Dr. Hyun Jin P. Moon’s vision-driven approach to the peaceful unification of the Korean peninsula has inspired a cross-sectoral, global movement to advance human rights, economic growth, and a model of national transformation. The newly inaugurated Alliance for Korea United (AKU) Washington has joined the growing number of coalitions inspired by Dr. Moon. The alliance is comprised of Korean and Korean diaspora organizations and individuals advancing the cause for a united Korea that fulfills the historic ideals and aspirations of the Korean people.
AKU partners closely with the Global Peace Foundation as a sponsor and partner for international forums and conferences that advance a comprehensive approach to Korean reunification. Through forums, education programs, policy initiatives, and community engagement projects, AKU Washington and GPF work to build consensus and momentum in support of a unified Korea, to strengthen the long-standing partnership between ROK and USA, and to deepen the bonds of friendship connecting the Korean and American peoples.
Most recently, AKU-Washington organized a special commemoration for the newly established “North Korean Defectors’ Day” on July 14, 2024. More than 100 delegates were joined by ten North Korean defectors in Washington D.C. to kick off a fundraising campaign to build a memorial facility for North Korean residents. Organizers said that the memorial would be a space for remembrance, prayer, and meditation… a record of the North Korean regime’s atrocities and an opportunity for education for the next generation.
One North Korean defector shared his experience visiting the Holocaust Museum in the U.S. capitol, comparing it with the horror he experienced in North Korea. He said that the establishment of a memorial space would serve as an opportunity to record the North Korean regime’s anti-human rights atrocities and educate the next generation. The cost of land purchase and construction is expected to be 1 million dollars (1.38 billion won).
An ambassador of the U.S. State Department special envoy for North Korean human rights attended the event. She said that the project would create an opportunity to commemorate the North Korean people and publicize the reality of the peninsula as an important part of the process of responsibility, truth, and reconciliation. She encouraged the Korean diaspora and North Korean defector community to work together. She fortified the U.S. government’s support for the North Korean defector community and the importance of shedding light on the extreme human rights violations and abuses of the Kim Jong-un regime.
A respected researcher at the Woodrow Wilson Center also presented at the forum, criticizing the claims by the North Korean regime that the country’s chronic famine was due to bad weather, climate change, and international sanctions against North Korea. He called out the regime’s frivolous spending of billions of dollars on nuclear and ballistic missile programs and imports of more than 600 million dollars in luxury goods. The researcher pointed out that this is due to a deliberate mass starvation policy that does not use the 200-400 million dollars needed to resolve the annual food shortage of 1.36 million tons.
Speakers praised the establishment of the first North Korean Defectors’ Day, calling it a “fatal blow” to the Kim regime. A former high-ranking official of the North Korean Workers’ Party who attended the event said that the number of North Korean residents who view South Korea as an object of envy is increasing, making it more difficult for the Kim regime to maintain its long-term system. He elaborated saying that Kim Jong-un would suffer a fatal blow, and hope would arise for the people who yearn for freedom.
The president of AKU Washington called the newly established day far greater than a simple memorial day saying that it would send a valuable message and be described as a historic event for future generations.
The original post appears on Global Peace Foundation. Global Peace Foundation is an international non-sectarian, non-partisan, nonprofit organization, which promotes an innovative, values-based approach to peacebuilding, guided by the vision of One Family under God. GPF engages and organizes a global network of public and private-sector partners who develop community, national, and regional peacebuilding models as the foundation for ethical and cohesive societies. Dr. Hyun Jin Preston Moon is the founder and chairman of the Global Peace Foundation.