Sun Myung Moon
October 4, 1982
Fifth World Media Conference
Lotte Hotel, Seoul, Korea
Photo date and location unknown
Honorable chairman, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen:
I am very pleased and deeply grateful that you have come to Korea to attend this fifth World Media Conference.
This conference brings together prominent communications professionals from all parts of the world to seek a greater understanding of the responsibility of the media in today's society.
The Korean Peninsula is the microcosm of the world
The scope of the conference is global, and the understanding we seek is international. It is, therefore, particularly appropriate to hold this event in the nation of Korea, for it was here, thirty-two years ago, that twenty-one nations of the free world joined forces to turn back the unprovoked North Korean communist invasion of the South. This is certainly one of the noblest examples in history of unselfish international cooperation. The people of Korea will never forget the tremendous service the United Nations rendered in the face of such a serious violation of international peace.
It is also particularly appropriate for this gathering to take place in Korea, because it is here that the great cultures of the world are coming together today. Korea is unique among Asian nations. Here the ancient culture and ways of life have been preserved largely unchanged for five thousand years. The purest Asian culture in the modern world is to be found here. At the same time, many of the major religions of the world came to Korea and flourished here. Christianity, the spiritual core of western culture, took deep root and thrives in Korea. While Christian churches stand empty in many parts of the world, Korean Christian churches are alive with prayer and worship at all hours of the day and night.
Korean Christianity bears the fruit of the western tradition of Hebraism. Hebraism consists of the tradition of spirituality and faith in God, passed down from the Hebrew prophets through the Christian saints and into the world of today. This Hebraic tradition confronts the external, Hellenic tradition in its most extreme form, materialistic and God-denying communism, across the thirty-eighth parallel of Korea. A world that denies God is opposing a world that accepts God, and Korea is the place where these two worlds collide.
The Korean War was the embodiment of the clash between these two worlds. It was not merely a local conflict; it was global war involving the forces of world communism and the forces of the United Nations. Thus the Korean Peninsula is a microcosm of the world. It could be said that the problems of the world are encapsulated in the Korean Peninsula. This being the case, the solutions developed and successfully applied in Korea are not merely local solutions; they become solutions for the world.
What type of solution is necessary? The struggle between communism and the free world is a struggle of ideas -- a struggle of belief, philosophy and ultimately of ideology. If God exists, then atheism must be wrong; if there is no God, then materialism must be correct. Since two contradictory beliefs cannot both be true, there must be a showdown in which the truth will prevail. We believe God exists. It is therefore our most important duty to make that God real in our lives and make that God indispensable in our world. By doing so, we bring the ultimate solution to the problem of communism. I established the Unification movement for this task. Korea is the logical place for this movement to have begun.
Solutions to social problems and the responsibility of the media
I would like to take this opportunity to share with you some of the experiences that led me to establish the Unification movement. When I was sixteen years old, living in the northern part of Korea, I began to have a series of extremely significant experiences. It is difficult for me to describe these experiences to you in words. I can say that the spirit world was opened to me, and I was able to freely communicate with the saints of that world. In the solitude of the mountains of northern Korea, I communicated many times with Jesus and with God Himself. The truths revealed to me at that time now constitute the core of the Unification teaching.
Recently, in a United States courtroom, I testified that I met with Jesus, Moses and Buddha. The media of the world were shocked, and found it difficult to believe, but I must tell you that these were my true experiences. I want to proclaim that the spirit world does exist and that human life is eternal.
After having these experiences, I established the Unification Church, the inspiration for the Unification movement. This movement will bring solutions to the gravest problems facing humanity today.
1. The Unification movement will bring about a positive solution to the problem of communism. To solve communism, a spiritual awakening must occur. This spiritual awakening will provide the necessary foundation for the solution to the physical problems that people face worldwide.
2. The Unification movement will bring about cooperation among the religions of the world, and the unification of all religions into one God-accepting family. The original mind of humanity recognizes the common Creator and Father. Under this common Father, we can and must unite into one human family.
3. The Unification movement will bring about a moral world. This is especially important for today's young people. In the absence of an absolute moral standard, immorality is becoming rampant. A greedy, self-centered way of life, now approved and even encouraged, sees others merely as something used for personal gain. If this continues, it will certainly lead to the destruction of society.
