Speaking At Socialist Conference, John Choe Says "I Hope You Can Help Me Bring Down [U.S.] Imperialism" (Listen to Audio of Choe's Speech)

Speaking at a May 13-14, 2006 conference entitled "Preparing for the Rebirth of the Global Struggle for Socialism" in New York City, John Choe praised protests his group Nodutol organized against the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement, which was signed by President Bush and is supported by President Obama.

Describing the Washington D.C. protests, which Choe stated would “bring the war against imperialism to the belly of the beast”, Choe struck a personal note: “Our comrade, Yoomi Jeong is down in D.C. right now organizing a week of protests… I urge all of you to join us in this very important struggle. Myself as an immigrant and a byproduct of U.S. imperialism I hope you can help me bring down imperialism through this event and many other events in the future.”

Choe, who referred to the audience as his "brothers and sisters", also slammed the American film industry, "Finally, the FTA [Free Trade Agreement] would also destroy the social fabric of South Korea, opening up Korean culture to the mercies of the monstrosity we call Hollywood.”

To read a partial transcript of Choe's remarks and LISTEN TO THE COMPLETE AUDIO of John Choe's address, click on this link to the Workers World Party website.

Consulate Official: "Nodutdol Is Kind Of A Pro-North Korean Group"

"In Search of a Delicate Balance, Koreans Clash Over an Antiwar Protest"
by Denny Lee
From New York Times, March 23, 2003

To hear some Koreans tell it, an Axis of Evil was forming in Chelsea two weeks ago.

The source of the fear was a group known as Nodutdol, which was planning an antiwar teach-in at the Korean American Association of Greater New York, a major community center on West 24th Street.

The group, Nodutdol for Korean Community Development -- nodutdol means ''steppingstone'' in Korean -- is a 50-member advocacy group in Woodside, Queens, that has been a vocal opponent of war in Iraq.

But although the group has met previously at the association's offices, this particular event provoked an outcry. This is in part because of the nuclear crisis in North Korea and the delicate issue it poses for Korean New Yorkers.

''Anti-U.S. Meeting at Korean American Association,'' read the headline on the front page of the Mar. 13 edition of The Korea Times, the city's largest Korean-language daily. The article, written by a reporter named Yongil Shin, created an uproar.

''These antiwar, anti-U.S. people were penetrating the mainstream of Korean culture,'' Mr. Shin said the other day. ''It would give the impression that the Korean American community, as a whole, supports such a movement.''

Members of Nodutdol, who are mostly younger, Western-educated activists who cut their teeth on progressive politics, tried to explain to the association's president that being antiwar was not necessarily the same as being anti-American. But it was too late.

The article led to a flood of angry calls to the center, including one from a representative of the South Korean consulate in New York, who suggested that Washington could misconstrue the meeting as a sign of hostility. ''Nodutdol is kind of a pro-North Korean group,'' said a consulate official, who insisted on anonymity.

Hours before the meeting was to take place, the center rescinded its invitation.

''That's typical McCarthyism and misplaced fear,'' said John Choe, 32, a founder of Nodutdol, which also provides social services to immigrants. ''People who have any kind of opposition to the U.S. military's policy are being marginalized as anti-American. It's censorship.''

While mainstream America may not equate antiwar protests with acts of treason, newer immigrant groups often do.

''Immigrant groups feel a great deal of pressure to display their loyalty to America,'' said Richard Alba, a distinguished professor of sociology at the State University at Albany. ''Community leaders, in the interest of the group, try to discourage dissent.''

And similar tensions have arisen in other Asian communities. ''For a lot of people-of-color immigrants, it is an expression of survival,'' said Sung E Bai, executive director for the Committee Against Anti-Asian Violence, a nonprofit group. ''They really want to be seen as part of the American identity.''

Andrew Kim, president of the Korean American Association, which represents 190 groups, said he regretted the controversy but felt that he had little choice.

''We got tons of calls,'' Mr. Kim said. ''I have no problem to lend them my space, if they are not doing anything anti-American. But everyone here is concerned about America and Korea. We don't want people to hate us. We are not fully Americanized yet.''

John Choe's Organization Nodutdol Protests U.S. Sanctions Against North Korea

"Activists Demand, 'Hands Off Korea!'"
By Larry Hales
From: Workers World, October 19, 2006

Protests were held on both U.S. coasts from Oct. 11-12 in support of the people of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and against sanctions being championed in the U.N. by the U.S.

A press conference was held on Oct. 12 at the federal building in downtown Los Angeles, initiated by Korean Americans for Peace, Korea Truth Commission (KTC), International Action Center (IAC) and Bayan USA.

Leaders from the Korean community plus a member of the FMLN of El Salvador who was tortured by U.S.-supported death squads and members of the Los Angeles IAC all spoke.

Each speaker affirmed the right of the DPRK to self-defense in the face of a history of aggression, constant threats of sanctions, military assault and the threat of a nuclear assault from the U.S.

Later in the day there was a spirited rally demanding “Hands Off Korea!” The protesters joined with others who mount a weekly protest denouncing the war in Iraq.

In New York, a demonstration organized by Nodutdol for Korean Community Development, KTC and the IAC was held near the United Nations building on Oct. 11.

David Sole, a Green Party candidate in Michigan for the U.S. Senate and a Workers World Party member, issued a statement demanding the U.S. respect North Korea’s sovereignty, stating, “The present crisis arises directly out of the implacable hostility of the U.S. imperialist government to the socialist government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.” The full statement can be read at www.stopthewarslate.org.