“Now is the time for far-reaching vision and bold action. Korea’s historical quest for one free, independent sovereign nation is within reach. As a nation established on the ideal of benefitting all of humanity, Korea can stand as an example to the world.” -Dr. Hyun Jin P. Moon (International Forum for One Korea, November 11, 2017)

The entire global community focused on Korea in 2017 as North Korea moved closer to securing a nuclear intercontinental ballistic missile. President Trump visited South Korea in November, setting a precedent for U.S.- ROK relations that made it clear – the Korean peninsula is one of the most important priorities in U.S. foreign policy.

Yet, the way forward to resolving the crisis on the peninsula is still hotly debated among experts and policy makers. Only two options seem to be available: direct military confrontation or to hinge global security on an increasingly erratic game of high-level diplomacy. Yet, neither option can hope to fully resolve the issue of nuclear weapons or contribute to global peace.

Dr. Hyun Jin P. Moon gives the keynote address at the International Forum on One Korea in Washington D.C.

A Third Way to Denuclearization

In the midst of rising concerns and fear, Dr. Moon has called the global community to see the situation as an opportunity to point instead to a third way to deal with the nuclear crisis. In short, he points to reunification as the best possible solution to deal with both the threat of nuclear war and open new possibilities for growth and development across the entire Northeast Asian corridor.

This third way is based on a vision of a new, reunified Korea, founded on enduring values of the spiritual heritage of the Korean people, namely the principles of Hongik Ingan. Hongik Ingan espouses the dream of a Korea as a model nation that honors the dignity and freedoms of its people, and ultimately brings “broad benefit” to all humanity.

In his book, Korean Dream: A Vision for a Unified Korea, Dr. Hyun Jin Preston Moon maps out four elements of such a vision:

1. Building consensus on a “Korean Dream,” one which is based on time-honored principles of the Korean heritage, Hongik Ingan, a mandate for all Koreans to live to benefit humanity.
2. Strengthening the traditional values of the Korean family. Dr. Moon writes that the Korean family has been the “crown jewel” of the Korean people. However, this precious institution is being threatened in the rush for economic development and modernization. The erosion of the extended family model has weakened social cohesion, given rise a plethora of social issues, and weakened the values that have preserved the ideal of Hongik Ingan through the ages. The traditional extended family model of Korea is part and parcel of the Korean Dream, and it also provides practical, social and economic safety nets that become a resource for the inevitably long process of unification and post-unification development.
3. Fostering a spiritual environment that can animate the vision of the Korean dream with the moral authority of moral and innovative leaders who can guide a people and society undergoing transformation. Such an environment can also foster important values such as responsibility, interconnectedness, forgiveness and sacrifice, important moral foundations for a united Korea striving to become a model nation.
4. A grassroots, bottom up effort. The power of civil society, of people united by a common vision for the greater good, is an absolutely necessary part of the success of the Korean Dream. The Korean Dream challenges existing paradigms of development by putting social and cultural engagement as the first step to political change, which would finally open the doors for socioeconomic opportunities. Rather than relying on artificial or superficial political or economic fixes, Korean reunification will require the power of virtuous, engaged citizenry working for the greater good of all humanity.

Korean unification will obviously be a long and, at times, treacherous path. It will require a change in perspective that considers not the short-term immediate crisis of denuclearization and conflict mitigation, but will require a commitment to a long-term, vision driven perspective towards unification and national development.

Yet considering that Koreans are and have always been one family, isn’t it the obvious choice?

The Korean Dream in 2017

Thus, the work of coalitions such as Action for Korea United, a Korea-based organization of over 900 civil society organizations, is imperative to awaken the Korean people to the dream of a unified Korea.

President of the Korea Economic Institute of America, the Hon. Donald Manzullo declares the inevitability of Korean reunification at the International Forum on One Korea in Washington D.C. in November 2017

In his speech at the One Korea International Forum in Washington D.C., former U.S. Congressman and current President and CEO of the Korea Economic Institute of America, Hon. Donald Manzullo, said “Unification is the inexorable and inevitable goal of the peninsula…When inevitability is assumed, the focus shifts, not from if, but when and how.”

