The founder of the Unification Church, Sun Myung Moon (1920~2012), has led the way in the path to realizing world peace. Although he is referred to as a heretic within Christian circles, there are also many who recognize Rev. Moon as having taken critical steps towards realizing world peace. This was one of the reasons why so many devotees came to his SeongHwa service. We want to reflect on the life of Rev. Moon, the man who lived for the sake of interreligious and internationalworld peace.  

Around 680,000 people from 194 countries gave ceremonial tributes upon his passing.  About 215,000 people came to pay their respects at his funeral.  He received about 180,000 bouquets of flowers on his gravesite. Around 40,000 people came to be near him. About 8,000 kilograms of rice were served to the visitors, which came to about 93,000 servings. There were approximately 6,000 volunteers helping out at his funeral. He received 220 messages of condolence from countries around the world, including North Korea. 

These are the various records taken during the SeongHwa service (the Unification term for passing away) of Rev. Sun Myung Moon. The service lasted from September 6th to 15th, 2012. At the funeral service held at Gapyeong on September 15th, about 35,000 people from around the world came to pay their condolences. 

Many esteemed leaders came to pay their respects as well. Ham Lini, the Deputy Premier of Vanuatu, Lokendra Bahadur Chand, the former Prime Minister of Nepal, Jose de Venecia, Jr., the former Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines, Stanislav Shushkevich, former Chairman of Belarus, Philippa Muturano, Prime Minister of Tanzania, Alberto Ouedraogo, Minister of Citizen’s Human Rights in Burkina Faso, former American Congressman Earl Hilliard, Noah Idechong, Speaker of the House of Delegates of Palau, and Vladimir Frolov, the former Director of the National Laboratory for Foreign Policy, were among many other former and current political leaders from around the world in attendance. Dr. Gilda Price and 40 other members of the American Clergy Leadership Conference (ACLC) came to the funeral service to celebrate the accomplishments of Rev. Moon. 

Domestically, Ven. Ja Seung, the Executive Chief of the Korean Buddhist Jogye Order, as well as Ven. Bo Seon, the Chairman of the Jogye Order’s Religious Assembly, Nam Jeong Jeong, the Executive Chief of the Korean Buddhist Chunghwa Order, and In Gong Park, the Executive Chief of the Korean Buddhist Taego order, among other venerated monks, attended the funeral procession. 

Mourning for a life lived for peace transcends borders, ideological and religious differences.

During the funeral, letters of condolence were sent by former and current leaders of many different countries. Ma Ying-jeou, the President of the Republic of China, sent a letter that read “I want to express my deepest sympathies on the passing of Rev. Moon.”Ati George Sokomanu, the first president of Vanuatu, wrote in commemoration “Rev. Moon was a man that gave, and a man that carried an extraordinary vision”, and “I want to express my condolences to the bereaved, who must feel such a sense of loss.” Kim Jeong-Un, Chairman of the National Defense Committee of North Korea, also sent a letter of condolence. 

The New York Times, Reuters, CNN, BBC, and other premier world media outlets all shed new light on Rev. Moon’s life through articles and news stories. 

What is the power that brought hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world to one place? Why is the whole world mourning the loss of Rev. Moon?  One obvious truth is that they are acknowledging the accomplishments of Rev. Moon, his hard work to build world peace that transcends ideology and religion. 

The Unification Church summarizes the accomplishments of the life of Rev. Moon as ‘peace,’ ‘love,’ and ‘family.’ These three points have always been emphasized during the lectures and sermons of Rev. Moon. There are also those who say that the “absolute love” and “absolute truth” of Rev. Moon’s Unification Thought played a big part in destroying Communist ideology and disbanding the Cold War system towards the end of the 20th century. 

Rev. Moon also proposed a world of peace, without discord, as the goal of mankind in the 21st century. He didn’t just talk about world peace; he made real efforts to realize it. This is why the late Alexander Haig, former U.S. Secretary of State, proclaimed that Rev. Moon was an “immensely important mediator for peace” and “the mediator for the world stage.”Secretary Haig said that “Rev. Moon can take people from various backgrounds and religions and help them converse and understand each other. He is the driving force in securing world peace.”

In order to establish lasting peace, Rev. Moon has established organizations and programs not just in Korea, but in many countries around the world. The peace that he dreamed of was not simply the lack of war between countries. Rev. Moon emphasized that peace had the absolute value of embracing everyone. 

