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ORDER NUMBER
90-02-02
REVEREND SUN MYUNG MOON
SPEAKS ON
THE REUNIFICATION OF KOREA
AND COOPERATION
BETWEEN EAST AND WEST
Second Summit Council
for World Peace
February 2, 1990
Founder's Address
Crystal Ballroom,
Lotte Hotel, Seoul, Korea
Mr. Chairman, Distinguished former Heads of State, Prime Ministers
of Government, Honorable Legislators and Ambassadors, Ladies and
Gentlemen:
I am pleased and honored to welcome you to Korea for this important
conference. I am very glad that we are gathered together for the second
Summit Council for World Peace with the theme of the reunification of
Korea and cooperation between East and West. Furthermore, I am very
happy that together with this summit conference, we are convening the
eighth conference of the Association for the Unity of Latin America,
commonly known as AULA, which has a tremendous record of achievement in
bringing about the harmony and unity of Latin America over the last
seven years.
I truly feel that the timing of this conference is very significant.
This is the beginning of 1990, and the new decade of the nineties. In
ten years, we are going to usher in the year 2000. In our lifetime, we
will witness the beginning of the new millennium. We must feel the
tremendous importance of living in this time, and not only witnessing
dramatic changes in human life, but actually shaping those events.
It is a hope shared by all of us that the new millennium be
characterized by true peace. For that to be so, the next ten years will
be challenging and demanding. These organizations which have gathered
here today, the Summit Council for World Peace and AULA, have a very
important part to play during the next ten years. I extend my heartfelt
congratulations to you for the work you have already done for the
achievement of peace. At the same time, I would like to challenge you
to become the champions of peace of the new decade
From Confrontation to Reconciliation
The period between the close of World War II and the present,
roughly forty years, can be viewed as the age of confrontation between
two camps of diametrically opposed ideologies. There have been numerous
conflicts between people and between nations, accompanied by an
escalating arms race. There was really no moment in this time when
people could have a feeling of peace in their hearts.
Then, in 1985, Mr. Gorbachev came to power in the Soviet Union, and
began to initiate a series of changes. He encouraged greater freedoms
of expression within the Soviet Union, undertook a restructuring of the
Soviet economy, and perhaps most significantly, repudiated the Brezhnev
doctrine. Within a short time, dramatic political change within the
Soviet bloc became a daily occurrence. In the past few months we have
seen the democratization of Poland, followed by Hungary, East Germany,
Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria and finally Rumania. These events were
accompanied by the crumbling of the Berlin Wall, the symbol of
confrontation between East and West. With that, a new era of
reconciliation has dawned.
I would like to extend my hearty congratulations to President
Gorbachev for his courage and leadership in bringing about these
constructive changes, enabling us to usher in this new era of
cooperation. I am committed to support the Soviet Union in their
genuine desire to uphold individual human dignity, and bring about both
economic reform, and most importantly, religious freedom.
As you may already know, I am also committed to working together
with the Peoples Republic of China. This giant nation comprises one
fourth of the world's population. Certainly we cannot talk about world
peace without taking into account the wellbeing of the 1.3 billion
Chinese people. To help in providing needed jobs, technology and
income, I am now building one of the world's largest automobile
assembly plants in China. This is another aspect of our efforts for
world peace.
Furthermore, as you may know, in 1981 I launched an International
Peace Highway project. When completed, this highway will allow a family
car to be driven from Tokyo to London. I am seriously discussing the
project with the governments of Japan, Korea and China, and I hope that
the Soviet Union will also welcome this project. Of course, this is a
lofty dream, but every great undertaking begins as a dream. Not so long
ago, no one could even have dreamed of men walking on the moon, but
with a vision and hard work, it became a reality. So it will be with
the International Peace Highway.
Problems in Western Society
At this point, having shared with you my tremendous feelings of hope
and optimism for the future, I feel that I must also address what I
consider to be a dangerous tendency by some people to celebrate
prematurely the coming of peace. Although the Berlin Wall has fallen,
tremendous difficulties remain in both camps. The leading nations of
the free world, along with their vast material wealth, are beset with
the problem of moral decay. They have fallen victim to a pervasive
materialism and freedom is often abused. Furthermore, the rise to near
dominance of atheistic secularism in the West has brought with it the
collapse of moral standards. As a result, Western society is afflicted
with serious social ills, among them the break up of families, an
epidemic of drug abuse, an increase in sexual crimes and diseases, and
widespread governmental corruption.
To put the matter simply, the current problems of both East and West
are ultimately coming from the same source-a confusion of values.
Communism has failed because the Marxist value system has proven to be
false. It is no secret that I have been ardently opposed to communism
throughout my life. I have been so because I know that the militant
denial of God and the belief that progress occurs through conflict can
never lead to success in building a good society. Through my own life
experience I have come to know of a certainty that God is real, and the
most important thing in life is true love. Human progress can come
about only when God is cherished, and love is given the highest value.
Clearly, neither communism nor the free world is presently equipped to
lead mankind toward a peaceful 21st century.
