Muhwa Ilbo, a South Korean daily newspaper recently published an article about Dr. Hyun Jin Preston Moon and his Korean Dream work on the Korean peninsula.
The following are highlights from the article provided for our English-language readers. The original Korean article can be found at the following link: https://www.munhwa.com/news/view.html?no=2025021001032321230001
Dr. Hyun Jin Moon, founder and Chairman of the Global Peace Foundation (GPF), is a global peace activist who is working for world peace and national transformation based on the concept of the Korean Dream. His “Korean Dream” is the realization of a new unified nation based on the spirit of “Hongik Ingan” (to benefit all humanity) that would contribute to world peace.
In 2012, Dr. Moon founded Action for Korean United (AKU) to spark a global civil society Korean reunification movement. AKU has chapters in the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, and elsewhere to connect with Korean compatriots abroad. It has grown to become the largest private organization working for Korean reunification, with more than 1,000 nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) currently affiliated with it.
Dr. Moon, who comes from a family that has fought for Korea’s independence and development for four generations, studied history at Columbia University under the guidance of historian Kenneth T. Jackson and graduated from Harvard Business School. His father, the late Reverend Sun Myung Moon, opened the door to North Korea by meeting with North Korean leader, Kim Il Sung. Dr. Moon went on to work with his father, going on to build an international foundation for South Korea’s economic development as well as other global humanitarian work.
In 2001, he founded the international nonprofit organization, Service for Peace (SFP), with a plan to run sustainable community development programs in underserved areas around the world. SFP was the first volunteer organization to be allowed into North Korea to implement joint projects involving North and South Koreans and was granted Special Consultative Status by the United Nations Economic and Social Council.
Moon believes that moral and innovative leadership based on universal principles and values is a key factor in realizing peace. This conviction led him to found GPF in 2009, and he currently serves as its Chairman.
GPF currently holds special consultative status with the United Nations and is a partner NGO of the UN Department of Public Information, working in over 20 countries. It has transformed impoverished rural communities in Asia, Africa, and Latin America through its All Lights Village project.