One of the quiet yet significant events of the WCSF 2000 was the Art Festival for World Peace 2000 held at the Seoul Art Center from February 9th – 19th.

Dr. Bo Hi Park, Chairman of the Executive Committee, said in an introduction, "In particular this Art Festival marks the first time that works from nearly every prominent South Korean artist have been gathered together in Seoul, and it is made more special because of the addition of works by famous North Korean artists. This event marks an important step forward in the process of realizing a peaceful reunification between North and South Korea."

Mr. Suk Won Park, Chairman, Board of Directors, Korean Art Federation expressed the hope that the next exhibition could be held in North Korea.

True Parents officially opened the show on the 9th among speeches and a flurry of media, then looked at all the works amid a large group of viewers, pausing to greet the artists who were in attendance, and took time to talk with some artists about their paintings.

The show contained the works of 120 artists from around the world. Included were 70 artists from Asia, 48 from South Korea and 12 from North Korea. 23 works came from Europe and 21 from the Americas. Local artists representing the USA were, Shigeyoshi Wabe, Benny Anderson, Cynthia Toffey, Dennis Holcomb and Rod Cameron.

Following the opening a banquet and concert was held at the Little Angels school. The evening was hosted by Dr. Bo Hi Park, Prof. Joong Hi Lee, Executive Committee Art Festival for World Peace, and Mr. Teruyki Matsuura, President, Bijitsu Sekai, Japan.

The following day guest artists from Europe and South America attended True Parents 80th Birthday Celebration at the Sejong Cultural Center in Seoul. The program was a real eye opener for those artists who had limited exposure to church culture.

The next day the group visited Chungpyong. Mr. Matsuura took us to all the holy trees where he gave a short explanation on the purpose of each tree and then we prayed together. For everyone it seemed like an exhilarating experience. After the walk we went to the temple to see art work there. Artists in the tour group whose paintings were included were Shigeyoshi Wabe, Benny Anderson and Kyu Tae Kim.

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