Chapter 2 The Unification Movement in Korea

1983 - Home Church is Our Land of Settlement

"Reverend Moon has not been able to settle yet. Reverend Moon has been rushing forward without complaint, chased and driven into the corner like a gypsy, a vagabond, and a refugee. You are in the same situation, and so is God. We must realize that we are in the era of the forty-year wilderness course. We must enter the worldwide blessed land of Canaan. Overcoming the persecution, we must establish a nation by accomplishing on the world level. Reverend Moon, who used to be persecuted, will emerge gradually, like the morning sunshine from the darkness."

"Did you bring victory in Home Church activity last year? How much have you thought about Home Church? Home Church is My Kingdom of Heaven! How much do you love your Kingdom of Heaven? Home Church is the Base of the Kingdom of Heaven...the Realization of the Kingdom of Heaven through Home Church... How active were you? You haven't completed it yet!

This year, let's consider Home Church as our life. The blessed families from Korea, Japan, and America have to be mobilized, and they must all participate in this activity. If we don't achieve Home Church, then we will go the way of a gypsy, wandering eternally. Even if you go to the spiritual world, you will not be able to came before Reverend Moon.

Individual paradise and family paradise emerge if Home Church is settled. If you don't go to heaven, Satan will accuse of you of that, and so will your sons and daughters. Since you know this now, from now on let's set out to find the land of settlement through which you can serve God and True Parents, and love your true couple and children."

Reverend Moon spoke at midnight marking the very beginning of 1983, and delivered a God's Day sermon at the commemorative service at six o'clock in the morning. At three-thirty in the afternoon, he presided over a meeting for worldwide leaders.

Following a full schedule, he spoke at Sunday service on January 2, and presided over another session for the world leaders on January 3. At that time, Reverend Moon implemented a restructuring of church leadership, directing Korean itinerary workers to work in America. Reverend Moon clarified that he would place emphasis on "economic restoration" centered on the missionary work and the machine  industry in America

After beginning the year in the United Stated, Reverend Moon returned to Korea on March 25.

On March 15, before leaving, he had directed the American members to make a new start by setting up two mobile teams, each of fifty members, to meet the challenge of the impending three-year wilderness course.

Reverend Moon left Korea after a busy fifty-two days which included the organization of mobile teams, presiding over a world leaders conference, the restructuring of the metropolitan churches, a reshuffling of personnel, a tour of the companies, and plans for a business to be based on Cheju Island. The celebrations for Parents' Day were held at the Little angels Performing arts Center from ten o'clock in the morning of April 13, the seats filled with representatives from every nation, Japanese leaders, and Korean church leaders. They listened to Reverend Moon's speech and later attended the evening entertainment.

Reverend Moon delivered a sermon on the topic "Let's Live in the Most Precious Place," in which he said that the coming three years would be very important. He stressed that one should hang up the slogan "Destroy individual desire!" because this was the final point of human history, when the fortunes of good and evil would be reversed.

Itinerary meetings were held in Changwon, Kyungju, and Mt. Sorak, among other venues, from March 31 to April 3, attended by one hundred representatives from twenty nations. At a meeting on April 4, Reverend Moon delivered eight itemized directives: Establishment of a material foundation, Establishment of a witnessing foundation, Development of the church, Restoration of the realm of goodness, Establishment of a diverse foundation, Theocracy, Kingdom of Heaven on Earth, Liberation of the people of God.

Reverend Moon again returned to Korea on December 4 to speak at national VOC rallies and at the first PWPA International Congress. The national VOC rallies were to thwart the objectives of the communists who had committed atrocities in maintaining or furthering their cause. Examples included two tragic international incidents: the paranoid downing of a KAL passenger airplane that had strayed over Soviet territory, and the bombing of a South Korean government delegation in Rangoon, Burma. The rallies were also to demonstrate a vision for the unification of the fatherland by mustering the will of the citizens. Large audiences gathered in the eight cities, from the first rally in Masan on December 14 to the final one in Kwangju on December 23.

