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Originally posted on February 5, 2015. Updated on January 27, 2019.

The following story is shared by a student from the United States who traveled to South Korea for a leadership exchange program. In it, she discloses an intimate look at the division of Korean families in the North and South, bringing to light the tragic reality of a divided homeland and a Korean Dream, shared by people everywhere, to reunite the peninsula.

As most Koreans born after 1953, I grew up as the child of a divided homeland. I was born in Seoul but my ancestral home remains north of the 38th Parallel. I still have relatives there, as do 10 million other Koreans in the South and the diaspora. This is the shared reality of our people.

Dr. Hyun Jin P. Moon, Korean Dream: A Vision for a Unified Korea

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Her tears flowed over her papery cheeks and down her chin, dripping onto the linoleum floor. Her silver curls swayed as she rocked back and forth.

She grasped his hand tightly with one hand and stroked his cheeks with the other. It was as if she hoped the physical proximity would make her phantom real – but it seemed to make her pain deeper.

This was the heartbreaking scene I witnessed when I was visiting a housing project for North Korean defectors during a summer leadership training program in 2014. I was just one of many from around the world, including the United States, Korea, Japan, and the Philippines, all learning first-hand about the division of Korea.

As an American, I was paired with a Korean high school student who served as my unofficial translator and guide. We communicated through single English and Korean words and filled in the rest with facial expressions and hand gestures.

Together we visited someone I would fondly call Halmonim, Grandma in Korean. I still don’t know her name or how she got to that sanctuary after her harrowing journey crossing the 38th parallel. Before silence overtook her, she told us that she had a grandson who still lived in the North. She observed my Korean partner, touching his face gently and told us that he looked exactly like her grandson.

As she watched his face, two endless rivers began to form in her eyes and silent, shuddering sobs ran through her entire body. The sweets we brought for her remained untouched. We didn’t know what else to do but to sit still so she could keep his hand in hers.

As I looked on helplessly next to Halmonim, my Korean companion and I searched for appropriate words to comfort her, but found nothing, so we chose silence. We sat there the entire time in silence interrupted only by her cries.

Reunions for families divided North and South are few and always too short.

Reunions for families divided by North and South are few and always too short. The latest of the very rare reunions took place in August 2018.

Back home, I sat next to my mother on our couch and I wondered about Halmonim’s pain. How would it feel to long for someone so badly, but not be able to see, touch or hear them? Maybe it would feel like a part of me: my arm or my leg was amputated and thrown over a high fence that I could not climb.

Halmonim, is that how you feel when you think about your grandson? The ideological divide runs deeper than the 38th parallel, it cuts through the very heart and body of the Korean people. Halmonim’s tears speak of the pain of being separated from a part of herself.

I think it is time to say, “Enough.” Let’s not shed more tears of division and separation, let’s let tears of reunion and joy begin to flow.

You can be a part of the Korean Dream to reunited the divided homeland. Learn about the One Korea Global Campaign, the 100th Commemoration of the March 1 Movement to be held in Seoul, South Korea, and the 2019 One K Concert.

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Statue of Genghis Khan (Photo Credit: Francois Philipp via Flickr)

The rise of great civilizations requires a foundation of universal principles and shared values that form the foundation of an ethic that holds the people to a shared identity and destiny. A civilizations’ rise is attributed to the people’s resonance to enduring principles and their demise results from the people’s dissonance with their core values.

In Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World, Jack Weatherford presents an intimate retelling of the life of Genghis Khan, from his tragic youth to his pursuit of a vision to unite the whole world under the Eternal Blue Sky.

The story recounts the rise of one of the largest civilizations in history, stretching from Europe to China and the Middle East that began with one individual inspired by a vision. Genghis Khan was then able to give substance to that vision through the promulgation of laws and a system that upheld the principles and values of that vision.

The Yassa, or Great Law of the Mongol Empire, “recognized the ultimate supreme law of the Eternal Blue Sky over all people.” It allowed for freedom of worship, acknowledging individual merit and more, all expressed in the laws and culture of the Empire, which created social cohesion in a wide-ranging and hugely diverse population.

