The following is the speech that Dr. Kwak Chung-hwan gave at the Little Angels Performing Arts Center on July 26, 2005, at a banquet honoring Korean War veterans from all sixteen nations that had fought with the UN Peace Forces.

Honorable Korean War veterans from the sixteen nations of the UN Peace Forces who fought in defense of Korea, distinguished guests, ladies and gentleman:

I extend my heartfelt welcome to you all on behalf of the founder, Dr. Sun Myung Moon. Welcome back to the Republic of Korea, the land of freedom, hope and prosperity, which was built on the foundation of the blood, sweat and tears you shed and the sacrifices you made as youth fifty-five years ago.

Unfortunately, for too many people, this significant chapter in history is being forgotten. In reality, when viewed in light of humanity's long struggle for lasting freedom and peace, the Korean War is one of the most critical moments in history. Its significance and place in history should never be erased from memory.

When we look from a global perspective, we recognize that the Korea War was the first war in which representative nations of the free world came together in a unified way to protect freedom and peace against the international communist movement, which had spread throughout the world, from Eastern Europe to China, in the post-World War II era.

The Berlin Wall separated the western half of the globe from communism -- the movement that was characterized by atheism, violence, tyranny, poverty and oppression and that set its sights on Western Europe after the successful domination of Eastern Europe. The thirty-eighth parallel on the Korean peninsula played the exact same role in the eastern half of the world.

If the UN Peace Forces had not participated in the Korean War, the entire peninsula would have been communized. In fact, Japan itself, which even now has an active communist party with representatives retaining seats in the Diet, would very likely have fallen to communism. Stalin had, at that time, a serious, strategic goal to communize Japan.

If Korea, and later Japan, had been communized, the U.S.A. would have had no choice but to abandon West Germany and Western Europe in order to defend the vast territory of the Pacific Ocean and its homeland.

What you fought to protect during your youth was not just some unknown nation in the Far East, the Republic of Korea, but rather the freedom and peace of all the people of the world. In the international history of geopolitics, the thirty-eighth parallel that divides the Korean peninsula, like the Berlin Wall, was the confrontation line and borderline between the free world and communism, between the open society of peace and tyrannical oppression, and between affluence and poverty. It was the last safeguard for humankind's freedom and peace.

With the end of the First World War, all the colonies around the world that were under the rule of that war's defeated nations were liberated. With the end of the Second World War, the colonies under the rule of both the defeated and victorious nations were liberated. However, Korea was divided north and the south at the thirty-eighth parallel. In reality, the nation of Japan, that aggressor that started the war, should have more appropriately been divided, as was Germany. Why, instead, was our nation divided?

I believe there is a spiritual or providential reason for this development. In fact, there is no way to explain this situation without understanding God's providence as the effort to bring about the complete salvation and liberation of all human beings, bound by sin since the time of Adam and Eve. As God seeks to restore humankind from our fallen state, righteous people have often suffered more than the unjust, and goodness has always faced persecution. Time and time again, good people of faith and conscientious people have suffered while the forces of evil gained power and influence. It had always been part of God's providence to sacrifice the righteous in order to save the unjust. Rev. Sun Myung Moon has revealed this secret. In other words, the Korean peninsula has become a sacrificial altar and the Korean people the offering. As we know also from biblical scripture, an offering must be split. Furthermore, if the division of Korea was part of God's providence, then it is also the case that the reunification of the two Koreas cannot be achieved without the involvement of God's providence.

The history of our division, as seen from God's providence, is not just a division of a social order and national territory or even simply the division of a people who share the same lineage, culture, language and heart. Division is rather an essential characteristic of the fallen world. For example, within each individual there is division of the mind and body; in regard to value systems, there is division between theistic and atheistic value systems; in regard to worldviews, there is division between religious and secular humanistic perspectives; in regard to social systems, there is division between free societies and communism; and in regard to God's providence of salvation, there is division between good and evil.In this regard, overcoming the division of the Korean peninsula and bringing about its unification is tantamount to bringing harmony and unification of the worldviews, value systems, social systems, and even the mind and body division, that has divided human history. God's providential will is to open a path that leads humanity to lasting peace and salvation, using the reunification of the Korean peninsula as its model. The source of true peace and unification can be found only in God. Peace and unification are not brought about by human endeavors alone. Peace and unification are possible only when we practice true love, in accordance with heavenly fortune and the principles of God's providence.

God's providence in delivering and liberating humanity from evil and sin is truly profound. From a political, economic and social point of view, it may seem that your participation in the Korean War was brought about by your own will or by the will of others, that is, your governments' as it responded in the context of the international affairs of that time. However, in reality, the invisible hand of God who works for the salvation of humankind chose you to become a part of this noble army that was created for the purpose of protecting the Korean peninsula, the front-line of freedom and peace. Respected veterans of the Korean War, ladies and gentlemen! The fall of the Berlin Wall brought an end to the cold war era in the political, economic and social arenas. Yet, while the Soviet Union has fallen, the cold war is still alive in many respects, particularly when we consider the ongoing divisions that remain in the realm of ideology, human consciousness and cultural lifestyle. These "internal" divisions are in fact more fundamental and difficult to resolve. The thirty-eighth parallel still exists within the world and in the hearts of human beings. Even within Korea, the communist forces seem to be gaining strength. They are asserting that you and other UN Peace Force veterans were part of an invading army or occupation army. Communists no longer advocate a change in the social system. However, materialism, secular humanism, and theories of sexual liberation are still promoted and they are infiltrating the culture and the society -- our families, workplaces, local communities, and the Internet's cyberspace -- without our understanding and awareness.

We should be aware of the fact that a new face of communism is alive and well, and aims at cultural transformation. This movement represents a mutation from traditional communism, which focused on structural transformation. This new face of communism is a combination of Marxism with Darwinism and Freudianism. It stands as the ideological basis of the decadent popular culture and those social movements that encourage trends that are bringing about family breakdown, the deterioration of sexual order and ethics, and youth problems that are rapidly spreading throughout the world.

The end of the cold war era that had been characterized by a polarized value system has brought the rise of an age of plural value systems and globalization. In this age, freedom and peace are being threatened by the divide between the rich and the poor, conflicts between religions and ethnic groups, international terrorism, and the breakdown of the family stimulated by a promiscuous sexual liberation movement.

The Berlin Wall and the thirty-eighth parallel were representative front lines in the cold war era. But now in this age, we are facing a new front line that needs to be fought at the level of our families, local communities, workplaces, and Internet cyberspace.

We must now rise again to protect our core values, and our families from the threat of cultural communism. The precious sacrifices that you made must bear fruit in the realization of a true world of peace. On the ashes of the Second World War the United Nations was established, while at the same time the cold war intensified. Let us now take the lead in renewing the United Nations so that it can become an institution that truly serves the cause of universal freedom and peace, going beyond the interests of particular nations, religions, or ethnic groups, to establish one global family of humankind.

Once I again I extend my deepest respect and appreciation to you for you commitment and life-long dedication to the eternal cause of freedom and peace. I pray that God's comfort and blessings be upon those souls who made the ultimate sacrifice.

Edited for Today's World

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