Cham Bumo Gyeong: Episode 264

Cham Bumo Gyeong
Book 9: Activities in the Media, Education and the Arts for the Culture of Heart
Chapter 5: Realizing a World of the Culture of Heart through Sports 
Section 1: The World Culture and Sports Festival, Paragraph 11
Section 2: Soccer Teams, Paragraph 06

12 During the seven years after World War II, the Christian cultural foundation for the new Adam to spread his influence throughout the world was lost, so I had to restore it through my own efforts. We have come to the stage where the Soviet Union and the United States welcome and support me. Right after World War II, the Christian cultural sphere, the field of wild olive trees on God's side, was lost. However, the Unification Church, centered on True Parents, restored that field back to God. Through this, the whole world can be resurrected easily if only it receives a graft from us.

Therefore, from 1992 onward, the Blessing will be opened to the public at large. This will be done through the World Culture and Sports Festival. If people receive a 40-day workshop, acknowledge and respect True Parents, believe absolutely in God, and step forward and pledge to inherit the new seed of God's eternal love, life and lineage, they will be able to enter heaven.

13  Initiated as part of our providential endeavors, the Hanmadang Sports Festival will establish a new, God-centered youth culture through sports. It must restore the united realm of heart in which the good mind on the side of Heaven controls the body on the side of evil, and it must become a public domain where young people can unite our confused world and resolve the bitter sorrow of God. You must be strong and bold as heroes for the sake of the future, and march forward as members of Heaven's royal family. You have to become the flag bearers of righteousness, who drive away the darkness and judge evil and sin. Through the Collegiate Association for the Research of Principles, you should subdue the waves of licentiousness and violence that are spreading throughout the world, and initiate a new, holy revolution of goodness. Become the nucleus of world youth, upholding God's authority. Recover the four great realms of heart of the original sons and daughters, siblings, couples and parents. Restore the realm of the three great kingships through grandparents, parents and children. Become Heaven's true, royal family and walk the way of eternal life!

14  The public positions taken by the Unification Church are becoming noticed in global politics and stirring controversy in the religious world. We need to stand in the forefront at all times. In both the political and religious spheres, Cain and Abel must become one. Through connecting these together, the most powerful sphere in history is to emerge. One individual cannot connect the two realms together. They must be bound together through the family.

The first World Culture and Sports Festival was founded on this principle. At the WCSF, we assembled young people and world leaders in various fields. From a vertical perspective, those leaders and young people represent Cain and Abel respectively. All these world-level leaders stand in the position of Cain. The fact that we reverse the elder son with the younger son, restoring the authority of the elder son, is the foundation for the marriage Blessing.

Before holding the Blessing ceremony on August 25, 1992, I proclaimed before all humankind the advent of True Parents and the Messiah. The Republic of Korea received this message first, and then I proclaimed it in Japan and the United States. Through True Parents, Cain and Abel and the political and religious realms can unite. The various cultural realms will become one. Even though the world is in confusion, the Unification Church has been shaping and leading it into a new, unified realm of culture, from the individual level to the world level.

15  In the future, the most fearsome war will be that between the races. True Parents must influence Asia and the world to defuse this divisive movement. The world must be saved. If we ourselves do not accomplish it, there will be no peace. Therefore, we emphasize world peace, which is God's desire. This is why I founded the World Culture and Sports Festival. This festival has to surpass the Olympic Games, because the Olympics focus only on the body, and leave God out. The WCSF, however, implants culture in the Olympics. Since the core of all cultures is religion, religion is central to the WCSF. Since religion strengthens the spirit, which in turn is meant to lead the body, the WCSF enables people to reach the ideal human state intended by God. By doing so, it will create a new culture. True Parents have accomplished this work.

16  In the future, world-famous performing arts groups will be called to compete in our important events. Each awards ceremony will become a contest for these internationally known groups. By holding such competitions, the best groups will be selected. In the academic area as well, the best scholars in each field will be selected. We will have international political leaders participate and present awards to the winners.

This inevitably will capture the world's attention. This is precisely what the World Culture and Sports Festival is about. It could be called a cultural Olympics. Top people in each field will compete for one week, and heads of state will present the awards.

