The International Women’s Peace Group (IWPG), Mokpo Branch (Branch Manager Kim Sun-a), held a peace education session on the theme “Peace and Human Rights” on the 28th at Samhakdo Senior Community Center in Mokpo. Around 40 local older residents took part in the program.

The education was designed to promote a culture of mutual respect and consideration in everyday relationships with family members, friends, and neighbors, while helping participants explore practical ways to practice peace in their daily lives.

Peace Begins with the “Temperature of Our Words”

The session focused on “The Temperature of Words,” a communication activity that explored how the words we use in everyday life can affect our relationships with others.

Participants reflected on their own communication habits through true-or-false quizzes. They also took part in activities such as giving peace-inspired names to succulent plants and making a “finger promise,” through which they explored simple ways to practice positive communication in their daily lives.

The session also introduced a fundamental principle of human rights: “Just as I am valuable, so is the other person.”

Through everyday examples, participants discussed how recognizing and respecting differences can become the starting point for peace.

Rather than viewing peace as something distant or difficult, the education encouraged participants to see it as something that can be practiced through ordinary interactions with family, friends, and neighbors.

“It Made Me Think About the Other Person’s Feelings”

One participant reflected on situations in which disagreements can arise because people have different opinions.

“There are times when we argue because we think differently. After attending today’s session, I realized that I should think about the other person’s feelings one more time. I used to think peace was something difficult and distant, but I learned that it can begin simply by understanding and caring for one another. It was a meaningful experience.”

The participants shared the understanding that peace is not something practiced only by special individuals or organizations. It can begin with small actions in everyday life—listening to others, respecting differences, and choosing consideration over conflict.

Bringing Peace into Everyday Relationships

Kim Sun-a, Branch Manager of IWPG Mokpo Branch, said: “Peace begins not with grand slogans, but with how we speak and act in our everyday relationships. It is important that the values of peace and human rights do not remain only as lessons in a classroom, but lead to actual practice in our daily lives.”

IWPG Mokpo Branch plans to continue providing peace and human rights education in cooperation with local senior community centers. Through these activities, the branch aims to promote a culture of respect and consideration throughout the local community.