Chambumo Gyeong - 373. The VOC movement
On November 10, 1965, True Parents officially launched anti-communism education teams as a project for educating the citizenry. True Father then founded the International Federation for Victory Over Communism (IFVOC) on January 13,1968, merging the anti-communist groups organized throughout the provinces. The purpose of establishing the IFVOC was to empower the Korean people with the principles that could overcome communism domestically, and cope with the expanding international influence of communism. 15 Why did I create the International Federation for Victory Over Communism? I did not create it to be a symbolic affiliate organization. I created it to be an organization that could achieve a substantial result acclaimed throughout the world. Korea needs such an organization in order to achieve its ultimate goal. We have to pass through the gate of ideological war. It does not matter if our country boasts of its world-class philosophy, or that America champions democracy. We will be defeated if we fight the ideological war with obsolete weapons. I am very thorough in that regard. Who will play the leading role in the ideological warfare that will rage in the future on a global scale? This is a serious question. (138-014, 1986/01/13) 16 I support the church, continue with ecumenical work and engage in Victory Over Communism activities for the sake of Korea's unification. I am well aware that the unification of Korea is the beginning of the unification of the world. The liberation of North and South Korea is the beginning of the liberation of humankind. There is only one root, and that is Korea. This is why I have been sacrificing my entire life for the liberation of Korea.
I have now created a world-level foundation that enlightens people as to this reality. The division of Korea did not happen because Koreans wanted it. Since powerful nations were involved in the division of Korea, we must push those nations to cooperate in the reunification of our country. We have to exert as much influence on them as we can in the background; otherwise our liberation will be impossible. (171-189, 1988/01/01) 17 We must drive communism out of the Korean Peninsula. The history of Korea is the history of humankind in miniature. This is the reason Korea has become the battleground between the communist and democratic worlds, represented by North and South Korea. Panmunjom, located on the cease-fire line, is a unique place in the world for dialogue, because it represents the threshold on which God and Satan are confronting each other. This is why the new age, in which Korea can take the leading role in the world, has arrived.
The Unification Church is the only organization that has the energy and unity required to leap across the ceasefire line with the truth that can defeat communism. It is the only group that has the power to stop the corruption of Christianity and march toward a new world. With this new name of Unification, we will march forward. (023-179, 1969/05/18) 18 I do not like the term anti-communism. Victory Over Communism is not anti-communism. However, Victory Over Communism cannot succeed without anti-communism as a first step. We must go on the offensive against the Communist Party. I have hastened to create a nationwide movement for this purpose, but it has been put on temporary hold due to the world s opposition. Even though it is difficult, we must somehow overcome this stage. We have to move Korea, and furthermore Japan, China and the whole of Asia. In the future, I am going to organize an international anti-communist movement in Korea and America. I plan to partner with other anti-communist organizations, equip them with a new philosophy, and cultivate anti-communist leaders. (017-151, 1966/12/11) 19 While seeking a way that can bring joy to God, I have chosen to tread a path of persecution. I thought about the path I have walked. What I prayed for in the past has become a reality. The prayers I offered to God after entering North Korea have been realized. I was reminded of the time when I offered a prayer as I was going through some particular difficulties in South Korea. I knew that the reason God was putting me through such hardships was not that He wanted me to wither and die; rather He wanted me to overcome the difficulties and great temptations of this world so I might usher in the time that He has hoped to see. We have to think about unification day and night. While walking the first seven-year course, word began to circulate that the Unification Church is the only answer. Unless we cause communism to surrender, neither this nation nor Asia can survive. (016-238, 1966/06/19) 20 What kind of organization is the International Federation for Victory Over Communism? Just as the name says, it is a movement designed to achieve victory over communism—to assimilate it, not just defeat it and drive it out of the global village. A federation is an organic body, not just a single organization. It must be an organic body.
Communism stands on the foundation of nations and international organizations. That is why communists believe they can assimilate other ideologies. They think, "Today's democracy will surely perish. We will be the victors." Communism stands on the global foundation, a foundation that spans all nations. As the communists march toward victory on a world-level foundation, it is not just nations that connect to support this foundation; there are also international organizations that link the nations together.
Therefore, we need a foundation of organizations greater than theirs. Starting from the individual, we must move beyond the family, tribe and nation. Conquering that, and heading beyond that, we have to create one body moving toward one purpose. We are trying to create an unbreakable organization and defend against communism on a global foundation, a foundation that unites all nations. (140-212, 1986/02/12) 21 The International Federation for Victory Over Communism has to lead both the church and the nation. What we are doing goes beyond the dimension of religion and nation; we can lead all other organizations. I am instructing our management staff to give lectures. You have to fight in a new direction, on a national level through IFVOC activities. This is the stage we are at today. We will not be able to lead this nation through the Unification Church alone. Christianity and other religions will oppose us. However, they will welcome us, lifting both hands high with joy, if we ask them to join in the fight against the Communist Party. When we give VOC lectures we can transcend denominations. (110-136, 1980/11/10) 22 I have tried to initiate VOC activities since 1960. Since then, we delivered VOC lectures, even to imprisoned North Korean spies, through the Anti-Communism Department of the Ministry of Justice. Seeing from this viewpoint, I knew our time would surely come. For ten years since 1960, the Unification Church has been walking the way of suffering and persecution, but things will change now. As the Unification Church works for the sake of the nation, the nation will create the external environment wherein the church can develop.
