Radhika Seth
September 4, 2012
According to Sun Myung Moon’s close aide Bo Hi Pak, around 30,000 people from Japan have been invited to attend the funeral of their beloved ‘messiah’ and Unification Church leader. Merely hours after his death was announced, the Unification Church went into full gear with preparations for a massive funeral. Sun Myung Moon’s funeral will be held on 15th September at the mountain-ringed headquarters in Gapyeong, South Korea, east of Seoul.
Workers have been moved into action for paving a one-kilometer, two-lane road leading to the complex. With expectations of a huge turnout, the organizers wish to ensure complete competence. They are preparing a special altar inside a large gymnasium at the centre of the complex and general public will be allowed to offer their prayers and respects from Thursday onwards.
The Unification Church has around three million followers from across the globe however recent numbers put them at 70,000 at the most. Mourners at the movement’s main church in Seoul have quite a number of followers praying and reading a special edition of the church-affiliated newspaper regarding their leader’s death. Stories like the following have emerged after the leader’s death: Japanese follower Yamanaka Katsuyo married a South Korean man at a mass wedding in Seoul in 1988, after Moon chose her groom for her. She claims that the marriage has been bliss and outlasted many love marriages.