Dr. Hyun Jin Preston Moon, Founder & Chairman of the Global Peace Foundation, delivers the keynote address at a banquet commemorating the 80th anniversary of Korean’s Liberation Day.

Watch the keynote address at the 2025 Action for Korea United banquet.

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Honorable guests, ladies and gentlemen:

On this auspicious occasion, it is a great honor to address such a distinguished gathering of Korean patriots and supporters of our efforts for Korea’s peaceful reunification. In particular, I would like to recognize and thank the Hon. Chung Woon Chan, former Prime Minister of Korea and the Convener of Korean Dream Hangang Festa organizing committee, Hon. Chung Woo Taek, Co-Chair of the organizing committee, Hon. Kim Jin Pyo, the former speaker of the National Assembly, Hon. Chung Dong Yeong, the Minister of Unification, and Hon. Song Seok Joon, member of the National Assembly.

I would like to also thank our leaders from around the world who have joined us today. H.E. Vinicio Cerezo, Former President of Guatemala, H.E. Jamil Mahuad, Former President of Ecuador, H.E. R. Amarjargal, Former Prime Minister of Mongolia, H.E. Anthony Kenny, Former Prime Minister of St. Lucia, H.E. Luis Castiglioni, Former Vice President of Paraguay. I want to also welcome all the leaders gathered here from around the world representing government, diplomacy, business, media and civil society.

We are gathered here to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Korean people’s liberation from Japanese colonial rule. Over these eight decades we have seen remarkable transformations, especially here in the South. Yet, today, we face a turbulent, divided present, and an uncertain future. Old frameworks are crumbling, and we can no longer rely on past certainties to chart a path to the future.

What is it that we can truly celebrate today? The liberation of Korea at the end of World War II opened a window of historic opportunity. It was a time of hope when the ideals and aspirations of the Sam Il Independence movement rooted in the Korean people’s founding vision of Hong-Ik Ingan- “to broadly live for the benefit humanity”- breathed life into the dream of creating a new western-style constitutional republic that was “united, independent, and free.” Tragically, that was not to be. Instead, we experienced the division of the peninsula and, ultimately, a civil war between the Korean people with contrary visions of a future, unified Korea.

It is time to take stock, to understand from where we came from, where we stand today, and where we can find the clear vision and sense of national purpose that will guide us to a brighter future. The significance of this moment for the current reality of the peninsula and the future of our people cannot be overstated.

 

The Beginning of Korea’s Modern Era

The 20th century was the most consequential century for the Korean people and the peninsula. With its annexation into the Japanese empire in 1910, the Korean nation and civilization was on the brink of extinction as Japan’s policy of forceful integration sought to stamp out its language, culture and, most importantly, its historic identity. The utter brutality of their rule, fueled by their anti-Korean sentiments, triggered widespread condemnation and a growing grassroots movement for independence.

With the end of the First World War, President Wilson’s 14 Points raised the hopes of colonized nations, offering them the prospect of eventually attaining national sovereignty. However, the European powers, their manpower and economic reserves depleted by the war, had no interest of relinquishing their colonial holdings; nor, did Japan, since it sought to be accepted into the elite circle of the Western colonial powers in addition to pursuing its own ambition of expanding Japanese Imperial rule over the rest of Asia. Although the idea of national self-determination for colonized peoples died in the halls of Versailles, President Wilson’s initiative sparked the kindling of nationalist movements with a universal moral tone that harkened to the American Declaration of Independence and would, eventually, lead to collapse of the colonial system.

The first of those movements happened here in Korea. The March 1st (Sam-Il) movement mobilized more than ten percent of the population around the Korean Declaration of Independence in a series of peaceful demonstrations throughout the peninsula and the diaspora. It drew heavily from the American Declaration with ideas of “the equality of all nations,” liberty” and “inalienable” rights. It highlighted the need for enlightened leadership where the Korean people “entertain no spirit of vengeance towards Japan” but “to influence the Japanese Government, which is now dominated by the old idea of brute force, so that it will change and act in accordance with the principles of justice and truth.” It concludes with the implications for Korean independence for the rest of Northeast Asia and the dawning of a new era rooted in “righteousness and truth.”

The high-minded nature of the document was reflective of the spiritual leadership that made up the 33 representatives who signed the Korean Declaration of Independence. Representing the three dominant factions of the Korean religious community- Christianity, Buddhism and Cheondogyo, they sought to appeal to the universal spiritual principles and values reflected in the American Declaration since it appealed to western Judeo-Christian sensibilities on the “inalienable” right of national self-determination and, eventually, the sins of colonialism. In addition, the founders wanted to steer the more radical voices for independence away from violent insurrection to peaceful, non- violent protest since they recognized that global support was necessary for their ultimate success.

Yet, it would not be until the end of the Second World War that Korea would eventually find independence. Nevertheless, the impact of the framework they pioneered of high- minded spiritual principles and values married to non-violent protest became the winning formula for other colonized people in the post-war era, most notably in India. Later, that same model would be adopted by the Civil Rights movement in the United States by the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the 1960s to great effect, bringing an end to generational racial discrimination in the South, maintained through the policy of segregation and Jim Crow laws.

 

The Division of Korea

The end of the Second World War in 1945 led to Korean independence from Japanese rule. Unlike many other colonized nations, liberation did not lead to national self-determination; but a division along geographic and ideological lines that had nothing to do with the aspirations of the Korean independence movement. After the Japanese surrender, the United States and the Soviet Union, the occupying powers, agreed upon “zones of control” on the peninsula along the 38th parallel.

