Remembering Young Jin Moon

Unificationists across the U.S. honored the life and memory of Young Jin Moon on November 5 during a special seonghwa memorial service marking the anniversary of his ascension. 

The sixth son of the late Rev. Dr. Sun Myung Moon and Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon, co-founders of Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (FFWPU), Young Jin ascended to the spirit world on October 27, 1999 after falling from a hotel balcony in Reno, Nevada. The 21-year-old had moved to Las Vegas to study hotel management.

The anniversary service, held by the Reno Family Church in Carson City, was shared online with participants nationwide through Zoom. Reverend Kevin Thompson officiated the service which featured an emotional video tribute of Young Jin and his family. Rev. Thompson also read the touching words of Young Jin’s younger sister, Yeon Jin, who wrote a letter about him in November 1999.

“The whole letter is about how selfless Young Jin was,” said Rev. Thompson. “He lived for the sake of others. He always had the mindset to make others happy.”

Letter excerpt:

“My brother Young Jin was awesome. Not many people knew. I, however, was lucky enough to spend a significant amount of time with him. He and I attended Groton School, a preparatory school in Massachusetts, for three years together. He was charismatic and loved by all the faculty. He was especially known for being a hard worker who ceaselessly worked to attain all his goals. He was quiet and soft-spoken, but when he opened his mouth only intelligent and bold opinions emerged from his lips. He excelled during his years at Groton, which I believe were probably the happiest and most successful five years of his life. 

His room was always tidy; he was somewhat anal retentive. His books were treated like jewels. He would never throw down his bookbag on the floor after returning from a strenuous day of school. He would bend down and neatly place the bag straight up on the floor. He opened his books only wide enough to read them so as not to crease the edges. I could never tell which books he had read because they were always in pristine condition. He loved to read Dungeons & Dragons books, and I have still yet to meet someone who knows more nitty-gritty facts about the fantasy world than he. 

The minute he returned home from school every day, he would walk to the cupboard and take a new bag of Doritos and walk to his room to start his homework. He would be in there for hours with the door closed. It was always so quiet in there that I often thought he was sleeping. But when I would sneak a glance into his room, he was hard at work. He would only emerge from his room to go to the bathroom, and he allotted himself 15 minutes to eat dinner. Other than that, the only other indication that he was out and about was the empty Dorito bag that was always neatly placed outside his door at the end of the day. He loved Doritos! 

He always tried to make me a better person. He read the Divine Principle regularly and honestly tried his best to live a selfless life. He was a simple person. He never had a thing for material possessions. Whatever money he ever had was always spent on someone else, many times on me. He was always ready to listen to my dilemmas and ready to give me advice. He never asked for anything in return. I knew deep down in my heart that his interest in my petty life was genuine. I know he loved me and cared for me. 

He loved to play lacrosse and he was determined to make the varsity team. I cannot remember a single day when he was without a lacrosse stick in hand. He’d be outside for hours practicing his technique slowly but surely becoming a master of the sport. That was his way. He did things to achieve perfection. There was this one brick on the chimney that he chose as his target and he spent hours perfecting his aim. Soon enough, he was hitting the brick with the ball from quite a distance. During his junior year, he made the varsity lacrosse team—a well earned honor. His friend and roommate who had also tried out failed to make the team. Thus he resolved to give up his spot and played junior varsity to keep his friend company.

I don’t think his roommate ever knew of his decision. During his senior year, he again made the team, this time with his friend. He soon became the top scorer and one of the most valuable players. Not only was he amazing in lacrosse, he was also phenomenal in squash and spent many hours perfecting his skill. He knew how much I loved the sport and so he often made time in his day to help me with developing my skills. He would always tell me that I had it in me to someday be on the varsity team and I would just snicker at him. He believed in my ability. He would coach me after practice and during vacations, which I’m sure held him back in perfecting his own skills.” —Yeon Jin Moon

Young Jin, born June 30, 1978 in New York, was a dedicated husband and student who sought to accomplish great tasks for God’s providence before his tragic accident. The anniversary service included prayers and special remarks from FFWPU leaders, as well as a special offering table of assorted fruit and flower arrangements.

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