20 May 2022 – by Earth Refuge Correspondent Ye-Eun Kim
In this interview, correspondent Ye-Eun Kim is speaking with Jihyuk Oh from South Korea about civil disobedience as a non-violent means to fight the climate crisis. Together, they explore the question of why South Korean youth are both victims and perpetrators of climate change. On the one hand, their age makes it very likely that the impacts of climate change will affect their future. On the other hand, because of where they live, they are part of an extractory society that continues to damage the climate.
Over the course of the interview, Jihyuk shares how his organization ‘Youth Climate Emergency Action’ is addressing this dilemma by using civil disobedience to kick off a “new type of transition into a livable and a greener society”. By using many vivid examples, he explains the power of this non-violent means as well as the challenges his organization faces.
“We’re trying to expose how the legal system itself does not actually protect us the people, but protects the private companies more, and that the legal system already has failed us. These companies haven’t been taken responsible for their greenhouse gas emissions nor for their pollutions.”
Youth Climate Emergency Action (YCEA) is a nonviolent direct action group against the climate crisis. In order to realize climate justice among countries, regions, classes, generations, genders, and species, YCEA is demanding drastic reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from the government and businesses. Their mission is to ensure the rights of those who are facing this crisis right now, let alone the next generation that is to come in decades.
