World Peace Education Center Events Open New Era of Global Cooperation
- The Earth & I Editorial Team
- Apr 22
- 9 min read
Updated: 2 hours ago
Touting Path to International and Environmental Peace
The Earth & I Editorial Team
□Part 1□ Special Section: Fourth Anniversary of The Earth & I |
This article highlights the various significant events that commemorated the opening of the Cheon Won Gung (World Peace Education Center) in April 2025, in South Korea. The events included World Summit 2025, with a session that had the theme “Climate Change, Environmental Crises and the Future of the Earth,” organized by the Hyo Jeong International Foundation for Environmental Peace (HJIFEP). |
Perhaps no place on Earth yearns more for peace than the mountainous Korean Peninsula. Bordering China to its northwest, Korea is a land where citizens of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) and the Republic of Korea (South Korea) have lived as a divided people for over seven decades. What better place than Korea, then, to gather stakeholders to discuss new approaches to peacemaking and environmental restoration? And what better time to do so than the Spring of 2025, when political tensions on the peninsula had been especially high, and choking dust clouds from the deserts of China and Mongolia and drought-driven wildfires darkened South Korean skies amidst the continent’s first signs of spring.
Peace Summit Near the DMZ
Not far from the Demilitarized Zone that divides the two Koreas—a narrow strip of no-man's land where nature is enjoying an undisturbed, post-Korean War renaissance—current and former heads of state, environmental and social activists, and leaders of every field from 117 nations gathered from April 10 to April 15 in Seoul, South Korea. They came to mark and honor innovative peacemaking efforts on a multitude of fronts. A central concern of many participants was ending humanity’s assault on nature and restoring Earth’s natural environment.
The gathering commemorated the opening of Cheon Won Gung (CWG), expressed as the World Peace Education Center. The center includes an inner sanctum, called the Cheonil Sanctum, with lofty walls that display 14 magnificent works of art, each created using mother-of-pearl inlay and lacquer techniques. The display offers a record of the highly sacrificial life course and substantial achievements of the founders, Rev. Dr. Sun Myung Moon and Rev. Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon (Holy Mother Han), in their dedicated efforts to build a peaceful world. By contemplating on the founders’ lives, one can feel God’s heart of true love, recognize God’s dream and ideal of creation, and understand God’s providence of salvation in the course of human history. The multi-event affair was sponsored by the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, also called Heavenly Parents’ Holy Community.
Global Parliamentarians Form Organization for World Peace
Of note was the founding of the Inter-Parliamentary Speakers’ Conference (ISC) via an inaugural assembly of current and former parliamentarians from around the world. ISC is dedicated to addressing “critical areas such as population dynamics, climate change, and environmental conservation by fostering collaboration among governments, institutions, and communities.” There were 150 parliamentary and diplomatic leaders, including 39 incumbent speakers of national assemblies. They elected Pakistan’s former President and current Chairman of Pakistan’s Senate, H.E. Yusuf Raza Gilani, as the first ISC chairman. The gathering, sponsored by the Preparatory Committee for the Founding of ISC, was held on April 11-12 at Lotte Hotel World and on April 12 at the Korean Parliamentary Building, when they announced the Seoul Declaration.
Honoring Humanity’s and Nature’s Heroes
Another significant event was an award ceremony for the Sixth Sunhak Peace Prize—on behalf of the founder—to three individuals deemed to be exemplary peacemakers. In addition, two international leaders received the special 2025 Founders’ Award. The sponsoring organization was the Sunhak Peace Prize Foundation.
The Sunhak Peace Prize was founded in 2013 and “established to help resolve worldwide suffering, conflict, poverty and threats to the environment by promoting a comprehensive, future-oriented vision of peace.” The Prize recognizes achievements in three areas: respect for human development, conflict resolution, and ecological conservation.
Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, a recipient of the 2020 Sunhak Founders’ Award and guiding hand behind the Paris Climate Accords, introduced and congratulated the 2025 awardees.
Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, a recipient of the 2020 Sunhak Founders’ Award and guiding hand behind the Paris Climate Accords, introduced and congratulated the 2025 awardees. He began by recognizing Sunhak Laureate Wanjira Mathai of Kenya for her work as chair of the Green Belt Movement, praising her as someone who “has advanced environmental sustainability through land restoration across Africa.”
Wanjira Mathai dedicated her award “to Africa’s young people, Africa’s youth who remind me every single day that we will do it. We will build a future that reflects the greatness of Africa, rooted indeed in accountability, resilience, and courage.” (On a separate occasion, she sat down with editors of The Earth & I for an exclusive interview and talked about her work. See “Wanjira Mathai Sees Green in Africa’s Future” in this issue.)
The former UN Secretary-General then recognized two more Sunhak Laureates: Australia’s Hugh Evans, founder and CEO of Global Citizen (an advocacy platform), for leading “impactful global campaigns to alleviate poverty and inequality,” and Dr. Patrick Awuah, president and founder of Ghana’s Ashesi University, for “empower[ing] African youth with ethical leadership and tech-based education.”
Ban Ki-moon concluded his remarks with praise for the 2025 Sunhak Founders’ Award winners: former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan (for “significant contributions to democracy in Africa”) and South Africa’s Prophet Radebe (for fostering “religious harmony and spiritual renewal to promote global peace”).
Three Conferences on Peacemaking
Featured among the prominent programs was World Summit 2025, sponsored by the Universal Peace Federation. On April 12, participants of the World Summit tackled three crucial arenas of peacemaking: the environment (Session I), women as champions of peace (Session II), and the role of religion in peacemaking (Session III).
