Biography of the Founder, Rev. Sun Myung Moon

Sun Myung Moon was born in a small rural village on January 6, 1920, in what is now North Korea. On Easter Sunday, 1935, he had a life-changing spiritual encounter with Jesus, who asked him to work for the establishment of God's kingdom on earth. He began to study the Bible diligently and frequently climbed a local mountain for long sessions of prayer. As a result, he came to experience God as a God who was suffering even more than human beings because of conflict and injustice in the world. He determined to understand the root cause of such suffering and to devote his life to alleviating it.

During World War II, while attending college in Japan, he was arrested, imprisoned and tortured by the Japanese authorities, because of his connection to Christian groups that were outlawed at the time. At the end of World War II, he began teaching the principles he understood from his years of prayer and study and immediately thus began his public ministry.

In 1946, Rev. Moon went to preach in Pyongyang, North Koreaand two years later he was arrested by the communists and sentenced to five years in Heung Nam labor camp. In 1950, he was liberated by advancing United Nations forces and traveled south as a refugee.

Responding once again to the call of God, Rev. Moon came to the United States in 1971, where he began a series of national revival tours, a tradition that has continued to this day. In 1990, he fulfilled a pledge that one day he would go to Moscow. There he met with President Mikhail Gorbachev and urged the Russian people to turn back to God. The following year, he made his first visit in 40 years to Pyongyang, embracing the leaders who had been his persecutors and seeking ways to bridge the gap between the two Koreas.

Today, Rev. Moon and his wife, known affectionately as Father and Mother Moon, lead a movement active in 190 nations with foundations and enterprises encompassing the realms of religion, academia, the arts, media, sports, agriculture, technology, ocean enterprises, and more.

Recently, they proposed a revitalized, renewed United Nations with the help of the newly-established Universal Peace Federation (UPF), with more than 50,000 diplomats, clergy, civic leaders, current and former heads of state appointed as Ambassadors for Peace. (www.peacefederation.org)

Among the prominent current initiatives of the UPF is the Middle East Peace Initiative. Thousands of religious leaders have journeyed to Israel and Palestine to urge the children of Abraham to unite in peace. In addition, with programs such as the Religious Youth Service and the International Peace Sports Festival youth are encouraged to work for peace through sports and community service. After Hurricane Katrina, UPF also became active in disaster relief.

Rev. Moon's work with the media includes the founding of newspapers in Tokyo, New York, the Middle East, Uruguay, and Seoul. Most notable of all, The Washington Times was launched in 1982, providing the U.S. capital with an alternative media voice. The World Media Association was founded in 1978 to encourage media professionals to be the voice of conscience centered on the highest standard of ethics and morality thus guiding citizens with information that will act as the catalyst in creating a world of lasting peace and prosperity. In 1996, Rev. Moon inaugurated the Miami-based Tiempos de Mundo which now appears in sixteen nations in the Americas and is an expression of the vision for the unity of Latin America. The news agency United Press International (UPI) was acquired in 2000.

The heart and soul of Rev. and Mrs. Moon's lifelong ministry is working toward the re-establishment of God's ideal of the family as the foundation for harmonious societies and the cornerstone of world peace. The Marriage Blessing movement, beginning with three couples in 1960, has reached millions of couples.

Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon is also a daughter of North Korea. She was married to the Rev. Sun Myung Moon in 1960 and they have fourteen children. An internationally noted peace activist, Dr. Moon has spoken at the United Nations, the Kremlin Palace in Moscow and the Great Hall of the People in Beijing and has been awarded a number of honorary degrees for her peace and humanitarian work.