Action for Korea United and its growing network of partners. including the Global Peace Foundation, the One Korea Foundation, and the East West Institute, have worked to develop such a shift in the minds and hearts of Koreans around the world. It made significant progress in 2017 through the One Korea Global Campaign with new and unprecedented accomplishments. Among them are:

1. 10,000 people at the One K Global Peace Concert 2017 in Manila, Philippines
2. High-level international forums in Washington D.C. and Seoul that fostered dialogue, consensus and support for a Korea-led movement for Korean unification.
3. The release of the song, “Korean Dream,” written and produced by the five-time Grammy award winning production team of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, featuring award winning international artists like Peabo Bryson and Dami Im.
4. Local, grassroots Korea-based efforts to promote and prepare for unification.

The Korean Dream Model of National Transformation

As the Korean Dream moves from vision to reality, it is unfolding a process of national transformation to build a nation that benefits the world.

At the 5^th Action for Korea United Leaders’ Assembly, Dr. Hyun Jin Preston Moon called the issue of Korean unification “the civil rights issue of the 21st century.” Korean Unification, he said, would “bring to an end the terrible chapter of colonialism that the Korean people had to endure during the first half of the 20th century. It will close the book on the subsequent tragic episode of a Korea divided because of Cold War realities. And it will bring to the fore, among both the Korean people and the global community as a whole, the Korean Dream which encapsulates our ancient founding ideals that have defined us as a people and shaped our sense of national purpose to create an ideal nation whose goal is to serve all of humanity.”

Creative artists from around the world discuss their inspiration to participate in the international campaign for One Korea at the 5th Anniversary Assembly of Action for Korea United

The process of Korean’s national transformation into a model nation for the world is outlined in in the Korean Dream: A Vision for a Korea United:

1. It begins with a vision that captures the hearts and minds of the people,
2. Leading to social transformation
3. Which gives rise to political and social stabilization
4. Creating the foundation for economic development.

Dr. Moon is at the fore, leading efforts in various civic, public and private, and intergovernmental arenas.

2018 will be a significant year, starting with the peace efforts during the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, and leading into 2019, the 100-year anniversary of the March 1 Korean independence movement.

As the Korean people have proven through thousands of years of history, from every crisis, they can claim an opportunity to expand, advance and prosper. The current nuclear crisis can become the opportunity for the Korean people to lead a movement to bring about Korean unification and ultimately peace and prosperity not just for Korea and Northeast Asia, but the world.

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“With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.”

Amidst the bloodiest war in American history, President Abraham Lincoln challenged a divided nation to seek out the virtues of gratitude and hope for reunification when he officially proclaimed a day of national Thanksgiving. Now, more than 150 years after the Civil War, we can still glean lessons from that first national holiday, which sought to remind a nation divided of its shared history and values.

As its writing, the Declaration of Independence established a new nation based on the ideal that “all men are created equal.” It was on this foundation of principles and shared values, written nearly a century before the Civil War, that would peacefully reunite a country that had experienced the “scourge of war” and resultant feelings of bitterness, hatred and anger towards one another.

In pursuing the aspirations laid out in its founding, America’s reunification after the Civil War is a testament of how a powerful vision and sense of identity can bring together two disparate groups of people.

The story of families, siblings, spouses, children and parents, divided by war is not unique to the United States. Today, the eyes of the world look towards a peninsula suffering from over 70 years of division.

Korea boasts five thousand years of united history, but today, divided as North and South, the peninsula now displays two radically and desperately divided economies, cultures and nations. Family members, brothers and sisters, spouses, mothers, fathers and children that were divided by the 38^th parallel are no longer divided by merely political or geographic boundaries; the gulf appears both deep and wide. The North suffers in a battle for basic human rights and both countries gave birth to a new generation that grows ever more distant to the idea of a one Korean family.

“First Reading of the Emancipation Proclamation of President Lincoln” by Francis Carpenter

All free, ethical and prosperous nations are grounded in universal principles and values that protect the liberty of its people and define its common humanity. For America, these values are expressed in the Declaration of Independence, which finally led to the abolishment of slavery following the Civil War.

In Korea, those principles are expressed in the ideal of Hongik Ingan, the destiny of the Korean people to “live for the benefit of humankind.” Hongik Ingan has proved throughout the peninsula’s long history to be a powerful uniting aspiration in times of crisis and threats to division predating the end of a World War that resulted in its division in 1945.

Now, with growing tension and threats to global security plaguing the peninsula, the world looks towards a Korean-led, peaceful reunification process driven by a coalition of over 900 civil society organization, Action for Korea United (AKU).