During the war, the Allied leadership had determined that post-war Korea would be placed under an “international trusteeship” until they believed that “Koreans would be deemed ready for self-rule.” It was understood that the occupational zones were temporary until the trusteeship could be implemented.

Understandably, the Korean people opposed the idea of a “trusteeship.” Liberation should have led to their own process of self-determination without the interference of outside powers. Yet, that is exactly what transpired. The heightening tension of the Cold War, eventually, led to the breakdown in negotiations between the United States and the Soviet Union by 1947 and, thereby, effectively ended the only existing framework for an independent unified Korea by the great powers.

The matter of Korea’s future was then passed over to the nascent United Nations. It sought to oversee national elections that would form a united government for the divided peninsula by 1948. The Soviet Union chose not to comply with UN-supervised elections, so they were held only in the South. This led to the formation of the Republic of Korea on August 15, 1948, staying true to its independence roots, while the North established the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea a few weeks later on September 9 under the dictatorship of Kim Il-Sung.

However, in hindsight, the possibility of a national election for the divided Koreas under UN supervision was naïve wishful thinking in the vortex of Cold War geopolitics. The Soviet Union had no interest in relinquishing control over their zones of influence in Eastern Europe and now in Korea. In addition, the civil war in China was going badly for the Kuomintang-led government against the Chinese communist Party and, by 1949, their defeat on the mainland would lead to the formation of the People’s Republic of China. Korea was swept up into these global currents and its fate as a divided nation sealed to this day.

Thus, the division of the peninsula was a “foreign construct” that had nothing to do with the aspirations of the Korean people and their movement for independence and self- determination. Their dreams and aspirations were brushed aside like a sacrificial pawn on the global chessboard of great powers seeking to shape the future of Northeast Asia.

Yet, their interference on the peninsula and their vision for the region is what shaped the reality that we have today. One must remember that nothing is created in a vacuum, the end effect is the accumulated consequences of past actions.

 

The Current Reality of the Divided Koreas and Northeast Asia

Where do we stand 80 years later? The Korean people are still divided, and the aspirations of the Sam Il movement remain unfulfilled. The two Koreas hold diametrically opposed worldviews and have travelled very different paths: the DPRK has become a repressive, dictatorial, nuclear-armed state, that threatens regional and global security and whose population live in dire poverty; the ROK, on the other hand, has transitioned from a dysfunctional and corrupt republic into a military dictatorship and, now, back to a liberal democracy, in form at least. Despite all the political upheavals, it has become an economic and cultural powerhouse globally due to the industry of its people.

At the end of the Korean War, South Korea was a devastated land with an agricultural economy at the same level as the poorest countries in the Sahel region of Africa. It had no industry and no natural resources to speak of. Its only resource was the spirit of its people. They went to work to create a strong, prosperous nation, capable of standing firm against any future attacks from the North. The result was the Miracle on the Han. It enabled the Republic of Korea to be globally recognized as a prosperous, technologically advanced society.

But it came at a heavy price. Without an animating vision rooted in some deeper national purpose, it was willing to offset its most sacred cultural institution-the traditional Korean extended family model- for the sake of materialism and progressive views on gender roles, marriage and family, falsely thinking that those ideas reflected modernity. The family is the foundational cornerstone of any civilization and reflects the cultural history and identity of a people. Today, the South is paying for that mistake with the breakdown of the traditional Korean family model that is directly attributable to its alarming demographic crisis.

The South has the lowest birthrate in the world of 0.7, well below replacement level of 2.1. Although surveys show that many young people are not getting married because of the high cost of housing and children’s education, economic factors alone cannot explain the dramatic decline in fertility when previous generations had large families despite financial hardships. The real reason for this shift is the changing perceptions on marriage and family, reflective of the symptoms in every other developed nation in the world.

The second biggest problem is the chaebol system that gave rise to “Crony capitalism” and a militant labor movement. It was an anachronistic holdover from the military dictatorship where the national policy of industrialization led to a toxic brew of political, financial and chaebol collusion to kickstart the South’s economy. Yet, today, its legacy leads to legal, financial and regulatory hurdles that stifle competition and economic diversity. The four biggest players have revenues equal to 40 percent of GDP. In 2019, 64 chaebols were worth 84 percent of GDP, yet employed only 10 percent of the workforce.

The third problem is tied to the South’s primarily export driven economy centered on the chaebols. This becomes acutely problematic in the era of American protectionist policies under President Donald Trump since the US is the second largest trading partner after China. The Trump tariffs have reconfigured the global trade of goods and services and will, negatively impact trading partners like the ROK that traditionally enjoyed no tariffs on its products in the US market while maintaining protectionist policies at home.

According to the World Bank, Korea’s exports made up 44 percent of GDP in 2023, compared with just under 22 percent for Japan, and just over 20 percent for China. Korea’s export led economy is uniquely vulnerable to the impact of tariffs. Although the current South Korean regime negotiated a trade deal with the US, the 15% flat tax on Korean goods and its commitment to invest hundreds of billions into American key industries is already having deleterious effects. The long-term solution is an expanding domestic market but with the fertility crisis and the breakdown of the Korean family this seems to be an impossibility.

