Highlights of the 21-Day International Workshop

The first of this summer’s two 21-day international youth workshops, featuring engaging lectures, team activities, and a pilgrimage, has just concluded. Watch this video and read on to get a glimpse of some of the participants’ favorite moments.

Contributed by Shinyoung Chang

In the second week of the International Youth Workshop at Cheongpyeong, it rained a lot. So the day originally set aside for hiking turned into an energetic and surprisingly lively game of yute instead!

A few days later, the sun shone bright for an afternoon of orienteering. Participants went in groups from station to station completing tasks like “human calligraphy,” where teams had to spell out oriental calligraphy using their bodies, and a Cheongpyeong “blitz quiz,” featuring trivia about both popular and Unification culture, to win as many points as possible. The afternoon ended with a loud game of Picasso Crane, in which teams competed in a race to complete collectively the drawing of a crane.  

Lectures this week were given by Rev. Jin Hwa Chung, Director for the International Department and Education Director for Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (FFWPU) International, who focused on True Parents’ life course; by Miilhan Stephens, Vice President of FFWPU USA, who discussed the value of the Marriage Blessing Ceremony; and by Sunny Pisano, a Unificationist-born youth from Portland, Oregon and a workshop staff member, who discussed how pornography inhibits our ability to achieve the Three Great Blessings. Sunny’s presentation was also followed by a question-and-answer session divided by gender that proved to be effective and informative for the workshop participants.

Later in the week, we had the pleasure of enjoying another fresh-baked bread day! The staff members at the Cheongpyeong bakery stay up all night to make this bread—and it really does taste so good!

Each morning, the middle school and high school participants, as well as the university participants, wake up to the famous Korean pop song “Bounce” by Yong Pil Cho. The middle and high school students also open each lecture with karaoke-style singing of their favorite positive and uplifting pop songs in order to energize their minds and bodies in preparation for the day’s lessons.

The third week started with a fun day at the Cheonah Camp in Cheongpyeong. The workshop participants enjoyed learning hip-hop, playing traditional Korean drums, and engaging in both indoor rock climbing and bouldering.

The day ended with a surprise visit from Dr. Ki Hoon Kim, Continental Chairman of FFWPU in North America, who also brought Krispy Kreme donuts and offered a brief address in greeting just before the participants departed for a three-day pilgrimage to historical sites in our movement. 

Participants left for the pilgrimage early the following morning, stopping at Sun Moon University, first, then at an ocean resort in Yeosu, where they slept in hotel rooms and had an evening of entertaining each other with magic tricks, lots of singing, improv performances on the piano, and dancing. The workshop staff also put on a skit about filial piety that was hysterically funny!

The next day the group got to see True Father’s fishing boats docked at Yeosu, as well as the Cheong Ae or “Blue Sea” Garden property, before a morning hike up the nearby Bonghwa Mountain. The afternoon was spent on the beach, and participants also had an opportunity to sail on True Father’s boats! The day ended with a talk from the Director of Blue Sea Garden, Mr. Young Hee Kim and a visit to the room where True Father was known to host record-breaking Hoon Dok Hwe (scripture) reading sessions.

The following day was the last day of the pilgrimage. Participants woke up at the early hour of 4:00 a.m. to depart for Busan by 5:00 a.m. Three hours later, they arrived in Beomnaegol, where they hiked up Mt. Cheonbu to the Rock of Tears, near the base of the mountain, and then all the way up to “Holy Ground No. 1,” where two tall pagodas made of rock stand, symbolizing True Parents and looking out over the whole of the Port of Busan.

After coming down from Mt. Cheonbu, the group stopped at the Busan Family Church Center for lunch before starting the five-hour trip back to Cheongpyeong.

In the evening, we had a heartwarming and joyful graduation ceremony for the participants of the first 21-day workshop. The 40-day participants cheered for their brothers and sisters who were soon to leave, exchanging lots of hugs and even sharing a bit of entertainment! We also heard testimonies from two 21-day participants, Jacques Suku Tamba of the United Kingdom and Matoba Nelson from the United States.

Stay tuned to hear more of the participants’ testimonies in this Friday’s newsletter!