Oakland, CA – On November 17, Nodutdol held an educational film screening and fundraiser highlighting solidarity between Korea and Palestine. Around 100 people gathered at East Side Arts Alliance in Oakland for the event, which was co-sponsored by Palestinian Youth Movement.

Emcee Simon Ma of Nodutdol began the program by saying, “Both the Korean people and the Palestinian people share deep histories of resistance against colonialism and imperialism, and there are many parallels between their struggles for sovereignty and self-determination.”

Ma explained how the Korean struggle against U.S. imperialism is ongoing, saying, “The Korean War never formally ended, leaving Korea divided, and the U.S. continues to occupy South Korea to this day, with over 28,000 troops stationed across over 17 military bases.”

The event promoted Nodutdol’s recently-launched “U.S. Out of Korea” campaign. The campaign lists four demands: U.S. out of Korea; end the U.S./South Korea Alliance; end all aggression against North Korea, and end the war economy.

The program included a screening of the 2003 documentary film, North Korea: Beyond the DMZ. The film follows the journey of a Korean-American woman who visits the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea for the first time to meet her extended family who were separated from her parents during the Korean War.

The film highlighted the human toll of U.S. imperialist intervention in the region, showing how families remain divided more than half a century after the U.S. first invaded Korea in. It also combatted common American stereotypes about the people of the DPRK, showing their day-to-day life in a humanizing light.

The program also included a speaker from Palestinian Youth Movement, who spoke about their ongoing “Mask Off Maersk” campaign, pressuring international logistics company Maersk to stop shipping weapons to Israel.

Funds raised at the event went to the Middle East Children’s Alliance, an organization providing humanitarian aid throughout Palestine.

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