Jung Min-ho has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2012, mostly covering social and political issues. He currently belongs to the Politics & City Desk where he covers topics such as health, labor and human rights. Prior to joining the team, he was responsible for covering North Korea and sports. His article about a biosecurity breach of Middle East respiratory syndrome won him an award from the Korea Science Journalists Association in 2016. He is also the co-author of the book, "Medical Pioneers of Korea" (2019). He served as the head of the international relations committee at the Journalists Association of Korea from 2021 to 2023.
Peace foundation chairman urges young Koreans to 'dream big'
Hyun Jin Preston Moon, founder and chairman of the Global Peace Foundation, a Washington-based NGO, speaks during an interview at a hotel in Seoul, Sept. 27. Courtesy of Global Peace Foundation
By Jung Min-ho
Hyun Jin Preston Moon encourages youth to embrace unification vision
South Korea’s miraculous rise to become one of the world’s largest economies, rising from the devastation of war, has inspired many developing nations over the past 70 years.
But emerging signs, such as its record-low fertility rate, suggest that South Korea’s best days may be behind it. Much like Japan in the late 1980s, South Korea's economy may soon reach its peak and begin to decline — a perspective held by many economists and reflected in the sentiments of its own citizens.
Hyun Jin Preston Moon, founder and chairman of the Global Peace Foundation, thinks South Koreans can alter the course and once again become an inspiration for the whole world, but only if they choose to embrace the vision of unification.
“I remember a time when Koreans could not go to Japan because it was too expensive. Yet today, the value of the Japanese yen is so weak that many Koreans spend weekend holidays in Japan because everything there is so cheap relative to South Korea. What would happen to South Korea’s economy if fundamental changes don’t happen?” Moon said during a recent interview with The Korea Times and several other media outlets in Seoul.
“Within two decades, those things will happen to the people of South Korea. This is a time in which we need to assess in terms of the future of Korea. We need to assess what is the best way forward. The best way forward is actually unification,” he added.
His dream is to revive the spirit of Hongik Ingan (meaning to broadly benefit humanity), the founding principle of the first Korean kingdom, Gojoseon, in a reunified nation ― a powerful, prosperous country that has a positive influence on the global stage.
“North Korea has everything South Korea needs. And of course, South Korea has everything North Korea needs,” Moon said. “Yet it can only be real if everyone becomes the owner of it, as Genghis Khan put it, ‘if one person has a dream, it is only a dream, but everyone shares that dream, it becomes reality.’”
Moon expressed his firm belief that young Koreans are now at a historical “inflection point” for their nation. He urged them to “dream big” and participate in realizing the aspirations of their parents and grandparents.
He hopes that his message will resonate, not only with the people of South Korea, but also with those in the North, where the regime is attempting to move away from unification as its policy goal.
At this year’s International Forum on One Korea, co-hosted by the Washington-based NGO, Action for Korea United and One Korea Foundation, many North Korean escapees, including former members of the North's elite, shared what they experienced while living there.
One of the most significant signs emerging from their personal stories is that the regime is increasingly losing control over its people, many of whom no longer see the purpose of their suffering in the absence of a vision for unification, Moon said.
“The defectors represent the closest thing to North Korea and how North Koreans think,” he said. “The fact that they have gravitated toward the unification vision that I started shows North Korean people are not only hungry but they get the vision … Once that vision crosses the border and inspires North Korean people, a true grassroots movement and a substantial transformation could actually happen.”
According to estimates by many think tanks, Pyongyang is now capable of producing dozens of nuclear warheads, despite decades of global efforts focused on its denuclearization.
In Moon’s view, the belief that denuclearization and other critical issues essential for the regime’s survival can be addressed without pursuing a broader vision of unification is the primary reason for its failure.
He believes a divided Korea would not bring a nuclear-free peninsula or lasting peace, saying that unification should always be placed at the forefront of South Korea’s policy objectives.
Moon also thinks unification can only be accomplished through a civic-led movement, which would require the will and the voluntary participation of the Korean people.
“I hope they can participate in something great,” Moon said. “If every Korean in both in the South and the North becomes the owner of the Korean dream, the Korea I talked about can become reality.”