Weatherford observes that Genghis Khan held himself to these laws. “At a time when most rulers considered themselves to be above the law, Genghis Khan insisted on laws holding rulers as equally accountable as the lower herder.”

As Genghis Khan detailed in a letter he sent to a monk in China, he strove to treat his subjects “like his children” and treat talented men “as his brothers”, despite their differences. He worked with his officials closely, and although he differed in culture and even religion, he wrote, “We always agree in our principles and we are always united in mutual affection.” In this way, Genghis Khan was able to expand the notion of kinship to go beyond blood ties based on loyalty to principles with the warmth and care of mutual respect.

At the end of his life, Genghis Khan warned his sons to continue to follow the Great Laws or face ruin. His warning ominously speaking to the breakdown over the next three generations who grew farther and farther from the origins of their legacy, as they became preoccupied by protecting their power and assets rather than pursuing their father’s dream.

From this example of the Mongol empire, one can conclude that there are certain core principles and values which form the natural bedrock of strong civilizations. These principles and values are vitally instrumental in articulating a vision that can inspire ancient founders of civilizations as well as continue to inspire succeeding generations.

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A closeup of the Mallorquín Atlas depicting Marco Polo traveling to the East during the Pax Mongolica (Photo Credit: Abraham Cresques, Atlas catalan)

Tribalism describes the way human societies have operated for nearly the whole of human history. As an organizing principle based on the notion of shared kinship ties, tribalism makes distinctions between those of the tribe and those who are not.

The danger of this kind of thinking is that it implicitly creates an “us versus them” mentality. With such a worldview, peace, cooperation and prosperity becomes limited to the accepted boundaries of the tribe. If there was cooperation between tribes, even this might  be only temporary or very limited in scope.

War then becomes a natural outcome of this type of thinking and many of the worst examples of human behavior emerge when one tribe has effectively “de-humanized” those who stand outside of the tribe. Moreover, tribalism and the conflicts that arise with it limit the exchange of information, ideas and, subsequently, any kind of development or advance beyond a single group.

A look back into history shows how civilizational progress was made possible, when the notion of identity expanded rather than retracted. One example is the era dubbed “Pax Mongolica” in the 13th and 14th centuries during the rule of the Mongols. This period is all the more remarkable when considering the constant warfare and subsistence-level living standards common among the various Mongol tribes before the rise of Genghis Khan.

A largely nomadic people, looked down upon as “barbarians” by even those they conquered, the Mongols were nonetheless able to establish an empire that spanned across Southeast Asia, and as far as Eastern Europe at its peak. More notable still was the fact that the Mongols were able to extend the notion of kinship to include even those of the captured population. Jack Weatherford notes in his book Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World:

“Genghis Khan was not merely making alliances between his family and their ruling families. He was accepting the entire tribe or nation into his empire as familial members, since, in the political idiom of the tribes, granting kinship to the khan was tantamount to recognizing family ties with the whole nation. In this way, the idiom of kinship has expanded into a type of citizenship.”

In order to substantially maintain these ties, Genghis Khan turned to principles and values as instituted in the Great Yasa, the Mongol code of law:

“As he smashed the feudal system of aristocratic privilege and birth, he built new and unique systems based on individual merit, loyalty and achievement […] He created an international law and recognized the ultimate supreme law of the Eternal Blue Sky over all people.”

This change was significant in a time when the concept of rule of law was unimaginable. And this was only possible because the Great Khan himself believed himself to be but an instrument of the universal order and subject to failure if he were to deviate from it, insisting “on laws holding rulers as equally accountable as the lower herder.”

Global Peace Festival featured performers at Wreath Laying Ceremony at Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia in 2011.

As the empire expanded, a hugely diverse population became an asset. The relatively free exchange of ideas and information helped to develop innovations and developments in everything from trade, agriculture, medicine, the arts and beyond.

