Korea Peace Appeal: End the War Now

God of wonder,
Comfort those who have been suffering from the division by foreign powers for over 70 years.
We ask you to restore the broken Korean Peninsula.

—from Prayer for the End to the Korean War and Peace on the Korean Peninsula by Dr. Un Sunn Lee

The Korean War began in 1950. While open clashes ceased in 1953 with the signing of an armistice, a peace treaty has not yet been established and the war is not over. For more than 70 years the Korean people have endured a constant state of hostility and war, which has solidified the division of the peninsula.

The Korea Peace Appeal is a global campaign that seeks to collect 100 million signatures by 2023, the 70th anniversary of the armistice. The National Council of Churches in Korea has challenged The United Church of Canada to add Ten Thousand Signatures by the summer of 2022.

Join with Korean partners and all who seek peace on the Korean Peninsula, the region, and the world. In adding your signature to the petition, you are saying:

• End the Korean War and establish a peace agreement.
• Create a Korean Peninsula and a world free from nuclear weapons and nuclear threat.
• Resolve the conflict with dialogue and cooperation instead of sanctions and pressure.
• Break from the vicious cycle of the arms race and invest in human security and environmental sustainability.

Background

The United Church of Canada is responding to an urgent invitation of the National Council of Churches in Korea (NCCK), a long-time Mission & Service partner, to join them in the Korea Peace Appeal. This campaign has been initiated by more than 370 South Korean civil society organizations, religious groups, and international partner organizations with the goal of ending the Korean War and concluding a Korea peace agreement.

Both North and South Korea have used the conflict as an excuse to perpetuate violations of human rights to maintain power, countless resources have been focused on military spending rather than on people’s health and welfare, and millions of Korean families remain separated from each other on opposite sides of the border sealed in 1953.

The people of Korea have not lost hope. Their call to the world is “Peace First―End the War Now.”

Help reach the 10,000-signature target

Sign the Korea Peace Appeal

End the war now by signing the petition.

• Peace Campaign to End the Korean War (English)
• Peace Campaign to End the Korean War (Korean)

Become a Korea Peace Appeal champion

With 100 champions each getting 100 signatures, we’d reach our goal.

• E-mail justice@united-church.ca  to let us know you are promoting the KPA and to be connected with others.
• Share the link directly for signatures, or use the Signature Sheet below in person to collect signatures and then enter online. Resources for KPA Champions can be viewed and shared through OneDrive.

Pray

Pray for Korean partners and the Korean people as they work toward unity, and engage your community of faith. Use these resources or create your own:

• Korea Peace Appeal Liturgy: Worship outline for the special service featuring a reflection by the Rev. Eun-Kyung Kim, Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea, a United Church global partner. The theme for this service is the call to end the 70-year-old Korean War, including the campaign to get 10,000 Canadian signatures for the Korea Peace Appeal.
• Reflection by Rev. Kim: Korean: Reflection from the above worship service, in Korean.
• Litany of Peace for Korea: Korean: Litany and prayer from the above worship service, in Korean.
• For Peaceful Coexistence and Prosperity on Korean Peninsula: Prayer
• 2020 A Light of Peace for Korea: Prayer for Peace #27

Share

• Share your support on social media using the hashtag #EndtheKoreanWar #KoreaPeaceAppeal #signature #peace #UCCanKoreaPeaceAppeal 

The United Church of Canada continues to be part of the Korea Peace Now effort to impact Canadian policy for peace in Korea.