswoman Lee Wu-Jung who invited Hyun-Sook to become involved in a women's peace organization.

Together, they founded Women Making Peace and immediately began reaching out to the women of North Korea. The first project implemented by Women Making Peace was the "Sharing Food, Sharing Love" campaign, which mobilized civic groups and public support in South Korea, and collected sufficient monetary donations to purchase 26 tons of milk powder to send to the women and children of North Korea. The project, which began in 1997, was one of the first acts of cross-border engagement between the two countries and was instrumental in helping to pave the way for the "Sunshine Policy."

Following the success of the "Sharing Food, Sharing Love" program, Women Making Peace initiated the "North and South Korean Women's Reunification Rally for Peace and the Implementation of the June 15 th Joint Declaration (an official  declaration in 2000 by North Korea that it sought normalization of inter-Korea relations and eventual reunification)." For many of the 700 delegates, the opportunity to meet women from the other country in the spirit of peace and tolerance proved to be an extraordinarily emotional experience. In the six years since its inception, Women Making Peace has forged new ground by bringing peace, gender, and reunification issues to the forefront of Korean society. The organization has had significant impact on the social and political culture of South Korea and helped to breakdown psychological and historical barriers on the Peninsula. Hyun-Sook's passion, dedication, and innovation have been driving forces in the success of Women Making Peace.

In addition to her NGO's work in Korea, Hyun-Sook holds government advisory positions and is active in educating the global community. Internationally, she travels to educate students, civilians, scholars, and politicians about the challenges facing the two Koreas, including the effects of U.S. foreign policy on the Peninsula. At home, she is the youngest member of the Presidential Advisory Committee for Reunification and is the Chairperson of the Advisory Committee of the Reunification Ministry. In December 2003, Hyun-Sook Lee received the prestigious "National Reconciliation Award" from the Korean Council of Reconciliation and Cooperation made up of leaders from non-governmental organizations and government officials.

Hyun-Sook Kim Lee has witnessed enormous change within the South Korean society during her life. She has been an active participant in parts of the transformation, dedicating her life to improving the lives of those around her. She has encouraged and worked toward creating a culture of peace on the Korean Peninsula, and she has led in advancing the respect of and role of women in her society. The influence of her activities testifies to the power of a committed peacemaker.

Click here for Narrative.

For more information on the Women PeaceMakers Program please contact

Dee Aker, Ph.D. daker@sandiego.edu

Erika Lopez, MA erika.lopez@sandiego.edu

Made possible by a grant from the Fred J. Hansen Foundation