Chasing the ideal of mankind as one family

One primary peace program that Rev. Moon established is the Ambassadors for Peace initiative. This is a program that emphasizes service for God and mankind, as well as harmony and unity between different races, religions, nationalities, and cultures. This program is initiating service projects in both advanced countries and developing countries, such as Afghanistan and Zimbabwe.  This program is working taking effect within 160 countries all together. 

Rev. Moon is forwarding a vast and varied number of peace programs around the world. You can see his hope for peace just by looking at the names of the international organizations he has founded. All of the organizations carry the word “peace” in their titles. Some of the representative organizations include the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, World Peace Summit Conference, Inter-Religious Federation for World Peace, Professors World Peace Academy, Women’s Federation for World Peace, and the Youth Federation for World Peace, among many others. 

Rev. Moon was born in Jeongju, Pyeonganbuk-do, in 1920.  At the age of 15, he transferred to Osan Primary school, a private school in his hometown, and learned many new things.  When he was studying abroad at an engineering high school in Japan (an affiliate school to Waseda University), he became fascinated with the Bible.  It was then that he discovered the foundation of what we now call “Unification Principle” within the Unification Church. 

Rev. Moon started out as a ‘Christian evangelist,’ reading the Bible, praying and spreading the word, but on May 1st, 1954, he founded the Unification Church. He made the church the basis for the unfolding of the ideological movement meant for all mankind. He emphasized a new ideological standard of value for politics, economics, society, culture and all of mankind—that of ‘family,’ ‘true love,’ and ‘peace.’ That is why it is impossible to label Rev. Moon as simply a ‘religious leader.’

 To his followers, Rev. Moon was a respected teacher, a true parent and a leader with a vision. He is also praised as “the ideal man who built the foundation that became the turning point for the realization of world peace.”

Rev. Moon focused his vision on the creation of a world based on the culture of heart. This is especially substantiated through the International Marriage Blessing. He proclaimed that the Blessing is directly connected to the realization of world peace, through true love that transcends race. Starting with the 36 couples in 1961, President Moon has presided over international marriage blessings for 72 couples, then 124 couples, 430 couples, 777 couples, 1,800 couples, 6,000 couples, 6,500 couples, 30,000 couples, 360,000 couples, 3,600,000 couples and many more.  Before receiving the Blessing, Blessed families must complete a “period of forgiveness,” with the mindset of washing away all of the moral flaws of the past. After the Blessing, couples must protect the sacred family value of fidelity.

Never resting on the path towards unity of North and South, world peace

Rev. Moon spread out the movement of peace and unification throughout the whole world.  Communist countries are no exception. He emphasized a doctrine that only through overcoming atheist Communism could the citizens of Communist countries feel new hope. 

Rev. Moon, who established the International Federation for Victory over Communism (1968) and the Citizen’s Federation for the Unification of the Fatherland (1987), stressed the importance of victory over Communism through large rallies and assemblies. In 1985, Rev. Moon established a group composed of scholars for research of Communist theory and even announced the “end of Communism.”  Even when meeting former Soviet Union President Gorbachev and Premier Kim Il-sung, he pointed out the flaws and limitations of Communism and was a major contributing factor in the transitions of the world’s economic regimes. 

All of these accomplishments are said to have come from the Rev. Moon’s never-ending passion for world peace. With the realization of world peace as the central axis, as well as the Unification of North and South Korea, Rev. Moon’s passion never died down. 

“Today I am speaking about the unification of the Fatherland. We need to move forward centering on the family to fulfill the wish of 70 million Korean people: that conflict and fighting will stop and the nation can become one through reconciliation and love” (Address in Beijing after visiting North Korea on December 7th, 1991).

In order to establish the fervent 1981 South American movement for victory over Communism, Rev. Moon established CAUSA. CAUSA is an interdenominational and interfaith program that exposes falsehood and deceit and works under the banner of true freedom, peace and happiness, for the realization of an ideal world. 

Rev. Moon created a world scale organization for the realization of world peace in September of 2005.  With the goal of ending conflict within the global village and realizing true peace, Rev. Moon founded the Universal Peace Federation (UPF), a nongovernmental international organization comprised of about 350 leaders including former and current presidents, prime ministers and leaders from 125 different countries. UPF is confident that it can become a major international organization and support the United Nations.