The empire eventually declined after Genghis Khan’s death as his descendants created new lines of identity, and the notion of a greater empire collapsed into the incipient factionalism and tribalism that had come before it.

It is instructive today to revisit the lessons from Pax Mongolica as a pattern of new kinds of “tribalisms” is now observed around the world in the 21st century. This alarming trend of negative values poses a threat to the many social, technological, scientific advances that we have made as a global community.

We are called now to remember again that great things are possible when we transcend parochial interests and work for something bigger.

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The traditional approach to problem-solving has very often been focused on mitigating the symptoms of a larger problem. We might hear the term “band-aid solutions” to connote a remedy that covers over only the visible signs of a problem.

In geopolitics today, we can see something such as the war on terror as having created more future problems through heavy-handed tactics and short-term solutions that didn’t take into account the multi-faceted dynamics of the region’s competing groups. We now see the very stark results of this kind of approach in the turmoil in the Middle East as well as the expanding refugee crisis in Europe and beyond.

Yet, there is a need to act to solve problems in our world today and to work together to do so. So what approach might we take to do this without creating more harmful, unintended consequences?

One Family Under God campaign participant at the Second Interfaith Youth Leaders Retreat in Kaduna State.

It may be instructive to look at the traditional Eastern approach to medicine, which looks not to the symptoms but to the norm or the ideal state to then offer a remedy. Understanding that the body is an intricately connected whole, the search is not to immediately relieve the pain but to locate the root of the problem.

This idea, in part, explains the appeal of working first from an ideal, a vision of peace and prosperity – and understanding the ideal conditions for both – to create innovative solutions to our world’s greatest challenges. Understanding the root causes of problems provides a way to view the problem from a wider angle and leads to more holistic solutions that can prevent bigger problems down the road.

This explains the approach the Global Peace Foundation is taking in Korea in promoting a Korean Dream and in Nigeria in its One Family Under God campaign. While each society faces unique circumstances and extremely different challenges, working towards a common vision and the universal principles and shared values that come with it offers inclusive, innovative solutions that are making a difference.

Come be a part of that difference.

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We called it the Unification Tree. A simple paper tree that started the day with branches empty, but began to “sprout” leaves as passersby jotted down their thoughts and hopes for Korean Unification.

One leaf had “Our hope for unification” the title of an old song that lamented the prolonged division of our people. Another had “for our nation,” expressing the shared heritage of the Korean people as one nation.

One leaf in particular sprouted a realization in my mind. Most of the leaves were written in Hangul or English, this one stood out because it was written in Japanese. I remember the couple that had stopped by to post this leaf; she was Korean and he was Japanese.

We were told that the tree was for people to express their thoughts on the issue of unification, however, he wanted to write something about improving relations between Japan and Korea.

I had to pause. How was Japan-Korean relations related to the issue of reunification? Did Japanese have a stake in the fate of the Korean peninsula?

I looked at their faces, awkwardly grinning as my thoughts processed. Finally I consented, and he wrote his wish for the unification of Japanese and Koreans.

In hindsight, this leaf represented much more than just the unification Japan and Korea.

Of course, there is the obvious conclusion – Korean Unification is a concern of not just the Korean people, but of many people who care about the nation, but also have a stake in the stability of Northeast Asia – Russia, China, Japan, the United States….

But there was a deeper realization that that leaf opened in my consciousness – that the effects of Korean unification would impact not just the Korean people, or even Northeast Asia, it would be setting a model, a precedent for the world. If we could get this unification thing right, there were so many divisions that needed to be overcome – the animosity between Japan and Korea being one of them.

The approach presented in the Korean Dream, by Dr. Moon made more sense, too. For people who have been divided for so long, and by so much pain, a common vision, a common heritage that precedes that division, would probably be the only way for them to move beyond those barriers.

In the end, I was glad I consented to allow the Japanese man’s hopes for his nation and the nation of his significant other to join the other leaves on the unification tree.

