An interview of Wonmo Pyeongae Foundation secretary-general Man Ho Kim

August 2013

Question: According to our calculations, around 220 non-Korean, non-Japanese members received a scholarship from the Wonmo Pyeongae Foundation. How widely dispersed was this? What countries did these people come from?

This is actually our first scholarship project. The scholarships were presented to students on Foundation Day. Being the very first project, it had more of a focus on Japan and Korea. For the other regions, since they did not have sufficient time to prepare and for us to assess them thoroughly, we gave the scholarships through the continental headquarters and asked them to distribute the different scholarships, conditionally. From what we have assessed so far from the continental headquarters' reports, we have awarded scholarships to 72 students in seven regions. For Africa, because the amount available for the scholarships rose, we were able to help more students there. We gave scholarships worth about 120,000,000 Won. Nineteen went to South America, four to the Middle East, six to Oceania...We gave a total for seventy-two plus Africa.

Question: So about 150 went to African students?

Yes, the total was 430.

Question: I've seen material translated from your web site that said scholarship recipients needed to study in Korea. Is that still correct?

I think that was misinformation. Most of the scholarships went to students in Japan and Korea and the others were administered through the continental headquarters, so we have not yet formulated standard qualifications.

As I mentioned earlier, in 2013, we did not have much time to prepare but now we have some time to prepare for 2014. We are still discussing the scale of the scholarship and other details. True Mother did instruct us to focus more on the forty-three strategic and providential nations. We are planning to meet the continental directors when they come for the anniversary of Father's ascension and discuss with them the scale to which we should support different countries.

At the moment, the Wonmo Pyeongae Foundation lacks the human resources necessary to assess the qualifications or to determine the qualifications for the upcoming year's scholarships. For now, we are planning to provide only the basic qualifications to the continental headquarters and pass the authority to formulate qualifications in detail to them. The continental headquarters will then be in charge of assessing the students to see who should receive a scholarship.

A Report on Research into the Establishment and Operation of the Moon Sun Myung Global Prize is the result of a study Father ordered done on peace prizes

Question: We know that forty-one students receive scholarships to attend Universal Peace Academy. Are foreign scholarship recipients studying at any other institutions in Korea?

No, not at the moment. From next year, Mother would like students to come to Sun Moon University to learn Korean. We are planning a separate project for that. I would like to speak more about that afterward.

Question: Could you say a few words about those foreign members that would like to donate to the Wonmo Pyeongae Foundation?

Canadians and Americans have already asked about this. We do have a bank account through which we receive donations but we have not yet begun receiving donations from foreign countries. We are considering two approaches at this time. One is to have the continental headquarters collect donations from each continent and then remit the funds to our account here, or to do it directly to the Wonmo Pyeongae bank account.

Question: Those who donate would likely want to know if it is tax deductible.

It is fully possible because it is a legally recognized foundation. In Korea we are promoting the foundation and soliciting donations from people. True Mother told me to tour our churches in Korea and promote the projects the foundation is carrying out. The members are responding to my presentations.

More than receiving donations, what is most important is that members can get an understanding of what True Mother is doing. She is trying to foster talented young people within our church. They are grateful for her efforts whenever they hear me talk about it and they recognize that Mother is trying to do this. Being deeply grateful for her efforts, they can see the vision again. I think that is even more important than just receiving donations.

I believe that True Mother's leadership has always been motherly. If asked what Mother's mission is, I believe that True Mother's mission is to love and be dedicated to children and foster and educate them. That could summarize Mother's mission. I heard that before Father ascended to heaven he spoke a lot about the Wonmo Pyeongae Foundation. Ile often said this is a foundation for Mother; Mother can work through this foundation. He didn't give any details but he mentioned that several times before he passed away.

"Your Dream is the Hope of Heaven," a dream camp workshop for scholarship recipients. Seated next to Secretary-General Kim is Dr. Min Ha Kim, the (white-haired) chairman of the Wonmo Pyeongae board of directors

Question: Please tell us about the Sunhak Peace Award.

