Chapter 2 The Unification Movement in Korea

1964 - Let Us Become a Victorious Subject

On January 1 of the second year with the motto Let Us Become a Victorious Subject, Reverend Moon gave a speech entitled "What kind of a Person is a Victorious Subject?" On this day, Reverend Moon explained that "the Messiah is the object of faith, hope and love, the culmination of the faith of all humankind," emphasizing that in order to become a victorious person one must overcome the course of sorrow, misery and pain with perseverance and go forward with Heavenly Father until the day of the restoration of the universe.

Providential developments this year were along two main lines: the first was the trend towards the development of the providence worldwide; the second was the difficulties encountered by the regional churches as they struggled to grow.

The first indication that the providence was developing worldwide was the return to Korea, on February 24, of missionary Young-oon Kim, who for five years had been raising up people in America with the Principle. The second was the March 2 visit to the church in Korea by the former King of Sarawak, Sir Anthony Brooke. The third was the return to Korea, after a seven-years course and for the first time since he went out, of the first missionary to Japan, Bong-choon Choi (Sang-ik Choi). The fourth was the return of Missionary Bo-hi Pak who had been assigned as an assistant military attaché to the Korean Embassy in the United States, and who had departed the country on February 25, 1961. He returned after working for three years and seven months as an agent of heaven.

At the same time, it should be noted that emphasis was shifted from Seoul to the provinces in order to aim at balanced growth between the capital city and other regions. For instance, Reverend Moon's birthday celebration, which used to be held annually in Seoul, was held on February 18 in Taegu, and the Fifth Parents' Day was also held there on April 12. From April 20 to 27, a project which brought Unification Church members from throughout the country to this city to reach the hearts of the Taegu citizens with the heart of God was held at the Taegu B Broadcasting Cultural Center. Over 250 members were mobilized in support of public presentations of the Principle, and the entire city of Taegu was enveloped in a Unification Church "wave". Further Principle seminars were held at the same venue from June 10 to 28, gathering over 1,200 people daily at this festival to hear the word of God.

Based on the experiences of these great revival events in Taegu, from October 1 through the end of March 1965, fifteen teams, each consisting of three lectures a total of forty-five members?”were mobilized to conduct lecture tours throughout the country. These teams visited each district three times over the six-month period.

Notable events this year included:

March 23: Reverend Moon's visit to Taegu, Taejon and Jeonju.

June 1: Partial restructuring of the church.

October 1: Reverend Moon's nationwide tour (9 days).

December 11: Establishment of the church in Germany.

December 13: First nationwide air rifle hunting contest.