Session I was on the theme, “Climate Change, Environmental Crises and the Future of the Earth.” It was held that morning at Lotte Hotel World in Seoul. The conference attracted around 260 environmental scholars and leaders from Asia, Africa, the Americas, and Europe to discuss the need for a new scientific paradigm for solving environmental problems—a model that would empower traditional science with expanded insights from post-materialist research. This session was organized by the Hyo Jeong International Foundation for Environmental Peace (HJIFEP).
Session I consisted of two topics. The first topic was “Climate Change, Environmental Crises and the International Community’s Response.” The main presentation was given by Professor Emeritus Soonchang Yoon of the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Seoul National University. It was followed by a commentary by Professor Suh-Yong Chung of Korea University, and a discussion with the audience. [For a summary of Topic 1, see “Climate Change, Environmental Crises and the International Community’s Response,” in this issue.]
The second topic was “Advances in Science and Technology: The Demand for a New Worldview.” The main presentation was given by Professor Emeritus Cliff Davidson of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Syracuse University in New York. It was followed by a commentary by Professor Arnaud Delorme of Paul Sabatier University in Toulouse, France, and a discussion with the audience. [For a summary of Topic 2, see “Advances in Science and Technology: The Demand for a New Worldview,” in this issue.]
Session I ended with concluding remarks by the session chair, Professor GunWoong Bahng of The State University of New York in Korea. He thanked the speakers and participants, saying, “We are in a critical situation right now, as was pointed out by the two speakers. ... I think that awakening and recognizing the current crises is a must, and the first step that we can take at the individual level.”
Session II was held on the afternoon of the same day at the same location. Approximately 120 women leaders from around the world shared diverse opinions on the theme “The Role of Women toward a Hopeful Future of Peace and Prosperity.”
Session III was held concurrently at the Hyo Jeong Cultural Center in Gyeonggi Province, with the theme, “The Role of Religion for Global Coexistence and Prosperity: The Need and Role of Establishing an International Organization with a Bicameral System (Politics and Religion).” On this day, approximately 800 religious leaders from around the world with diverse religious backgrounds, including Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, Confucianism, Sikhism, and the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification held an Interreligious Prayer Meeting.
Exploring New Paths to Environmental Peace
In Session I, Dr. Douglas Joo, chairman of HJIFEP, greeted the conference participants, explaining that HJIFEP was founded in 2017 by Holy Mother Hak Ja Han Moon, with “the mission to identify the best possible solutions to … environmental problems.”
He encouraged the participants, saying, “You are already actively participating in many projects in nearly every sector of society. Guided by the knowledge and insights we gain from this meeting, let us commit ourselves to taking a big step toward achieving the goal of establishing environmental peace in the world.”
Dr. Sun Jin Moon, deeply concerned about environmental issues, delivered her mother’s Founder’s Greetings to the gathering. She observed that "to live in peace with one another, we also need to live in peace with the environment. This is because we are interconnected with our natural environment just as we are with other people in the world."
Identifying the underlying issue, she said, "Unfortunately, human activities have been conducted often without much concern for their effects on the environment. Our apathy toward and abusive use of the natural world have led to the enormous growth of problems such as pollution, loss of biodiversity, ecosystem degradation, and climate change, which are threatening our very existence."
From that perspective, she concluded, "Ultimately, the fundamental solution to environmental problems is based on elevating our consciousness and establishing harmonious relationships between humans and nature.”
South Korea’s Ambassador for Climate Change and Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, Honorable Keeyong Chung, gave congratulatory remarks for the environmental session. He mentioned the need for all countries to focus on four priorities. “To drive climate progress in today’s complex environment, four priorities stand out—not just as goals, but as essential conditions for credible progress: market opportunity, global solidarity, technological innovation, and effective governance."
He said that South Korea is committed to reducing emissions and achieving net zero. “Our renewable electricity share has surpassed 10%, and we are advancing a more ambitious NDC for 2035 and deepening the role of our emissions trading scheme."
“Korea is also dedicated to serving as a green ladder for developing countries—particularly vulnerable communities in Africa and the Pacific Islands—helping them access the tools, finance, and technologies needed for a just and resilient transition.”
“Korea is … dedicated to serving as a green ladder for developing countries … helping them access the tools, finance, and technologies needed for a just and resilient transition."
He concluded with a call to action for all participants, saying, “Those least responsible for this crisis are bearing its heaviest burdens—from Pacific islanders facing rising seas to African farmers confronting failed rains. We do not need perfect solutions—only shared commitment. Let us strengthen trust, invest in innovation, and walk together on a path toward a sustainable, resilient, and equitable future.”
Former President of Senegal Macky Sall was next to address the conference participants, saying that “Although Africa is responsible for less than 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions, it remains the continent most exposed to the effects of global warming. In the face of this injustice, African countries are striving to implement sustainable solutions through green projects. ... Our countries, which contribute the least to the climate crisis, are forced to bear alone the cost of its consequences. It is a double burden, a double injustice.
"The fight against global warming must be a shared fight. As the least polluting continent, Africa wants to contribute to the global effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, we should not be forced to choose between development and environmental protection, and we should not go into debt to shoulder the costs of adaptation alone."
“The fight against global warming must be a shared fight. As the least polluting continent, Africa wants to contribute to the global effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions."
On the issue of an energy transition, he said, "In the energy sector, the implementation of JETPs (Just Energy Transition Partnerships) in Africa represents an opportunity for an innovative and equitable energy transition. It involves a gradual shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy, taking into account local economic and social realities. It is crucial to ensure that JETPs do not sacrifice jobs or development needs. To be credible and effective, JETPs must prioritize concessional financing, promote technology transfer, strengthen local capacity, and ensure inclusive governance. Only under these conditions can they truly drive an equitable and sustainable energy transition in Africa.”