South Korea’s ‘Powerful Rooster Cry’ for the Global Village in the Tumultuous 2017

 

South Korea’s ‘Powerful Rooster Cry’ for the Global Village in the Tumultuous 2017

The Sound of Hope and Change made through ‘Peace’ and ‘Heavenly Culture'

South Korean’s Will of Reformation Reaches the World

 

According to the Korea lunar calendar, the celebration of New Year holiday for Korean is January 28th. Beyond the usual Lunar New Year traditions, especially this New Year starts with full of gripping stories.

Each year in South Korea is traditionally named after one of the twelve animals of the traditional zodiac based on the sexagenarian cycle. The name of 2017 is ‘Jeong-yu’, the year of the red rooster. In Korea, red roosters and their cries are the sounds of the light emerging from the darkness, symbolizing the retreat of evil spirits that dominate the night and the triumph of good people.

The corruption of the president, the scandals of politicians, the worst recession and constant nuclear threats from North Korea made 2016 an eventful year for people in South Korea. In January 2017, they are calling on a new era of change through large-scale candlelight vigils and movements for the cessation of war and achievement of world peace.

Also, the energy of the red rooster is believed to achieve these things. The most notable feature is the movement for the cessation of war and achievement of world peace that originated in South Korea, the only divided nation in the world.

Especially, the initiatives of the Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light (HWPL), a peace volunteer organization based in South Korea comprised of about 200,000 active civilians, are expected to be further developed by antiwar and nonviolent sentiments expanding through terrorism and conflict. It is not government or international organization-oriented activities but citizen-centered peace activities that are materializing the desire of the public for peace.

 

Implementation of international law on cessation of war reflecting the will of the people takes a leap towards a new center of global civil peace movement

The peace initiatives of the Heavenly Culture, World Peace and Restoration of Light are primarily focused on the implementation of international law on the cessation of war. To this end, the HWPL proclaimed the Declaration of Peace and Cessation of War (DPCW) on March 14, 2016. The DPCW includes differentiated provisions such as peaceful resolution of religious disputes, reduction of power and dissemination of peace education.

The Declaration reflects the desires of the people in the world who have met Mr. Lee, the Chairman of the HWPL and a veteran of the Korean War that broke out in 1950, during his 24 peace tours around the world. To implement international law compatible with the DPCW, people from all over the world are voluntarily calling on for action, which is being recognized as a new center of global civil peace movement.

Longing for peace, civil society voluntarily engages in advocacy activity for the implementation of international law

People around the world who support the peace movement of the Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light (HWPL) are holding the Legislate Peace Campaign and collecting signatures in support of the Declaration.

More than 700,000 people from approximately 170 countries participated in the campaign. According to the HWPL, their goal is set to collect 3 million signatures. The signatures will be used as proof of the global citizens’ desire for peace. Voluntary activities in support of the DPCW are expanding into various kinds of seminars and forums. Especially events that were held to establish harmony between religions—one of the major ideas of the Declaration—stood out.

Last December in Nigeria, a friendly soccer match was held to promote harmony between Christianity and Islam through a youth organization for youth (YiSHDA), and the DPCW-based peace education and Legislate Peace Campaign received praise for taking the awareness of the local people a step further towards peace. In Nepal, many peace drawing and writing contests were held through current educators. More professional participation on the part of citizens are also notable.

Lawyers who support the peace ideologies of the Heavenly Culture, World Peace, and Restoration of Light (HWPL) voluntarily formed the HWPL International Law Peace Committee to develop a legally binding document in a practical manner.

The committee comprised of 19 prominent lawyers from the United States, Pakistan and Egypt, etc. have actively cooperated to draft the Declaration of Peace and Cessation of War and for the subsequent professional development, while playing a leading role in the implementation of international law initiated by the HWPL.

'Red Rooster Cry’ of the people in South Korea mark the beginning of the reformation in the new year 2017

The global community rings out 2016, a year where Brexit became the beginning of anti-globalization, Trump won the United States presidential election and terrors and conflicts relentlessly continued, and rings in a tumultuous 2017. Citizen-centered peace activities demonstrated by the people of South Korea, a small country in East Asia, is drawing public attention for its possibility of catalyzing change of a new era.

- Sandhya Bidari