To bring about the establishment of a good world, an absolute standard of universal value must be recognized and understood. Such a standard can only be based upon the eternal and unchanging Creator, God. God must become a daily reality in human life. When men and women live in daily communion with God, there can be no immorality.
This is the truth, and I am sure that no matter what, the truth shall ultimately prevail. Truth's destiny shatters all lies, even if there is great economic, political or social power behind them. Lies cannot overcome truth.
In my bringing the unique message of Unificationism to the world, I realize that the media has often misunderstood me. If anyone could justifiably feel unkindly toward the media, it would certainly be me. I feel, however, that rather than be offended by the attacks of the media, I ought to be flattered that you have given me so much attention. Of course, I have consistently provided the media a most valuable service: I have given you a lot to write about. Keeping track of Rev. Moon, the media never has never had time to become bored.
In fact, I bear no ill will toward the media, for I have great faith that the tremendously good potential of the media will ultimately be fulfilled. Up until this time, I have not been properly understood. Ignorance invites misunderstanding, and misunderstanding invites distortion. The reason why I am speaking to you today is to improve understanding between us. I don't avoid speaking to you because it is my duty to communicate the truth, no matter how impossible this task may seem.
Purpose for making the film Inchon
Most recently, there has been a great surge of interest regarding me and the movie Inchon. The film cost almost $50 million to make and features a cast of famous Hollywood stars. Many people ask why Rev. Moon, a religious leader, would focus on producing a Hollywood movie. I would like to give you my own personal explanation.
I had two reasons, and neither one of them involved making money. The first was that I wanted to document the historical fact that the North invaded the South in the Korean War. Over the course of the past thirty years, communists have persistently worked to cover up this historical fact. Their deception effectively convinced many young people to believe that the United States and South Korea were the aggressors in the war. Yet in fact, the North Korean communist aggressors, backed by Soviet Russia and communist China, attacked millions of innocent victims. This must be clearly portrayed, and the true nature of the communist aggression must be documented. Inchon does this.
The second reason is that I wanted to pay tribute to Douglas MacArthur. Gen. MacArthur loved God and loved humanity, and he understood and hated atheistic communism precisely because it is the cruel enemy of God and all people everywhere. In the desperate moments following the North Korean invasion of 1950, the very existence of Korea and of the Korean people remained in great jeopardy. Gen. MacArthur fought, motivated by a deep desire to do God's Will and to stop the communist aggression.
Through remarkable faith in God, he planned and executed the Inchon landing, a masterpiece of military strategy, and an impossible mission became a great victory.
Gen. MacArthur was not just a military genius; he was a great humanitarian as well. Following Japan's surrender, Gen. MacArthur was in the position of supreme commander of the conquered empire. He could have been a tyrant, but instead he ruled postwar Japan with benevolent, fatherly care.
Gen. MacArthur had a clear vision of how to gain victory in the Korean War, and how the problem of communism in Asia could be completely solved. If the free world had followed his advice, there would not be a divided Korea today, and communism would not have caused the suffering that it has caused throughout Asia. There need not have been a defeat in Vietnam, a defeat that brought complete disgrace to the free world.
I want the young people of today to understand the greatness of Gen. MacArthur. I would like to see them take him as a hero and give themselves as he did, for the sake of God and the world.
There is also a very personal side to my involvement in making this film. When the Korean War broke out, I was being held in a communist prison camp in North Korea. I cannot begin to describe the horrible conditions of that camp. Most prisoners died within six months, but with the help of God I endured the life in that camp for almost three years. Following the Inchon landing, as the United Nations' forces were fighting northward up the peninsula, the communists began to execute all the prisoners in the camp. Just hours before I was to be taken out and executed, I was liberated by the U.N. forces. Inchon is my way of expressing gratitude to Gen. MacArthur.
I never had the opportunity to meet Gen. MacArthur, but this morning we have the good fortune to have his nephew, Ambassador Douglas MacArthur II, with us as our keynote speaker. I feel the general's presence in the person of Ambassador MacArthur, and I am very happy to have him here.
The participation of Ambassador MacArthur, Chairman William Rusher, and the others here at the head table, as well as that of all of you, gives me the highest hopes for this meeting. Please work hard these next few days, and when the conference is over, I want you to have a chance to relax as my guests. I would like to show you my country and have you feel, when it is time to leave, that what you want to do most is come back for another visit.
Thank you for coming and may God bless you.