Seok Byeong Kim
June 10, 2013
Chairman of Seong Hwa Publications
60th Anniversary of the Founding of HSA-UWC
Chung Pyung Training Center, Gapyeong, Korea
Translated by Lymhwa Kim
Edited by Krista Karjalainen
"Hello, I will begin the report about the Cheon Il Guk Scripture publication process.
"The first edition of Cheon Seong Gyeong [Heavenly Holy Scriptures] was published in 2003 and True Parents did Hoon Dok Hae [scripture reading] sincerely every day for the last ten years. The first edition built the frame of the scriptures and is an important providential contribution. The process for the first edition of Cheon Seong Gyeong involved binding several copies of Seong Hwa Publication books into one volume; and providing a structure in which the absolute theme and the body of text overlap. The books that were used for the first edition [Cheon Seong Gyeong] did not use the original text from Father's speech book but rather used text from other, already published books, which were embellished. So, the Cheon Seong Gyeong had a lot of misquoted texts at the end of the volume. True Mother was sad to see this and directed us to publish a scripture that is well timed for the ideal of Cheon Il Guk. Finally, the official publication committee was inaugurated on August 23, 2012.
"After the inauguration, we agreed on three publication policies through workshops and meetings. The first policy was to use the original text from Father's speech books. The second policy was to add texts from the year 2000 and onward, so that it would fulfill the third policy to serve as guidance for the Cheon Il Guk era as well.
"The first stage of publication was the planning. We planned the definitive theme and organized chapters and verses. Afterwards, we divided our work. We decided the definitive theme of each volume. The first volume is about God. Volumes 13, 14 and 15 are about Cheon Il Guk, True Parents and True Parents' prayer, respectively. We were focused on deciding the titles of chapters and verses and also subsidiary themes and divided our work by the absolute theme. The work was divided among 40 members.
"The second stage of the publication process was about researching speeches. The researching of speeches included selecting proper paragraphs for chapters and verses. Reading every one of the 615 volumes of Father's speech books and choosing texts was not an easy job. We researched three to four times more than we needed which is about 150 pages for each volume and arranged those to proper chapter and verses. We were desperate to have more people to work on this project because there were a lot of things that needed to be accomplished. We recruited people who have experience publishing Father's words. They worked all night.
"The third stage of the publication process was editing. At this stage we arranged Father's words by theme. We tried to maintain the policy to use the original texts from Father's speeches. Our editing was focused on story telling. It was very hard work to weave a narrative together based on speeches that were given in different places, different times and to different audiences. This task required expertise. We selected texts and placed texts by subsidiary theme numerous times.
"We analyzed book sizes, appearance of book covers and fonts from other existing scriptures and used those for reference. The Cheon Seong Gyeong used a red color and Pyeong Hwa Gyeong [Peace Messages] used a blue color to help visibility and distinguish the books. We also made it easy to quote the scripture by numbering the texts and separating the chapters and verses for the body. We also put a lot of effort on appearance. We created rose motifs on the edge of the covers of Cheon Seong Gyeong and lily motifs for Pyeong Hwa Gyeong. We produced numerous samples in order to find the right design that would redeem the existing. Also we made the books to feel good to touch and to be thinner, lighter, look better and be easy to research. We used 42 grams of thin paper. We produced the best quality box case to protect the scriptures.
"The fourth stage was supervision, which included four policies: 1.) suitability of theme, 2.) logic of paragraph, 3.) connection between the texts and 4.) suitability for reading out loud during Hoon Dok Hae. In order to do this, the editors did Hoon Dok Hae numerous times and re-arranged the texts and edited or changed the texts frequently. We appointed 120 supervisors from elder members, pastors, leaders of organizations and Japanese representatives on December 29, 2012. We edited with exhaustive planning and supervision.
"The fifth stage of publication was verification. The editors gathered the ideas from 120 supervisors. Mr. Young Whi Kim and Mr. Jae Seok Lee worked as team leaders and had five professors each to verify the texts through discussion. For almost 20 days, they worked days and nights even though they are more than 80-years-old. I want to thank them for their contribution. When we finished verification, we started to compare the new version with the original texts of Father's speeches. There are two reasons that we executed the comparison. One is to avoid duplication of the texts and the other is to mark the correct source. We recruited almost 300 people to verify and check every paragraph through underlining the original speeches. We were able to check if there are duplicated parts and whether the new version corresponded to the original texts.
"The sixth stage was printing. After Foundation Day, 10 editors were separated into two groups and read the whole book seven times to find misspellings and omitted words. After they proofread and copy-edited the books, then they started printing. We thought about the beauty of space, so we counted every word on one page and set it. We made sure there were no spaces between chapters. If there were a space, then we repeated researching more speeches, re-arranging and editing.
"We were also concerned about printing and bookbinding. When the book is thick, covers get damaged a lot. So, when we bound the books, we bound fine- and coated materials between covers and papers to make it durable.
"We produced 2,000 limited editions that have True Mother's signature. Today, you [guests at the joint event] will be honored to receive these limited-edition books first. I really appreciate True Parents and am grateful for the opportunity to be working on this project.
"The Japanese version has already been translated, and we will offer it today [June 10, 2013]. The English translation team is working on the English version under a missionary's supervision.
"There is one last thing to introduce in my report, which is the newly created Cheon Il Guk Scripture cabinet. We made a very precious cabinet. True Mother designed the cabinet. We used roses, lilies and cranes for exterior design. We varnished with lacquer and used mother-of-pearl inlay. We created a cabinet that could remain a thousand years because it is strong and resistant to humidity and temperature.
"Starting from today, two scriptures will be made available to members [of FFPUW]. From this moment forward, we are planning to make diverse Cheon Seong Gyeong materials. The first is an audio version of the Cheong Seong Gyeong. Today, we will present to you the sample compact disks that have the first volume of the Cheon Seong Gyeong and Pyeong Hwa Gyeong.
At the beginning of this momentous project, all the editors felt a little anxiety and trepidation. But they were able to work through and succeed by experiencing True Father spiritually and by being guided by True Mother. I want to finish the report with an expression of gratitude to True Parents."
(Editor's Note: The availability of the Korean version and the English version, currently in the translation and editing process, will be made available once more information has been ascertained.)