GTGY Embarks on Nationwide Pilgrimage
On August 3, the Global Top Gun Youth (GTGY) Workshop participants got up bright and early for the first day of our pilgrimage to historic and sacred Holy Ground sites located throughout Korea. Since there are so many of us, we split into two groups and charted separate courses.
Group 1 started with Cheongae or “Blue Sea” Garden in Yeosu. The site on which Blue Sea Garden is built was selected by True Parents to be the central location for the Ocean Providence in Korea in January 2003, after an extensive search for an appropriate site around the length of the Korean peninsula. During their stay there, the GTGY participants visited the local church and True Father’s Hoon Dok Hwe (scripture reading) room. Afterward, the group went to the Ocean Resort, where they enjoyed the sauna and swimming at the beach.
Group 2 went to Paju Wonjeon, then to Cheonbok Gung, and then Cheongpa Dong. Our guide knew so much of the history, and shared about when True Parents spent their days here.
Paju Wonjeon is a Unificationist burial ground located in the city of Paju, Gyeonggi Province. The approximately 500,000 pyeong (roughly 408 acres) of land at Paju Wonjeon was donated by Shin Shil Lee, a Presbyterian who joined the Unification movement in the 1960s.
For staff member, Shinyoung Chang, it was her first time going to Paju Wonjeon. “I had no idea it was so large,” she said, “and that there are already 10 members of True Parents’ family resting there. Having hundreds of us there at once made the experience more profound than it could have been otherwise. There are many paths and levels, very beautifully landscaped. The entire experience really felt like a true pilgrimage of faithful people paying their respects.
“Being an older second generation Unificationist, I cannot but cry when it comes to Hyo Jin Moon. This is was my first time greeting him at his resting place; Young Jin Moon as well. I said a little prayer at both graves, asking them to please watch over their younger brothers and sisters at this time and show them each how to connect to True Mother’s heart. What touched me most was individuals who took the initiative to go stop and pray alone.”
At the Cheonbok Gung, the Unification Peace Temple in Yongsan, Seoul, participants again had an opportunity to pray on their own. True Parents officiated the dedication ceremony for the Cheonbok Gung in February 2010. The Cheonbok Gung currently serves as the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (FFWPU) Korea Headquarters, replacing the original church building in Cheongpa Dong, Seoul in that capacity.
The “Cheongpa Dong Headquarters Church,” as the site was formerly known, saw many historic moments in the Unification movement, from some of the first educational workshops about the Divine Principle to the engagement and Holy Wedding ceremonies of True Parents, as well as the birth of several of their children.
We continued into a second day of pilgrimage on August 4, stopping at Holy Ground sites in Busan and Mungyeong, respectively.
The group that visited Busan had the opportunity to visit the Beomnaegol Memorial Hall, which was built around the outcropping where True Father and one of his earliest disciples, Won Pil Kim, built a hut out of mud and cardboard in which True Father would complete the original manuscript for the Divine Principle.
A few minutes walk from the memorial hall, we came to the Rock of Tears, where True Father as a young man and later True Parents together, have offered intense and tearful prayers of devotion to realize God’s will for humankind. Connecting to that same, deep spirit of prayer, many of the GTGY participants were similarly moved to tears as they placed their hands on the rock in prayer.
Continuing up the mountain, christened “Mt. Cheonbu” by True Mother in 2001, we finally reached the summit, where you can look out over the whole of the Port of Busan and two, large pagodas stand, each representing True Father and True Mother. True Father was said to walk up to the summit, after a day’s work down in the port, to meditate and reflect on his mission and God’s heart.
Our other GTGY group visited Mungyeong Saejae, a mountain pass through which True Father, Won Pil Kim, and a third companion, Jeong Hwa Pak traveled on their way south after True Father was released from Heungnam Prison.
This was an important because hard-met landmark on the journey south. Jeong Hwa Pak had suffered severe injuries to the lower half of his body and could not walk on his own, so the trio were only able to continue southward by alternately carrying him and utilizing a bicycle that had come into their possession to make their way.
In memory of the selfless and sacrificial heart demonstrated by True Father and Won Pil Kim toward their injured companion, our GTGYers took turns carrying one another toward the entrance to the path.
Please keep GTGY in your prayers as we continue to make pilgrimage to these providential sites around Korea and stay tuned for more updates about our adventures!