One Step Closer to a Global Culture of Heart
On February 8, the first ever Hyo Jeong Cultural Conference was held at the Cheongshim Peace Youth Center. Representatives from True Parents’ family, True Mother’s Secretariat, and many other providential organizations (UPA, CARP Korea, CARP Japan, BFM, Sun Moon, Sunhak UP Graduate, USA Media and CARP, all of the cultural committees) attended the event together with the young Unificationists who had participated in the Hyo Jeong Global Culture and Arts Workshop.
The program began with presentations by the subcommittees of the Hyo Jeong Center for Culture, the organization that hosted the event. These subcommittees of Entertainment, Martial Arts, the Little Angels, Holy Song Compilation, Pop Music, and the Fine Arts were each commissioned by True Mother to create new cultural and educational material, e.g., musical performances, literature, painting, movies, video games and more, that testifies to True Parents and advances a global culture moved and inspired by the heart of God, a culture that would enable humanity to live principled, prosperous, and peaceful lives as one family under God.
“We live in an era where there are no boundaries and barriers, and I think culture, media, and entertainment are some of the best ways to share about True Parents.” –Jae Cheol Kim, CEO of HJ Entertainment
Julia H. Moon, Chair and CEO of the Universal Ballet Company and the Little Angels, gave congratulatory remarks for the conference and the hard work of the Hyo Jeong Global Culture and Arts Workshop participants. She shared about the ability of great art, like the Shim Chung ballet, to move people’s hearts, as well as the history of True Parents’ founding of the Universal Ballet Company, a decision that many people didn’t understand at the time but that also demonstrated True Parents’ clear and visionary insight into the power of culture and the arts to unite the world centering on God.
Mrs. Moon also stressed the importance of cultivating a filial heart, a heart that understand what True Parents and God as our Heavenly Parent yearns for. “At this very moment, the fact that we are all gathered here in attendance to True Parents as cultural revolutionaries is very important. Let us engrave the importance of this moment in our hearts.”
“Now is the time to find the Original Culture of God, and I believe the Hyo Jeong Center for Culture will play a central role.” –Julia H. Moon, Chair and CEO of Universal Ballet Company and the Little Angels
Wonju McDevitt, Chief of Staff for True Mother’s Secretariat, followed, explaining how culture and the arts will be the cornerstone of Cheon Il Guk and encouraging those in attendance, particularly the workshop participants, to create a culture that embodies the heart of God.
The final speaker of the conference was Young Ho Yun, recently appointed Chairman of the Hyo Jeong Center for Culture, who gave a special address outlining the place of culture and the arts in the overall strategy, vision, and mission of True Parents in the years leading up to 2020.
Following the conclusion of remarks, the young attendees of the Hyo Jeong Global Arts and Culture Workshop formally graduated from the workshop and pledged to continue investing in their talents and abilities as artists.
The conference came to close with musical performances by members of this newly commissioned Hyo Jeong Culture and Arts Troupe, and by Shuji Hata, a Unification guitarist from Japan whose incredible performance testified tangibly to the power of art and culture to move the world.
Also on February 8, the FFWPU USA National Ministry Team had a little down time and went into Seoul to visit two very different museums: the Changdokgoong Palace, where great King Sejong’s family once lived, and then on to the National War Museum. The latter has an enormous display of Korea’s military history, from the earliest days up until the Korean War. We were again reminded of the tremendous sacrifices made by so many foreign soldiers – and millions more Koreans. There truly was such a profound foundation of suffering that helped qualify this nation to be the one to receive True Parents.
On the way back, we stopped for dinner and also celebrated the 42nd Blessing Anniversary of the 1800 couples, represented in our group by Dr. & Mrs. Kim and Rev. & Mrs. Inose. Congratulations to them, and to all the 1800 couples on this auspicious day!
Tomorrow, February 9 (February 8 at 8:00pm EST), we will observe the 4th Anniversary of Foundation Day. During the celebrations, True Mother will present awards for a group of about 60 families with an outstanding record of tribal messiahship, including two from the United States. Congratulations to Joe and Sun Willett from Kentucky, and to Dennis and Mayuri Hoffman from South Dakota for receiving this honor!