"Stitching Korea Back Together": Jogakbo Aesthetics of Care in Peace Advocacy

Abstract: This article examines the peace advocacy of Women Cross DMZ, a Korean diasporicled collective of feminist activists who are calling for a formal end to the Korean War and the centering of women in peacebuilding processes. During peace symposia in North Korea and South Korea and walks in 2015, Women Cross DMZ utilized objects—scarves, banners, and quilts—inspired by jogakbo , a Korean patchwork-style cloth that originated during the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910). As technologies of care, jogakbo cloth objects serve as a means through which people practice care and embody ideals for peace. Looking at the multiple crossings of Women Cross DMZ through jogakbo as an object and process attunes us to the temporal and scalar aspects of varied practices of peace advocacy.