Berkeley: Mu Films, 2021. 1 online resource (94 min.). In English and Korean with English and Korean subtitles.
In 1986, Lim Su-kyung, a third-year university student from South Korea, clandestinely participated in the World Festival of Youth and Students held in Pyongyang. Without the permission of the South Korean government, she boldly crossed the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). Twenty-nine years later, over 30 women from 15 countries, including women’s movement pioneer Gloria Steinem, Nobel Peace Prize laureates Mairead Maguire and Leymah Gbowee, and peace activist Christine Ahn, gathered to follow in Lim’s footsteps and cross the DMZ. This time, they aimed to obtain official permission from both South Korea and North Korea, garnering global attention. Upon their request, the North Korean authorities questioned them: Why should it be women?
The documentary film Crossings, which chronicles the 2015 Women Cross DMZ Campaign, made its debut at the 41st Hawai‘i International Film Festival in November 2021. In 2015, amid the nuclear standoff between then-US President Donald Trump and North Korea’s Kim Jong-un, Korean American activist Christine Ahn contemplated the impending war crisis on the Korean Peninsula and the suffering that women and children would endure in such a conflict. With a few phone calls, she successfully connected with women activists worldwide who shared her desire for peace. Beginning as a resistance movement against the narrative of a war crisis, the campaign transformed the abstract image of the Korean Peninsula, previously existing only in the imagination of Americans, into a tangible reality for its people. It also reaffirmed the United States’ role in the history of the Korean Peninsula’s division. The campaign aimed to achieve peace and a declaration of the end of the war on the divided peninsula. However, the question remains: Why should it be women crossing the border?
Scholar Suzy Kim, who participated in the campaign, sheds light on the historical triumphs accomplished through women’s marches. Reflecting on the collective struggles and hard-fought rights of women, including suffrage and feminist movements, she envisions the act of crossing the DMZ for peace as a poignant reminder of the enduring pain and violence inflicted upon women’s bodies.
During the group’s visit to Pyongyang, the Grand March for Reunification and Peace of Korea along with the International Women’s Peace Symposium, provided a captivating visual climax. Starting at the Arch of Reunification, also known as the Monument to the Three-Point Charter for National Reunification, the streets were filled with North Korean women united in their determined pursuit of reunifying their homeland—a core principle of the charter encompassing independence, peaceful unification, and national solidarity. Within the symposium, North Korean women who had witnessed the ravages of the Korean War shared their personal testimonies of unfathomable violence inflicted upon their bodies. Activists and North Korean women, moved by a shared sense of empathy, merged as one, holding symbolic quilts created for the campaign. As they raised their voices in unison, singing the heartfelt song “Our Wish Is Reunification,” the scene conveyed a profound message: the boundless strength of women’s solidarity, illuminating the possibilities as they contemplated crossing borders.
However, this solidarity among women also carries the risk of overshadowing the racial, class, and cultural differences that exist between them. The women activists continuously address this concern, which may explain why the documentary’s title is plural (“crossings”) rather than singular (“crossing”). One remarkable aspect of the documentary is witnessing women activists from diverse nationalities, backgrounds, and cultures engaging in discussions, sharing perspectives, and narrowing differences through dialogue to reach a consensus. Despite their unique backgrounds and perspectives, the activists demonstrate the ability to unite in the pursuit of peace and an end to the war.
Furthermore, the documentary highlights underlying tensions between South Korean activists and women activists from outside the Korean Peninsula. These tensions are revealed in an unfiltered manner by director Deann Borshay Liem. Additionally, the documentary starkly demonstrates how the values of peace and human rights are at risk of being politically manipulated by the media and authorities of both nations. By portraying the real politics, particularly during President Park Geun-hye’s administration, the documentary acquires another layer of significance.
Although the Crossing DMZ Campaign rejects political involvement, it inherently carries political implications, showcasing two different dreams of peace on the Korean Peninsula. While the song “Our Wish Is Reunification” was sung by the united women activists and North Korean women at the symposium, the concept of reunification differs from a declaration of the end of the war. The passionate call for the reunification of the Korean Peninsula by North Korean women holds a historical context of North Korea leading the reunification and gaining independence from foreign powers. On the other hand, the declaration of the end of the war, discussed by women activists and later among leaders Moon Jae-in, Kim Jong-un, and Donald Trump, implies the formal recognition of two separate sovereignties. Failing to distinguish between reunification and the declaration of the end of the war, the Crossing DMZ Campaign may struggle to move beyond its symbolic act of crossing. If one attempts to eliminate the political nature from the political action itself, they must question what the next steps should be.
Nevertheless, the significance of this campaign and the documentary as important records lies in the meaning of the Quilt of Peace, a collaborative work by over 600 women. The act of sewing, which has long been considered one of the most feminine acts and often overlooked as labour, is transformed into a monumental quilt through the collective participation of women. The quilt’s silent march and the creation of a historical narrative by women serve as a means of making history, a symbol of peace, and prompt viewers to contemplate how its impact will continue to expand globally in future marches.
Eun Ah Cho
University of Sydney, Sydney