The Miracle on the Han has hit its peak and will face a sharp decline. There is urgent need for reform and renewal in every sphere of national life – politics, economics, society and culture. Such renewal will only come through a fresh vision and national purpose that all citizens and segments of society can unite around and work towards as our parents worked in the post-war period.

 

Korean Reunification

The challenge for the peninsula, today, is a unifying vision that can bring its many disparate parts together rooted in a renewed Korean identity that speaks to all Koreans, both North and South, and in the diaspora. Being a man of deep faith, I am reminded of Proverbs 29:18, “where there is no vision, the people perish.”

The vision for this new age is the Korean Dream. It will not only engender a rebirth of Korean culture and historical heritage but reconnect all Koreans to the providential calling of our people rooted in our founding ideals of Hong-Ik Ingan, “to live for the benefit of all humanity.” We will then create an ideal nation that marries the best of Korea with the modern world. The reality of South Korea that I outlined earlier makes it clear that this is an inflection point in its history with major cultural, institutional, structural, political and economic challenges going forward. The only comprehensive vision that charts the path forward is the Korean Dream.

It is also a transitional moment for the North, as well, with no apparent successor to the Kim legacy and the slow unraveling of its regime with its unprecedented level of defections among the DPRK’s elite, unlike any other moment in its history. The North’s recent position to abandon its national goal of unification speaks volumes to its unwitting acceptance that they no longer have a compelling vision for unifying the peninsula. This is significant since his grandfather, Kim Il-Sung, started the Korean War in 1950 to forcefully bring about unification. The goal of unification had been the “raison d’etre” for the creation of both Koreas and for the North to voluntarily relinquish that claim speaks volumes about the current reality of that regime.

The world should view the DPRK’s efforts to bypass and ignore the South to once again establish dialogue with the United States as a feeble effort to gain global legitimacy in pursuing a permanent two-state solution on the peninsula. The Trump administration should not entertain their overtures since the North would never give up their nukes through any negotiated settlement with the United States. The only real path to denuclearization is the peaceful unification of the two Koreas. At Camp David in 2023, the United States and Japan already committed to supporting the peaceful reunification of Korea if such an event were to happen. This current administration should stand by that commitment.

I would go as far as to say that Kim Jong-Un abandoned unification because he knew that he could not compete with the Korean Dream in offering a unifying vision for the peninsula. His intelligence services must be aware of its influence in the highest circle of Korean society, let it be in the media, entertainment, academia, politics and business communities. He must also be aware that the largest grassroots movement for unification in South Korean history is an initiative I have founded called the Action for Korea United (AKU). Most importantly, the thirty thousand defectors that reside in Korea as well those in the United States and Japan have rallied around the Korean Dream and the AKU movement as their only real hope to realize unification and be reunited with their relatives in the North.

He must also be aware of my family legacy. The significance of my grand uncle’s, Rev. Moon Yoon-guk, role in the formation of the Korean Declaration of Independence and his leadership in the Sam-il movement for liberation. He knows about the history of my father, the late Rev. Dr. Sun Myung Moon, and his grandfather, Kim Il-Sung. Although my father devoted his entire life to fight the evils of communism, after experiencing its horrors in a North Korean concentration camp in Hungnam, in order to open a path toward unification, he was willing to go, in 1991, to the very regime that had tried to kill him and his family countless times and had perpetrated such great evil on the Korean people and nation. His fearless courage and utter sincerity in his convictions was said to have moved even Kim Il-Sung to the point that he told my father that he was the only one that he could trust outside the North.

So, it is fair to say that the unrivaled vision for a unified Korea is the Korean Dream. It is just a matter of time when it takes hold in the hearts of all Koreans as well as inspire countless others around the world. The Korean Dream was meant to be shared and owned by all who seek to fulfill its goal. I have often quoted Chingis Khan who is reputed to have said: “If one person has a dream, it is just a dream, but if all people have that dream, it becomes reality.” If the dream for a unified Korea I outlined in my book, Korean Dream: A Vision for a Unified Korea, was shared and owned by all Koreans, I know that unification will certainly come. Just as the collapse of the Berlin Wall came without any warning, so too will Korean unification.

 

The Korean Dream

The Korean Dream seeks to create a new nation, aligned with the aspirations of our ancestors throughout our five-thousand-year history, to fulfill the Hong-Ik Ingan mandate of Heaven. It clarifies the “foreign construct” of the Cold War framework that the peninsula has been struggling with for the past eight decades and recognizes the shortcomings of both South and North Korea. The only way to break out of that framework is the formation of a new nation that harkens back to the hopes of the Sam-Il movement that launched the modern era for our people. But, unlike the geo-political circumstances that hindered our forefathers’ dreams, today we carry the moral authority as the only people that has been deprived of the opportunity to shed the colonial legacy and ideological divide of the 20th century.

The creation of the nation of our dreams will be a prerogative that the world would fully embrace and support. It would also address the fundamental political, social and economic issues plaguing the South and free the people in the North from bondage under the Kim regime. Unification will be a marriage made in Heaven since the very thing the ROK needs to maintain the Miracle on the Han is what the North has. It will provide an additional 25 million people who speak the same language and share the same culture while substantially increasing our workforce and our domestic consumer markets with young people that can fuel a second miracle.