17  The World Culture and Sports Festival is like a cultural Olympics. But it does not include only sports events. In our festival, world-class experts from numerous academic fields, be they physics, literature or anything else, enter hundreds of diverse Olympics-style events. I am interested in the Olympic Games and soccer tournaments, but I also have a keen interest in the world of the arts. Now that I have come to occupy a leading position in the world, I would like to hold the WCSF as a kind of Olympic Games for people of intellect, culture and faith.

Section 2. Soccer Teams 

llhwa Chunma

On March 18, 1989, True Parents founded the llhwa Chunma Soccer Team to realize world peace through soccer. The team won league titles three years in a row, from 1993 to 1995, in Korea's Professional Soccer League (K-League). It reached the semifinals in the Asian Champions League in 1995, and took first place at the Afro-Asian Club Championship in 1996. Accordingly, it was acclaimed as the top soccer club by the Asian Soccer Federation in 1995 and 1996. And again, for three years in a row from 2001 to 2003, llhwa won the K-League championship and was hailed as Korea's most successful soccer team.

1  The name of our soccer team is llhwa. Why was it named llhwa? I decided on that name because it is a good name. llhwa means to be harmonized as one or to become unified. One Chinese character, hwa (化), is the character we use in the word "chemistry," hwahak (化學). The Chinese character hwa here means that the substance is being changed. When wood changes into another substance, this process is described as a chemical reaction. The other Chinese character hwa (和) in llhwa (一和) implies that the substance is unchanged, even though it may harmonize with 1,000 different entities of varying nature and individuality.

2  Was making the llhwa Chunma Soccer Team a good thing or not? Something like this is beyond the usual scope and work of a religious leader. What is my relationship with this? Nothing raises the spirit of Korean people more than soccer. We must stand in the vanguard as a model that is proud of that strength in front of the world. Soccer really enables Koreans to show that strength. If I had not founded a soccer team, Korean soccer would be in a dismal state today. The soccer team I established won the national championship three years running. They became Asian champions and then Afro-Asian champions, and in this way they became famous. Our team also went to South America and played against Brazilian and Argentinian teams.

3  Young people should advance into the world of the future. The question is how to stimulate their spirit. For that reason, athletic training is necessary. Participating in athletics has great power to quickly create such a spirit. I have been thinking about this for years, and thus became interested in athletics. No matter how much one tries to describe to someone the spirit and feeling of the moment of victory, nobody can understand it if they have never experienced it. That is why athletic training is very effective for strengthening the spirit, and this is why I promote sports. Up to now, I have taken a leading role in such sports events as a cultural Olympics and interreligious sports meetings. But why am I interested in soccer? It is because it requires complex and varied athletic skills.

4  Even young ladies begin to develop great interest in soccer when they become acquainted with it. Countries like England, Italy and Germany have amazing soccer stadiums. Soccer inspires enthusiasm and national pride. This sport brings young people together and generates explosive energy and spirit. For that reason, I am interested in soccer. I do not know how much money we invest annually into soccer. We invest in it because it is a foothold to challenge society. Until now, religious organizations have usually tried to isolate themselves or escape from society, but the Unification Church challenges society. We religious organizations should present a challenge to society through sports, especially soccer.

5  Nothing raises the spirit more than sports. The FIFA World Cup is a good example. Thousands of people in the audience go wild with excitement when a goal is scored. Think about it. It is similar with ballet and other forms of dance; because people are so impressed, they applaud even when told not to. Who tells them to applaud? They applaud spontaneously. When you are asked, "Which team is playing?" and you answer, "The Unification Church team," people will come to think about the Unification Church.

Moreover, if you are asked, "Who made this team?" and you answer, "Reverend Moon did," then everyone will gradually come to like the Unification Church. While going around the world, you can play soccer matches anytime. If you play soccer every season, it will feel different according to the time of the year. Sports and the arts can move the masses around the world to follow a single purpose, and they always create an enthusiastic spirit.

6  We do not focus on soccer in order to earn money. In the future, we have to invest the money in educational institutions for the world of soccer. We have to establish educational institutions and associations in the world of the arts, as well as the world of sports. We must instill a thorough vision for humanity. We must improve the ethical and moral foundations of these popular endeavors.