FFWPU Europe and the Middle East: Bo-guk Hwang on Holy Spirit Movement for Korean Reunification

Call for creation of Holy Spirit movement for Korean reunification at 12th anniversary of Father Moon’s ascension

A speech given by Rev. Bo-guk Hwang, President of the Family Federation of South Korea, at a large event 23rd August 2024 organized by the Family Federation in the big indoor arena Hyojeong Cultural Center in Gapyeong, South Korea commemorating the 12th anniversary of Father Moon’s passing in 2012.

World leaders and blessed members from all around the world, […]

Protestant Christianity and Korean independence

Let me read from the True Parents’ words:

Bo-guk Hwang speaking 23rd “The people who were centered on Christianity took the lead in August 2024 establishing this nation of Korea. In this way, this is one aspect of the great providential significance of Christianity. In the midst of 40 years of Japanese oppression, they voluntarily took a path facing death to establish a path of loyalty and patriotism toward their country.” (Father Moon, 1974)

“Before Korea came under Japanese rule, Protestant Christianity from the United States was introduced. Centered around Pyongyang, they sparked a spiritual movement. Christians across the country who embraced the new culture began the independence movement.” (Mother Moon, 30th June 2024)

Respected leaders and family members,

17th July by the oriental lunar calendar, this year 20th August by the solar calendar was the 12th anniversary of the ascension of Sun Myung Moon, the True Parent of Heaven, Earth and Humankind.

Before his ascension, Father Moon […] spent a long time deep in thought about his hometown. Perhaps he was dreaming of returning to his hometown one day with the country united.

However, Father Moon had to leave before his Father Moon on 16th July 2012, not long before he ascended

earnest dream of the unification of North and South Korea was achieved, and he ascended to Heaven.

Now we must awaken a new spirit on the Korean peninsula and finally make that dream of unifying our nation come true.

About 140 years ago, three missionaries representing American Protestantism came to Korea. First of all, there was missionary Horace N. Allen (1858-1932) from the Northern Presbyterian Church, arriving in 1884, and then in 1885, missionaries Horace G. Underwood (1859-1916), also from the Northern Presbyterian Church, and Henry G. Appenzeller (1858-1902) from the Methodist Episcopal Church.

At the time, Korea was in a very chaotic situation, facing pressures from foreign powers and also going through internal changes. Henry G. Appenzeller Under Japanese rule

In particular, Japan’s control over Korea strengthened when it won the Russo-Japanese War in 1904-1905.

Japan then deprived Korea of its diplomatic rights through the Eulsa treaty in 1905.

And in 1907, Japan dethroned Korea’s emperor Gojong under the pretext of sending a special envoy to the Hague. Through the Jeongmi Treaty in 1907, they took control of the internal affairs of Korea and disbanded the Korean army. And then through the annexation treaty in 1910, Japan completely took Horace G. Underwood away Korea’s sovereignty.

However, God knew that this crisis would occur and let Christianity take root in advance. Japan tried to invade the sovereignty and rule Korea.

But God prepared Korea to become an independent nation of faith where it could serve God by creating a great revival centered on Christianity here in Korea.

Christian spirit key to independence

Through the Wonsan revival movement in 1903, the Pyongyang revival movement in 1907, and the One Million Souls movement in 1909, many Horace N. Allen people in Korea accepted the Christian faith. In particular, in the Pyongyang great revival movement which took place at the Jangdaehyeon church in 1907, there were earnest prayers from the people in the midst of their suffering. A powerful wave of the Holy Spirit swept through the church, bringing lots of repentance.

From regular weekly prayer meeting in Pyongyang sometimes between 1908-1922

From that time, on the Korean peninsula a great revival movement spread throughout the nation. Korean Christianity grew explosively. Pyongyang came to be known as the Jerusalem of the East.

That movement, along with Christian spirituality, raised the historic and national consciousness of the Korean people. That became an important foundation for the independence movement.

The desire for independence was strong in the spirit of Korea at that time, riding on the wave of the Holy Spirit. The March 1 movement was an important focal point in the independence movement.

Mansei demonstrations in 1919, that was part of the March 1 Independence Movement. Here, thousands of enthusiastic Koreans demonstrating outside the Palace in Seoul

Many Christians who were moved by the Holy Spirit participated in the March 1 Independence Movement. Among the 35 national representatives who wrote Korea’s Declaration of Independence, 16 of them were Christians. About 200,000 Christians, equivalent to 1% of the Korean population, participated in the independence movement.

18% of those imprisoned and 65% of the females who were imprisoned were Christians. Even as 7,509 people lost their lives, the desire for independence did not subside.

This was the result of the Christian spirit, the willingness to sacrifice one’s life to achieve national freedom, following the example of Jesus Christ’s sacrifice and love.

In this way, the independence movement, which was led by Christians, who made up 1% of the population, spread throughout the Korean peninsula, achieving a surprising result of reaching 10% of the people participating in the independence movement.