The leadership of President Lincoln in uniting North and South “with malice towards none and charity to all” displayed a commitment to the preservation of human dignity and prioritizing a way forward for reconciliation and reconstruction. In times of war, it is easy to dehumanize others; but it becomes difficult to see another as an enemy when these individuals have the faces of family members, opening one’s heart to forgiveness and resolution.

The American Civil War gave rise to the infamous slogan “brother against brother,” in that many soldiers on opposing sides were literally from the same family. The Korean War repeated this awful pattern that has long repeated from age to age.

Statue of Brothers in Seoul, South Korea commemorates the Korean War and hope for reunification

Today, movements such as AKU works to resolve this in a way that hopes to – ultimately – contribute to preventing and resolving such conflicts, to the “benefit of all humanity.”

Resting somberly in Seoul, South Korea lays the Statue of Brothers, a monument to the Korean War. Atop the dome are two figures; a soldier from the South embraces his younger brother from the North on a battlefield, expressing love, forgiveness and reconciliation. A crack in the dome, denoting a divided nation, is contrasted by iron chains decorating the inside of the dome’s ceiling, displaying the unbreakable bonds of a united Korea and a country’s undying hope for a lasting and peaceful reunification.

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On November 11^th every year, the United States honors the men and women who are serving and have served in its armed forces on Veterans Day.

The day was originally Armistice Day, created at the end of World War I by President Woodrow Wilson, to commemorate the end of the “war to end all wars.”

Sadly, World War I did not end all wars. World War II ensued, followed by the Korean War, the Cold War and more. Men and women of the United States Armed Forces continued to put their lives on the line, not only for the safety and liberty of the American people, but for the dignity of all people of the world.

In many ways, the founding ideals and dream of the United States behoove it to serve the world as it has. The founding fathers began the American journey as an experiment, meant to prove to the world that a people could and should self-govern, and that government should be “for the people and by the people,” upholding the inalienable rights and liberties endowed by our creator.

The United States has been a force for positive change in many ways: fighting for the right for self-determination of colonized people, investing in rebuilding war-torn nations (including former enemy nations), establishing international bodies to gather the voices of nations to collectively find solutions to peace and other global challenges, challenging totalitarian regimes and fighting for the freedoms and rights of oppressed people.

America’s legacy of service to the world is often overshadowed in the back and forth between current political divisions in the United States.

But it becomes palpable in the men and women, the U.S. veterans, who place their lives in the line of fire to secure stability not just for the United States, but for the world.

Thank you for your service.

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I was working with a second grader on her sample test essay. The prompt read, “What does the American flag mean to you?” We were creating an idea web together. She carefully drew circles and put in words like, “freedom,” “dreams,” “patriot.” Then she took a deep breath and paused, her pencil poised above the paper.

“What is it?” I asked.

“I thought of God, but I don’t think I can write that, can I?”

I was stunned. She was in second grade, and already she was being taught that she should not bring her private, spiritual, religious convictions into the public, they were – private – and should be left for home or her religious community.

The pervading solution of the growing religious diversity in the United States has been to leave religion out of the public rather than represent the diverse perspectives. This in turn has left a void in the public square of the voice of faith and spiritual leaders.

Yet, if one looks back on the intentions of the founding fathers of the United States, those who gave voice to the vision that compelled them to separate from the largest empire in the world to try an experiment to prove that men can be ruled “for the people and by the people,” it becomes clear they did not envision a public discourse sans the contribution of faith leaders, rather they saw faith and religion as the foundations of democracy.

Here are just a few quotes from the founding fathers on the role of religion in American society:

• Virtue or morality is a necessary spring of popular government. ~George Washington
• Let divines, and philosophers, statesmen and patriots unite…in instructing citizens in the art of self-government. ~Samuel Adams
• Can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are the gift of God? ~Thomas Jefferson
• Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other. ~John Adams
• Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality and indispensable supports. ~George Washington

Dr. Hyun Jin Preston Moon speaks at the National Faith Leaders Summit in Washington DC 2011

There are many reasons why the voice of faith leaders has been pushed out of the public square, one being the heated conflict that occurs along religious lines. And this does behoove faith leaders to find common ground around shared values and issues to work together, especially knowing the essential, indispensable role that they play in undergirding the moral fabric of a democratic society.

Another reason is that faith leaders have become comfortable in their separate boxes, avoiding confrontation that could result from interaction with differences. However, as Dr. Moon pointed out in his call for American Reawakening, faith leaders have a responsibility to God and their principles and values to be active in the public, providing things that cannot be given by policy and laws — things like hope, forgiveness, and most importantly a reminder of where the value and basic human rights and freedoms of every person are grounded in.

