The Women’s Conference, an event aimed at strengthening the capacities of female council members for unification activities and mapping future directions for the organization, was held for three days and two nights from July 28 to July 30 at the Westin Chicago North Shore, US.

Hosted by the Chicago Chapter (head: Lee Mun-gyu), the conference was held under the theme “Happy Unification brought forth by Women,” the first of its kind to bring together around 110 female council members from 14 chapters in the country and 25 overseas.

The first day of the conference (July 28) featured an orientation and a welcome dinner hosted by Executive Vice-chairperson Yoo Ho-yeol; events of the second day (July 29) included an opening ceremony, a keynote speech by the Executive Vice-chairperson, and a special lecture by female vice-chairperson Kim Tae-hyun. Held on the third day (July 30) were talk-show format presentations on buzz session outcomes and awards ceremony.

The opening ceremony on the second day started with the opening remarks by Head of Chicago Chapter Lee Mun-gyu, followed by welcome remarks from Lee Jong-kook, Consul General of the Republic of Korea in Chicago, and congratulatory remarks by Kim Ki-chul, vice-chairperson of the American Assembly, and Jin An-soon, member of the Executive Committee.

“The deployment of the THAAD system on the Korean peninsula is paramount to strengthening the missile defense capabilities of the ROK-US alliance against the persistent nuclear and missile threats from North Korea. I call on our female council members, with their leadership in communication, to take the lead in uniting public opinion as well as the Korean people,” said Executive Vice-chairperson Yoo Ho-yeol in his keynote speech.

According to him, Kim Jong-un is focused solely on maintaining his regime by developing the country’s nuclear and missile program while neglecting the economy or human rights of the citizens. Unification is the only way to resolve the North’s human rights issue and to dissuade the North’s ruling powers from their stubborn pursuit of nuclear development, and national unity on our part is crucial to opening the doors to unification, he stressed.

He concluded his remarks with examples of prominent female leaders across the world, including President Park Geun-hye of the Republic of Korea, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, British Prime Minister Teresa May, and President Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan, saying that “I expect our female members here today to utilize their strengths in creativity and conversion, their wisdom and skills in communication, so that this conference can serve as a platform that lays the path for women’s activities into the future and produces female leaders in unification.”

“We need to recognize that we are the architects of our own problems in order to open the path to unification and achieve unity of the Korean people, and, in that vein, we must undo the knot of conflict that we have tied starting with our own compatriot communities, using the sensitivity unique to women as an important capital,” said Head of Chicago Chapter Lee Mun-gyu in his opening remarks.

In his welcome remarks, Lee Jong-kook, Consul General of the Republic of Korea in Chicago, noted that the wisdom and participation of women are crucial to the discourse on unification. He expressed hope that this conference serves as an opportunity to take a close look at the potential fruits of unification and to form a balanced perspective that takes the costs into account as well.

“I hope that today, we can tap into the strengths unique to women, and that today’s conference serves as a platform for female council members from all over the world to share their various ideas and concerns,” said Kim Ki-chul, vice-chairperson of the American Assembly, in his congratulatory remarks.

Jin An-soon, member of the Executive Committee, said in her remarks that “I call on female council members to take the lead in persuading the people as to the necessity and inevitability of deploying the THAAD system to the Korean peninsula, including taking on the role of public ambassadors of the Republic of Korea to create a favorable atmosphere for unification in the international community.”

Next was a special lecture from expert Kim Tae-hyun, female vice-chairperson of the National Unification Advisory Council.

Kim Tae-hyun, female vice-chairperson of the National Unification Advisory Council, shed light on the life of women in North Korea under the main theme “Life of North Korean Women and Happy Unification” and from the viewpoint of the following specific topics: “Family and Social Life for North Korean Women”; “Political and Social Roles of North Korean Women”; and “North Korean Women’s Role within the Family.”

In her lecture, female vice-chairperson Kim Tae-hyun cited examples from the North Korean women’s magazine Joseon nyeoseong. “On the surface, North Korea seems to grant the same social status to women as men through its ‘Ordinance on the Equality of Men and Women’ and to value women as ‘the other wheel in the socialist revolution and construction of a socialist nation.’ In reality, however, women in North Korea have a social status that is only as valuable as the duties and obligations unilaterally imposed on them by the North Korean authorities,” she explained.

According to her, the frame through which North Korea views its women is far from what women expect. The North’s regime has been working to enlighten and alter the consciousness of women to integrate them fully into the working class since the very beginning; women’s advancement into society was viewed solely as contributing to the supply of labor essential to constructing a nation, she added.

She concluded her lecture by recalling part of an interview by a North Korean female defector residing in China, who said that “the only escape to true happiness is unification.” Kim added that, in order to create an equal society, which is a future-oriented, universal value that a happy, unified Korea must strive toward, we must start seeing things from a gender-conscious perspective.

After the ensuing luncheon, each Provincial Assembly held a discussion, which was followed by “Unification Story with Women.” The program was presided over by Lee Geun-yeong, council member of the Shenyang Chapter, and attended by Executive Vice-chairperson Yoo Ho-yeol, female vice-chairperson Kim Tae-hyun, and Chosun Ilbo Deputy Head Lim Min-hyuk. Various topics were discussed in the talk-show format Q&A program, including “inter-Korean relations and THAAD deployment,” “women’s public diplomacy,” “women’s role in unification,” and “outlook for ROK-US ties after the US presidential election.”

On the 3rd and final day (July 30), outcomes of the previous buzz session were presented. Unlike the previous format of separate groups presenting on a single common theme, the presentation session took on a talk show-like format. The themes presented included women’s unification consciousness, ways to promote participation in unification efforts, women-led public diplomacy for unification, social consensus between generations on unification formed by women, and future directions for enhancing the participation and activities of female members across chapters. Overall, chapters from all over the world had the opportunity to share their various activities and visions.

Council members who came from all over the world to attend this conference said in one voice, “uniting national opinion is essential in achieving unification.” They vowed to continue to work to form social consensus on unification among overseas Korean communities and mainstream societies in each of their regions.