One characteristic of the March 1 movement is that the central persons were religious people. Of the 33 national representatives, 16 were Christians, 15 were from the Cheondogyo [Editor’s note: indigenous Korean religion], and two were Buddhists.

UN delegate Lieut. Gen. William K. Harrison, Jr. (seated left), and Korean People’s Army and Chinese People’s Volunteers delegate Gen. Nam Il (seated right) signing the Korean War armistice agreement at Panmunjom, Korea, 27th July 1953

They became pioneers who guided the national spirit and raised the torch of the March 1 movement. They pointed their faith towards patriotism and rose up with a life or death fighting spirit to take responsibility for their nation. In this way, the March 1 Independence Movement in 1919 awakened the national

consciousness for independence, which remained alive until the liberation of the country was finally achieved in 1945.

Behind this were righteous Christian people who created the spirit of the times with their sense of history.

North-South Unification

This year marks the 71st anniversary of the armistice agreement at the end of the Korean War. It has been 71 years since that agreement was signed on 27th July 1953.

As these 70 years have passed since the division of the south and the north, the Jerusalem of the east, where the fire of the Holy Spirit had burned so fiercely, has suffered under communist rule for 70 years and has not been able to freely call out the name of God.

The North Korean regime threatens peace on the Korean peninsula and world peace with nuclear weapons.

Although South Korea has achieved economic revival with the introduction of liberal democracy, it faces a population crisis, with a falling birth rate and the spread of materialism and individualism, losing track of values, a rise in youth delinquency and family breakdown.

Now with one of the world’s lowest birth rates, the Korean peninsula faces a greater crisis than ever before. In order to overcome this crisis, all religious people, including Christians, must rise up and awaken a new spirit of this time centered on God’s will. South and North Korea must meet again centered on God’s will.

The North-South Unification Movement centered on God, the heavenly unified Korea movement, is a new independence movement and a new spirit of our times. It is a God’s fatherland restoration movement that seeks a nation and its righteousness.

Babylonian exile

The journey of the Judean exiles to Babylon - 6th century BC

In the past, Israel lost its faith in God and was divided into a northern and a southern part. The northern part of Israel was destroyed by Assyria. The southern part Judah was taken by the Babylonian empire and held captive for 70 years. But when the time of the providence was right, God liberated the Jewish people.

“This is what the Lord says: ‘When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfil my good promise to bring you back to this place.’” (Jeremiah 29:10)

This kind of history does not only happen to the Jewish people. The Korean people are another chosen people that Heaven has prepared.

Therefore, when the time comes, works will also happen on the Korean peninsula. It has already been 70 years since the division of the south and the north. Just as God liberated the Jewish people from Babylon

after 70 years, Heaven is now bringing about the heavenly fortune of the unification of the north and south.

The issue is human responsibility. Are we ready for what Heaven desires?

The unification of North and South Korea can never be achieved through human effort alone. A movement to invite God, our Heavenly Parent to the Korean peninsula must begin. A Holy Spirit movement must begin allowing us to strongly experience the Heavenly Parent as the Parent of humanity, who loves humanity so much.

The people of South and North Korea must realize that they are brothers and sisters as children of God. A true desire to live together must arise from the depth of their hearts. We must create a history of unity through tears of true love.

A new Holy Spirit movement for Korean Unification

There was a powerful Holy Spirit movement centered around Wonsan and Pyongyang that arose over 100 years ago and awakened the spirit of the times for national independence.

In the same way now, the Family Federation and righteous Christians must unite in interfaith cooperation and ignite a new Holy Spirit movement for the unification of the south and the north.

We must respond to the spirit of our times - the vision for a heavenly unified Korea.

The Unity Ceremony for Christian clergy and Family Federation leaders 23rd August 2024 in Gapyeong, South Korea

Tonight, there will be a unity ceremony for Christian pastors and Family Federation pastors during this night vigil.

This will be the time of a starting point for Christianity and the Family Federation to become one in order to move towards the unification of South and North, centered on God - a heavenly unified Korea.

2025 is the 80th anniversary of our liberation from Japan. The number eight is the number for a new start. A liberation with division of the north and the south is not the true liberation that Heaven wants for Korea.

Now, it is a time to achieve the true liberation that Heaven desires, a true liberation of God’s fatherland. Through the unification of the South and the North, let us reconcile North and South Korea with God’s true love and achieve the unification that Heaven desires.

As it says in Matthew 5:9,

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”

I will conclude my message today with this. Thank you very much.

Text: Edited version of simultaneous translation from Korean to English. Inaccuracies may occur.

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Symposium With 2Authors Of Books On Peace message highlights one family of Movement August 20, 2024 humankind under God A speech Mother Moon gave at a special plenary of Peace Summit 2023, More And More an international peace conference with dignitaries from around the Believers Raising Their Voices world, held at the Lotte Hotel, Seoul, South Korea from 2 nd to 6 th May August 19, 2024 2023.