This dissertation came out of a research center that Father set up on peace awards, because he wanted to create one. It was not a new thing after Father's ascension. When he ascended, it became the natural course to make a prize of this kind. Mother named it Sunhak, with "sun" coming from Father's name and "hak" coming from her name. That is the tentative name Mother has created for it. We all know of Father and Mother as the True Parents; maybe that's why they set up Sunhak. We have done research on peace prizes around the world. We have also participated in different prize award ceremonies and have investigated the Samsung prize. We partake in the award presentation ceremonies and try to benchmark their methods, standards and qualifications for the awards.

When we researched the different awards given in other counties and in Korea, we looked at how the candidates were chosen, how transparent the process was and particularly at the selection and judging committees. We are pursuing this project. We have a big network with the peace ambassadors that are trying to attract good candidates for the prizes, which will be available to nominees globally. We are trying to attract people of at least the prime minister level. It's a big concern for us because those are the level of candidate we need to target.

Some people say that giving this award might be easier for us to organize and do compared to, say, the Seoul Peace Prize was for their organizing committee, because we have a broader network of VIPs through our peace ambassadors. I think it might turn out to be easier than we now expect.

We are now planning to prepare for three years, to be able to give the award, for the first time, on True Parents' third birthday after Father's ascension. We have done many press conferences and the main questions asked were about the scholarship project and the Sun hak Peace Prize. The public is already aware of it.

Question: Cheol Seung Lee is involved with the Seoul Peace Prize isn't he?

Yes. I've been there three times.

Question: I guess you are still working on the criteria.

Yes. We are still working on it and receiving different suggestions from different experts. This dissertation has most of the basic content needed on how to promote the Sunhak Peace Prize, and the qualifications it should be based on. The dissertation resulted from a year's worth of research done by seven professors. They were given a separate research center for this project.

Sun Moon University hosted eight days of mentoring for members of our younger generations; each day, study sessions lasted twelve hours. Both the study habits and spiritual health of the students reportedly improved.

Question: Finally, we would like to ask about the mentoring project. I believe you've finished the vacation-period mentoring this year.

Yes. When we first initiated the mentoring project, twenty- four second-generation members volunteered to help with the project. We first did a breakfast fast for 120 days. Once that was done, we started receiving applications from those that wanted to receive mentoring. The Wonmo Pyeongae Foundation directly assessed them and selected forty-nine students to be mentored. Ninety percent of the mentors that volunteered were from multicultural families. Among the students, if we subtract the third-generation member students, most of the students were from multicultural families. We need to take into consideration that many of these second-generation students from multicultural families face financial and cultural difficulties. Since many of these children have difficulty going to after-school academies, the focus of the mentoring project was to help them learn how to study by themselves, to become self-sufficient.

They had a mentoring session for eight days, in which they gave intense mentoring in English, math and all other major subjects to the students for twelve hours a day. The goal was to help the students learn how to study by themselves. They tried to motivate the students so that they could better adjust to school when they return to school and study on their own. Having put them through eight days of mentoring, they will continuously monitor the children for the coming year. The same mentors will monitor the students they were in charge of. The mentors are expected to teach the students for two hours a week by video.

Question: Did the camp bring everyone together?

Yes. The mentoring project itself was great and successful. What I was most grateful for was that many of the students testified to this being the best experience that they had ever had and the first time they had received so much love. I think that the mentors loved their students as if they were their actual brothers or sisters.

One mentor took care of three students. The mentors took care of the children, taught them, ate with them and slept in the same room with them for eight full days, at Sun Moon University.

One common occurrence they had was that they all became more aware that they shared the same lineage under True Parents and that we are all in one family. In addition, because most of the mentors and students came from multi-cultural families, they shared many of the same experiences and struggles in their lives of faith, such as feeling isolated in school. They naturally felt sympathy for one another and could harmonize.

Question: Is that the reason you chose mentors whose parents were of different nationalities?

That's not the reason. The main reason that could happen is that most of the university students now are 6,500 couples, most of whom are in multicultural families.

We are planning on expanding the mentoring project. At the moment, we are planning to open three study centers, so that we can mentor more students in Seoul.

