Mission Statement
Through grassroots organizing and community development, Nodutdol seeks to bridge divisions created by war, nation, gender, sexual orientation, language, class, and generation among Koreans and to empower our community to address the injustices we and other people of color face here and abroad. Nodutdol works in collaboration with other progressive organizations locally, nationally and internationally as part of a larger movement for peace and social change.
Nodutdol seeks to contribute to a global people's struggle against war and militarism as part of a Korean struggle for national unification and democracy, and as part of a U.S.-based peoples' struggle for racial, social and economic justice in New York City. In that spirit, we are building a broad base of NYC Koreans who struggle against war and militarism on these two fronts.
Description
WHO WE ARE
Based in New York City, Nodutdol is a community of first through fourth generation Koreans living in the U.S. We are a community that has families in both the south and north of Korea and in the diaspora beyond. We are diverse in our backgrounds and perspectives, but bound together by our shared sense of the Korean homeland that continues to suffer under division [with the understanding that the concept of 'home' may vary]. We are part of the Korean diaspora spread throughout the globe made up of artists, filmmakers, teachers, students, workers, professionals, young families, and media activists who believe in social justice.
HISTORY
In April 1999, Nodutdol was founded in New York City. Inspired by the democratic social movements in Korea, globally, and here in the United States, there was a desire to create a progressive space in NYC that promotes the self-determination and unity of the Korean people through grassroots organizing and community development. With a critical analysis of the U.S. - Korea history [that is closely linked to war and militarism], Nodutdol began putting together workshops, lectures, and study sessions, believing in the importance of educating present and future generations of Koreans living in the U.S. to be actively engaged in social change.
