‘The food sovereignty movement is not part of my life, it is my life’: from local to international, reflecting on Korean women peasant organizing – a conversation

ABSTRACT

This article is part of a series to document the voices and perspectives of La Via Campesina leaders for the 50^th Anniversary of the Journal of Peasant Studies and the 30th Anniversary of La Via Campesina. Yoon Geum Soon reflects on Korean women peasant organizing from the local to international level. She discusses the resistance to international trade regimes, organizing strategies rooted in women peasants' daily lives, and the history and trajectory of peasant movements in Korea.

KEYWORDS:

• peasant movement
• Korean Women Peasants Association
• La Via Campesina
• food sovereignty
• trade liberalization
• World Trade Organization
• women peasants

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 For other perspectives on La Via Campesina’s contributions, movement-building strategies, successes and challenges, see Nicholson and Borras (2023), Ody and Shattuck (2023), Rodríguez and Sosa Varroti (2023), this issue.

2 To read Lee Kyung Hae’s statement in Cancun before his death, see the Prologue of Rossett (2006).

3 Uruguay round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), the precursor to the WTO, https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/fact5_e.htm.

4 In Cancun in 2003, I witnessed this firsthand when I, alongside Paul Nicholson (see Nicholson and Borras 2023, this issue), joined a small group of Korean protesters inside the police perimeter in a mini-protest. The Korean protesters were disciplined, focused and unwavering in orchestrating their protest tactic. If anyone showed anger, that person was moved immediately toward the back and someone else took their place pushing against the Mexican riot police. At intervals, there was a call to de-escalate and everyone sat down in unison. The tactic made it clear that we were there to protest the WTO, not the Mexican police, and that we were not there to instigate violence.

5 International Monetary Fund.

6 Free trade agreements.

7 UNDROP – United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas.