Not by Guns or Swords, but by True Love
It is not only the cease fire line that divides our people. The southeastern (Youngnam) and southwestern (Honam) regions are also divided by an invisible line. Also* Koreans who live in Japan are divided between the Korean Residents Union in Japan, or Mindan, which has ties to South Korea, and the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan, or Chongryon, which has ties to North Korea. The conflict between the two organizations in Japan is based on the hometowns of their respective members. Second and third generation Korean residents in Japan, who have never been to their parents' hometowns, still live in conflict with each other, as they live within the lines drawn by their parents. The members of the two organizations use slightly different language, send their children to different schools, and do not intermarry.
In 2005,1 put into effect my long held plan to create oneness among Koreans in Japan, as well as Koreans in the Youngnam and Honam regions. I invited 1,000 members of Mindan and 1,000 members of Chongryon to Seoul, and matched them in sisterhood and brotherhood relationships to 1,000 people from the Youngnam region and 1,000 people from the Honam region. It is next to impossible for Chongryon and Mindan to sit down together in Japan and talk about the peaceful unification of North and South. The task of gathering these people in one place was difficult, but it was deeply moving for me to see them sitting together and embracing each other. One Chongryon official at the event was visiting Seoul for the first time. He spoke in tears as he commented that he deeply regretted the many years he had spent fighting a proxy war for the Cold War, particularly as he was not even certain which part of the peninsula his father actually came from. He said he felt immeasurably ashamed for having lived his life with a meaningless line of division drawn in his heart.
To fully understand the division of the Korean peninsula and the conflict between the two sides, we must be able to look comprehensively at the past, present and future. Any incident will have a root cause. The division of the Korean peninsula was created by the history of struggle between good and evil. When the Korean War broke out, the Soviet Union, China, and other communist countries came to the aid of North Korea. In a similar way, 16 countries led by the United States sent armed forces to the aid of South Korea. Also, five countries sent medical teams, and 20 countries provided war supplies. No other war in history involved so many countries in the fighting. The reason that the entire world became involved in a war that took placein the tiny country of Korea is that this was a proxy war between the forces of Communism and the forces of freedom, ft could be said that Korea came to represent the world, and that good and evil fought fiercely on its soil.
Retired General and former U.S. Secretary of State Alexander Haig made an unexpected statement in congratulatory remarks he made to the 10th anniversary of The Washington Times, celebrated in 1992.
"I am a veteran of the Korean War. As a commander, I was in charge of the attack against Heungnam, and we staged the strongest attack that we could. I am deeply moved to hear that Rev. Moon was being held by the Communists, and was set free by that day's attack. It seems that I was sent there to free Rev. Moon. Now, Rev. Moon is here, to save America. The Washington Times is a newspaper that will save the American people, by providing a balanced view of history that is neither right nor left, and show us the way forward. As we see, there is no such thing as coincidence in history"
A few years ago in Korea, there were people making the argument that a statue of Gen. Douglas Macarthur should be removed. If United Nations Forces had not joined the war effort, the country would not be divided between North and South, as it is today, this argument went. I was shocked to hear this. Such an argument can only be made from the position of the Communist party in North Korea.
Great sacrifice was made on a global level, and yet the peninsula remains divided. We do not know the exact date when unification will come, but it is clear that we are making strong strides in that direction. There are many obstacles to be overcome on the road to unification. As we come face to face with each, we need to work to tear it down, and then move on. Though it may take a long time and prove difficult, unification will absolutely come if we work with the same desperation that we would have if we were swimming across the Yalu River.
Following the break up of the Soviet Union, Romania resisted change the longest among the Communist countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Then, at the end of 1989, Romania experienced a bloody uprising
by its people. As soon as the regime was toppled, Nicolae Ceausescu who had ruled the country for 24 years was executed, along with his wife. He was a brutal dictator who mercilessly massacred those who opposed his policies. In any country, one reason that a dictator will tend to tighten his grip is that he fears for his life in the event that he loses power. I think that if a dictator can be certain that his own life will not be placed in danger, he will not go headlong down a dead end street in the manner of Ceausescu.
Our country, too, will be unified before long, by one means or another. So politicians and economists need to make the necessary preparations in their own fields of expertise. As a religious person, I will work hard to prepare to greet the unified Korea in which we can embrace North Korea people with love and share in a common peace.
I have studied the unification of Germany for a long time. I have listened to t he experiences of those who were involved with regard to how it was that unification could come without a single bullet being fired or a single drop of blood being spilled. In so doing, my hope has been to find a way that is appropriate for Korea. I have learned that the main reason Germany could be unified peacefully was that East German leaders were made to understand that their lives would not be in danger following unification. If East German leaders had not believed that this would be so, they would not have allowed unification to occur so easily.
I came to believe that we need to give a similar understanding to the rulers of North Korea. A novel based on North Korea was published not in japan not long ago. In this fictional novel, the rulers of North Korea repeatedly watch a video of Ceausescu's execution and cry out, "That is what will happen to us if we lose power. Under no circumstances can we lose our hold on power!” Of course, this is only a novel published in Japan. We should, however, devote our attention to this actual problem and find a solution for North Korean leaders in order to bring about Korea’s speedy unification.
Building a world of peace on the Korean peninsula is actually not difficult When South Korea lives fully for the sake of North Korea, North Korea will not try to fight the South and peace will come naturally to the peninsula. The power that can move a rebellious child is not the fist or brute power. It is the power of love that wells up naturally from within the heart. More than rice or fertilizer, it is important for us to give North Korea love. We must never forget that it is only when we consider North Korea's situation and live for its sake with a loving and sincere heart that the North will open its heart to us.