The US military is poisoning Korea’s air, land, and water—and South Korea is paying hundreds of millions of dollars to clean up the mess.
Here's an overview of the US military's environmental destruction, focusing on four former base sites.
Over 70+ years the US military has ruined 10,000s of acres of Korean land. 28,500 troops occupy Korea today.
In 2004 the US began to "consolidate" its forces, closing some bases & expanding others. This relocation revealed the extent of environmental damage in many former bases.
By 2016, dangerously high levels of heavy metals, pesticides, and other carcinogens were found at 22 out of 23 former bases.
Despite treaty agreements to "remedy contamination caused by United States Forces in Korea," the US refuses to pay for the est. $500 million clean-up.
Here's a closer look at four former base sites, all in or near populous Korean cities. Toxic chemicals at up to 1000x the ROK safety level have been found at these sites.
The US calls its base closures "land returns." Most of this "returned" land is dangerously toxic. At the same time, the US conducts new land grabs.
Since 2004, the US has seized 2000+ acres near Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek. Here are photos from the Pyeongtaek land struggle.
The ROK doesn't just for the US's environmental damage, or its relocations, closures, and expansions of bases. In 2010, the ROK also covered 40% of USFK's operating costs. That amount has increased as new payment deals were made by Presidents Trump and Biden.
The US military is the world's #1 polluter, poisoning and irradiating the air, ground, and water of countless peoples throughout the globe. Its massive carbon footprint also drives climate disasters that displace and kill people in these regions every year.
Currently, there is public outcry in Okinawa because the United States Marine Corps is dumping toxic chemicals into the civilian wastewater system.
The US military's environmental destruction is a powerful example of South Korea's neocolonial status.
The US flouts ROK laws and benefits politically & economically from Korea's occupation. Meanwhile, Koreans bear the environmental, public health, & fiscal costs.
Our people have long considered mountains, bodies of water, and forests to be sacred.
Ending US occupation is not just a question of sovereignty but also a question of protecting the land and water, our bodies, and our relationship to the living world.
On New Year’s Eve, global media reported that Kim Jong Un no longer supports Korean reunification. But this is not true.
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Kim Jong Un recently announced major changes in north Korea’s stance towards reunification. This marks a huge breakdown in inter-Korean relations after years of US, south Korean, and Japanese aggression.
However, north Korea has NOT abandoned reunification.
In a speech made on Dec 31 at the 9th Plenum of the Central Committee of the Workers Party of Korea, Kim Jong Un rejected south Korea’s formula for “reunification by absorption”— the idea south Korea should absorb the north, overthrow its govt, and abolish its socialist system.
As anti-imperialist Koreans, we stand unequivocally with Palestine, its people and its armed resistance against the Zionist occupation. This is neither a two-sided conflict nor a war: it is an occupation and a genocide.
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As Koreans whose homeland is divided, we know imperialism is our common enemy. Following our liberation from Japanese colonialism and the beginning of independent socialist construction in Korea, the US split our country in two and indiscriminately bombed and killed our people.
There is a reason the Nakba and the division of Korea coincided in 1948, backed by the same imperialist interests. Both Korea and Palestine are geographically strategic sites for the US empire’s grip across the world.
Today marks the 73rd anniversary of the “start” of the Korean War. We've curated a list of educational resources that the US & south Korean governments desperately tried to erase from our history. In the face of blatant US propaganda, it is up to us to learn the real history 🧵
The Hidden History of the Korean War by I.F. Stone
In this new book, I.F. Stone challenges the dominant historical narrative about the Korean War and exposes the US' deliberate attempts to prolong the war.
Blowback, Season 3
Brendan James and Noah Kulwin expose US involvement in the Korean War using primary sources, vivid storytelling, and sharp historical analysis. The season also features interviews with Suzy Kim, Tim Shorrock, and Bruce Cummings.
#OTD in 1980, the people of #Gwangju rose up against Chun Doo-hwan's military dictatorship, calling for democracy in south Korea.
In response, with a green light from the US, south Korean police & soldiers massacred 2,300 people. We will never forget the martyrs of Gwangju. 🧵
In Oct 1979, former President Park Chung-hee was assassinated by his own head of security. Chun Doo-hwan then seized power via military coup.
On May 17, 1980, he declared martial law, using rumors of communism to close schools, ban political activity, and censor the press.
On May 18, 1980, thousands of students in Gwangju gathered to protest martial law and the closing of their universities.
Police & soldiers responded with brutal violence, beating students with clubs and rounding them up for execution. Students and bystanders alike were killed.
The south Korean defense ministry defended its actions using the Status of Forces Agreement, which exempts US troops from following domestic laws in south Korea.
The Status of Forces Agreement is an imperialist tool that allows the US to control and suppress the Korean people.
With a US shooting range in their backyard, the residents of Changwon will face irreversible environmental, physical, and psychological damage.
From 1952-2004, the US installed a bombing range near Maehyang-ri village. At least 12 villagers were killed by stray bombs or bullets.
Single mothers face discrimination and abuse in south Korean society. On top of social stigma, the government also makes it difficult for single mothers to receive financial support.