Monday, November 17, 2008

CANGO-USA is Formed


During the 2nd International NGOs Conference on History and Peace in Seoul, Korea, a delegation of Koreans in the U.S. presented a workshop and photo exhibition on Oct. 10 titled "Historical Reconciliation and Peace Building in Northeast Asia: Perspectives from the Korean Community in the U.S," with two components: "Experiences of the HR 121 Movement [a successful campaign to pass House resolution on 'comfort women' issue] and the Dokdo Solidarity Movement [advocating Korean sovereignty over the Dokdo islands in the East Sea]" and "Historical Reconciliation Efforts in the Context of Peace and Reunification Movements in the U.S."

Participating organizations for this workshop were the National Association of Korean Americans, the Washington Coalition for Comfort Women Issues, and the Washington Special Committee on Dokdo Issue, and L.A.-based and Atlanta-based organizations. The Korean-American delegation also held a joint workshop with Korean NGOs working on historical reconciliation issues to formulate collaborative relationships. The Korean-American delegation agreed in the formation of a nationwide coalition named CANGO-USA (Corean NGOs in the USA).