I told the little second grader that she can and should put “God” in to her idea map and start her essay with that idea. Sadly, she was too afraid of how her teacher would respond, and self-censored herself.

I hope we can rethink how we are making our future citizens afraid to voice that which is closest and most powerful in their lives to avoid altercation. I hope that schools and public squares can invite the invocation of God and the expression of religion and spirituality, acknowledging that they are essential ingredients to a working and thriving democratic society.

This reflection is based on the experiences of a 2^nd grade tutor from Queens, New York.

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“America is to be a place where people of all races and backgrounds can discover the deeper basis of human value; that ‘under God’ all have been endowed, equally, with the same essential rights. America is meant to be a living demonstration that all people of the world are to be one family under God.” Dr. Hyun Jin Preston Moon (2012, Coalition for American Renewal Symposium, Atlanta, USA)

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Dr. Moon coins the term “Korean Dream” in his keynote at the Global Peace Leadership Conference in 2012.

Global Peace Leadership Conference – Opening Plenary Keynote Address

August 18, 2012 – Seoul, Korea (Grand Hilton Hotel)

Your excellencies, honored guests, and distinguished participants from around the world. It is my great pleasure to welcome you here to this significant Global Peace Leadership Conference on a future vision for Korea and its relationship to world peace. Korea is the land of my birth, and each time I am here I feel more strongly the call of destiny to contribute to the peaceful resolution of the division of our homeland. Thank you for your participation here and your continuing support in this noble cause of peace.

Before I say more on this theme, let me first express my appreciation for those who have worked tirelessly to make this conference, and the Global Peace Festival that follows it, a reality. It is only through the commitment and sacrifice of “true owners,” who take personal responsibility for the cause, that the all too important work of peace can be advanced.

Korea Today and Need for a Vision

The theme of this conference is “The Vision for the Unification of the Korean Peninsula and Building a World of Peace.” The word “vision” was not chosen lightly. It has great significance. The situation of the Korean peninsula and the Korean people today is a tragic one. Although, after 1989, the Cold War ended everywhere else in the world, here it continues, with acts of military aggression and a looming nuclear threat. This circumstance threatens not only Koreans but the stability of the Northeast Asia region, and indeed, because of the involvement of major powers like China, the United States, Japan and Russia, the peace of the world.

Although the Korean people share 5,000 years of history and culture, for 60 years we have been divided from one another. Two opposing visions of how human beings should live together in society have faced each other across the 38^th parallel and today we can clearly see their fruits. The energy and creativity of the Korean people was given free rein in the South, bringing prosperity and freedom, and raising the country to be an important global presence. In the North, we see our relatives suffering poverty, famine and oppression.

Whether we consider Korea’s destiny, which cannot flourish to the full while we are a house divided, or whether we simply respond to the suffering of our brothers and sisters in the North, this situation cannot stand. And it is in this context that vision is essential. To end this bitter history of division the Korean people must come together centered upon a common vision for a united Korea. What will that vision be? This is the question that we, as Koreans, must address if we are to find a path to reconciliation and eventual unification.

Universal Principles and Values

If we step back and consider the global context, we see that what applies to Korea also applies to the world. We live at an inflection point in history, a time of rapid and historic change. Whether the impact of that change on the rest of this century is positive or negative depends on the choices we make today. Even as our world experiences greater integration through globalization and technology, there are countervailing forces of increasing social, cultural, ethnic, and religious fragmentation. These forces threaten to divide our world, creating conflict that undermines the peace and prosperity to which we aspire.

How can these forces of disintegration be addressed? Whether considering governmental institutions such as the UN, or the tools of advanced technology in this age of globalization, we must recognize that the most fundamental human problems cannot be solved by politics, diplomacy, economics, or science alone. What, then, is the compass that can help us navigate these historic changes to achieve a world of peace and prosperity? I submit to you that it is a shared spiritual vision for humanity based upon universal principles and values. And the essence of that vision must be rooted in the simple but profound idea that all human beings, regardless of ethnicity, faith, class, or gender, are part of “One Family under God.”

Sustainable solutions ultimately must address root causes and, thus, must include the intrinsic spiritual dimension of the human experience.  That spirituality is the basis of fundamental truths – the universal principles and values acknowledged by all people, regardless of their particular religious orientation.

