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Sun Myung Moon

Historical Figure

Sun Myung Moon

1920–2012

Korean religious leader (1920–2012)

Modern

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Biography

Sun Myung Moon was a Korean religious leader, also known for his business ventures and support for conservative political causes. A messiah claimant, he was the founder of the Unification Church, whose members consider him and his wife, Hak Ja Han, to be their "True Parents", and of its widely noted "Blessing" or mass wedding ceremonies. The author of the Unification Church's religious scripture, the Divine Principle, was an anti-communist and an advocate for Korean reunification, for which he was recognized by the governments of both North and South Korea. Businesses he promoted included News World Communications, an international news media corporation known for its American subsidiary The Washington Times, and Tongil Group, a South Korean business group (chaebol), as well as other related organizations.

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Timeline

The story of Sun Myung Moon, told in moments.

Life

Became known worldwide for mass wedding ceremonies, sometimes marrying thousands of couples at once. His followers, called "Moonies" by critics, were intensely devoted. He claimed to be the Messiah and called himself and his wife the "True Parents" of humanity.

1920 Birth

Born Moon Yong-myeong in what is now North Korea. His family converted to Christianity when he was a child. He claimed to have received a vision from Jesus at age 15, telling him to complete God's unfinished work.

1954 Event

Founded the Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity in Seoul. It became known simply as the Unification Church. Had already been imprisoned twice, once by North Korea and once by South Korea.

1982 Event

Convicted of tax fraud in the United States and sentenced to 18 months in federal prison. The case drew protests from clergy and civil libertarians who argued the trial was biased. Founded The Washington Times the same year.

2012 Death

Died of pneumonia in Gapyeong, South Korea, at 92. His business empire spanned media, manufacturing, and seafood. His church claimed millions of followers across 100 countries.

In Their Own Words (20)

As citizens of Cheon Il Guk, please have the wisdom to protect and love nature. Return to nature and enjoy a life of liberation and complete freedom. To love nature is to love God and humanity. When human life resonates with nature, human character can blossom in perfection. The flowers of a true culture of heart, a true artistic world, will bloom. It will be the Garden of Eden, the original ideal where human beings and all creation live in complete harmony and express their original nature.

Cheon Il Guk is the Ideal Heavenly Kingdom of Eternal Peace (2006-06-13), 2006

Furthermore, the best way to restore humanity to the position of the children of God through conversion of lineage is through the inter-cultural “exchange” marriage blessing. It is the greatest of moral acts, creating the Heavenly lineage on a whole new level, transcending the walls of race, culture, nationality and religion. It is an act that severs all links of enmity. It is the sacred rite of the conversion of lineage, through which all can be re-created through the True Parents, the King and Queen of Peace, the substantial manifestations of God who enable Him to exercise His providence in the present world.

The Mission of the Clan Messiah in the Revolutionary Era after the Coming of Heaven (2006-06-01), 2006

Looking at the Moonies from the normal, common-sense point of view, we certainly appear to be a bunch of crazy people!

As quoted in "Zoff off, Moon loon, and Cheat schmeat" in The Guardian (2001-09-20), 2001

That should be your determination. As a man, in your right front pants pocket is a small inside watch pocket. Keep pliers there, and when you go to the bathroom, once a day, pinch your love organ. Cut the skin a little bit as a warning. If your love organ does not listen to your conscience, then you should cut off the tip. Even if it takes that extreme measure, we have to make sure our mind and body become one.

Purity, Lineage and the Love Organ (of Life) (2001-02-18), 2001

I would not be standing here today if my skin were white or my religion were Presbyterian. I am here today only because my skin is yellow and my religion is Unification Church. The ugliest things in this beautiful country of America are religious bigotry and racism.

On the tax charges against him, in a speech at Foley Square in New York City (22 October 1981); published in a full page advertisement in the The New York Times (5 November 1981), as quoted in US Court of Appeals document U.S. v. Sun Myung Moon 718 F.2d 1210 (1983), 1983

Artifacts (15)

God's Warning to the World: Reverend Moon's Message from Prison

Reverend Moon is speaking as a prophet of God. The Prophet's role is to warn, to chastise, to guide, to interpret the Word of God to his contemporary society. The prophet has his primary authority...

1985

As a Peace-Loving Global Citizen

A first-person account by Moon about his family and childhood roots, his call from God, and the terrible persecution he overcame while in Korea to found his church and lay the foundation for his...

2012

World Scripture and the Teachings of Sun Myung Moon: World Scripture II

The Rev. Dr. Sun Myung Moon has said that he commissioned the World Scripture series based upon the firm conviction that religions have a key role to play in building a world of lasting peace in the...

2017

Sermons of the Reverend Sun Myung Moon

The basic theology of the Unification Movement and the essential teaching of Reverend Sun Myung Moon and Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon. The Divine Principle reveals provocative new insight into God's principles...

2020

Although I had many mothers, I never knew any motherly love.

e grounds that Puyi was too old to be breast-fed. Puyi especially hated Longyu for that. Puyi later wrote, "Although I had many mothers, I never knew any motherly love." Empress dowager Longyu ruled...

Works Talk

I thought everything about him was first-rate. He made me feel that Westerners w...

n to speak "Chinglish", a mixture of Mandarin and English that became his preferred mode of speech. Puyi recalled of Johnston: "I thought everything about him was first-rate. He made me feel that...

Works Talk

Flogging eunuchs was part of my daily routine. My cruelty and love of wielding p...

cent eunuchs, and if he chose to fire air-gun pellets at them, that was his prerogative. Puyi later said, "Flogging eunuchs was part of my daily routine. My cruelty and love of wielding power were...

Works Talk

I learnt nothing of mathematics, let alone science, and for a long time I had no...

standard Confucian education, being taught the various Chinese classics and nothing else. He later wrote: "I learnt nothing of mathematics, let alone science, and for a long time I had no idea where...

Works Talk

The Divine Principles

1956

Divine Principle

1973

Divine Principle

1977

Home Church: The Words of Reverend Sun Myung Moon

1983

The Tribal Messiah

1998

Exposition of the Divine Principle

1998

As a Peace-Loving Global Citizen: Reverend Sun Myung Moon

2011

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