Respected leaders from Korea and overseas, I warmly welcome yo u. States Use Disinformation About Minority Today we are spea king about peace - peace in our world. Throughout Faiths human history people have sought to realize a wor ld of peace, yet we August 17, 2024 have always experienced war and conflict. How and when w ill peace come to humankind? Original ly, the Creator’s intention was to be our

.. Parent. The invisib le Creator creat ed a m an and a woman in the image of God as our fi rst ancest o rs. God gave the m t ime to mature and wa ited for the day when they wou ld perfect their characters. Nevertheless, the man and woma n w ho were to have been our first ancestors fai led to uphold Search. God’s divine commandment, and their descendants are the fa llen human race of the present day.

Over the course of history, the pursuit of goodness has led to the birth of religions tha t Categories reflect the region in wh ich they originated. Righteous individuals w h o were ,,…,,… … ; … ,,…,…J … ,,…,… … ,,…,…J … ,,…,..,..

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emerged from every corner of t he globe and pursued their mission. Send us a message

First Name * Last Name Despite this, when we observe the pro ble m s of the world today, we find th at conflicts and disputes between religions, wars based on Email * • ideological d iffe rences, and n ume rou s countries pursuing t h eir own Email Address interests, make the word “ peace” feel d istant , though it is close. Is there really any hope for us i n the present time? The issue is that we cannot Yo ur Message * re ly o n a human-centri c approach. A lthough all religions move in the d irection o f goodness, t hey have not been able to find th e right answ er.

W h at I wou ld like to say is this: Wou ld the Crea tor o f the universe, as our Parent, simply wat ch qu ietly as the children suffer? I cannot describe t he entirety of Heaven’s providence in t he short t i me I have to speak, but what God waited and waited so long to see w as for central people to Submit emerge from among fallen humanity, a m an and a woman w ho could atten d God as the ir Parent. In other words, God has been waiting for t he birth of the True Parents who can save everyone in the fallen world. The result of Heaven’s work was t hat t hese True Parents were born to the Korea n people.

Ou r Heav enly Parent’s d ream is t o s ha re life in t he kingdom of heaven on earth together with good sons and daughters who have received True Parents’ Blessing . However, t he path t o achieve this has n ot been easy. Yet , through t he Korean people and th e Ko rean Pen insu la, somethin g like a miracle occurred, and we cou ld see the completion o f the h eavenly p rovidence and the culmina t ion of human h istory.

To put it ano t her way, through th e True Parents, t h e drea m of our Heavenly Parent who has wa ite d 6,000 years and the desire of al l hu mankind can finally be actualized. […]

Ma ny faiths have created temples w h ere t h ey ca n attend God . However, they have not underst ood the fundamental nature of the Creator. Heaven’s ci rcumst ances in relation t o the Korean Peninsula after six thousand yea rs… I know there are many re lig ious leaders present today. To save humankin d , God car ri ed out the providence of salvation, and thi s is clearly in evidence in t he O ld Test ament. Through the people of Israel, Heaven sent the Savio r, whom God cou ld ca ll “My Son”, who wou ld atone for t he w rongs committed by fallen humankind.

However, the Son alone is not enough. In accordance with the princip les of creation, God created a man and a woman. Th e o nly begotten Son was unable to complete that t ask. The people of Israel, the Jewish leaders, and Mary who gave birth to him, did not recognize the Messiah. In the end he went to the cross. Before he d ied, Jesus promised to return. Two thousand yea rs have passed since Christian h istory began with th e disciples of Jesus anticipating his return. However, does Christian ity understand the essence of Heaven’s providence? Yet a miraculous even t has occurred on t he Ko rean Pen insu la through the True Parents [ ..].

Today, ou r p lanet suffers immensely due t o ignorance. Due to the lack of rainfall resulting from climate change, one third of the population of the nation of Somalia, located southeast of the Sahara Desert , have b een d isplaced as migrant refugees and are hoping for aid from t he rest of the world. How is it that this b eautifu l Earth, which God created for Somalia. Public domain image. humankind, has suffered such Cropped c h anges? Al l of you gathered here today are righteous people that Heaven has blessed . We cannot merely stand quietly on t he side-lines. The sole path to ou r resolving t hese issues and safeguarding our future is attend ing Heavenly Parent as our center and working together.

I gratefu lly receive the kind hea rts o f the d isting uished participants here who have congratulated me o n my 80th birthday. Although it is a smal l offerin g, I wish to donate $800,000 for the sake of the world. [App lause]

We al l need to celebrat e t hat we are living in this m iraculous time, attending our Heavenly Parent. This is something t o take pride in. I pray that we wi ll all j o in h ands togeth er in th is historic and providentia l flow o f b lessing, and that we w ill realize the d ream of peace for all people and one family of hu m ankind under our Heavenly Parent.

Mother Moon spoke without manuscrip t in Korean with simultaneous translation into several languages. This is the official version o f the English translation, corrected and published by t he Internatio n al HQ of the Family Federation 8 th May. Abbreviated version.

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