U.S. Foreign Policy and Women Living With the Threat of Armed Conflict
The picture of the pin above is a 20th-anniversary pin commemorating Hyo-Sun and Mi-Seon. On June 13, 2002, in South Korea’s Gyeonggi province, a U.S. armored tank driven by two U.S. military personnel ran over Hyo-Soon and Mi-Sun, both 14. The eighth-grade girls died on the spot. South Korea’s Ministry of Justice requested the U.S. waive the right to try the two soldiers in the U.S. so that South Korea could try them.
Women’s human rights aren’t variable values that can be ignored or violated for so-called national interest. As embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the promotion of respect for human rights has been a central goal of U.S. foreign policy. However, when it comes to women’s human rights issues, the U.S. prioritizes militarism and political interests over human rights. Sexual assault and harassment within the U.S. military has been a persistent problem, which is compounded when considering foreign installations, where extraterritoriality jurisdiction applies under Status of Forces Agreements (SOFAs). These agreements often allows the U.S. to retain exclusive jurisdiction over its service members in many Asian countries. U.S. military personnel overseas face lighter punishment for an array of human rights violations, including sexual violence committed in host countries.
In South Korea, home to the largest U.S. foreign military installation at Camp Humphreys, sexual exploitation at so-called “camptowns” is a well-known fact.[5] In fact, in the initial years of the South Korean international adoption program, a large percentage of children adopted from South Korea were of mixed race because of the coordination of military sex trade in the so-called “camptowns” or Gijichon (기지촌) that developed around U.S. military bases in South Korea after the Korean War.[6] To learn more, click here or the button below for Impact of U.S. Militarism-Centered Foreign Policy on Women Living with the Threat of Potential Armed Conflict. Additional problems associated with U.S. overseas military bases include systematic environmental pollution, such as the disposal of toxic waste into soil and water.
Click here or the button below to learn more about the significance of the U.S. adopting feminist foreign policy.
Submitted by Sung Sohn
[1] https://stopaapihate.org/national-report-through-december-31-2021/
[2] Katie Robertson, “News Media Can’t Shake ‘Missing White Women Syndrome,’ Critics Say,” The NY Times, Sept. 22, 2021.
[3] Kelsey Vlamis, “710 Indigenous people, mostly girls, were reported missing over the past decade in Wyoming, the same state where Gabby Petito reportedly disappeared,” Insider, Sept. 18, 2021.
[4] Katie Robertson, “News Media Can’t Shake ‘Missing White Women Syndrome,’ Critics Say,” The NY Times, Sept. 22, 2021.
[5] “[Interview] Fighting for Reparations for Korea’s Camptown Women Before It’s Too Late,” Hankyoreh, June 26, 2022.
[6] Yuri Doolan, “The Camptown Origins of International Adoption and the Hypersexualization of Korean Children,” Journal of Asian American Studies, Johns Hopkins University Press, Vol. 24, No 3, Oct. 2021, 351–382.
Click the button below for the lesson plan Asian Americans: “Model Minority” Myth or research briefs on U.S. Militarism and Asian Diaspora in the U.S., Impact of U.S. Camptowns in South Korea, or Language Rights of Linguistic and Education Rights of Linguistic Minorities.
In South Korea, home to the largest U.S. foreign military installation at Camp Humphreys, sexual exploitation at so-called “camptowns” is a well-known fact.[5] In fact, in the initial years of the South Korean international adoption program, a large percentage of children adopted from South Korea were of mixed race because of the coordination of military sex trade in the so-called “camptowns” or Gijichon (기지촌) that developed around U.S. military bases in South Korea after the Korean War.[6] To learn more, click here or the button below for Impact of U.S. Militarism-Centered Foreign Policy on Women Living with the Threat of Potential Armed Conflict. Additional problems associated with U.S. overseas military bases include systematic environmental pollution, such as the disposal of toxic waste into soil and water.
Click here or the button below to learn more about the significance of the U.S. adopting feminist foreign policy.
Submitted by Sung Sohn
[1] https://stopaapihate.org/national-report-through-december-31-2021/
[2] Katie Robertson, “News Media Can’t Shake ‘Missing White Women Syndrome,’ Critics Say,” The NY Times, Sept. 22, 2021.
[3] Kelsey Vlamis, “710 Indigenous people, mostly girls, were reported missing over the past decade in Wyoming, the same state where Gabby Petito reportedly disappeared,” Insider, Sept. 18, 2021.
[4] Katie Robertson, “News Media Can’t Shake ‘Missing White Women Syndrome,’ Critics Say,” The NY Times, Sept. 22, 2021.
[5] “[Interview] Fighting for Reparations for Korea’s Camptown Women Before It’s Too Late,” Hankyoreh, June 26, 2022.
[6] Yuri Doolan, “The Camptown Origins of International Adoption and the Hypersexualization of Korean Children,” Journal of Asian American Studies, Johns Hopkins University Press, Vol. 24, No 3, Oct. 2021, 351–382.
Click the button below for the lesson plan Asian Americans: “Model Minority” Myth or research briefs on U.S. Militarism and Asian Diaspora in the U.S., Impact of U.S. Camptowns in South Korea, or Language Rights of Linguistic and Education Rights of Linguistic Minorities.