This will be necessary to support the transition of our economy from a primarily export- driven to a balanced one. It would also provide tremendous opportunities in infrastructure as well as other developments, stimulating the stagnant construction industries in the South. It will provide a host of strategic rare earth minerals and other natural resources the South doesn’t have. In addition, it will open the peninsula up and connect it to the rest of Asia, sharing borders with China and Russia; thus, further stimulating trade and other opportunities.

Most importantly, it will unite our divided people and families that have suffered far too long. It will finally bring an end to the legacy of colonialism and the Cold War that led to our division and open a new era in the history of our people and civilization. For, the nation that arises out of the ashes of the past will be a model nation that marries the best of Korea with the modern world and be the inspiration for all developing nations in the southern hemisphere that have had a similar history. As the Nobel laureate poet Rabindranath Tagore prophesied in poetic prose: “In the Golden Age of Asia, Korea was one of the lamp-bearers, that lamp awaits to be lighted once again for the illumination of the East.”

That light is the Korean Dream, and the light-bearer will be our new nation aligned to our providential calling of “living for the benefit of humankind.”

 

Conclusion

Today, South Korea stands more divided than ever. The political machinations and scandals surrounding the impeachment of the former president are a national disgrace and are exacerbating that divide. The only movement that can unite the disparate factions of the ROK is AKU and the Korean Dream movement for unification.

That is why I propose that the current government: 1) adopt the Korean Dream vision since the former government already adopted its platform, 2) dissolve the Ministry of Unification and install a non-governmental advisory committee in order to take the politics out of the unification agenda, and 3) make the Korean Dream vision a mandatory curriculum in all primary and secondary schools.

The unification agenda can and will be the issue that brings Koreans together. I pray that this current regime will receive Heaven’s wisdom and seek to heal the fissures and wounds of our broken land.

Ladies and gentlemen, it is especially in times of crisis that we can see clearly the path we must take. We live at a historic crossroads in a time when the fate of the peninsula and our people lie in our hands. Today, we are celebrating the 80th anniversary of Korean liberation from Japanese rule. The number eight represents a “new beginning.” As a man of deep faith, I believe that divine providence is guiding us to undo the mistakes of the past and lead our people to the promised land of unification centered upon the Korean Dream.

We represent the Korean people on the peninsula and around the world. Unlike our ancestors who were shuttlecocks in the field of great power politics, we will not be trifled with and succumb to the whims of others. In line with the aspirations of our ancestors, we will spread the Korean Dream vision to every corner of this land as the Sam-Il movement did more than a hundred years ago. We will empower every Korean, in the North, South and Diaspora to be the owner of this dream and join us in realizing it together.

Those of you who pledge to stand with me to realize the Korean Dream rise and shout Aju. Aju. Aju.

May God bless you and your families.

“It is imperative that reunification is guided by a unifying vision that affirms the shared heritage and destiny of the Korean people and that all Koreans around the world recognize that everyone has a part to play, big or small, in the final effort to create One Dream and One Korea.” —Dr. Hyun Jin Preston Moon

10th Anniversary Milestone

The 10th anniversary of the “New Era Unification Song Campaign” is being commemorated with a special release for the 80th anniversary of Korea’s liberation. The female vocal quartet “Son E Ji U” from Voice Korea is participating in the release of “Korean Dream, Come Shine, Glorious Light!” This marks a significant milestone for the Unification Music Project’s decade-long journey, with the song scheduled for public release at the “2025 Korean Dream Han River Festival” in August.

On June 13, 2025, a new song commemorating both the 80th anniversary of liberation and the 10th anniversary of the “New Era Unification Song Campaign” was unveiled at a press conference held at the Korea Press Center in Seoul. The event announced plans for the “2025 Korean Dream Han River Festival,” marking this historic anniversary.

The “New Era Unification Song Campaign” launched in 2015 to mark the 70th anniversary of liberation as a culture-based citizen unification movement. Over the past decade, hundreds of stars across multiple genres—including ballad, R&B, trot, and EDM—have participated, featuring artists like BTS’s Jungkook, Peabo Bryson, Insooni, Im Chang-jung, and Jung Dong-ha.

The campaign’s flagship song, “One Dream One Korea,” released in 2015, gained particular significance when it served as the farewell song for the 2018 Inter-Korean Summit and was subsequently included in middle school music textbooks, generating widespread attention.

This year’s commemorative release, “Korean Dream, Come Shine, Glorious Light!” embodies the national aspiration for peace and reunification on the Korean Peninsula. The song represents the pinnacle of unification music, where classical and vocal elements converge.

Production Team:

• Producer: Hong Dae-sung, renowned film music composer known for works including “The War Against Crime,” “The Attorney,” and “The Insiders”

• Vocalists: “Son E Ji U” (Son Seung-yeon, Lee Yeo-jun, Ji Se-hee, and Yoo Seong-eun) – Voice Korea alumni

• Orchestra: Seoul Grand Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Seo Hoon

Hong Dae-sung successfully translated the weighty theme of unification into a piece that resonates with the general public. The “Son E Ji U” quartet consists of female vocalists with exceptional vocal power who achieved first place and top-four finishes across seasons 1-4 of “Voice Korea.” Each member brings distinct vocal tones and styles that harmoniously express the longing for unification.

Director Hong Dae-sung explained his approach: “I wanted to convey the theme of unification in a way that everyone could relate to emotionally. Music is a language that opens hearts, and I hope this song becomes the starting point for creating a unified voice of hope for unification that transcends borders and generations.”