Simply put, political authority cannot mandate, nor can money buy, the virtues needed to resolve conflicts and build ethical societies. Compassion, respect for others, empathy, forgiveness, integrity and other virtuous qualities essential for peace and harmony must be motivated by the human heart and spirit. Thus, we need to establish a new framework for peace that is rooted in our shared spiritual aspirations, principles and values, and that can form the common ground for cohesion within society and for the peaceful resolution of conflicts.

The Korean Dream

Korea is in a unique position to contribute to the development of that vision and the framework of shared principles and values built upon it. The guiding vision that we develop for a united Korea will help to shape the global vision needed to transcend the forces of division and conflict worldwide. That vision is what I call the Korean Dream.

For the Korean people to find and ‘own’ their unique identity, and for Korea to fulfill its historic destiny, that dream must be about much more than material prosperity. Prosperity without a vision corrodes the spirit, as we see today through the increasing divorce rate and the gradual erosion of traditional Korean values. Koreans are no strangers to the importance of such a vision. We have always been altruistic and big dreamers.

It is amazing to consider that as long ago as the third millennium B.C., over 4,000 years ago, our ancestors’ lives were already guided by the philosophy of “Hong Ik In Gan.” In other words, they sought to live “for the greater benefit (or welfare) of mankind.”

This remarkable philosophy, which you might think was something that could only emerge in modern times, has been a guiding and unifying thread throughout Korean history. It has been a source of moral and spiritual strength in Korea’s many periods of suffering, even up to the Japanese occupation. When the South Korean government was formed in 1949, the Ministry of Education made Hong Ik In Gan the basis of its curriculum for moral education. Even in North Korea they respect the Hong Ik In Gan philosophy, although, of course, they have distorted it by leaving out the key element of the idea, namely respect for hananim, the One, who is above all, or as we say in English, God. Nevertheless, this vision could even form a basis for relating to North Koreans and their culture in a way that transcends the political ideologies of communism and democracy.

The roots of this Korean Dream emerged from the mists of an ancient past. In contrast, the ‘American Dream’ is recent newcomer on the stage of history. Yet there is a profound connection between the two, a connection that can serve as a bridge between the many differences of eastern and western culture.

The Roots of the American Dream

During its remarkable rise in its relatively short history, the United States has been a magnet for immigrants, coming to share in the “American Dream.” As someone born in Korea who came to America as an immigrant, and as an avid student of history, I have often asked myself: What is the essence of that dream?

I came to understand that the American dream is not about getting rich. It is not even about the democratic political process or the free market economic system. Those systems would have been empty shells without the vitality of spiritual principles and values that animated the American people in their rejection of the oppressive English monarchy, and that they poured into the structures of the nation they created. These were the secret of America’s success.

They are the basis of our modern notion of human rights and freedoms, expressed in the Declaration of Independence — a secular document expressing spiritual principles — which is the vision statement of the United States of America. It declares that “we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, and that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” Thus, essential human rights are not granted by any human institution but by the Creator and, therefore, cannot rightfully be abridged or denied by any government.

Korea and America: Two Dreams, One Vision

Thus the Korean Dream and the American Dream, though separated in their origins by millennia and half a globe, share the same essence. They both understand that the rights and dignity of every human being are rooted in the source from which we all come – ‘Hananim’ for the Hong Ik In Gan philosophy, and ‘the Creator’ for the Declaration of Independence – making us all members of ‘One Family under God’ regardless of race, ethnicity, nationality and religion.

Such a shared spiritual vision would not only nurture economic prosperity, but would strengthen democratic institutions, forming a bulwark against the authoritarian impulse at work in many parts of the world, and particularly in this Northeast Asia region. It would become the basis for a solution to economic inequalities, and create a substantial foundation for world peace.

The Korea United Campaign

On the foundation of this vision, GPFF has launched many practical initiatives in Korea to place the whole approach to uniting the two Koreas on a new footing. Korea United is a nationwide program engaging all Korean citizens, that challenges traditional approaches. Up to now the discussion of Korean unification has been restricted to high-level discourse among political and military leaders. Korea United is promoting a discussion in which every citizen can be engaged.

Korean unity has been seen as something that could only occur over a very long timeframe, perhaps generations. Korea United believes in preparing for unification in the short-term. Transition in authoritarian states can happen suddenly and unexpectedly as we saw with the transformation of the Soviet Union.

