This week in history, June 7-14:
- The World Rally for Korean Freedom is held (June 7, 1975)
- The work to build A-frame churches began in Korea (June 10, 1974)
- The Sun Moon Peace Cup Inaugural Ceremony is held (June 12, 2002)
- True Parents conduct the 1998 Holy Marriage Blessing of 360 million couples worldwide (June 13, 1998)
- True Parents hold the Opening Ceremony for the Cheon Jeong Gung (June 13, 2006)
- True Father appears on the cover of Newsweek International (June 14, 1976)
June 7, 1975
World Rally for Korean Freedom
The World Rally for Korean Freedom was held on June 7, 1975, at the Seoul Yeouido Square with 1.2 million people. Over 1,000 representatives from 60 countries around the world participated and promised to defend Korea. Through True Father’s speech, ‘Korea Within the World,’ he emphasized that the ‘Rally for Korean Freedom is a global religious celebration which displays the resolution of the world to rise up and defend Korea’s freedom to the whole world.
June 10, 1974
Building A-frame Churches
The work to building A-frame churches all across the nation started with the first shovel of earth in Shintanjin, Korea, on June 10, 1974. The 82.6m2 A-frame church was designed by by Oem Deok Moon who was True Father’s school friend in Japan. A team was organized for the construction, and 188 churches of this shape were built around the nation. True Father said that a building ‘should be a beautiful sight’ and at the time it had such an innovative form that it drew the attention of the people. Now, even 40 years later, some of these churches still remain.
June 12, 2002
Sun Moon Peace Cup Inaugural Ceremony
The Sunmoon Peace Cup Inaugural Ceremony took place at 3 PM on June 12, 2002, at the Seoul Little Angels Arts Center. Over 500 domestic and foreign personnel showed their interest as True Father spoke on the topic to ‘seek the path to realize world peace through sports.’ He said that the best club teams in the world would participate in the Sun Moon Peace Cup and that it would “become a festival which hopes for all humankind to become one big family.” (Source-History Compilation Committee)
June 13, 1998
The 360 Million Couples Holy Marriage Blessing
True Parents conducted the Holy Marriage Blessing in 1998 as the first-stage blessing of 360 million couples worldwide. The main venue was Madison Square Garden in New York City, with satellite feeds to 195 countries. More than 500 buses transported participants, including more than 120 ministers—with 14 buses from Chicago alone. The arena rapidly filled with an estimated 20,000 people. Inside the hall, a 2,000-voice ecumenical choir electrified participants with its performance of “Amazing Grace” and the “Hallelujah Chorus.” At the main Blessing ceremony, there were 2,824 matched couples, including 65 Unificationist-born couples. Blessing 1998 was distinctive in that it included spirit world blessings. Four Korean women elders were blessed as wives on earth to four major saints of the spirit world. True Parents also extended the “pre-Blessing” to 16 billion spirit world couples. A special group of 34 spirit world couples included some of the greatest saints and worst criminals of history.
June 13, 2006
Building the Capitol for a Nation of Peace
True Parents presided over the Opening Ceremony for the Cheon Jeong Gung Museum on Cheonseong Mountain near Cheongpyeong Lake. Approximately 5,000 people participated in the main ceremony, and another 25,000 people watched the event through screens set up in different areas throughout the Cheongpyeong Heaven and Earth Training Center. Prior to the ceremony, thousands of Unificationists from 147 countries participated in week-long festivities from June 6 to 12.
Unificationists throughout the world contributed funds for the Cheon Jeong Gung’s construction. The building itself is a massive structure, its dome some 80 meters high, with 30-ton, 48-meter white granite columns, built into the side of Cheonseong Mountain. Situated midway between Seoul, South Korea, and Pyongyang, North Korea, it was to be the “capitol building” of Cheon Il Guk. True Father delivered a message on the occasion, “Cheon Il Guk Is the Ideal Heavenly Kingdom of Eternal Peace,” in which he outlined the “fundamental duties and mission that every citizen of Cheon Il Guk should understand and live by as they walk the way of Heaven.”
The Cheon Jeong Gung is home to a museum housing artwork and objects that hold historical importance or express Unification Thought and the ideals of peace. It is seen as a holy place, and many have made pilgrimages there because of its spiritual significance.
June 14, 1976
True Father on the cover of Newsweek International
True Father being interviewed for the Newsweek magazine article.
True Father posing for the cover of Newsweek magazine’s June 14, 1976, international edition.
True Father granted an interview to Newsweek International’sexecutive and general editors. Excerpts from their three-hour conversation were published as part of a cover story on the Unification Church.
In the interview, True Father explained the origins of the Unification Church and its mission, saying: “My new revelation has made the Will of God crystal clear. And what is that Will? It is to save the world. So the Unification Church is not another denomination—it’s a movement to save the world, and through the teaching of the word of God, each individual in our movement becomes absolutely clear about the concept of the God-centered individual, the God-centered family, the God-centered nation and the God-centered world.”
This Week in History briefly lists significant events in the history of the Unification Church, the lives of the Founders, and world events that are momentous to Unificationists. Most items are marked according to the solar calendar. Items marked “H.C.” correspond to the Cheon-gi or Heavenly Calendar, which is based on the lunar calendar. This installment covers the week of June 8 to 14.