It expanded my understanding of “unification” and also how much Korean unification could do for the world.

~This piece is based off of a testimony of a youth volunteer who participated in a summer leadership exchange program in Korea promoting Korean reunification.

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“The dream of America’s Founding Fathers not only gave birth to a great nation, unique in world history to that point. It also left substantial footprints throughout the world. It set out the ideal of universal human rights, freedoms, and responsibilities and made substantial sacrifices in pursuit of realizing that ideal. If America no longer takes the lead in this endeavor, who else will?”
-Dr, Hyun Jin Moon, Korean Dream: A Vision for a Unified Korea

A lone U.S. Army bugler plays Taps at the conclusion of the First Annual Remembrance Ceremony in Dedication to Fallen Military Medical Personnel at Arlington National Cemetery. (DoD photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Chad J. McNeeley/Released)

Nineteen steel statues face an invisible winter wind whipping their ponchos against their weapons and packs. They trek through fields of juniper bushes and granite slabs meant to emulate rice paddies. In the background what seems to be the snow-capped mountains, are actually 2400 faces of GI and support troops.

Etched on black granite at the entrance of the memorial are the words of President Harry S. Truman, “Our Debt to the heroic men and valiant women in the service of our country can never be repaid, they have earned our undying gratitude. America will never forget their sacrifices.”

It was a dark time for Korea as its people were torn by the ideological hegemonies of the Cold War. The United Nations forces made their first international intervention with the support of 22 nations including, 5.8 million Americans, of which more than 36,000 never came home.

It was the middle of winter when these men and women, driven only by the conviction that freedom was a cause worth dying for, stepped onto foreign soil to fight for the freedoms of brethren they’d never met.

Every year the number of Korean War veterans who make their way to the memorial dwindle, but their children and grandchildren, and the children and grandchildren of people who own a debt of gratitude to the faces etched in the black granite continue to visit.

Next to the memorial pool of the Korean War Memorial are four words, “Freedom is not free.” These words express the resolve that has motivated the men and women of the armed forces throughout U.S. History, who have fought to bring to life the principles articulated in the Declaration of Independence.

Korean War Memorial in Washington, D.C.

America’s sacrifice on far shores of lands and people unknown is memorialized, not only with the 19 statues and 2,400 faces at the Korean War Memorial, but in the countless monuments in Washington D.C, and the white tombstones that line the veterans cemeteries across the country.

They are testaments to the United States’ commitment, not only in words but in the blood and sweat of its best and brightest, to the promise of its founding documents, that “all men are created equal and endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights.”

Each year, on Memorial Day, people across the United States visit these memorials to honor the lives of these men and women and the legacy they gave their lives for, a vision that all people can live in dignity as part of One Family Under God.

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When lecturing on “What is a Nation”, French scholar, Ernest Renan, suggested that building a nation required acceptance of the past and choosing new realities for a shared future. He explains:

A nation is therefore a large-scale solidarity, constituted by the feeling of the sacrifices that one has made in the past and of those that one is prepared to make in the future. It presupposes a past; it is summarized, however, in the present by a tangible fact, namely, consent, the clearly expressed desire to continue a common life.

And yet what we see today is a rejection of this “desire to continue a common life” in the rise of subnational, identity-based and even transnational conflicts. Many point to specific political, economic, or religious factors as the cause, but consistently deepening divisions suggest that at the heart of these conflicts is a failure to see a common destiny.

Painting by John Trumbull of the five men drafting committee of the Declaration of Independence presenting their work to the Congress.

When we see others as enemies and fail to recognize the human dignity and rights of others, we tread on dangerous ground. Throughout history and repeatedly today, we see time and again that humans do terrible, inhumane things to each other when we exclude some as being unworthy of basic moral considerations. There are simply too many instances of this in the news today. Fortunately, history has also shown us that it is possible to bridge perceived divisions in order to create new possibilities for peace and shared prosperity.

