On June 5th, contaminated marine creature dolls with plastics appeared at the Jeju International Convention Center where the 2025 World Environment Day commemorative event was held. This performance was carried out by young fishermen, haenyeo (a female diver), a child living in Jeju Island, activists from Uproot Plastics and the civil society organization in Jeju urging the new government to reduce production to break the vicious cycle of plastic pollution.
The theme of the 2025 World Environment Day is ‘Beat Plastic Pollution’. At this press conference, Uproot Plastics stood in solidarity with Jeju Islanders suffering from a sea of trash while the government ignored calls for production cuts due to concerns for losses in the petrochemical industry. The fundamental solution to ending plastic pollution is production cuts, but the government has persistently adhered to a management-centric response approach for over 20 years. The increasing production and consumption volume of plastics coupled with the overwhelming amount of waste, has led to ecological contamination that is now irreversible without production cuts.
Jung-do Kim, a young fisherman in Jeju, said, “I moved to Jeju to make a living from the sea, but fishing has now become a matter of collecting plastic waste rather than catching fish” and demanded that the government clearly declare plastic production reduction as a national agenda, lamenting the fact that only temporary measures focused on collection are being repeated.
Yu-jung Lee, a Jeju haenyeo (female diver), said, “We have decided to no longer remain silent on behalf of the voiceless sea.” Those who spend several hours a day in the sea gathering seafood are exposed to dozens of times more microplastics than others. She poured out, “Trash is not just an unsightly problem; it is a threat to our lives as haenyeo.” Emphasizing that a truckload of plastic flows into the ocean every second, she stressed the need for the courage to stop producing it.
Next, Ha-min Choi, a third-grader at Jeju Jongdal Elementary School, said, “There are limits to what children can do” and even though they are doing plogging and using reusable containers to solve the plastic pollution problem, “if adults do not find ways to produce and use less plastics, our future could be in real danger” —holding adults, who are the ones responsible for solving the problem, accountable. He expressed his desire to continue swimming and playing in the sand with his friends in the clear Jeju ocean and requested that at least one adult take action in response to his remarks today.
Finally, Faye Ferrer, East Asia and Southeast Asia Network Organizer for the international environmental movement BFFP (Break Free From Plastic), stated in relation to this year's World Environment Day, “I hope this serves as a reminder that everyone must play a role in ending plastic pollution.” She also demanded that the South Korean government support practical solutions including production cuts at the upcoming INC-5.2 meeting in Geneva in August, as it is a rare opportunity to structurally change the response to plastic pollution.
The Uproot Plastics pointed out in its press release that although South Korea ranks fourth in the world in terms of plastic raw material production capacity, the government has not even begun to make efforts such as production reduction in consideration of environmental issues. Recalling that South Korea hosted the first part of the 5th session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee(INC-5) last year, they pointed out, “While the government is ignoring the fundamental solution of production cuts, the damage is completely being borne by the people who live in harmony with nature and their children who are growing up.”
They added, “A large amount of plastic waste that is not incinerated or landfilled moves into waterways, with plastics accounting for 80% of marine debris. Plastic has been found throughout the world's waterways, including rivers, coasts, sea surfaces, deep seas, and polar ice caps. There are already 19 million tons of microplastics accumulated in rivers and 3 million tons in the ocean.” “At the end of the ecological destruction exacerbated by plastic, there is humanity,” they emphasized, adding, ”We must stop prioritizing the losses of the petrochemical industry, which is centered on large corporations, over the problems caused by policies without production cuts, such as environmental pollution, ecological destruction, and infringement on public health rights.”
Suna Kim, an activist in Green Korea United who moderated the event, noted, “The upcoming INC-5.2 scheduled in about two months, will be the final meeting where the treaty text is finalized.” She concluded the press conference by reiterating the importance of the Korean government fulfilling its role as a responsible member of the global community in reducing plastic production during the final negotiations of the plastic treaty.
The press conference began 30 minutes before the ministerial roundtable discussion and was attended by activists from the Uproot Plastics, Jeju Islanders, and a specialized organization in Green Korea United, the Marine Citizen Science Center Paran which is located in Jeju.
Members of the Uproot Plastics coalition include Action for a Carcinogen-free Korea, Almang Market, Break Free From Plastic (BFFP), Climate Change Center (CCC), Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA), Green Korea United (GKU), Greenpeace Korea, Korea Federation for Environmental Movements (KFEM), Korea Zerowaste Movement Network, Korean Women's Environmental Network (KWEN), Our Sea of East Asia Network (OSEAN), RELOOP, Resource Circulation Society & Economy Institute, Seoul Korea Federation for Environmental Movements (Seoul KFEM), Wonjin Institute for Occupational and Environmental Health (WIOEH).
For media inquiries, contact Kim Suna of Green Korea United: 010-2468-9390; rrkawl@greenkorea.org. Photos are available here.
