MUNYONYO, Uganda — “It’s very simple. How do you deal with corruption? How do you deal with poverty? All the social sciences and studies addressing these issues reach the same conclusion: you have to build good families.”
Hyun Jin Preston Moon, founder and chairperson of the Global Peace Foundation (GPF), a U.S.-based nonprofit organization, emphasized the importance of building “One Family Under God” during a morning interview with Korean media in Munyonyo, Uganda, June 30.
The slogan “One Family Under God” aligns with the themes of the Global Peace Leadership Conference (GPLC) held in Kenya and the Inter-Religious Family Festival held in Uganda in late June.
Both events centered on the GPF’s mission of promoting the importance of family for spiritual and social cohesion, with Moon attending both events as a keynote speaker.
During the interview, Moon provided a more detailed explanation of how families formed under the name of God serve as bedrocks of a healthy society.
“How do you build a good nation? It’s on the foundation of good families that teach ethical and moral values to their children so that they become good citizens that can 커뮤니티 contribute to the nation. How do you build a good economic environment? Once again by having good citizens and good families,” the chairperson said.
According to the chairperson, the concept has faced major challenges in Korea, where Moon believes plummeting birth rates and soaring suicide rates illustrate a negative social shift.
“Look at the reality of the Korean family,” Moon emphasized. “In my eyes, the Korean family was the most beautiful family model. But look at Korea now — (high) divorce rates and (the total fertility rate at) just 0.7. This should be a matter of shame for every Korean. This is the path to national and civilizational extinction.”
Moon criticized the adoption of Western values during Korea’s modernization, which he believes undermined traditional family structures.
“What was the cost of modernization when Korea adopted a lot of the Western values that eventually destroyed its family, changed the fabric of society, changed the relationship between men and women, changed the relationship between parents and children?” he said.
“Do you think it’s for the better or do you think it’s for the worse?”