'Unification Drive Needs Participation of Youth'

10 UNIFICATION MONDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2015 ‘Unification drive needs participation of youth’ NGO director urges young people to take lead in unification movement be inevitable in preparation for unifi- encourage South Koreans to donate By Kim hyo-jin cation. 1,000 won, equal to the cost of three [email protected] “This is why unification is tremen- meals for one North Korean. The More young people should take dously relevant for young people.” AKU grew into the largest NGO for part in efforts to promote unification unification movement in South of the two Koreas, according to Moon Family legacy Korea. Hyun-jin, chairman of This year, Moon-led GPF further Washington-based Global Peace For Moon, the unification move- reinstated its presence by producing a Foundation (GPF). ment runs through his family. campaign song in a bid to raise “Young people need to take the lead His great uncle was a prominent awareness about unification among in the unification movement as it will member of the Korean anti-colonial young people. bring direct opportunities for them,” movement and helped draft the Inde- For the campaign, 1,100 civic Moon said in an interview with The pendence Declaration in 1919. His activists, including people from the Korea Times. father, the late leader of the Unifica- liberal and conservative camps, joined The 45-year-old civic group leader, tion Church Moon Sun-myung, was hands; the first time in the history of based in Seattle, visited Seoul to give a engaged in North Korean business South Korean civic society which is speech at the GPF-hosted unification since he met North Korea’s founding divided due to ideological conflicts. conference held on Oct. 9. leader Kim Il-sung in 1991. Leaders of rival parties—Rep. Kim Moon, who was born in Korea but Moon Sun-myung established the Moo-sung of the Saenuri Party and moved to the United States at the age international company Mount Rep. Moon Jae-in of the New Politics of four, established the GPF in 2009 Alliance for Democracy—also took and initiated the civic-led movement part in the making of a song titled, for unification the following year. “One Dream, One Korea,”. Moon noted that young people are The NGO leader stressed that civic estranged from the idea of unification society should take the lead in push- because they have been “misin- ing for unification. formed” by their parents’ generation. “If one person dreams a “How things work in a democratic “My generation says unification dream, it’s a dream, society, it is civic-led. If there is any would cost too much. But this is just movement for change and transfor- an opinion, not a fact,” he said. but if everyone dreams mation, it is bottom up, not top “They also have the wrong assump- the same dream, then it down,” he said. “The larger a civic tion that the South Korean economy movement is and the more that will maintain its trajectory. But it’s becomes a reality.” young people are at the front of it, the not going to continue as it did over more politicians will follow.” the last 30 years. But overcoming ideological rivalry “Basically, they think unification is and having a unified vision inside irrelevant to them,” he added. South Korean society is a prerequisite Moon argues that for young people, to a successful approach toward unifi- the realities they face demand the Geumgang in 1994 and launched cation issue, Moon noted. opposite. tours to the mountain in 2008. The Referring to the Sunshine policy of “In South Korea, it is next to impos- following year, he established an the Kim Dae-jung administration as sible for innovative young people to inter-Korean joint automobile maker an overall failure, he said, “It is have access to capital because of the Pyeonghwa Motors. because there was no comprehensive structure that only favors a few chae- Moon regards his father more as an vision and strategy for engagement bol firms. activist than as the founder of a reli- with the North on a national level.” “Though highly-educated, they also gion. He advised the public to come out suffer from the high unemployment In a recently-published book, titled of the Cold War framework and build rate. Doesn’t that imply that this “Korean Dream: A Vision for a Unit- a common platform. economy has fundamental flaws?” he ed Korea,” he mentioned, “Beyond Change is now possible down the said. the religious perception, my father road, he added. Moon believes unification can be a saw unification of the Korean Penin- “The number of people taking part breakthrough for young people. sula as critical groundwork to realiz- in the unification movement is grow- “The unification process can force ing world peace.” ing exponentially,” he said, mention- society to tackle this archaic econom- Following in father’s footstep, ing that AKU members grew from ic system. Moon has actively engaged in various 300 to 750 in a year and is expected to “Because unless the South Korean unification movements over the last be over 1,000 by the end of this year. economy becomes healthier, it will be five years. “If a person dreams a dream then it very difficult to lead and absorb the He organized an alliance of NGOs, is a dream, but if everyone dreams the Chairman of the Global Peace Foundation (GPF) Moon Hyun-jin speaks during an interview with The Korea Times at the Grand Intercontinental Hotel in Seoul North Korean economy,” he said, Action for Korea United (AKU) in same dream, then it is a reality,” he on Oct.7. Courtesy of GPF indicating that economic reform will 2012 and mounted a campaign to said, quoting Ghengis Khan. .

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