Lee Yeo-jun, Yoo Seong-eun, and Ji Se-hee, who attended the press conference, shared their sentiments: “We feel deeply honored to sing this commemorative song on this historic occasion marking the 80th anniversary of liberation and the 10th anniversary of the campaign. We hope this song will be sung by many people at various events, and that their collective aspirations will help bring about reunification as soon as possible.”

“Korean Dream, Come Shine, Glorious Light!” will be performed by the Seoul Grand Philharmonic Orchestra on August 15 at the 2025 Korean Dream Han River Festival, commemorating the 80th anniversary of liberation.

The “2025 Korean Dream Han River Festival” is a citizen-participatory unification cultural festival taking place on August 15 at Ttukseom Han River Park in Seoul. Marking both the 80th anniversary of liberation and division, the festival carries the message of national unity and peaceful unification.

Festival Highlights:

• Programs designed for all generations

• Choir featuring over 1,000 citizens

• Large-scale drone art show with over 1,200 drones expressing the desire for reunification

• Various cultural performances celebrating Korean unity

Like the ancient Imjin River that flows unimpeded from North to South, the Korean people’s destiny toward unity cannot be permanently blocked by artificial barriers. The 1919 Sam Il movement showed us that 2 million Koreans can come together as one people, dreaming not just of independence but of a nation embodying Hongik Ingan—to broadly benefit all humanity. The rivers remember what politics have forgotten—that what divides Korea is recent and artificial, while what unites it spans five millennia.

Rivers of the North and South

Originating in the North, the Imjin River flows south, unencumbered by the military checkpoints, guard towers, and barbed wire fences of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). The river then combines with the great Han River that flows through Seoul. By the time these waters reach the Yellow Sea, they have become a single, powerful flow.

The Imjin-Han River system operates as it has for millennia, long before the artificial division of 1945 that separated a people who share over 5,000 years of common history, language, and cultural traditions.

Just as the Imjin River’s waters merge seamlessly with the Han to form a stronger, more vibrant waterway, so too might the Korean people find their way back to unity despite nearly eight decades of separation and ideological differences.

Beyond Bitter History

For nearly 80 years, the Korean Peninsula has endured a painful division. Families were torn apart, ideologies hardened, and mutual suspicion became entrenched. The Korean War (1950-1953) claimed millions of lives and left physical and emotional scars that still affect both societies today.

Yet beneath this bitter history runs a deeper current of shared identity. The rivers remind us that what divides Koreans is recent and artificial, while what unites them is ancient and natural. When North and South Koreans meet in third countries, they discover their common humanity – the same language, songs, stories, and values, as well as shared ancestral traditions and ideals.

The Unfulfilled Promise of March 1st

The rivers’ journey toward unity echoes the unfulfilled aspirations of the March 1st Movement of 1919, when Koreans across the peninsula rose in peaceful protest against Japanese colonial rule. This watershed moment in Korean history represented the collective yearning for independence and self-determination, with millions of Koreans from all walks of life joining in nationwide demonstrations.

The Declaration of Independence, signed by 33 cultural and religious leaders representing different regions and faiths, articulated a vision for Korea that transcended mere national liberation. These leaders envisioned a nation founded on Hongik Ingan—the ancient Korean ideal of “broadly benefiting humanity.” This founding philosophy, dating back to the mythical establishment of Korea by Dangun in 2333 BCE, envisioned Korea as a nation that would contribute to the good of all humanity rather than pursue narrow self-interest.

Leaders like Ahn Chang-ho and Kim Gu—though differing in their specific approaches—shared this commitment to creating a Korea that would stand as a model nation built on principles of justice, equality, and service to humanity. Their vision was not merely of an independent Korea, but of a Korea that would help lead humanity toward greater harmony and prosperity.

The division of Korea in 1945 prevented this vision from being realized, as geopolitical interests once again superseded the Korean people’s aspirations. Yet like the persistent Imjin River that continues its southward journey despite obstacles, the ideals of Hongik Ingan remain alive in Korean consciousness, waiting for the day when a reunified Korea can finally embody them.

Building a New Nation Together

Reunification would not mean the simple absorption of one state by the other. The problems seen on both sides of the DMZ suggest that neither has all the answers. Rather, Dr. Hyun Jin Moon proposes the creation of a new nation through a process of rediscovering and learning from the ancient Korean values and the Hongik Ingan ideal.

Moreover, he suggests that a new Korean nation might embody a harmonious blend of complementary strengths: Northern resource wealth enhanced by Southern technological expertise; traditional Korean values enriched by globally-engaged innovation; and the resilience forged through hardship complemented by the prosperity built through engagement. This synergy would create something greater than either could achieve alone.

The Ocean Awaits

As the joined rivers ultimately flow into the vast Yellow Sea, they remind us that a reunited Korea would not exist in isolation but would take its place in the wider world. A peaceful, reunified Korean Peninsula would contribute significantly to regional stability and global prosperity.

Like those persistent waters finding their way to unity despite all obstacles, the Korean people may yet navigate the challenging rapids of reconciliation. When they do, they will discover that, like the rivers merging on their journey to the sea, they are stronger together than apart—their combined energies creating new possibilities that neither could achieve alone.

A new campaign for Korean unification kicked off, Tuesday, aiming to secure 10 million supporters by 2025.

