Mother of Peace: Episode 32
Mother of Peace: And God Shall Wipe Away All Tears from Their Eyes
A Memoir by Hak Ja Han Moon
Chapter 4: God’s Light Shines Upon a Path of Thorns, pg 147-152
My husband began teaching about my position as a true woman standing at God’s left side with him on God’s right side; about me being a true woman and co-founder of our movement; about me being a true woman serving, as he does, as an individual embodiment of True Parents; and about me being a true woman having the same authority, inheritance and rights as he. After our meetings with President Mikhail and Mrs. Raisa Gorbachev and with Chairman Kim Il Sung, about which I will share, we decided it was time for the declaration of True Parents to the world. As his wife, I am my husband’s first witness. And as my partner in the love of Heavenly Parent, he was the first to advocate that I reach the world with our message of peace.
My husband and I founded the Women’s Federation for World Peace. After its inaugural rally at the Olympic Stadium in Seoul in April 1992, about which I will also speak below, I held a series of events to launch Women’s Federation chapters in 40 Korean cities. I spoke on the theme, “Women Will Play a Leading Role in the Ideal World.” We wondered what would be the turnout for these events and were gratified that every venue was filled to capacity. Although the speech focused on women, many men attended as well. I saw the era of women that my husband and I were advocating taking shape before my eyes.
When the Korean speaking tour was over, we planned a speaking schedule for me to launch the Women’s Federation in Japan. “Japanese women need to hear these words, too,” I told our logistics team.
“True,” they replied, “But you speak Korean, and through the interpreter, the original meaning will not be fully conveyed.”
“I agree,” I said, with the follow-up: “Then I shall speak in Japanese.” When my husband heard about this, even he wanted to talk it over. “It would be much easier to use an interpreter. The speech is long, and you don’t know Japanese well. You have to leave soon. Are you confident that you can speak to them in Japanese?”
As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he knew my answer. I didn’t need to say anything. I practiced the speech in Japanese for a few days, my motivation being that the Japanese people should not remain orphans. I was determined to explain to them, in their language, the reality that we all have been orphans, and that today, through True Parents, we can become children of our Heavenly Parent.
* * *
On September 24, 1992, a crowd of 50,000 people gathered at the Tokyo Dome. It was my first time speaking publicly in Japanese, and this was a prominent venue in Japan’s capital. The audience was aware of this. No one, Korean or Japanese, had high expectations for the outcome. The organizers, being prudent, prepared a young Japanese interpreter to stand just off-stage, in case I faltered. But when I came to the podium and began to speak, the audience was surprised. They cheered and stood up to applaud. For a few minutes they remained anxious, thinking, “Surely she’ll make a mistake.” But as I continued, and each sentence impressed God’s word in their hearts, the audience looked relaxed and happy.
Over the next nine days, I gave that speech in seven cities without losing strength, and then for three more days, I delivered it to Koreans residing in Japan. I uplifted the hearts of all Japanese as well as Korean women.
“I need to speak in America,” I then told my staff.
“Won’t that be difficult?” they responded. “Please, let’s take at least a full day’s rest before flying.” But my mind was already in the West. “Many people are waiting for me,” I uttered without thinking, “I cannot rest.”
I crossed the Pacific and stepped onto American soil. Speaking in the eight largest cities of the US, I announced that the era of women was near and what it means for men, women and God. On the first day, the people of Washington, DC, thanked me deeply. They had thought of me only as “the wife of Rev. Sun Myung Moon from Korea,” but now their perception changed. I was now, “Hak Ja Han, who represents us, and represents the aspirations and value of all women.” I planted in their hearts the seeds of female leadership that is necessary to complete the salvation of the world.
My inaugural speaking tour for the Women’s Federation continued through Europe, Russia, Asia and Oceania. I will never forget what happened when I spoke in the Philippines. The day before the event, I flew from Los Angeles to Manila. On the plane, I took a short nap, during which I dreamed I was breastfeeding a baby. As I looked at the beautiful baby, I said to myself, “I’m not of an age to give birth anymore.”
