Words of Encouragement from the Co-Founder, Dr. Hak Ja Han, given on February 1, 2024, at Crystal Ballroom, 2nd floor, Lotte Hotel, Sogong-dong, Seoul, Korea
(Read on her behalf)
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Honorable national and international leaders!
I would like to thank all of you distinguished guests for attending today’s 35th Anniversary Celebration of The Segye Times.
It’s been 35 years since we pledged to be a conservative newspaper centered on the founding principles of loving God, loving humanity, and loving the nation.
We have been working day and night to seek peace and unification on the Korean Peninsula, cultivate the patriotic spirit, and realize a world of virtue.
As founder, I would like to express my deepest gratitude and encouragement to all The Segye Times members who have been humbly striving in their respective positions to arrive at this point. I also extend my sincere gratitude and welcome to you leaders from all sectors of our society who have come to celebrate today’s anniversary.
Dear Leaders!
As we celebrate our 35th anniversary today, I’m sure you’ll agree that it’s not all sunshine and roses.
I’m very much concerned about the future of Mother Earth, the home of our very lives. Many people suffer from the disasters caused by climate change, and I worry so much that this misery could pass on to the following generations.
Beyond climate and environmental issues are wars over hegemonic supremacy, religious and racial conflicts, aging and declining birthrates, etc. We are faced with numerous crises that threaten a sustainable future.
Is a peaceful world possible without addressing these issues? And what is the role of the media in creating the peaceful world we all want?
As we celebrate the 35th anniversary of The Segye Times, I’d like to take a moment to reflect upon this with you.
Heavenly Unified Korea calls for a new zeitgeist and national vision
The global crises we are experiencing today, such as climate change and competition for hegemony, are predicated on an anthropocentric, power-driven worldview. Wars and conflicts have long been perpetuated by such a worldview, and climate disasters, especially those exacerbated by climate change, continue today. However, in the age of the global village, humanity has reached a tipping point where belligerent competition can no longer sustain civilization. In almost every aspect of life—politics, economics, religion, etc.—humanity must now change toward symbiotic interdependence among its eight billion members.
We are faced with the call of the times to shift from the existing anthropocentric worldview, especially the logic of power originated by men, a history of power and coercion, to an attitude of love and peace where the maternal love of God the Mother is revealed and the meaning and value of femininity is rediscovered. I think this is the spirit that God is asking us to live in. Sensing the tide of this civilizational transition, we will now have to seek a national vision with a new paradigm and imagination.
I presented it as a God-centered and unified Korea and world.
Early on, together with Reverend Sun Myung Moon, I proposed a God-centered—not human-centered—worldview, an ideology of interdependence, mutual prosperity, and universally shared values (共生, 共榮, 共義) based on “Godism.”
Heavenly Unified Korea, Vision and Challenges
Honored leaders!
Let’s think about why it is important to have values and lifestyles that put God at the center of our lives. We should note here why it is important to have values that are God-centered and not human-centered.
A world centered on human beings will eventually become a history of Cain-Abel-type struggle among people. Therefore only Godism, worshiping God as the original parent of all humankind, can overcome this history of hegemonic competition. God, our loving parent, always aims for a world and history of reconciliation in which Cain and Abel unite as one.
We should keep in mind that the role of true parents, true teachers and true owners in our homes, schools and workplaces creates the value of peace, and that the history of true love always pursues the value of interdependence.
A world in which parents and children at home, teachers and students in school, and managers and workers at a company all share the values of common good, common prosperity, and values in common regarding righteousness and justice is a world of interdependence, mutual prosperity, and universally shared values.
The peace and unification of the Korean Peninsula and the heavenly unified Korea will be made possible by these very principles—the way for North and South to live together!
We look forward to working together on the many challenges ahead, remembering this vision of a heavenly unified Korea that seeks a path of interdependence, mutual prosperity, and universally shared values between the two Koreas.
The Role of the Media in a Heavenly Unified Korea
Dear Leaders!
The role of the media cannot be overemphasized in the process of building a new unified Korea, which will be our new future. The role and mission of the media is crucial in presenting a national vision and educating the people about the content of policy-making. That is why I have always emphasized that the The Segye Times should not just be another newspaper, not just a newspaper that reports facts, but a newspaper that informs the people.
We ask that you continue to pay special attention to and provide guidance for the Headwing Unification Movement, the True Family Movement, the HyoJeong Culture and Arts Movement, and the Korean Peninsula Peace Movement, to which The Segye Times will continue to focus on its founding philosophy.
The Segye Times, along with its sister papers, The Washington Times and Sekai Nippo, will be working together on a new initiative for a Korea-US-Japan Values Alliance.
In conclusion, I would like to thank you all again for taking time out of your busy schedules to join us for today’s celebration.