Soonok Kang Secretary General, GPW International Inteck Seo President, GPF Korea
Keynote Speech Soonok Kang Global Peace Women Leadership Exchange 2016 31
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Keynote Speech Esteemed dignitaries, ladies and gentlemen, (Magandang umaga, Maligayang pagdating) (Ohaiyo Gozaimasu). My name is Soonok Kang, and I am the Secretary General of Global Peace Women, a division of the Global Peace Foundation. Before I begin, I would like to give a special thanks to our visiting guests: GPW Philippines Representative, Dr. Nona Ricafort, Our GPF Partner from Japan, President of JUN-AI Foundation, Keiko Kobayashi-san, GPW Korea Representative, Mihwa Kim who prepared this exchange program, Former Congressman Hwang Inja, and the former Congressman Lee Jasmine. Also, to all the women leaders who are attending from Korea, Philippines and Japan, a warm thank you. Before I came to Korea, I met with our Chairwoman, Dr. Junsook Moon. She wanted to be here today with all of you, but due to a prior commitment, she sadly could not attend. She wishes she could be here with all of you and she conveys her thankfulness to all for taking time out of your busy schedules to join in this event. This 2016 international cultural exchange and networking program will be a very memorable event; not only will it connect all the women leaders who are here today across borders, but it will also build deeper relationships and stimulate cooperation between countries for regional peace in Asia. The Chairwoman emphasized that this event will be a very critical milestone for building relationships, fostering collaboration, which will bring us one step closer to Korean unification. She hopes that this can be a meaningful and successful event for all of you. To all of you lovely leaders, welcome to the 2nd Global Peace Women Leadership Exchange, held in my homeland of South Korea. It is wonderful to be among this great community of women who are dedicated to the peacebuilding vision of One Family under God. This is why the Global Peace Foundation emphasizes the values?based framework of One Global Peace Women Leadership Exchange 2016 35
Keynote Speech Family under God-to uplift the spiritual principles that form the foundation of healthy, peaceful and prosperous societies. GPW s concept of family, which recognizes our shared spiritual heritage and the value of human beings as endowed by our Creator, is central to GPF s efforts in Korean unification, the AllLights Village Project, and numerous peacebuilding efforts around the world. Many of our initiatives, like this Leadership Exchange Program for peace?building in Asia, would not be possible without the support and participation of women leaders like you. Representing one half of humanity, women bring unique experiences and leadership qualities that strengthen social activities and contribute to a better, harmonious world. What are the characteristics that make women indispensable to realizing peace? Studies by neuroscientists, psychologists, and sociologists find that women are more likely to excel in empathy, compassion, and self-awareness-qualities essential to emotional intelligence, conflict management, and better long-term decision-making. In the business setting, corporations with women board members reduce reckless risktaking and outperform counterparts with no women at the top. Regarding home finances, educated women reinvest 90% of their income into the family, prioritizing children s education, proper nutrition, a healthy living environment, and other expenditures that yield long?term returns. In peace negotiations, women are more likely to build consensus across party lines. Because women experience conflict differently, including the challenges of providing for our families in the midst of war and taking care of men who return from battle, we have a broader understanding of security. We understand the social and economic factors that are tied to maintaining peace. Therefore, peace treaties created with input from women are more likely to last longer. In local government, women have a greater tendency to prioritize public goods, such as schools, health clinics, and clean water. Perhaps it is their heightened sense of empathy that make women legislators more likely to focus on helping marginalized populations. 36
Keynote Speech Unsurprisingly, women are predominant in civic initiatives and the NGO sector. According to a 2007 Foreign Policy article, 80% of South Korean NGOs are led by women. Women make upapproximately 70% of NGO staff positions in the United States. This is a pattern that applies to many other regions of the world. Women s leadership strengths, such as empathy, compassion, and concern for others, can clearly improve a variety of socioeconomic outcomes??for the entire family, nation and world. And although the world has room to improve on women s representation in public policy, the economy, and top leadership circles in other important sectors, I want to emphasize that ourvalue as women does not depend on earning power, career title, or social status. Rather, the most meaningful and long?lasting impact we make happens directly in our families. Families in turn form the most essential building block of our societies, nations, and world. Why do we say that healthy, peaceful families are the building blocks