Youth Send Over 20,000 Letters, Call for a Peaceful Korean Peninsula

SEOUL, South Korea, June 18, 2018 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Volunteers of the International Peace Youth Group (IPYG) hosted the "Peace Letter Campaign," a two-day event in response to the UN Security's Council recent adoption of Resolution 2419, which encourages youth activism in the "prevention and resolution of conflict."

IPYG, an international NGO under the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), hosted the "Peace Letter Campaign" in 35 locations in 7 major cities across South Korea on June 9 and 10. Among those cities were Seoul and Paju, the locations of the recent inter-Korean summit and Panmunjom Declaration.

At the event, youth wrote letters appealing to the Korean peninsula government leaders for peace. In the course of two days, 24,912 peace letters were written and collected. When the letter count reaches 150,000, IPYG plans to send the letters to the leaders of the Koreas.

As a backbone of the youth-led advocacy campaign for peace-building, the IPYG introduced "the Declaration of Peace and Cessation of War (DPCW)" with 10 articles and 38 clauses, which stipulates peaceful dispute settlement, disarmament, religious and ethnic freedom, and spreading a culture of peace.

Participants expressed their hope in light of the recent open communication between the Koreas. "Although there was a vague fear of reunification, I have come to think about the positive aspects and hope that reunification will be achieved in this era," said Min-Jeong Park. "I realized that I should be aware of the issues of the international community to join in peace activities that will end the war in our times," said Park

Through this campaign, the IPYG hopes to provide more opportunities of youth advocacy.

"The future of Korea is youth. If young people are interested in reunification, and take the lead for it, we can achieve peace on the Korean Peninsula. The start can be a letter. We will work hard so that youth can be more interested in a peaceful reunification," said Peter Jung, General Manager of the IPYG.

The IPYG has initiated a youth network for peace with 851 youth organizations in 110 countries around the world. The "Peace Letter" campaign has also been held globally and the letters advocating peace-building in their countries will be delivered to their national leaders.

SOURCE International Peace Youth Group