The Rally for the Commitment and Action for Korean Unification on the 78th Anniversary of the Liberation of Korea was jointly hosted by nine local associations, including Action for Korea United, Korean National Police Veterans Association and the Leaders’ Alliance for Korea Unification. Rep. Lee Myoung-su of the ruling People Power Party and Rep. Lee Yong-sun of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) were among the co-hosts of the event.

The goal is to gather 10 million people in Korea and overseas by 2025 supporting inter-Korean unification. The “Korea Dream 10 Million” project will be completed by 2025, which marks the 80th anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japanese colonial rule, which ended in 1945.

Participants of the rally pledged to work together for Korean unification regardless of differences in their ideologies and political or religious beliefs. They agreed to be vocal about those suffering from the division and arouse international support for unification.

 

Seo In-teck, co-chairman of Action for Korea United, explains the Korea Dream 10 Million campaign’s future agenda at the National Assembly in Seoul, Tuesday. Courtesy of Korea Dream 10 Million campaign organizing committee

“It has been 78 years since the country was liberated and 70 years since the Korean War was halted after the two Koreas reached an armistice,” Rep. Lee said during the rally. “But with Washington-Beijing tensions intensifying and the Russian Invasion of Ukraine, the world seems to have regressed from the era of dialogue and cooperation back to that of division and turfs. To secure peace over the Korean Peninsula, unification that is supported domestically and internationally is key.”

Participants of the rally also shared strategies that could help them attain their goal.

Co-chairman of Action for Korea United Seo In-teck and President of the Institute of Literature and Culture Lee Yeong-joon said the build-up process will employ K-pop concerts in seven cities on six different continents in 2025 and a nationwide walkathon from Haenam County in South Jeolla Province to Seoul for 33 days this September. In October, the organizers plan to hold a unification-themed festival for 100,000 visitors in Yeouido, Seoul.

Kim Ho-il, president of the Korean Senior Citizens’ Association, said the country’s unification process has been stymied by political differences for the past 70 years.

“It’s time to shatter that frame and realize unification that transcends political, religious and cultural barriers,” he added.

At the Action for Korea United Festival on August 15, 2022, twenty thousand Korean citizens pledged to build a grassroots base that would gather 10 million people by 2025 to mark the 80th anniversary of Liberation Day. Throughout the month of February 2023, AKU held four regional rallies in Busan, Honam, Chungcheong and Daegu as part of the build up towards 2025. The final victory celebration for the series of rallies took place in the capital city of Seoul on February 21 with key leaders of the growing grassroots, civil society-led movement to realize the Korean Dream.

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It is a tremendous honor for me to be here, to be able to speak to all of you today. You represent the leadership of this nation. I’m not talking about the leaders in government, but leaders of Korean society. You represent the Korean people.

The reason why I embarked on this tour this year is to build the momentum for not only the gathering later on this year but for this entire 10-million campaign.

Why is this 10-million campaign so significant? I believe I have already told the leaders, especially of some of the associations, how significant that event will be. It will be the most significant event not only of that year but will resonate throughout this entire century.

One of the things that we have to understand is that the Korean people also set a tremendous precedent in the beginning of the 20th century, at a time when we did not have a nation, but only a dream. A dream that one day we will be able to realize the providential mandate rooted in Hongik Ingan, in building an ideal nation.

When the door was opened by the President of the United States at that time, Woodrow Wilson, through the League of Nations and also his proposal that all colonized nations should eventually have a pathway to national sovereignty, Korea was the first nation to rise up to take on that call.

The Samil movement was not a movement just relevant for Korea and for Koreans but became the inspiration for every single nation in the 20th century that sought independence and their own national sovereignty. It was the voices of the Korean people, not any leader, but the Korean people that rose up at a time of hopelessness and gave the world inspiration that eventually set the precedent for the first half of the 20th century. The Samil movement did not just shake this peninsula but the region and the world.

Today we stand in the 21st century. Many thought that the 21st century would be much better than the 20th century, and yet, look at the quagmire that the world is in today, with statist powers on the rise, of China and Russia reminiscent of the ideological divide of the Cold War of the last half century. With the war in Ukraine, we also realize that these nations are no longer working on an ideological level but now are even willing to exercise and utilize their military might. Even in this region in the world, China makes no bones about its threat to even take Taiwan by force.

So, although humanity has made tremendous progress, the world is still a dangerous place, faced with many travails. Yet at the same time, it can be an opportunity for the world to see a glimpse of hope of what this century could usher in and bring for humanity – like our ancestors did a hundred years ago.

A people with no nation, a people with no identity, holding on to our Hongik Ingan ideal and the providential mandate that we believed God had given to us, to create a nation that can benefit all of humanity; holding on to that dream, the Korean dream, that inspired a century. That spirit shall be revisited on this land once again, through this 10-million march. Aju? We shall raise the voices of the Korean people once again – the forgotten people who need hope not only for themselves but through their hope and their courage can bring hope to the rest of humanity.

Let us, as Koreans, show the world, as well as our fellow Koreans in the North and around the world in the diaspora, that we stand together as one, and we go back to our founding visionary mandate to build an ideal nation, the Korean dream, that will bring us out from this morass.

You have to remember that there are larger forces at work. As you know, I’m a man of deep faith. I come from a very, very faithful family. I believe that each and every one of you are gathered here for a reason and a purpose, that you are providential figures that are now at a critical juncture and inflection moment in the history of our people that have received the clarion call to be the owners of this dream and to inspire your Korean neighbors and to give them the hope that they need to empower them, to be the owners of this dream, so that collectively, our voices together can shake this peninsula, this region, and the world. Aju?