We have been giving VOC lectures. Look at the people who have finished their VOC workshops. How is such a change possible? How could a person change so dramatically within a few days? Just the other day, a few local community leaders gathered to participate in a workshop. They argued among themselves at first, but they were transformed completely in only five days of training. In the end, even they were amazed at the transforma tion they had experienced. It was definitely something special, something beyond their understanding. We asked them about this many times, but they could not explain it. (032-309, 1970/07/26) 23 Everyone is aware that the activities of the IFVOC are reaping success. This is why Korea's domestic affairs and intelligence authorities are sending people to be trained through our program without telling us. In other words, they are sending professors who are in charge of setting the direction for this nation, and in charge of critiquing communism, to receive our education and submit reports about it. The intelligence agency is becoming keen about our teachings, based upon the recommendations of these agents and professors. They report, "We should expand this education to the whole nation. So far, we've been able to critique communism, but have never been able to present an alternative to counter it. For the first time, to our great delight, we've learned how to do so." The leaders of the intelligence community are wide-eyed with astonishment as they listen to these positive reports. (034-043, 1970/08/29) 24 We have been working against communism. The Korean government did not welcome us. Indeed they opposed us at first because we displaced organizations that were under the government's control. The heads of such organizations tried to put all sorts of pressure on us in their attempts to eliminate us. Various organizations formed a pact in order to persecute us. However, justice and truth always prevail.
In just one year, by 1971, more than 1,000 Christian leaders attended our educational programs. During the last five years, we have trained a total of 6.5 million people in our programs. It is now clear that the Unification Church is leading the resistance against communism in Korea. We have taken the central position in the field of anti-communist philosophy on college campuses. We are taking the lead in holding seminars for public servants and for educational organizations. In 1971, we taught Unification Thought to 400 prominent professors in Korea. No one else in this nation can protect Christianity internally and defend against communism externally. The battle against communism is also being waged in Japan, Taiwan and other Asian countries. (053-079, 1972/02/09) 25 What did the Unification Church do after President Park Chung-hee was assassinated in October 1979? Since it was a great opportunity for Kim II-sung in North Korea to invade the South, we gathered 700,000 people for an IFVOC rally. We put our lives on the line and also spent an immense amount of money. It was not the government that did this. We have to digest whatever people say, create a foundation, and continue the struggle. We are doing all of this in accordance with God's Will. We have to defend South Korea against communism by forming an anti-communist alliance, curtailing youth immorality, and reviving a declining Christianity. If Christians do not receive us, we have to put them aside and do it on the Unification Church foundation. (110-238, 1980/11/18) 26 In 1983, when I met with Korean government officials, they were very surprised when they realized that I always stand on the side of eternal truth. The Korean people had suffered greatly over the shooting down of a Korean Airlines jet shot down in the skies above the Soviet Union and over the South Korean officials killed in the bombing in Rangoon, Myanmar. When they received me, I could see in their faces that they saw a ray of hope. People s spirits were greatly depressed, but they gained hope through me, thinking that perhaps they would be able to find a way to defeat communism. At the National Victory Over Communism Rally, I gave a clear message on how to defeat the communists, and the people of the nation welcomed it and responded with applause. I infused hope in the people who were indignant and yet overwhelmed by despair. (130-287, 1984/02/07) 27 I engage in the Victory Over Communism movement not to kill the communists, but to save and liberate them with truth and true love. Therefore, without any ulterior motive, I am trying sacrificially to help the communist world, which is on the brink of its demise. On October 12, 1989, the PWPA invited prominent Russian journalists to join a discussion in Korea. At its conclusion, I sent them to Pyongyang, North Korea, to pass a message to Kim Il-sung. They were hesitant initially, but in the end they delivered my message: First, I am not his enemy. Second, he should abandon his political ambition to communize South Korea. Third, he can live in happiness and prosperity as our brother only if he follows the trend of the world, abandons falsehood, returns to the truth, opens wide the doors of North Korea, and welcomes us with open arms. (198-164, 1990/02/01) 28 We have to let Kim Il-sung live, and call him to stand as a witness. We need a witness who will testify to the greatness of Reverend Moon. I am not an anti-communist leader, but a Victory Over Communism leader. I do not wish to kill communists; I only wish to save them. God wishes to save the world through good people. So, the person who tries to kill will perish, and the one who is giving them life from a position of goodness will prosper. The heavenly principle follows this grand path. (177-300, 1988/05/20) |