of peaceful societies? First, family encapsulates the most sacred, permanent and intimate relationships of love. This is why a wonderful friend is like my sister, or a remarkable mentor is like my parent --family relationships express the closest relationships that we develop. Although we choose our friends and acquaintances, we can never sever the bonds that tie us as family members. In a healthy and peaceful home, family relationships, formed since childhood, prepare us to extend healthy and peaceful relationships throughout our life. Second, family is the starting point of developing our value system, worldview, and character. The unconditional love of parents teaches us about security, self?sacrifice, and responsibility. We learn to negotiate, compromise, and communicate by interacting with our siblings. By living for the sake of each other and developing the tools to self?govern, the virtues that we practice at home then manifest in society by the peace?loving global citizens that we become. In order to truly build a peaceful world, we need more families nurtured with women s love and leadership to form the bedrock of peaceful communities and nations. Let us Global Peace Women Leadership Exchange 2016 37
Keynote Speech discuss an example of how women s efforts in the family can contribute to national transformation. In October 2015, GPW launched a campaign to promote Unification Education initiated from the home. Historically, unification was almost exclusively led by top government and policy officials with minimal engagement from civil society. Efforts by NGOs and business ventures lacked a coordinated strategy, and they were often stalled by political incidents. The result was that many people felt disempowered and even apathetic towards Korean unification. Because this is a critical issue that affects every Korean in addition to everyone in the region, our Chairman and founder, Dr. Hyun Jin Moon, pushed for GPF to engage all levels of Korean society in coordinated unification efforts. GPW created content for Unification Education to be taught in the home, and we shared it with more than 1500 Korean survey participants. Over 80% of respondents said that unification education was needed at home??education in school wasn t enough. Even more people wanted to teach unification in their families. Imagine the momentum that we can create if mothers educate an entire generation that understands the importance of Korean unification and the connection between local and regional peace. Imagine if each family in the region develops a heartistic relationship with North Korean defectors, our extended family kin who endured great suffering and oppression. Imagine if we all become ambassadors of true love who replicate the inspiring story depicted in Jun-Ai s movie. Imagine the change that each woman leader here today can creatively initiate at home, starting with your families. Through this precious leadership exchange program, we have gathered women leader representatives from three countries; Korea, Philippines and Japan. Please continue to reflect on the theme that we discussed today, Global Peace Women Leadership Exchange for Korean Unification and Peace?building in Asia, and take your experiences in this program to 38
Keynote Speech develop meaningful relationships and contribute substantially to Korean unification and regional peace in Asia. In order to establish a peaceful asia, we need to strengthen our extended family spirit to collaborate more effectively. Let s continue to strive together for a peaceful world of One Family under God: Peace Begins in the Home. Thank you very much! Salama Po Mabuhay Global Peace Women Leadership Exchange 2016 39
Special Speech Inteck Seo Global Peace Women Leadership Exchange 2016 41
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Special Speech Hi Everyone! It is my great honor to speak in front of you, the Women leaders from the Philippines, Japan and Korea today. The video you just watched is about the Global campaign we are going to launch soon. As you know, Korea is the divided nation. What does it mean by the divided nation? The word divided can t explain the current situation of Korea enough as I think. It is a human tragedy. For the people having shared 5,000-year- history, more than 70 years of forced division means a lot. Millions of people died by the Korean War. The wounds of the war have never been cured. Korean People have been suffering so much pain and agony till now. Millions of people haven t been able to meet their family members last seven decades. The fundamental human rights and freedoms are not allowed for 26 Million People under the N.K. dictatorship. Last 2o years, tens of thousands people had defected from North by crossing rivers at the risk of their lives, leaving behind their family members. It is not only a tragedy for Korean people but also the biggest threat to the World peace. N.K. has just finished their 5th nuclear test. N.K. leader, Kim Jung Eun, is ready to do whatever it takes to keep their regime. What is the ultimate solution to this tragedy and threat? That is Unification. Koreas have to be one again. That s why we ve launched Action for Korea United in 2012, which is a coalition of 850 NGOs. Our primary focus is to get people to share a vision for Unified Korea and initiate grassroots movement in which all the Korean people can participate and contribute to realize ONE Korea. Global Peace Women Leadership Exchange 2016 45
