A Call Against Arms was part of Activate, Al Jazeera English’s ambitious new series spotlighting activists on the front lines of global struggles for justice, rights and the environment. The film follows the people of Gangjeong, a small village on South Korea’s Jeju Island, as they take on the South Korean government and navy over the construction of one of the region’s largest naval bases. With fewer than 2,000 residents, the village becomes the unlikely centre of a struggle over militarisation, environmental protection and the future balance of power in East Asia.
The South Korean government argues that the base is essential for national security. But many villagers and activists fear it will destabilise the region, draw Jeju into wider US-China tensions, and destroy a coastline central to the community’s spiritual life, fishing economy and fragile marine ecosystem. As construction cuts residents off from the sea, local campaigners respond with daily acts of non-violent resistance, from blocking bulldozers to chaining themselves to the gates of the site.
The film follows activists including Sung-Hee Choi and Song Kang Ho, whose opposition to the base has led to imprisonment, re-arrest and personal sacrifice. What begins as a local environmental protest becomes a wider story about militarism, democracy and the price paid by communities caught between global power and their own right to exist. It is a portrait of a village fighting not only to protect its coastline, but to defend the meaning of peace itself.
Made by Hannah Murphy in collaboration with Eki Rrahmani, A Call Against Arms was part of Activate, Al Jazeera English’s ambitious new activist-led series, which was nominated for Best New Voice at the One World Media Awards.