The members of the World Peace Summit, founded by Rev. Moon, have been actively participating in international peace work for a long time. With a substantial rough draft in mind, the World Peace Summit has been supervising international summits, seminars and fact finding tours, among other projects.  Their main pending issues include the reduction of nuclear arms, reunification of North-South Korea, peace in the Middle East, Cooperation in Latin America, African economic independence and environmental issues. 

The Founding of Countless Institutions and Enterprises for the Realization of an Ideal World

Starting in June of 1974, after 4 invitations, the International Federation for Victory over Communism (IFVOC) successfully carried out the first visits between 625 pro-North Korean and pro-South Korean residents in Japan. The IFVOC carried out the largest recorded meeting of Korean residents in Japan for North-South Korea Unification, the first visit of the Little Angels Performing Arts Group to North Korea before and after the North-South Korea Summit, the first visit of the Pyongyang Children and Students Performing Arts Troup to Seoul, as well as talks on the construction of a Korean-Japanese undersea tunnel and the “Peace King Bridge Tunnel,” a bridge over the Bering Strait connecting Alaska and Siberia.  Other IFVOC efforts for peace among mankind include the March for Peace in Israel, a gathering of Christian, Islamic, Jewish, and various leaders from about 50 different countries for peace in the Middle East, as well as a tour to the countries that participated in the 6.25 Korean War, to visit the veterans. 

Rev. Moon created various institutions and enterprises as tools to realize his dream of an ideal world.  Through the Interdenominational Christian Association, Korea Religious Association, Inter-Religious Federation for World Peace and other organizations, he has labored for reconciliation and agreement between religions. He has put his heart and soul into educating future generations and guiding society by founding and taking over many institutions, such as the Segye Times, the Washington Times, the Noticias del Mundo, UPI Communications and other press institutions. He has also established many schools, such as Sun Moon University, the University of Bridgeport, Sunhwa Arts Middle and High Schools, Kyung Bok Elementary School, Sunjung Middle and High Schools, as well as the Cheongshim International Middle and High Schools. 

He also showed a large interest in the women’s movement. His wife, Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon, as the President of the Women’s Federation for World Peace, leads the way in cultivating women leaders from countries around the world, and their work is expanding into various fields as well. Rev. Moon has worked tirelessly, investing all of his efforts into everything from the standardization of the technology industry in both developed and underdeveloped countries to the advancement of economic technologies. 

He has taken noteworthy steps toward the future reunification of North and South Korea, from founding the International Conference on the Unity of the Sciences to managing the North Korean Botonggang Hotel, as well as the Pyeonghwa Motors Corporation. 

Rev. Moon heartily supports many international relief organizations for the elimination of poverty, as well as voluntary service agencies, such as Aewon Volunteer Organization.  He also supports and has vested interest in institutions supporting physical education, such as the Ilhwa Soccer Foundation and the Peace Cup, as well as institutions supporting the arts, such as the Universal Ballet and the Little Angels Performing Arts Group. The various enterprises that he advanced during his life are now steadily progressing, centered on Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon. Dr. Han has selected 43 countries to become the “central countries” of the Unification Church, and centering on a strategy of ‘select and concentrate,’ is driving the growth of the church. Rev. Moon’s dream is progressing into the present. 

Who is Rev. Dr. Sun Myung Moon?  Born in 1920 in Jeong-ju, Pyeonganbuk-do, Rev. Moon graduated from an engineering high school, an affiliate school of Waseda University in Japan. In 1954 he founded the Unification Church. In 1958, starting with Japan, the church began missionary work, and in 1959 they reached America. In just about 50 years, they have established mission fields in 194 countries, and have grown to become a world-level religion. In December of 1991, Rev. Moon, who offered up his life for world peace, visited Premier Kim Il-sung in North Korea. They discussed and came to agreement on many things, such as the arranging the North-South Summit and the reunion of separated families, as well as the economic exchange between North and South Korea, such as the development of Mt. Kumgang. Rev. Moon was also featured in the British national newspaper “Sunday Times,” along with Syngman Rhee, as one of the “1,000 people who made the 20th century”. 

April 1972, Rev. Sun Myung Moon publicly speaks in front of devotees in Saitama, Japan, emphasizing that mankind is one family. 

In 1990, Rev. Sun Myung Moon met with Middle Eastern religious leaders and stressed the role of religion in bringing about peace. 

Rev. Moon prays for “the salvation of mankind” and “the realization of world peace”