Special Speech Last year, we launched One Dream One Korea Campaign. We wanted to let Koreans know it is time to act together for ONE Korea again. We succeeded in bringing 28 top K-POP singers and produced the ONE K campaign song. The name of the song is One Dream One Korea. And we held the Concert for ONE Korea in Seoul Worldcup Stadium on Oct. 9th last year, the name of the concert was One K Concert. What do you think has driven us to make these efforts? That s why we believe in power of music. Music can touch everyone s heart no matter their nationalities, races and religions. And Music can make our hearts genuine and sincere. In addition, we also believe in the Vision, to say, the power of shared vision! Only shared Vision can change the realities, Status quo. If we put these together, we can change the world. I would like to use this opportunity to make a special announcement that we are going to launch One Korea Global Campaign. This will be the first Global campaign that Koreans suggest Global Civil Societies and Global citizens join to support Korea Unification. As you know, the division was the product of international struggle after the World War II. Still the Korean peninsula is not only related to two Koreas, but the conflict zone for superpowers in the world. The destiny of Korea is related to the whole World. If 2 Koreas cannot find a peaceful solution of the conflict, it will be a disaster to not only Korean People, but to the whole World. It is very important for Global Society that what kind of nation will be born through the unification of Korea. Korea is standing at the crossroad. Korean people should rise up to decide their destiny and future. Without international support, Korea cannot be unified. Before attaining support from Global Society, the unification of Korea should gain consensus of international society on ONE Korea. It means Korean s dream for the unification should gain the international 46
Special Speech consensus and support. Dr. Hyun Jin Moon, founder of Global Peace Foundation, published a book, Korean Dream, in 2014. He has recalled the founding philosophy of the first nation of Korea, Hongik Ingan, which means living for the greater benefit of all humanity. He believes this spirit is rooted in Korean s DNA throughout 5000 years shared history. He has been insisting this ancient Philosophy deeply rooted in Korean history should be a guiding principle for Korea Unification. If Korea follows this principle, the vision for a unified Korea is not only for Korea, but for the world peace and prosperity. That should be a mission and destiny of new unified Korea. If that is clear, Korea can attain positive support for their unification from the World. Global Peace Foundation along with the above mentioned Action for Korea United has worked to spread this vision to Korean people worldwide. The Slogan of One Dream One Korea means if Korean people dream together with this noble ideal, the dream of One Korea can be realized. We are telling people unification itself is not important, what really matters is the outcome of the unification. That is why the vision is most important. This resonates with a lot of Korean and makes people work together beyond their own interests. That was the greatest outcome of the last One Dream One Korea Campaign 2015. We succeeded in bringing 1100 different NGOs, religious groups and Korean diasporas from all around the World. It s never happened in Korean history before. Now we would like to extend our efforts Globally as mentioned above. By this occasion, Global Women Leaders Exchange, I would like to ask you to stand with us together for ONE K. As one family under God, I wish your support for the upcoming One K Global Campaign. The concert will be held in Manila, the Philippines next March 2nd. I hope this concert will not only bring only hope for Korea unification, but hope for the Philippines facing a lot of challenges and difficulties in this day. Global Peace Women Leadership Exchange 2016 47
Special Speech Last 70 years, Korea and the Philippines are more than good friends. We started the relationship from Korean War. Your 7,200 young men came to Korea in 1950 to fight for the freedom of Korean people. And many were wounded and died in this land. Also the Philippines helped Korea s economic development. It is very true that Korea could not survive the war and can t enjoy the prosperity today without the Philippines. It should not be just a memory of the past. Korea and the Philippines should strengthen their friendship and continuously march together to overcome challenges and difficulties before humanity for the better future. Due to this special historical relations, we ve decided to start One K Global Campaign from the Philippines next year. Korea s destiny is connected to the Philippines and vice versa. I hope all women leaders here today will support our campaign in the Philippines. Even though we hold the ONE K Concert in Manila next year, the message will be spread to the whole World. Before I step down from the podium, I want each one of you to shout one simple sentence after me. It will be a big encouragement for all Korean. Can you follow me? I Support One Korea! Thank you so much! 48