Finally, the question of the two Koreas has been framed as a confrontation of two systems and two ideologies – democracy and communism. Korea United is proposing an approach that can transcend the confrontation on the basis of a shared higher vision based on spiritual principles and values and rooted in Korea’s own historic philosophy of living for the benefit of mankind.

Dream Big Camp graduates appointed “U-Generation” members pose at the end of GPLC Seoul 2012.

In pursuit of these goals, GPFF is engaged in partnership with over 400 different civic organizations to promote a movement for Korean unity in which all citizens can be engaged. On May 3rd, the Unification Pledge Campaign was launched in the National Assembly Building. Citizens young and old are asked to think about what they will do for unification and to commit their practical support for it in time, resources, or money. The goal is to collect millions of signatures and to create an awareness that Korean unity is the responsibility of all Koreans and not just political leaders.

The Power of 1000 Won campaign encourages people to collect a little money every day. It is especially aimed at young people so that even elementary school students can collect money that they then donate for the construction of more bakeries in North Korea to help the many children of their own age there who are going hungry.

Earlier this year the youth arm of GPFF launched the Unification Project Contest which invited college students to submit their ideas about how they can help the unification process. 100,000 won in prizes will go to 350 winners and their ideas will then be circulated through social media to build engaged support among the young for unification, so that they become anointed as the “Unification” or “U-Generation.”

GPFF’s Global Work

The work of GPFF today in Korea stands on a strong foundation of achievement globally in just a few short years. We have worked with partners in government, business, the non-profit sector, and the faith community to develop model projects that help communities and nations move beyond conflict, and promote unity. These projects show how the vision that we are One Family under God can be given concrete reality.

In the wake of the violence in Kenya after the 2007 election we worked with both political leaders from both sides and with local communities in the Rift Valley to address the roots of the conflict. In 2010 GPFF held its annual convention in Nairobi with President Kibaki as its patron. Both he and Prime Minister Odinga, the rivals in the 2007 election, spoke there on the same platform, a visible symbol of their resolution to never allow such violence to mar Kenya’s politics again. GPFF also promoted closer connections between the Kenyan government and Korean development experts.

The Rivers of Peace Campaign has spearheaded several local clean up initiatives around the Bagmati River.

In Paraguay we sponsor a think tank that has guided the implementation of a self-sustaining economic and good governance plan for the Chaco region, the poorest part of the country. Now it is creating a national development plan that combines strong representative democracy with economic growth on the basis of fundamental spiritual principles and moral values.

In Brazil last year we convened a meeting of former Latin American heads of state who began work on a proposal for the greater integration of Latin American nations also founded on universal principles and values. They will continue their work this year at GPFF’s annual convention in Atlanta, in the United States.

Last year in Mongolia, GPFF launched a Northeast Asia Peace initiative that will look beyond the purely political framework for peace in Korea and promote a complementary approach based on cultural, sports, and educational exchanges.

We are also active in numerous grassroots projects and community initiatives through our national chapters around the world. We work especially to engage young people in their communities, developing leadership qualities and a spirit of ownership in them through social and environmental service projects, and through character education programs.

The Rivers of Peace initiative has mobilized thousands of young people as well as civic groups to clean up the polluted Nairobi River in Kenya, and Bagmati River in Nepal. GPFF also has character education programs in several countries. In Kenya and Paraguay the national governments cooperate on the initiative, while in the U.S. and other countries local governments are involved.

Conclusion

Ladies and gentlemen: We stand at a crossroads in Korea’s history. The choices we make today will have great influence on the future not only of this region but for peace in the world.

Korea has a great destiny nurtured in suffering and the spiritual principles that run deep through our history. In 1929, during the dark days of occupation, Rabindranath Tagore, the Nobel prizewinning Indian poet, wrote of Korea:

In the golden age of Asia
Korea was one of its lamp-bearers
and that lamp is waiting to be lighted once again
for the illumination in the East.

The time that he spoke of is now. Now is the moment for Korea to fulfill its destiny. Now is when Koreans must take up and own the Korean Dream.

I want to challenge the nation of Korea to take on the mantle of global moral leadership by championing the ideals of fundamental human rights and freedoms rooted in universal principles and values.

I especially want to challenge the new generation to take charge of Korea’s destiny as their fathers and grandfathers did after the Korean War. Become the “U-Generation” that brings the healing of the division that your forebears longed to see.

Let us not rest until the dawn of peace in Korea – a dawn that will cast a bright ray of hope to all the world’s peoples. May God bless you and your families. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for joining together in this noble undertaking.

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