Hak Ja Han
August 11, 2014
The launching of the Sunhak Peace Prize Committee attracted significant press coverage.
The Sunhak Peace Prize Committee presented itself to the public for the first time on the nineteenth floor of the Korean Press Center, on August 11. One hundred and thirty people from Korea and abroad attended the event. Starting from August 2015, the Sunhak Peace Prize Committee will annually award the Sunhak Peace Prize to a selected individual or group that has dedicated itself to world peace or for the benefit of humanity. One million U.S. dollars will be presented to the individual or group winner as prize money. This is the most money offered for any prize in Korea. Dr. Il Shik Hong, a former president of Korea University, is the chairman of the committee. Dr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, a former secretarygeneral of the United Nations; Mr. Larry Beasley, president of the Washington Times; and Mr. Yoshinori Ono, a former director-general of Japan's Defense Agency are also among the thirteen members of the Sunhak Peace Prize Committee.
Chairman Hong introduced the committee members offered remarks. Mr. Beasley read the Declaration of the Sunhak Peace Prize. Mr. Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão, Prime Minister of Timor Leste, and Cheol Seung Lee, president of the Seoul Peace Prize Cultural Foundation, offered congratulatory addresses.
Excerpts from the Declaration of the Sunhak Peace Prize
The Sunhak Peace Prize was founded by Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon, the wife of the late Rev. Sun Myung Moon. This award reflects her profound hope of continuing the legacy left by her husband, who lived his life with the spirit of having the heart of a parent, in the body of a servant, shedding sweat for earth, tears for humankind and blood for heaven, dedicating his entire life toward realizing world peace, prosperity and coexistence, where humankind thrives as One Family under God….
Indeed, peace is the highest and ultimate value and desire that has been sought ceaselessly by humankind throughout history. This noble ideal demands the dedication and sacrifice of many righteous and capable individuals. Through founding the Sunhak Peace Prize, we wish to recognize individuals who have willingly sacrificed themselves for peace, and praise them for their work, thereby lighting a beacon of hope that will shine upon each and every person on earth who yearns for world peace.
After introducing the committee members, Dr. Hong offered the following remarks:
Today, human civilization is seeing an end to the era when the nations of the East were greatly influenced by those in the West, an era that begun in the nineteenth century and sees the rise of a great transition, opening the era in which Eastern nations are becoming more influential. The age of economic sovereignty and technological sovereignty of the post-industrial society has passed and as we enter a society requiring expert knowledge and information. Humanity is longing for the creation of new values…. I believe that Korea and its people are standing tall at the center of this great transitional time in human history….
From long ago, a distinct oriental culture blossomed in Korea based on the basic values, which we call Hong-ik In-gan and Ewha Segye, which mean benefiting all people and leading the world based on the truth, respectively. In addition, the universal ideology representing Korea in each era was readily accepted; for example, during the era of Buddhism in Korea, people accepted its ideology and flourished; likewise, in the age of Confucianism, people readily accepted Confucian ideals and the same happened again in today's era of Christianity, creating a peaceful culture of coexistence, co-prosperity with all humanity.
Chairman Il Shik Hong of the Sunhak Peace Prize Committee
Dr. Hong then presented the direction the committee will take by saying,
The late Rev. Sun Myung Moon, who understood such features of the history of civilization, combined Christian ethics, the universal thought representing the Western world, with Korean traditional thought, creating a new philosophy of peace. He presented a vision for the path we should follow…. The Sunhak Peace Prize committee will do its best to practice true love transcending race, religion and nation based on the peace ideology that all people are one family. Upholding the noble will of the founders, Rev. and Mrs. Sun Myung Moon, who lived this ideology and encouraged us to become peace-loving global citizens, we will keep searching for and supporting people who are dedicating their lives to building a world of peace.
Mr. Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão, Prime Minister of Timor-Leste
Among Prime Minister Gusmão's remarks in this congratulatory address, he said the following:
Rev. Moon taught that there were two basic principles of peace. The first principle was a motto that he lived his life by, "Live for the sake of others." The second principle was his vision of the world as, "one family under God." In essence, Rev. Moon saw public-mindedness and family values as the pillars and beams for building world peace…. I believe it was Rev. Moon's passionate love for God and humankind that were central to his vision for peace. He shared this dream most intimately with his lovely wife and lifetime partner, Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon. It is their unbreakable love and her desire to carry on Rev. Moon's legacy of peace that is at the heart of the Sunhak Peace Prize.
In essence, the message that this Sunhak Peace Prize should carry is this: by living unselfish and altruistic lives, we can build families and communities of peace. by transcending religion, race, nationality and culture, we can build nations and a world of peace. With this message, the Sunhak Peace Prize will serve as a beacon of hope, guiding us all toward a culture of peace.
Mr. Cheol Seung Lee, President of the Seoul Peace Prize Cultural Foundation
Cheol Seung Lee, who is a retired member of the Korean National Assembly, as well as head of an organization that recognizes those who work for peace, said the following in his congratulatory address:
Despite tremendous persecution and criticism, Rev. Sun Myung Moon firmly continued to carry out worldwide peace initiatives and also endeavors to bring about peace and unification between the divided Koreas. He dedicated his entire life to loving humankind…. He initiated memorials to remember patriots that fought for the independence of Korea including Jung Geun Ahn in China. In 1990, at the height of the cold war, he met Mikhail Gorbachev, president of the Soviet Union. The following year, in 1991, he went to Pyongyang and met with Kim Il-sung, the leader of North Korea, whom he embraced and negotiated with. Many people have been moved by his courage in doing so. I cannot but bow my head in solemn respect for the depth of Rev. Moon's ideology and his courage as he unhesitatingly met even heads of the enemy camp for the sake of world peace. Unless one is a true saint, loving enemies in this way would be impossible.
I express my deep gratitude to Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon for enacting the Sunhak Peace Prize and continuing her husband's legacy in working toward realizing a world of peace even though Rev. Moon has ascended. I fervently hope that this prize can be a driving force in enhancing and developing the spirit of Rev. Sun Myung Moon.
Before the conclusion of the meeting, Secretary-general Man Ho Kim gave a general introduction of the Sunhak Peace Prize, explaining how they had instituted a fair process to select the winner and that they would continue to work in raising the authority of the prize. He also added that by the end of October this year, the Sunhak Peace Prize Committee would receive candidate recommendations from a nominating committee of about a thousand people from eighty countries who have fulfilled certain criteria to be included on that committee.
The Sunhak Peace Prize Committee will gradually assess the eligibility of all the candidates and will chose next year's winner in April. The committee's involvement with the winner will not simply end with the prize presentation; the Sunhak Peace Prize Committee intends to provide continuous support to candidates and winners for their activities and to publicly promote the values that make for peace.