That is what this movement is about.

Remember what I always quote from Genghis Khan. That if one person has a dream, it is but a dream. But if everyone shares in that dream it will become a reality. For those who still need convincing, let me just tell you this: in history all the major movements for transformation never happened on the top. It was always a grassroots movement of the people that brought about the fundamental transformations of events that nobody believed could actually happen. In the 1990s, who would have believed that the Soviet Union would collapse? They were at the height of their powers. Who would have believed that the Berlin Wall would come down?

It is dreamers who are willing to put their neck out on the line and recognize that there are moments in history – inflection moments in history, consequential moments in history – that calls upon us to act, that calls upon us to become the owners. And this is that moment for the Korean people.

This time I visited four major cities, but I was telling many of the top leaders that usually in order for me to go and speak I need to have at least a minimum of 10,000 people, and that I want you to bring more young people because if you bring more young people and they take ownership over this Korean dream it will light it on fire. There are those who say the Korean young people are not interested in unification. Just bring them to my rally and let them hear my speech. Then you will see whether or not they will be the owners of the Korean dream.

Before I go, I want to leave every one of you with a challenge.

My challenge is this. This time next year, I will do these regional rallies again, especially in preparation for the million campaign later on that year. My challenge to each and every one of you is that in every single one of those locations, you have to have a minimum of 10,000 people and you have to bring many young people. That means your sons and your daughters! [Korean: Can you do that?]

I gave you that challenge. Those of you who will take ownership and will make an even greater preparation as we roll up this campaign for next year, stand up and say Aju! Aju! Aju! Aju!

At the Action for Korea United Festival on August 15, 2022, twenty thousand Korean citizens pledged to build a grassroots base that would gather 10 million people by 2025 to mark the 80th anniversary of Liberation Day.

Taegu was the fourth in a series of regional events held throughout Korea to start this work. Thousands gathered in on February 18, 2023, to expand the grassroots, citizen-led movement in the region.

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I was told that Taegu is the city and the region where great Korean patriots grow. I guess I came to the right place to give my message today.

We are living in the most consequential moment in modern Korean history. The only nation that has not been able to resolve all of the travails of the last 20th century is this nation of Korea. And yet, still today, as we’re approaching our 8th decade since liberation, still, this peninsula is divided; our people are divided.

Yet, this is a time in which the Korean people can show the world, just like it did a hundred years ago in the beginning of the 20th century, that we can set a new precedent for this 21st century. I’m sure that many Koreans are not aware that the March 1st Independence Movement of 1919 did not just affect this nation of Korea, but the entire world. We were the first people to rise to the call that all nations should be able to determine their own national sovereignty, challenging the imperialistic order of the early 20th century. That message, that precedent was not lost on this peninsula, it reverberated throughout the course of 20th century history, where all the national movements for national sovereignty were inspired by the March 1st Movement.

In three years’ time, including this year, we’re going to prepare the foundation for tens of millions of Koreans, not only in South Korea, but all around the world, to rise up and to declare to the world our demand for unification based upon the Korean Dream.

The voices of the Korean people that sparked the movement for national restoration in the 20th century shall not be forgotten to the world.  But that voice shall be found again in a new generation of Koreans, in a new century that will bring peace not only to the Korean peninsula, but to the region and to the world. That is the Korean Dream.

Now, I’m going to teach you a new word today. It’s a word that my father used, because more than anything that you should get today is that “I need to become the owner of the Korean Dream.”

Instead of saying “[Korean: I need to become the owner.]” All you have to say is “Aju.” So if I ask you, “Do you want to be an owner? Yes or no?” All you have to say is “Aju.” [Korean: Let’s try once. Aju!] [Aju!] Remember the quote I used to open my book, a quote by another Asian leader that basically transformed the last millennium of human history. It is a quote by Genghis Khan. He said, “If one person has a dream, it is but a dream. But if everyone can share in that dream it becomes a reality.” The Korean Dream is not the dream of just one man, one family, it is the dream of the entire Korean people and all of humanity.

It is rooted in the DNA of the Korean identity that goes back 5,000 years. As a student of history, one should know that the Korean founding is special among all the ancient civilizations in the world. The Hongik Ingan ideal was a providential mandate given to us by God to create a model nation that can be the benefit for all humanity. Among all the ancient civilizations, there has been none which had such lofty ideals such as this.

When I shared the Hongik Ingan ideal to even the top leaders of America, who basically pride themselves as champions of fundamental freedom and human rights, they were blown away that an ancient civilization 5,000 years ago had this founding vision. They were blown away, because they thought that such ideas were the province of the modern era that was led and founded by the United States. No. This root was part and parcel of the identity of the Korean people and the Korean civilization – 5,000 years ago. It had been the founding vision that led the Korean people to seek truth, righteousness and goodness. Although Korea was invaded more than 900 times throughout its history, it never invaded its neighbors. It’s because of the Hongik Ingan ideals. It is part and parcel to our Korean identity.

I have come here to Korea to once again reawaken that DNA that is latent in each and every one of you.  Aju! [Aju] For once that DNA reawakens within each and every one of us, and we become owners of the Korean Dream, then, we shall set the precedent for peace in this 21st century, an era that is beginning to look very dangerous in the world today.

Then, those of you who want to become the owner of the Korean Dream, stand up! Raise your hand and say, “Aju! Aju! Aju!” [Aju! Aju! Aju!] [Korean: Thank you.]

