Concepting an oratory contest that will become the cornerstone of international solidarity this fall.
The development of nuclear weapons was aimed at ending World War II, but even if it was not the United States, the Nazis and the Soviets were already pushing for nuclear development at the time, so it may have been a matter of time for humanity. The emergence of nuclear weapons created a response mechanism called the Permanent Council of the Five Nations and the UN General Assembly. In some ways, it seems like humanity is able to control itself. Of course, the great task of reducing and abolishing nuclear weapons remains.
The logo of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), a coalition of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that have been carrying out anti-nuclear movements. This organization also won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2017.
A lack of response system for nuclear power plants
However, as nuclear power plants spread around the world under the pretext of peaceful use of nuclear energy, the problem has become more complicated. This is where we need to respond properly. The need to establish a response system to deal with nuclear power plants is evident in three reasons.
First, despite the fact that nuclear weapons materials are created when reprocessing spent nuclear fuel from nuclear power plants, proliferation has proceeded in a way that contradicts the prohibition of nuclear proliferation. The result is the current 14 countries that possess nuclear weapons (including 4 countries that possessed and then disposed of them).
Second, nuclear waste from nuclear power plants is a potentially explosive material that is theoretically impossible to safely manage. This is the reason why Germany has decided to phase out nuclear power. It is an ethical reason that the parent generation cannot force their descendants to make sacrifices.
Third, the danger of accidents as shown by Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and Fukushima. Nuclear weapons are under human control, but nuclear power plants are out of that control and are helpless against natural disasters or accidental accidents. They are nuclear minefields.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) building in Austria. The IAEA, which has an exclusive position in nuclear power plant management on the planet, is also a habitat for the nuclear mafia.
The IAEA is being asked to play a role in managing these risks, but it is too lax. As has been known, the IAEA is an organization whose purpose is to promote nuclear power plants. It is nowhere near a fundamental solution. This is clearly revealed in the recent Japanese nuclear wastewater dumping incident.
Nuclear wastewater dumping is causing spiritual destruction to humanity. It is creating a precedent that even the Earth’s ecosystem can be arbitrarily destroyed for the sake of contemporary convenience. The problem of nuclear power plants has not yet found a proper solution on a human level.
The fundamental problem with nuclear power plants is that they have fearlessly entered the area of money-making industrial activity called electricity production, which should have been limited to scientific research related to radioisotope nuclear fusion. If we actually look at what is produced at nuclear power plants, electricity is only a small part, and the main product is spent nuclear fuel, or nuclear waste. We have not yet established a proper response system for this.
While international financial capital monopolizes uranium mines, it also supplies nuclear fuel rods almost exclusively through a few specific companies. It is becoming entrenched as a system that can continuously benefit from the uninterrupted operation of nuclear power plants. Interest groups and forces that reap side profits from the flow of capital have already established themselves.
The media, which shapes public opinion, is one of those key interest groups. The media has been consistently reporting only rosy visions while covering up the problems of nuclear power plants. The public is bound to be brainwashed when they hear the same content repeatedly. The SMR (small modular reactor) that has been prominently featured in recent articles is a typical example. It is a deformed entity that has not been verified yet and emits more nuclear waste.
If you follow others without thinking and cross the river called the world, you will eventually see yourself being swept away by the current. That is the state of modern humanity.
The problem is that the current capitalist power where the nuclear mafia lives has no ability to control itself. The military and religious power that dominated the past history before the capitalist power had a history of having some form of check and balance and thus self-correcting. However, the capitalist power is not like that. It is one-sided.
Furthermore, if it colludes with the state power, it cannot help but have the power to overwhelm the people. There is no proper check and balance. It is a fundamental problem in all areas. This essential problem is most evident in nuclear power plants. In this situation, nuclear wastewater dumping into the ocean continues. And there is a minimal civic movement against it. At the national level, China is responding sensitively to this, and at the local level, the US states of New York and Massachusetts are responding, but it is still woefully inadequate.
An event that seeks new possibilities for solidarity on a global scale
Above all, public opinion and its power to suppress nuclear power plants at the global civil society level need to be activated. The necessity has been argued for a long time, and although many efforts have been made, no significant momentum has been formed. Therefore, the author would like to imagine and propose the following event as a new possibility.
It is to hold an international oratory contest to condemn this in Korea, where civil society is strong and sensitive to the issue of nuclear wastewater dumping. Since there is only one ocean, there are people in countries that are sensitive to this topic. It is to gather their thoughts and arguments and create a platform for solidarity. Korea, which has a strong desire to open an era of the people, is likely to be the center of this.
The language of oratory contests is also usually English, but reflecting the trend of the times where there are many people who can speak Korean, a Korean-language oratory contest is being held. Since it is being held and evaluated in Korea, Korean is also a strong candidate. Foreign workers and students staying in Korea are quite comfortable with Korean. Therefore, if the draft is written in their native language and then translated into Korean, the speaker and the evaluator can proceed with a consistent flow.
To summarize the overall picture for the future,
1) The Japanese government plans to continue dumping nuclear wastewater. However, since the Japanese government is influenced by the US government, the fate of President Trump is important. In the US, the November 2026 House of Representatives and gubernatorial elections are as important as the presidential election. It is necessary to prepare for that time.
2) The intensity of interest is important in the nuclear wastewater struggle. The interest and will of residents of Asian countries such as Korea, China, Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, the Pacific Islands, Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia, which are directly affected by the damage, should be reflected in the US election.
3) And in the future, it should be promoted while rebuilding the capacity of the Korean Wave, the capacity of the Korean community, and the capacity of the global network. Let the global immigrants living in the United States demand a STOP pledge in the 2026 election
Considering this trend, I imagine holding the following contest this fall. A contest where foreigners living in Korea or foreigners planning to travel to Korea speak in Korean on the topic of ‘STOP nuclear wastewater dumping’.
The target countries are limited to the western Pacific coastal countries (12-15 countries) that can be seen as directly affected by nuclear wastewater.
The speech contest is important not only for the results and post-use, but also for the preparatory work. It has an international promotional effect during the application process. It contributes to the formation of global public opinion by sharing the speech materials (Korean and English) internationally.
GLOMA (Global Citizens’ March to STOP Nuclear Wastewater Dumping), of which I am the director, will be the organizer and will prepare in cooperation with universities, etc. And the recruitment guidelines and specific methods of operation will be announced on April 26, the 39th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear accident.
(Writer Lee Won-young is the director of the Korea Land Future Research Institute and the head of the Nuclear Power Plant Risk Public Information Center. He mainly carries out anti-nuclear power plant movements and prevent nuclear wastewater dumping through walking marches.)
Reporter Lee Won-young
Guest Editorial Committee
Input 2025.03.31
Sauce ; Hangyeore:On 2025-03-31
https://www.hanion.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=34496
Categories: Uncategorized
New Silk Road for Life and No-Nukes 
Leave a comment