PEOPLE WITH A
PASSION FOR PEACE
Since 1995, the all-volunteer and interfaith peaceCENTER continues to be a significant community catalyst for peace in San Antonio, Texas. Compassion and Justice are our strong guiding lights. Contemplative Practices, Experiential Education, and Nonviolent Actions are our working expressions throughout the community at large.
285 Oblate Drive
San Antonio, Texas 78216
The peaceCENTER is a 501(c)((3)) non-profit
Monday’s Monument: This One Earth, DMZ, South Korea
The Demilitarized Zone is a strip of land running across the Korean Peninsula; it was established as part of the armistice agreement in 1953 to serve as a buffer zone between North and South Korea. Since 1974, the South Koreans have discovered four infiltration tunnels that start in North Korea and dip under the DMZ; they speculate that there may be as many as twenty yet-to-be-discovered tunnels. Only 20 miles from the South Korean capital of Seoul, the 3rd Infiltration Tunnel — “the Tunnel of Aggression” — was discovered in 1978. It penetrates 0.3 miles south of the DMZ, running through bedrock at a depth of about 240 feet below ground. Capable of moving a full division (30,000 soldiers, plus their weapons) per hour, to the South Koreans it was obviously designed for a surprise attack on Seoul. The North Koreans claim it was used for coal mining, although there is no coal in the area. This tunnel is now a tourist attraction, complete with a gift shop (concrete barriers prevent tourists from passing to the other side.) This statue is one of a number of pro-unification artworks and sculptures found on both sides of the DMZ. The split earth indicates the sadness of a country torn in two. Men, women and children on both sides of the divide attempt to push the earth back together, in a symbol of peace and forgiveness.