An appeal for 1 percent tithing that ends, "Please lend your warm supporting hand to our young dreamers who will realize a peaceful future. A little sharing creates hope for the future"

Question: And this mentoring would also take place during the vacation period?

No, the facilities could be used even during the school year. They would be like the hagwons, study institutes where students go every day and instructors help the students with your studies.

Of course, our focus was to help students learn how to study, but we have also seen great success in the students' lives of faith. They could unite and the mentors could guide them well. Presently in Korea many of the scholarship foundations do not just give money through scholarships; they continue the relationship with the recipients through mentoring programs. The Samsung scholarship foundation has around 25,000 students that they are mentoring and monitoring.

Question: Your means of operation often seems to include checking what the professionals in society have done.

Right now, we are trying to benchmark existing programs and trying to implement this in our church also. I went to the Samsung scholarship foundation and I listened for four hours to explanations of their projects and the work they do.

Question: Was the Samsung scholarship foundation aware that you were setting up a foundation as well?

Yes. They knew.

Question: Would you like to add anything?

As you know, True Mother is emphasizing fostering Cheon Il Guk leaders who can take the lead. She recently conducted the True Grandchildren's workshop in Hawaii. During that workshop, she mentioned that second-generation members from around the world should come to Korea, come to Sun Moon University to learn Korean. Her hope through that was to allow many members of the second generation to experience the tradition of filial piety and the culture of heart, and based on that, to raise their character and professionalism.

Presently around thirty students in the United States are preparing their visas to come to Sun Moon University to learn Korean. They are planning, by next year, to have around four hundred to six hundred come to Sun Moon University from many countries. That does not mean only second-generation Unificationists but also young members in our church.

The student recipients coming to study in Sun Moon University would have to take care of their own allowance or dorm fee but Wonmo Pyeongae Foundation would provide their full school fees, starting from the Korean language institute all the way to graduate school if they desire to go.

We are going to start this project next year and we are anticipating about 4 billion Won in expenditures toward this college project. This is only the beginning. Next year is the starting year, but we expect expenditures to increase to 14 billion Won because after the first year. you have the second- and third-year students coming in, increasing the number of students involved in the program while the first-year students continue to move ahead with their studies, perhaps all the way to graduate school. So, the first year will only require 4 billion Won, but as we go on it will increase probably to 14 billion Won.

Of course, this project to learn Korean at Sun Moon University would be useful and beneficial to Sun Moon University, but I also think it would be a good opportunity for many young members around the world to learn Korean and have new experiences while deepening their lives of faith. We are also planning a project to support Korean and Japanese students' desire to study abroad.

Question: For the time being, at least, is their continental headquarters the best means by which people can find information related to donating to your foundation or applying for scholarships?

Yes. We are planning to send through official memos any information they need through the FFWPU International Headquarters to the continental headquarters for those who wish to receive information. They should have all the information you need. We are planning to employ a team that can take care of all these matters.

This year, we had the True Grandchildren's workshop in Hawaii. We are planning a second one for next year. We will select one person from each region to participate. It will be held for two weeks. This is still under discussion but we will send an official memo within this year. I think this information will be of great interest and importance to members of the second generation.

Question: Just as Mother wants to include them in the Hawaii workshop, your programs show that Mother's heart toward young Unificationists and those in our second generation is the same as toward her own grandchildren.

True Mother is like the team leader, because she said she would directly conduct the workshop and be present throughout the workshop. We are not just sending the children there, but True Mother will be there personally, teaching and guiding them.

I hope that everything works out well with the projects. We need finances, of course, to carry these out. When Father first wrote the calligraphic message for the Wonmo Pyeongae Foundation, he said we had to raise around $300 million for the projects. Yet, that is so large an amount that Mother reduced the goal to $100 million. We are trying to sell the helicopter. It is on sale in the United States. We are using all different types of efforts. We also have 50 billion Won in donations from Father's Seonghwa Ceremony. It is our hope that all members can participate in this project. Even donating percent would help, but it is not about money. What matters most is the spirit to help each other. A good atmosphere is being created wherein second-generation members who have already graduated from university and have jobs are willing to donate to Wonmo Pyeongae Foundation to help the projects.