Education

Below are educational resources and trainings for anyone eager to learn about faith-based peacebuilding or Korea peace:

FAITH-BASED PEACEBUILDING

Christian Peacebuilding
If you are interested in joining an introductory small group study on the Christian principles and practices of peacebuilding, please contact Jennie to participate in an upcoming online cohort. Jennie also teaches a version of this curriculum in Korea.

Nonviolent Jesus Podcast
A free, weekly podcast, featuring Fr. John Dear and guests to inspire everyone to follow the nonviolent Jesus more faithfully and do our part to welcome God’s reign of peace with justice on earth.

Across the Divide Podcast
Podcast hosted and produced by a group of Palestinian and American Christians and is a space for thoughtful and critical conversations that reflect on the situation in Palestine-Israel through the lens of Christian faith, theology, and the Bible.

Peace Catalyst Blog
Browse articles written by Peace Catalyst staff, as we seek to live at peace and apply Jesus-style peacemaking in our modern world.

Peace Catalyst Events
See a list of upcoming events and courses sponsored by Peace Catalyst International.

If your friends or local church group are interested in doing a book study on any of the following titles, great idea! 💡 If you’d like to join a virtual book study with others, contact Jennie to plan it together:

📖 Peace Catalysts
Rick Love, the late founder of Peace Catalyst International, blends Scripture and personal experiences to share the principles that have guided his peacemaking efforts. He provides a biblical framework for how the God of peace seeks restoration for all who experience conflict―in the home and workplace and even across international borders.

📖 How to Have an Enemy: Righteous Anger and the Work of Peace
Jesus called us to love our enemies. But to befriend an enemy, we first have to acknowledge their existence, understand who they are, and recognize the ways they are acting in opposition to God’s good news. In this book, Melissa Florer-Bixler looks closely at what the Bible says about enemies—who they are, what they do, and how Jesus and his followers responded to them.

📖 Fight Like Jesus: How Jesus Waged Peace Through Holy Week
At the start of Holy Week, tears streamed down Jesus’ face as he cried out, “If only you knew the things that make for peace.” What if—despite all our familiarity with scripture—we still don’t know how Jesus makes peace? We desperately need to recover Jesus’ vision and be trained in his way of making peace. This book is a good place to start. A great read during lent.

📖 The Beatitudes of Peace
The Beatitudes are the vision of Jesus’ blueprint for Christian discipleship, and job description of every Christian. John Dear’s meditations combine scriptural wisdom with practical advice from global peacemakers. The God of peace is alive and at work among us, calling his sons and daughters into the fullness of a life of true, lasting peace.

📖 Advancing Nonviolence and Just Peace in the Church and the World
This book, fruit of Pax Christi’s Catholic Nonviolence Initiative, intends to deepen understanding of and commitment to Gospel nonviolence. It details how nonviolence is a core Gospel value, constitutive of the life of faith; essential to transforming violence and injustice; a universal ethic; and necessary foundation for culture of peace (study guide).

📖 A Bible Study Manual on Conflict Transformation
Peace and war are major topics in the Bible. This manual does not attempt to provide a complete study of such matters in the Bible, but seeks to equip and enable Christians to engage more effectively in the conflicts around them in ways that bring healing, hope and reconciliation. Find more by Daniel Buttry, including multi-faith peacebuilding resources, at his website: http://globalpeacewarriors.org/.

Curious? Find the rest of the series on Daniel Buttry’s vimeo channel

✌🏾 Rev. MLK on US Foreign Policy
Some Americans have forgotten that Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke out on foreign policy. I consider his words a prophetic call that the American government should heed. This link will take you to a podcast on that very subject.

💜 Nonviolence
A website with excellent resources to teach you what nonviolence looks like in practice. Nonviolence is not passivity, rather “love in action.” I encourage Christian friends to take the biblical injunction to “overcome evil with good” (Rom. 12:21) as an invitation to a life of active nonviolence.

📖 Themes of Catholic Social Teaching
Catholic friends may find this resource instructive for how the Church’s social teaching guides us to build a just society and live lives of holiness amidst the challenges of modern society.

📖 Archbishop of Santa Fe’s Letter on Nuclear Disarmament
A direct call from the Church in response to global nuclear proliferation.

KOREA PEACE

Produced by the Korean Sharing Movement (우리만족서로돕기운동)

📚 Books on Korean History and the Unended War

The Korean War: A History and other books by Bruce Cumings

It Tastes Like War: A Memoir and other books by Grace M. Choi

Quest for Peace: A Memoir by Han S. Park, translated by Jennie Telfer

Human Acts and poetry by Nobel prize winning poet, Han Kang

DMZ Colony and other books by Don Mi Choi

Frequently Asked Questions about Ending the Korean War
This printable, 4-fold brochure from Korea Peace Now answers common questions about ending the Korean War. For more talking points for peace in Korea, see the video below:

Korea Peace Study Group
Join us for a monthly study group to equip advocates for their work to end war and build peace in Korea. Sessions take place on the second Friday of each month at 8 pm eastern US time. Contact us to join our next study group on Zoom, or watch some of the past presentations above.

Committee for the Reconciliation of the Korean People
A monthly publication in English, to keep readers informed on inter-Korean issues that affect not only peace on the Korean Peninsula but throughout the world. You can subscribe to receive the newsletter by email.

Korea Policy Institute
An independent research and educational institute whose mission is to provide timely analysis of United States policies toward Korea and developments on the Korean peninsula. Excellent resource for in-depth learning.

🎞 Films About Korea and the Unended Korean War

North Korea: Beyond the DMZ
This documentary by JT Takagi and Hye-Jung Park, which aired on PBS in the early 2000s, addresses a lot of questions Americans typically have about the DPRK (north Korea). It does a good job of presenting the system and society as north Koreans present it themselves (I know this from the many questions I asked during my visits!) – as opposed to how its generally depicted in western media. As part of Peace Catalyst’s “understand, connect, collaborate” model, I think this film is a good primer toward understanding the DPRK. Purchase the film here.

Crossings Documentary
An amazing documentary, by Deann Borshay Liem, depicts a group of international women peacemakers setting out on a risky journey across the demilitarized zone between north and south Korea, calling for an end to the 70-year war that has divided the Korean peninsula and its people. This film may serve as an introduction to the movement to end the Korean war, and 🎞 can be viewed on PBS WORLD. You can read a viewing guide for discussion questions and historical background.

Insight Into North Koreans
This documentary was made by two diasporic Koreans who became curious to know North Korean people better after visiting the DPRK. They set off to learn more about North Korean people from people who had lived or worked in the DPRK extensively. Watch it here.

History of Intra-Korean Catholic Exchanges
This short film gives an cursory overview of religious exchanges in the Korean Catholic church since the peninsula was divided. It is the prayer of faithful Catholics in both north and south that there will be peace and reconciliation on the Korean Peninsula.

Korean Peace Learning Library
An open-source learning library intended to empower peace advocates working to end the Korean War. Please contact Jennie if you would like to contribute to the library.

PAST PRESENTATIONS

The links below are an archive of presentations related to faith-based peacebuilding, engagement with North Korea, and peacebuilding on the Korean Peninsula. Enjoy!