A Worldview Centered on God
What we urgently need at the outset of this new decade is a true
value system to fill the vacuum created by the collapse of values in
both the free and communist worlds. That new value system must be based
on the ideology of Godism-a worldview centered on God. Throughout my
entire life, I have been working with members of all religions and
denominations to advance the understanding of this Godcentered
worldview. In this way, it has been possible to create numerous broad
based academic and religious organizations dedicated to the search for
absolute values, and the establishment of true peace. I have also
established news media organizations, as well as institutions of art
and education. This entire worldwide foundation has been prepared
to assist persons such as yourselves in your efforts to attain true
world peace.
True world peace cannot be achieved without a clear value system
shared by all. When values are clarified, humankind will no longer be
in darkness. Godism allows each individual to clearly see the meaning
and value of his life. Each person is then motivated to seek his own
spiritual wellbeing by living responsibly and serving his fellow
man. This is the ultimate solution to world suffering.
A Spiritual Awakening is Needed
In other words, what our world needs today to save itself is a
spectacular spiritual awakening. The world must be awakened into the
reality of God and equipped with a worldview based on Godaffirming
principles. This worldview will be capable of eliminating the confusion
in the value systems of both camps.
Based upon such an awakening into higher values, the nature of the
relationships between nations must be transformed. Until now, the
driving force behind economic development has generally been the desire
for profits. In this way, a great amount of human potential has been
unleashed, and remarkable world development has occurred However, the
desire for profits must be balanced with the fundamental understanding
that all people are the children of God. We are all brothers and
sisters. Furthermore, the purpose of our life on earth is not to amass
material goods. We are alive in this world so that we can develop and
perfect our eternal spirit. The only way to do this is through the
practice of true love, that is, living for the sake of others.
True love must be practiced on all levels of life, including the
relations between nations. The developed nations of the world should
feel that they have been blessed by God for the purpose of helping
others. They must be willing to sacrifice themselves for the
underdeveloped nations of the world If the prosperous nations do not
think in loftier terms that the desire for profits, their prosperity
will slip away in spite of their efforts to retain'
The Reunification of Korea
Today, Korea is the point of convergence of the key nations of
China, Japan, the Soviet Union, and the United States. At the time of
the Korean War, people of many nations made the supreme sacrifice to
determine the future of this peninsula. We have gathered here today in
the same spirit of concern. It is entirely appropriate that political
leaders from around the world should come here to discuss the issue of
Korean unification. Historically, this is more than a national issue.
It involves the entire international community.
I would like to suggest a few guidelines which I hope you will
consider in your discussions about the unification of Korea. With
regard to North Korea, there are several prerequisites to the process
of reunification. First, North Korea must abandon its plans for a
military conquest of the South. Second, they must put an end to their
extreme isolation, and open their society to the world community of
nations. Third, they must carry out their own version of glasnost,
thereby giving their people the most important freedom, the freedom to
worship as they desire, and the must put a stop to the deification of
their leader.
Only then will North Korea be ready to undertake effective economic
reforms. As North Korea begins to cooperate with South Korea and the
other nations of the world, it will become more and more evident to
them that unless people are given realistic hope for a better life, as
well as incentive to achieve it, it is virtually impossible to increase
human productivity.
I want to emphasize, however, that there must also be change in
South Korea. South Korea has been experiencing an unprecedented wave of
prosperity. This prosperity must be seen for what it is-the blessing of
God-and it must be shared with others. This nation must now be ready
and willing to embrace our bothers and sisters in the north, and help
to alleviate their suffering. In the same way, the free world must now
totally support the initiatives toward freedom which have been made in
Eastern Europe, the Soviet union. and China.
A Biblical Analogy
The Bible tells the story of two brothers, Jacob and Esau. Though
they were both destined to play an important part in the providence of
God, there was a great conflict between them. Jacob was blessed by his
father, but only after some trickery. When Esau learned of this, he
wanted to kill Jacob and Jacob had to flee. It was only after they had
lived separately for more than twenty years that Jacob returned with
gifts and with love in his heart for Esau. When the two brothers met
after this long period of separation, Jacob approached Esau and said,
"When I look at you, I see the face of God." They forgave
each other and embraced in tears. Esau no longer wanted to kill Jacob,
but to live with him, share with him and learn from him.
Today the free world stands in the Position of Jacob The communist
world stands in the position of Esau. Many communist nations, such as
Cuba and North Korea, have been taught that, like Jacob, the free world
has stolen the blessing from them. Like Esau, in the past they have
wanted to destroy the nations of the free world. Like Jacob, for many
years, the free world has wisely stayed militarily strong and avoided
falling into a position where the communist world could destroy her.
However, I believe that now the time has come for the free world to be
reconciled with the communist world. When we see our bothers and
sisters who have been suffering for many years in the communist system,
we must see in them the "face of God." We must support them,
comfort them, fill them with confidence, and allow them to enter the
world community of democratic nations.
Ladies and gentlemen, I hope your deliberations over the next two
days will be productive and rewarding. I am certain that because of
such efforts as these, Korea will be one unified nation well before the
end of this decade. On behalf of the sixty million Korean people of
both the north and south, I want to express my gratitude that you have
come. I pray that your efforts will be fruitful.
God bless you. Thank you very much.
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