At the Action for Korea United Festival on August 15, 2022, twenty thousand Korean citizens pledged to build a grassroots base that would gather 10 million people by 2025 to mark the 80th anniversary of Liberation Day.

Chungcheon region was the third in a series of regional events held throughout Korea to start this work. Thousands gathered in on February 11, 2023 to expand the grassroots, citizen-led movement in the region.

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[Korean: Hello! Before I begin, I have a request. I will speak in English because it is more comfortable. Is that ok?] I want to thank all of you for coming today. First of all, there are too many VIPs that are gathered here today that I cannot recognize all of you so, I want to give all of you a round of applause.

The most important thing for you to take away from this gathering today is that “I have to become the owner of the Korean Dream.” 

There is a quote that I often use, a quote from Genghis Khan. Throughout history – he is the most consequential figure of the last half millennium. Basically, that quote summarizes a truth that was realized in human history –which is, “If one person has a dream, it is but a dream. But if everyone can share in that dream it can become a reality.”

Are we dreamers that are gathered here today? Yes or no? [Yes!] Then I guess I’ve come to the right place. Because I am the biggest dreamer of all, for I authored the Korean Dream, which is not only for Koreans but for the entire world.

What if I was to tell you that the Korean Dream is a dream not just for the Korean people, but a dream that can inspire all humanity in the most consequential moment of human history?

At a time when humanity faces tremendous dangers, with the rise of statists powers such as China and Russia threatening their neighbors even with war. For a generation that grew up in the Cold War, we thought that with the end of the Cold War, that there would be an era of peace. And yet, today, in the 21st century, we face even greater threats that existed in the 20th century.

In this time, humanity needs hope, a vision that can bring us from this malaise and bring a possibility of peace in the future. Humanity needs a vision. And what is that vision? The Korean Dream. [Applause]

Before I came here to Korea to start this tour, I had a private conversation with one of the most influential academics in Washington, DC. I had a chance to tell him about the AKU movement, which is the most significant grassroots movement for unification in the history of South Korea. 

There is a Ministry of Unification here in South Korea. Many people in South Korea talked about unification, but there was never a grassroots movement that represented all of the free people like we have today with AKU – never in the history of South Korea. So I told him, “What happens if we are able to mobilize, three years from now, tens of millions of not only Koreans in South Korea, but maybe in North Korea, all the Koreans in the diaspora communities of the United States, China and abroad. What will happen if we are able to mobilize tens of millions of Koreans based upon one common singular vision?” He said, “That will be the most significant, consequential event in the 21st century.” [Applause]

And I told him, “That is what I plan to do.” [Applause]

We are living in the most consequential moment of Korean history.

It was Einstein said that if you do the same effort and expect a different result, that it is insanity. And yet, for more than 70 years, now approaching 80 years, the same approach to unification has happened where we expected the two governments of North and South Korea to somehow come to an agreement upon unification without any hopes or idea of what that unification will bring. The Korean Dream changes all of that.

Its thesis is that we need to create a new nation that is rooted in the Hongik Ingan ideal that goes to our 5,00-year history and past, rooted in our providential, heavenly mandate to create an ideal nation that can serve all humanity. That was the inspiration behind our long history, the inspiration of our independence movement, of which Kim Il–Sung was a member.

Remember, both South and North Korea has its roots in the independence movement, laying claim to that entire history as well as the identity of the Korean people. An identity that is special among all the civilizations of the world that aspired for the highest, most lofty ideals that resonates with our modern values of fundamental human rights, and fundamental freedoms, 5,000 years ago. That is the Korean Dream, [Applause] that guides, through the history and the plight of the Korean people that will be liberated and free upon unification. That will be the example and the story that the world is looking for to find its way from this quagmire it is currently in today.

I’m going to teach you a word today. The thing that you have to take away from this gathering today, more than anything, is that you have to become owners. [Korean: You must become owners.] [Applause] So remember what I said, what Genghis Khan said, “If one person has a dream, it is but a dream. But if everyone can share with that dream, that will become reality.” I’m going to teach you a word, “Aju.” Much simpler to say, “Aju” than [Korean: I’m going to become an owner.] 

This is a word that my father created to basically summarize the fact that you are becoming an owner.

So, do you want to become an owner? Yes or no? Aju! [Aju!] Aju! [Aju!] Aju! [Aju!] 

Ooooh! I was told Cheonahn has tremendous patriots. I guess I was told something that’s truthful. [Applause]

To me, this gathering here is a small gathering. There was a time where I would not go and give a public message unless it was a crowd of 10,000 or more, because I was in such high demand. So, if I was to challenge you – I never will leave without a challenge – if I was to challenge you – if you want me to come and speak to you again, one year from now, then you must gather at least a minimum of 10,000 owners of the Korean Dream. Can you do that? Yes or no? [Yes!] [Applause.]
[Korea: In that case,] I heard that President Seo Inteck is famous for giving the Korean Dream lectures. I want to challenge all of you to become better lecturers of the Korean Dream than President Seo Inteck. Can you do that? Yes or no? [Applause] Aju! [Aju!] Aju! [Aju!]

So those of you who want to become that owner and to re-spark that Korean Dream DNA in your Korean neighbors, stand up. Aju! [Aju!] Aju! [Aju!] Aju! [Aju!]

[Korean: Thank you.]