The rallies, sponsored by the seventy national PWPA chapters, opened with remarks by the chairman, Sang-hun Lee, followed by congratulatory remarks by Dr. Richard Rubenstein and Ambassador Tetsuo Kageyama. The program featured Reverend Moon's keynote address under the theme The World and the Resolution of the Korea People, and a multi-vision slide presentation. Reverend Moon emphasized a total call to action for the unification of the fatherland, and asserted the need to secure seven million VOC members and the establishment of an IFVOC program centered on the civilian populace. The rallies were filled to capacity in each city. The event at the Chamshil Indoor Gymnasium in Seoul was attended by 50,000 people who arrived in one thousand buses.

A national regional leaders meeting, combined with a report on the VOC rallies, was held at the Little Angels Performing arts Center on both December 26 and 27. In the meantime, Heung-jin Moon had been hospitalized in America as a result of injuries sustained in a car accident at the time of the rally in Kwangju. Reverend Moon returned to America immediately following the completion of the regional leaders meeting.

The First PWPA International Congress was held at the Little Angels Performing Arts Center on December 18 with five hundred participants from overseas and from among the Korean PWPA membership. Reverend Moon addressed the audience on the theme "PWPA and Our Resolution." The participants of the PWPA International Congress adopted a pledge and resolution, the so-called Seoul Declaration of December 18.

In the meantime, the Korean church determined to make a new start under the slogan "Let's unite together!" A policy of advancement and inner faith manifested in the church president's tour of the Seoul regions from February 20 to March 24, in a forty-day witnessing period from March 20, and in the establishment of a Revival Office on March 1.

From April, for the sake of the advancement and efficient management of the church, a policy to integrate the churches in the Seoul area to a total of 190 was implemented. Financial support for church missions and lease deposits for church premises was concentrated on these churches in the Seoul area. In March, the Collegiate Association for the Research of Principle (CARP) was restructured according to the school regional system, and a headquarters was set up.

The church organized mobile witnessing teams from the 6,000-couple Blessing husbands, which were activated from April 25 for the invigoration of the three-year witnessing plan. The launching of the National Mobile Witnessing Team from May 1 signified the inception of an all-member mobilization system. The national team's inaugural ceremony was held on June 13, and leaders were assigned the same day. The first mobile team, consisting of 163 blessed wives, was dispatched to five regions on July 1. A senior mobile witnessing team, composed of 78 members from the 430-couple Blessing and above, was launched on September 1.

In the meantime, Reverend Moon's tax case continued: March 22, Opening of the appeal case in the US Federal Court of Appeals upheld the original verdict; November 2, Petition for a re-trial denied. There was an outpouring of support for Reverend Moon from the religious community and the media, protesting against the invasion of religious freedom and against racial prejudice.

Notable events this year included:

February 28: Birth of Shin-jung Nim to Hyo-jin and Nan-sook Moon.

March 1: Publication of the Middle East Time began.

April 4: The News World changed its name to the New York City Tribune.

April 25: Founding of the International Religious Foundation (IRF) (Chairman of the Board: Chung-hwan Kwak.)

April 30: Conversion of the 155 metropolitan churches to the Home Church system.

May 1: Division of the Seoul church into Seoul Regions 1 and  2, and of the Kyung-gi Province church into Inchon region and Kyung-gi region.

May 24: The Japan-Kora Tunnel Research Institute announced the beginning of a sea-bed survey under the Korea Strait.

June 11: Commendation of excellent mission nations (First prize, the Philippines); Task of writing out Reverend Moon's sermons begun (31 people.)

June 10: Opening of Sejong-ro video outreach center.

August 16-22: Youth Seminar on World Religions came to Korea.

September 20: Autumn forty-day witnessing (in Korea.)

October 1: The Christian Times in Korea carried a statement. correcting a previous article about the Unification Church (On October 8, The Kidok Kong-Bo did the same)

November 17: Han-chae Chung, managing director of Tong-II Industries and an elder of the Unification Church passed away (Unification Church funeral held.)

December 28: Meeting for nationwide church leaders.

December 31: Tongil Shik (Unification Ceremony), St. Francis Hospital, USA.