The founding of the United States was based on the belief of a moral imperative to live and organize according to the “laws of nature and of nature’s God”. This recognition of spiritual principles became then the basis for essential spiritual values and subsequently, rights, to all people. Although the time of the founding of the United States permitted slavery within its territories, the founding documents of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution, taken together, laid the ideological basis to eventually extend these rights to every person.

Indonesians celebrating their country’s independence (photo credit: British Pathe)

Similarly, we find that at a crossroad in its history, modern Indonesia made the conscious choice to establish a modern state based upon its spiritual values. Although Indonesia was and still is predominantly a Muslim country, it chose to enshrine universal principles at the core of its democracy out of respect for the diverse spiritual practices of its population. It is out of this freedom to practice in accordance with one’s conscience that has given rise to two of the largest Muslim civil society organizations in the world, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah.

Despite the geographic, cultural, religious, linguistic and many other differences in between, these two countries at opposite ends of the globe pursued very similar courses in placing universal principles and shared values as the basis of more inclusive societies. While each has struggled to maintain a hold of these principles and values, the vision and aspirations contained in the founding ideals continue to guide each nation towards greater equality, unity and prosperity for all.

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Many have criticized religion as the reason for violence and writers from Richard Dawkins to Sam Harris cautions us on the dangers of religion.

And yet one could point to pivotal moments in history where religion has been the only thing that could have moved a seemingly unmovable mountain, allowing people to find hope, faith and voice in the face of daunting realities.

One example of this is the peaceful democratic revolution in East Germany. Although some argue that external economic, political or military factors led to the fall of the Berlin Wall, a closer look at the stories and convictions of those who took to the streets in the fall on 1989 shows that religion was a defining player in the revolution.

Stephen Kinzer of the New York Times reflects five years later, “If the peaceful revolution against East German Communism had a birthplace, it may well have been the Nikolai Church in Leipzig.”

It was there that the Rev. Christian Führer, began to hold peace prayers.

The small meetings that sometimes only had a dozen or so participants was the one place in Leipzig where, in the words of the sign that still stand in front of in front of Nikolai Church, “All are welcome.” The peace prayers eventually became a space for people to openly voice their concerns, and define their common hope for peace and prosperity. Rev. Führer even facilitated discussions during these peace prayers with reformists and the public

These meetings defied the long established agreement between the Lutheran church and the East German Communist government. When asked why he dared to do so, Rev. Führer quotes his hero, Detrich Bonhoeffer, “The Church is only the church when it is there for others.”

As the government began to restrict the Church’s activities, at one point even barricading its doors, the movement suddenly skyrocketed. Rev. Führer described the movement: “It’s small as a mustard seed, but it grows and it grows and no one can stop it.”

Something at those prayers for peace stirred the hearts of the people. The numbers attending the Monday Night prayers grew to 600, then to thousands. The tipping point was October 9, 1989, when over 70,000 protestors, joined the peace prayer participants in a peaceful march around Leipzig square.

While mostly peaceful, it was not without danger. Police and soldiers lined the square. Leanna, a member of the group Women for Peace and organizer of the prayer meetings, told BBC, “The over-riding feeling on the day was fear,”

Yet, there is something in the folds of faith that allows us to put even our most precious items: our families, our livelihood, our lives on the line to fight for a bigger vision. It seems something gave these protestors the courage to face guns and shields with their pickets, candles and prayers.

Rev. Führer joked, “At that time they said, ‘You don’t really think that your candles and prayers can change something?’ But ironically enough, reports on the October 9th march recorded East German officials saying they were ready for anything except candles and prayers.

However, four years after the reunification of Germany, Rev. Führer lamented that internal divisions between Germans still stand tall, and the driving vision for peace and co-prosperity has waned. “Brutal competition and the lust for money are destroying our sense of community. Almost everyone feels a level of fear or depression or insecurity.”

