Thousands attend US Out of Korea protests in six cities opposing imminent military drills in Korea

The White House and Senator John Fetterman’s office became sites of protest against the Ulchi Freedom Shield military exercises in Korea, which hundreds of thousands of people in South Korea protested on August 15. 

[UNITED STATES] On August 15 and 16, thousands of people in six US cities protested the annual US-ROK Ulchi Freedom Shield military exercises, a large series of war drills beginning on August 18 that has historically escalated tensions with North Korea. The protests in the US coincided with massive demonstrations against the military exercises in South Korea, which were attended by hundreds of thousands of people.

In Washington, DC activists rallied at the White House on the evening of Friday, August 15, in spite of this week’s federalization of the DC police. On August 25, President Trump and ROK President Lee Jae Myung will meet at the White House for their first summit.

In Philadelphia, PA local Korean, Filipino, and Palestinian American organizations rallied at the Korean War Memorial Park on the morning of Friday, August 15, before marching on Senator John Fetterman’s office, incorporating demands to stop US-ROK war exercises as part of the ongoing “Fetterman Fridays” protests.

In New York, NY hundreds marched from Herald Square near Manhattan’s Koreatown to Madison Square Park on the evening of Friday, August 15.

In Seattle, WA protesters braved the rain for a rally at Cal Anderson Park on the evening of Friday, August 15.

In Los Angeles, CA hundreds rallied in the heart of Koreatown on the afternoon of Saturday, August 16, before marching together to the ROK consulate.

In Oakland, CA activists held a rally and educational program near Lake Merritt on the morning of Saturday, August 16, engaging hundreds of participants with educational and art-based programming.

Ulchi Freedom Shield comes at a time of already-heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula. Despite making campaign promises to diplomatically engage North Korea, the Trump administration has failed to do so. Pyongyang says it will reject all US calls for dialogue premised on the goal of denuclearizing North Korea. While the US and ROK recently announced some field training exercises will be postponed until September, this is unlikely to satisfy conditions for restarting dialogue.

The Trump administration’s overtures towards the North Korean government have been notably rejected since the former assumed office this January. South Korean peace groups continue to call attention to the fact that the sharp increase in US military activity in Korea since 2022 has made diplomatic engagement impossible. This July, the US, South Korea, and Japan held their first-ever trilateral aerial exercise in international airspace close to Korea, featuring the use of US nuclear-capable B-52H Stratofortress bombers. Last year, the US-ROK Nuclear Consultative Group held its first-ever joint military tabletop exercise to discuss the deployment and use of US nuclear strategic assets in Korea. According to independent South Korean journalist Jang Chang-jun, US Forces Korea conducted 200 days of military drills in Korea in 2023, and 275 days of drills in 2024.

This year’s Ulchi Freedom Shield military drills come on the heels of the recent US-ROK tariff deal, which has spurred a wave of popular resentment in South Korea. Concerns are mounting that the $350 billion investment package, $150 billion of which is earmarked for the US shipbuilding industry, will gut South Korean industry and lead to loss of jobs and a weakened economy. The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, which represents over a million workers, has criticized the deal as “humiliating.” 

On August 25, President Lee Jae Myung will travel to Washington D.C. for his first summit with President Trump. It is widely anticipated that this meeting with result in agreements to “modernize” the US-ROK alliance. As part of negotiations, the Trump administration is demanding South Korea increase payments to the US under the Special Measures Agreement from $1.13 to $10 billion a year. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has also called for South Korea to raise its annual defense spending to 5% of GDP, which would be about $87 billion. 

Ju-Hyun Park, an organizer with Nodutdol for Korean Community Development said, “It’s outrageous that the Trump administration is proceeding with Ulchi Freedom Shield after the Pocheon military disaster this March, and while relations between the US, Republic of Korea, and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea are particularly sensitive. Only a significant and permanent reduction in US-ROK hostilities against the DPRK can reopen the possibility for dialogue and an eventual peaceful resolution to the Korean War. The Trump administration must cancel Ulchi Freedom Shield and abandon its coercive approach to negotiations, which makes a mockery of the very idea of diplomacy itself.”

Soobok Kim, a member of Veterans for Peace, said, “Conducting military exercises in Korea at this time is like playing with fire. The fragile situation on the Korean Peninsula is only protected by a 72-year ceasefire between the US and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. It is time to stop the war exercises and engage in diplomacy with the objective of establishing a peace agreement so the Korean people can heal.”

Hyunsook Elizabeth Cho , Korea Peace Now! Grassroots Network said, “On Aug. 15, 2025, on the 80th anniversary of Korean Liberation from Colonial Japan, we are protesting in front of the White House to call for an end to the Korean War, halt the offensive military war drills, and bring peace to Korea and our community.  It’s time to replace war drills with peace talks — real security comes from reconciliation, not massive war drills.  Every war drill on the Korean Peninsula risks reigniting a war that should have ended 72 years ago.”

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