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Past Seoul Public Forums

• [Ended] [Seoul]

  After Yoon Suk-yeol's Removal

  10 April(Thu) 2025, 7:30pm

  Speaker:

  Choi Il-bung (Member of the steering committee and international coordinator of Workers’ Solidarity, author of Russian Revolution: Hope and Defeat, co-author and editor of Capitalist State: A Marxist Perspective)

  Venue:

  Seoul Kyowon Tour Bldg. B4 (near Exit. 5 Jonggak Stn. / 258 Gwancheol-dong, Jongno District, Seoul)

  Hosted by

  Workers' Solidarity groups in Seoul

  Yoon has been removed, 122 days after his attempted coup. This was made possible by the brave and persistent resistance of the people. Now things will quickly shift toward the presidential election, but the destabilizing factors — amplified over the past 4 months — will not simply disappear. Yoon, who should be in jail, talks of ‘electoral victory’, while the far right is calling for mobilization. We’ll discuss what lies ahead and what have to be done for the true democracy and better lives that ordinary people aspired for.

  
• [Ended] [Seoul]

  AI Fever Sweeping the World:

  Hope or Catastrophe for Humanity?

  — A look into the current state and future of AI, as told by Prof. Choi MooYoung (Dept. of Physics & Astronomy, SNU)

  19 February(Wed) 2025, 7:30pm

  Speaker:

  Prof. Choi MooYoung has taught physics at Seoul National University for many years, and has been an outspoken progressive scientist on social issues, including Fukushima nuclear wastewater release. Recently, Aladdin bookstore selected his book “Prof. Choi Moo-young’s Physics Lectures” as one of the “Greatest Books of the 21st Century.”

  Venue:

  Seoul SK Telecom PS&M Bosingak store, 2F (near Exit. 5 Jonggak Stn. / 6 Ujeongguk-ro, Jongno District, Seoul)

  Hosted by

  Workers' Solidarity groups in Seoul

  China's AI, DeepSeek, is shaking up the field — developed at a fraction of the cost of its American counterparts despite U.S. attempts to hinder its progress. Will AI revitalize the economy? Will it replace jobs and intensify competition?

  
• [Ended] [Seoul]

  Amid the impeachment conflicts :

  Rethinking Democracy

  09 January(Thu) 2025, 7:30pm

  Speaker:

  Choi Il-bung (Member of the steering committee and international coordinator of Workers' Solidarity, author of Russian Revolution: Hope and Defeat, co-author and editor of Capitalist State: A Marxist Perspective)

  Venue:

  Seoul Kyowon Tour Bldg. B4 (near Exit. 5 Jonggak Stn. / 258 Gwancheol-dong, Jongno District, Seoul)

  Hosted by

  Workers' Solidarity groups in Seoul

  When Yoon Suk-yeol, who constantly preached about liberal democracy, staged a coup, many ordinary people took to the streets to defend democracy and successfully thwarted it. The parliament, which passed the motion to lift martial law, elevated its standing, but still is a place where Yoon's defenders remain firm in its position which stands in stark opposition to public sentiment. What is democracy? How can we protect the democratic rights we have won through struggle and achieve true democracy?

  
• [Ended] [Seoul]

  Movements to Remove Yoon Suk-yeol & Workers' Struggles

  11 December(Wed) 2024, 7:30pm

  Speaker:

  Choi Il-bung (Member of the steering committee and international coordinator of Workers' Solidarity, author of Russian Revolution: Hope and Defeat, co-author and editor of Capitalist State: A Marxist Perspective)

  Kim Munseong (Journalist for Workers’ Solidarity newspaper, co-author of Moon Jae-in Administration’s Betrayal of Candlelight movement’s Hope for Change)

  Venue:

  Seoul

  SK Telecom PS&M Bosingak store, 2F (near Exit. 5 Jonggak Stn. / 6 Ujeongguk-ro, Jongno District, Seoul)

  Hosted by

  Workers' Solidarity groups in Seoul

  Yoon Suk-yeol declared martial law in a surprise move, but only to lift it in the face of resistance. It was an attempt to suppress political opponents by force as his plummeting of popular support fueled a surge in the movements to remove Yoon. But angry ordinary people thwarted his plan for now. Is Yoon finished? Despite this failure, Yoon and the right wing are not going to abandon their reactionary attempts. We will discuss how we should fight back and how we move forward the struggles.

  
• [Ended] [Seoul]

  ISLAMOPHOBIA – A Prevalent Form of Racism Today

  24 October(Thu) 2024, 7:30pm

  Speaker:

  Choi Il-bung (Member of the steering committee and international coordinator of Workers' Solidarity, author of Marxism and Religion, editor of Strategies and Tactics in the Struggle Against Oppression.)

  Venue:

  Seoul Kyowon Tour Bldg. B4 (near Exit. 5 Jonggak Stn. / 258 Gwancheol-dong, Jongno District, Seoul)

  Hosted by

  Workers' Solidarity groups in Seoul

  There is a widespread prejudice that views muslims as fanatics or as potential or actual terrorists. It is argued that Western values are rationality, individual freedom, and women's rights, while Islamic values are primitiveness, violence, and sexism. Not only the right-wing but also many liberals and even some leftists consider Islamism as a kind of right-wing ideology.Islamophobia has intensified in the West over the past 30 years, and now the situation is becoming similar in South Korea. We'll look at what is problematic about Islamophobia, where it originates, why it is increasing, and why we must oppose it.