Rev. Führer’s words leave an uncomfortable echo and point to the danger of losing or never fully developing a common vision for a better future. In Germany, it seems what was once a hopeful movement for peace and prosperity has failed to carry over beyond a change in immediate political structures. We might imagine that Monday Night Meetings need to continue even, or especially, into the present.

Writing about the possibilities for Korean reunification, Dr. Moon talks about the transformative force of people power, but similarly cautions, “Without a vision, a mass movement can quickly become an angry mob. Positive change comes about through a guiding idea that is rooted in truth and hence has the moral authority that resonates with the innate conscience of people.”

With discipline, caution and a common vision, religions and their roots in transcendent, universal principles and shared values can be the moral guiding hand for positive social change.

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Koreans in the diaspora suffer from divided families the same as Koreans on the peninsula. We are affected by and engaged in the fate of a divided homeland and often can bring a broader perspective to meeting the challenge of unification. I believe that the diaspora is destined to play an essential role in gathering support and building awareness on a global stage for the unity of the Korean people. – Hyun Jin Moon, The Korean Dream: A Vision for a Unified Korea

Ongoing efforts by both North and South Korea to engage their diaspora communities only begins to scratch the surface of the potential impact and contribution Koreans spread across the globe can make on their homeland.

Overseas Korean capital brought into South Korea (Source: IZA World of Labor)

Both sides of the Korean peninsula have drawn on a number of connecting factors, namely language, culture and identity, which have been mostly passed down from generation to generation within the tight knit Korean traditional family. This unique quality is shared between both North and South Koreans.

Chongryun is an example of North Korean efforts to keep their ties alive with Zainichi Chosenjin, North Koreans living in Japan. The organization runs schools, universities, cultural exchange programs, and even a credit union. Robert M. Hathaway, Director of Asia Program at the Wilson Center, observes that the society is a prominent force that represents the agendas of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in Japan.

South Korean initiatives are younger. The most recognized South Korean initiative is the Overseas Koreans Foundation, formally established in 1997 and run by the Republic of Korean government. Around the same time as allowing dual citizenship and the more recent recognition of Koreans in China and the former CIS, the Korean Legislation has begun to establish ties between Korea and its large diaspora community.

Studies of South Korea’s engagement with its diaspora community center mostly on economic opportunity. A study by Inbom Choi, chief economist for the Federation of Korean Industries and visiting fellow at the Institute for International Economics, shows that the diaspora community has had a measurable impact on imports and exports, foreign investment, increased inflow and outflow of cash with foreign countries and an influx of both skilled and unskilled labor.

However, a mere economic analysis of the benefits from the diaspora community does not take into consideration cultural currency, humanitarian aid, and sheer people power. To date, statistics show that the Korean diaspora is the most widely spread diaspora in the world.

There are stories like Mr. George Rhee from the United Kingdom who began ‘Love North Korean Children’, an organization that the Global Peace Foundation’s “Miracle of 1,000 Won” supports, to establish bread factories in North Korea to feed local children.

International student volunteers raising money for “Miracle of 1,000 Won” a donation drive to support bread factories in North Korea that provide daily bread for local school children.

There are numerous examples where the diaspora community has stood up to provide humanitarian aid, advocacy, and even emergency relief to their extended Korean family. The contribution of the Korean diaspora during the March 1st Korean Independence Movement had Koreans around the world, from intellectuals in Japan to farmers in Cuba, who sought the liberation of their fatherland.

Perhaps in these examples lie a deeper connection and calling to Koreans living abroad. If we reflect on the economic impact and benefit that the diaspora community has had on both North and South Korea, we can only imagine what a reawakening of Koreans around the world to their shared role as ‘a chosen people’ could do for Northeast Asia and the world.

Dr. Moon’s call out to the diaspora community goes deeper than just economic gains. It is a similar call to the one from the 1940’s Independence Movement. Despite the division that was artificially imposed by outside forces, this is a call for Koreans around the world to bring together their divided family with the strength of their shared identity as a family. It is time for the people chosen to live for the benefit of humanity to fulfill their destiny.

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