When I arrived in Manila, I discovered that it was a Catholic holy day, December 8, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. A woman walking on the street in downtown Manila happened to see a poster advertising my speech. The poster had me in a yellow Korean dress. Suddenly, the thought, “This is the person who will fulfill Mother Mary’s mission,” came into her mind. Then and there, she decided to attend my event. She was deeply moved by my speech, during which she arose and loudly exclaimed, “The one who came to the Philippines on this holy day is truly our Mother Mary!” Cheers erupted throughout the convention center.
The final venue on that tour was China’s Great Hall of the People in Tiananmen Square. It was an event both very difficult and very rewarding. We expected that, since China’s open-door policy was in place, everything would go smoothly, but that was not the case. From the outset, the Communist Party and the military had refused to grant a permit. When we explained that it wasn’t a political rally, they said, “We will check the script first. It cannot have anything in it about God.” That took them a week. Their conclusion: “We cannot allow this kind of content.”
I strongly argued with them. They repeatedly gave their reasons to change my speech, but I didn’t yield. I insisted that the message had nothing to do with politics and that its focus was on women. The matter stood at a tipping point. At that time, President Deng Xiaoping’s son, Deng Pufang, was the chairman of the China Disabled Persons Federation, an organization consisting of 500,000 people. The day before the event, the young Mr. Deng invited me and other Women’s Federation leaders to a reception held by his organization. It was a harmonious meeting, where we encouraged one another despite the differences in our systems and ideologies. Hearing of this pleasant experience, that evening, the All-China Women’s Federation welcomed us to their gathering. We didn’t know each other well, so it felt awkward at first, but soon all of us ladies became friends and had a good time singing happily together.
Even though social receptions and official public events are two different things, with confidence based on our positive experiences with two national organizations related closely to the president, I stood my ground and gave the original speech. The audience in this communist country was surprised when they heard me say the name of God, not just once, but dozens of times. I was calm, as I knew I should be in that circumstance. It was revolutionary to give such a speech in the Great Hall of the People. It was the revolutionary power of a woman. In such circumstances, I carried out that 1992 speaking tour in 113 locations around the world.
* * *
When I departed Korea for this speaking tour, I had several outfits, a collection suitable for the variety of climates I would encounter. When I returned, all I had was the suit I was wearing. I always give away my clothes, and I had been gone for most of the year. When my husband welcomed me, his first words were, “You did a good job.” Then, glancing at my hands, out of the blue, he asked, “By the way, where’s your wedding ring?”
I looked at my hand. Only then did I remember it was gone. “I don’t have the ring,” I said, “I must have given it to someone.”
“To whom did you give it?” he asked, incredulous.
“Ahhh, yes, I gave it to someone during the tour,” I said. “But I don’t remember who it was. I gave it to someone either to keep as an heirloom or, if necessary, to sell for her family’s well-being.”
My husband made the natural comment, “It’s fine that you gave it away, but you don’t remember who you gave it to?”
We really don’t focus so much on personal possessions, and that is how we’ve always been. As we looked into each other’s eyes, my husband’s gratitude for that quality in me surfaced. He collected himself, smiled and nodded, and the welcoming celebration proceeded.
My husband and I could not have a honeymoon. I didn’t mind, but he had always felt remorseful. When we visited the Netherlands during a speaking tour—it must have been 1969—after much thought, he bought me a small diamond ring with some money he had saved. That was the meaning of that ring, but now I had given it to someone and had even forgotten that I had done so. I do give things away out of sympathetic love, and then I let it go. Those who give what they have, give their heart, and even their life, and do not cling to the memory, are the ones whom God visits. My husband knows I am like that, and he is, too. Just as I had done, he let it go.
That 1992 global speaking tour was by no means a vacation; it covered 113 cities, 24 time zones, venue upon venue, check-in upon check-in, crowd upon crowd, schedule upon schedule, pressure upon pressure. I was speaking on the value and mission of women, the way to peace in the family and world, and the love of Heavenly Parent. This was to open the gates for the world’s people who are stranded as lonely orphans, to welcome them into the loving, liberating embrace of True Parents. Only when we receive God’s Blessing in marriage can we leave the orphanage and receive our inheritance as the sons and daughters of God who enjoy true happiness.
I am here to give my wedding ring to everyone.
FFWPU, USA