Father message on February 1, 1999 in Seoul, Korea
Respected President Kim Dae Jung, leaders of three parties and distinguished guests from every walk of life: I would like to offer my appreciation that so many of you could attend this occasion to celebrate the tenth am deeply grateful that President Kim Dae Jung, who is already so very busy with national affairs, has consented to grace us with his presence.
Ten years have passed since I founded The Segye Times under the motto “Love God, Love Humankind, Love Your Country.” I would like to take this opportunity to tell you some of my ideas related to the media in Korea.
The prosperity of humanity and a peaceful, unified world are not only God’s desire but also that of all people. Whether it is an individual, a nation or the world, true peace is realized through the practice of true love in which a “subject” and an “object” live for the sake of others, centered on God. However, love does not manifest by itself alone. It appears within a relationship. Parents’ love bears fruit only in having children-through the children. Children’s love bears fruit through their parents.
Likewise, in God’s creation, the parent-child relationship centered on true love was established so as to make substantial the ideal of true love, which cannot be initiated by itself alone. God is the True Parent among parents, the True Teacher among teachers and the True King of kings. God is the eternal True Parent, True Teacher and True Owner (Chuin) who always gives out for the sake of true love.
Human beings, as sons and daughters of God, should first walk the path of true parents, true teacher and true owner-like God. These paths are to perfect the ideal of love since they establish the position of the partner with the help of true love, which is for the sake of the other.
In this regard, the great principles of heavenly law are meant to enable us to find genuine self-fulfillment in selfless true love. An ideal family is established where the “upper and lower” relationship of parents and children, the “left and right” relationship of a husband and wife, and the “front and back” relationship of brothers and sisters are in harmony centered in true love. Families expanding to realize the perfection of a nation, the world and the universe are also themselves established through the same principle and formula.
The worldwide foundation I have created, including institutions in education, the media, the arts and relief work is all with the purpose of the realization of the ideal world according to the same formula, and through the investment of true love.
Education that is aimed to instill the character of a true parent, true teacher and true owner, and that teaches true love, achieves its ideal when it is realized first of all in the family. I believe that school education should be the extension of this.
Also, I believe that the socioeducational function of “living for others” -that is, true love-will be effective only when it is demonstrated worldwide through media organizations. This is because the media flows like air and can stimulate the broadening of relationships of true love for the sake of others by guiding society as a whole.
It was because of nothing less than true love for the sake of I others that I founded The Washington Times, Atlantic Video, Nostalgia Cable Television Co., the Free Press International wire service and others, all in Washington, DC, America’s capital city, long before I founded The Segye Times in Korea. The same motivation was behind the establishment of more than twenty media outlets, including Sekai Nippo in Japan, Noticias del Mundo in America, Tiempos del Mundo in several countries in Central and South America, and The Middle East Times in the Middle East. In addition, preparations have begun for the establishment of newspaper publishing companies and image media in some 120 nations. My purpose for all these things is the same.
Over the past ten years, while conferences have been regularly held for distinguished media representatives from around the world, I have been educating the media in its responsibility and have been emphasizing the media’s original mission of true love for the sake of others.
Distinguished guests, as we already declared in the founding articles, The Segye Times promises to be a media organ exemplifying true love for others-something that the nation and the world really need. It will accomplish this by fulfilling its role as a tool for the public good and for the promotion of world peace and human welfare. At the same time, it will aim to become the “Ideal Newspaper in the Global Era.”
Thank you very much.