Cheon Seong Gyeong: Episode 315
Cheon Seong Gyeong Book 10: The Philosophy of Peace
Chapter 3: The Means to Realize World Peace
Section 4: Korea Unification and World Peace, 10-20
(10) Soon after its liberation, Korea was divided into North and South. This happened because Christianity failed to unite with me. The division of Korea occurred because Christianity opposed me, and the nation did not unite with me. Since the representatives of the nation and the representatives of religion separated from me, I needed you to unite with me as I endeavored to establish the foundation to indemnify their failures. Now, we have established that foundation. We have reached the level where South Koreans throughout the nation can align with me.
(11) Korea is the homeland of the world. In order to protect and liberate this homeland of humankind, God mobilized many countries in the Korean War. The veterans of the Korean War sacrificed themselves for the liberation and independence of their homeland. When viewed from the perspective of God’s providence, the Korean War was a global call to the nations to mobilize their forces and shed blood to liberate their homeland. The report that Jesus' face appeared in the sky during the Korean War supports this view. Yet, more than an apparition of Jesus, the Korean War was sacred in the sense that it was fought to recover God's temple. As a providential nation, Korea was meant to become the ideal homeland of the True Parents when they appeared. Therefore, God mobilized the nations representing the democratic and Christian world and had them fight to liberate this nation.
The Pacific Rim civilization and the Korean peninsula
(12) Human civilization first emerged along the Nile River in Egypt. It then shifted to Greece, a peninsular civilization on the Mediterranean Sea, and culminated in the civilization of Rome. Why did the development of civilization gravitate toward the West? It was unavoidable, and the reason goes back to the Fall. Originally, a unified world civilization would have taken root in Asia. However, due to the Fall, civilization emerged without a root and moved in the opposite direction. This is in accord with the view of the Principle. Accordingly, the Mediterranean cultural sphere emerged from the Nile River, expanded as the Roman Empire, and developed into modern Western civilization on the islands of Great Britain. Those islands are the cradle of modern civilization based on the Christian cultural sphere. However, civilization cannot settle there. It needs to complete a full circle and return to Asia, where it should form the sphere of a unified civilization. This is God's plan for the fulfillment of the Will. It is natural, therefore, for civilization to move toward that destination. The Last step in this development is when America, the global miracle of modern civilization, links with Asia on the rim of the Pacific Ocean. This will commence the era of the Pacific Rim civilization.
(13) In what environment should Western and Eastern civilizations meet? Where will the two connect? It will not be in an island nation but on a peninsula. As a peninsular nation in Asia, Korea is situated in a most unusual position. In terms of its location, it neighbors Russia, China, and Japan, and it has strong ties with the United States. Scholars assert that history is moving toward the era of the Pacific Rim civilization. Those around the world in the fields of politics, economics, and history agree that this era is imminent.
(14) Civilizations emerge on peninsulas. Peninsulas provide the venue for an oceanic civilization and a continental civilization to fuse together and develop into a new civilization. This is how civilizations flourished on the Greek, Italian and Iberian peninsulas. Currently, Indochina and Korea are the world's two peninsulas that are raising global issues. In the flow of global fortune, Western and Eastern civilizations are merging and are bound to meet. Where will they clash? Based on the worldwide flow of fortune, they will clash in the sphere of Pacific Rim civilization, particularly at a central point where an island, a peninsula, and a continent meet. The Korean peninsula is the central point defined by these geographical components. It is an undeniable fact of geography.
(15) The trials and tribulations of the Korean people do not just have to do with them as a people; they are also providential. Therefore, God is eager for this people to overcome them. It can be said that all the strands of world history meet on the Korean peninsula. East and West, North and South, spirit and matter, idealism and materialism—the entire inheritance of world history converge there in a confrontation fraught with confusion and chaos. The maelstrom on this peninsula is like the contractions of a woman in labor; she is carrying a new age in her womb. My view is that the difficulties the Korean people and nation currently face cannot be resolved apart from God's Will and providence. Furthermore, Korea cannot resolve them on its own but only by relating with the world. Hence, the Korean people should awaken to God's Will. They will overcome their hardships if they follow the one whom God has sent, the one with the mission to lead the spiritual spheres of the world.
(16) Global civilization most certainly will come to Asia. The era of the Pacific Rim civilization is approaching. Today, eminent scholars, not only in the field of social science but across the scientific disciplines, assert that a Pacific Rim civilization must appear, that it is the trend of history. Yet, I have been teaching about the coming era of the Pacific Rim civilization for more than forty years now. These scholars still do not know which nation will take the lead in creating that civilization. To my mind, it is Korea that will have to take the lead.
(17) Now, the Pacific Rim civilization is rising. In a situation in which the United States, Japan, Korea, China, and Russia are drawn inexorably onto the battlefield, the countries that are unprepared for this civilization and culture will fall behind. I am the very man who has made preparations. I am standing on the front line. That is why I brought together Japan, the United States, China, and Russia. It gives us hope to think that the American people will walk hand in hand with me, and we will do great things together, as a condition for the United States and for the world to build a realm of common destiny with the Pacific Rim civilization.
(18) We are living in the time of the Pacific Rim cultural sphere. History moved from a river culture through the Mediterranean cultural sphere to arrive at the Atlantic cultural sphere. We are now entering the Pacific Rim cultural sphere, and the time is coming when we can leap into the unlimited cultural sphere of outer space. How these will link together is a question for the world's strategists to explore, but they will not be able to find an answer. When I have gathered prominent strategists in numerous international conferences, they have concluded that my teaching is the only hope for this age.
(19) Throughout history, peninsular nations have been the birthplace of new civilizations. This is true of Greece and Italy. On the global level, throughout the world, peninsular nations have shaped history by assimilating their surrounding cultures. Korea is now situated in an important position in Northeast Asia. It emerged under the U.S. sphere of influence. The United States, based on the Christian cultural sphere, has become the leader of the world. Now is a time that recapitulates Jesus' era. In this time, Korea must indemnify the early Christian church in Roman times. Thus, the Republic of Korea became dependent on the United States, which stands in the position of the Roman Empire on the world level, based on Christianity, which has reached the stage at which it can support a unified world. Korean reunification through true love
(20) What is our vision as we look toward the twenty-first century? It is a vision of world peace and unity, a vision of one unified world. The world's people are seeking a new, unified, and peaceful world. The Korean people are seeking the unification of North and South Korea. What about each of you? Suppose the world were peaceful and flourishing, but our nation remained divided and under threat of danger. In that case, our nation would have nothing to do with the world's peace. Likewise, suppose North and South Korea were peaceful, but our minds and bodies remained in conflict. In that case, a unified Korea would not be our ideal nation. That is why we have to attain peace on the national level before we talk about world peace; likewise, we have to attain peace on the individual level before we talk about it with regard to our nation.
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