Appendix A - Introduction to Volume Two

 

Among the significant responsibilities that Reverend Moon charged Dr. Bo Hi Pak to fulfill following the Fraser hearings described in the last chapter of this volume of Messiah was the creation of CAUSA International, which Dr. Pak describes in Volume Two. CAUSA was an educational organization that shared Reverend Moon's critique and counterproposal to communism with all levels of leadership in Latin America. Eventually CAUSA's work extended to North America, Europe, Asia, Australia, and Africa.

In December 1980, Dr. Pak brought the founding members of CAUSA International to meet with Reverend and Mrs. Moon in Irvington, New York, just prior to our departure for the first seminar that we were to conduct in La Paz, Bolivia. We had spent many weeks preparing the seminar and a long period developing the content for the lectures. When we met with Reverend Moon, however, he did not speak about our proposed curriculum as we expected. Instead, he focused on our spiritual attitude, recommending that we pray three hours for every one hour that we lecture.

During the years of working with Dr. Pak that recommendation given by Reverend Moon became a part of CAUSA's standard operating procedure. Everyone, including Dr. Pak, took Father's direction quite seriously. My own experience was that such preparation made one sense what Moses must have felt as he descended from Mount Sinai after his time of prayer and fasting. I felt very uncomfortable if I had not visited "Mount Sinai" before doing a presentation.

Over time, I came to recognize that, in his role as a teacher, Dr. Pak was very different from me. I noted that he could hop from a car or a plane and proceed directly to a lectern in any part of the world and electrify the audience, filling them with hope and aspirations. He was so effective in touching the deepest recesses of people's hearts that, over and over, I heard people pay tribute to him by saying, "Dr. Pak. thank you, thank you, thank you. Now I know that we are not alone." Indeed, that is the remarkable aspect of Dr. Pak's person. He has the ability to awaken what has remained dormant in a person for years and even decades. Through him people come in touch not with who they were but with what they aspire to be.

What explains this remarkable aspect of Dr. Pak? First of all, after having followed Reverend Moon for more than four decades, Dr. Pak's life itself has become a prayer. There are no longer just episodes in the prayer room, as in my case. Dr. Pak has inherited from Reverend Moon the ability to live and walk side by side with his Creator.

In this first volume of Dr. Pak's memoirs, I have discovered new aspects of the man that I already knew well. I certainly never knew that Dr. Pak had actually been a pig farmer, nor was I sufficiently aware of the remarkable mother-son relationship that existed between Dr. Pak and his mother. Dr. Pak has often spoken of the vocation of a teacher. Through this book we discover that from his earliest youth he has pursued that vocation. He has been able to inspire and captivate his audiences whether he is teaching elementary school children, instructing soldiers in the assembly and care of an M-1 rifle, or educating vast audiences about God's heart and the Kingdom of Heaven.

One often hears stories of how the Korean people suffered during the years of Japanese rule. It is remarkable to learn of Dr. Pak's friendship with the Japanese storekeeper. Dr. Pak is the kind of person who does not forget kindness, such as her putting aside bicarbonate of soda for his sick father. This anecdote helped explain to me his warm relationship and unusual rapport with Japanese people.

Dr. Pak's early experiences in America also have had an indelible impact upon him. Dr. Pak awakens sentiments of patriotism and love of country in Americans who may have forgotten such feelings for decades; it is especially touching to witness the interaction that he has with U.S. veterans. Dr. Pak's description of being with the American soldiers returning from Korea and seeing them fling their hats into the air as the transport ship passed under San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge is more than words. It is a verbal painting or video that stirs us.

I met Dr. Pak for the first time in Paris, France in 1972. As he translated for Reverend Moon at that time, I was amazed by his polished English. I was struck by the fact that he did not just translate Reverend Moon's words but his soul. He also conveyed Reverend Moon's great spiritual power. My second encounter with Dr. Pak was in 1974 in Alaska when I had to take him from the meeting hall where he had translated for Reverend Moon to the Anchorage airport with virtually no time to spare. What moved me on that occasion was Dr. Pak's calm even in the midst of great pressure. He absolutely trusted that we would get him there on time. I found none of the nervousness and anxiety that one might have anticipated under such hectic circumstances. Dr. Pak exuded peace even when he had but a minute or two before his commercial flight was slated to take off.

Most of this reader's experiences with Dr. Pak date from after 1978. I have seen Dr. Pak handle himself remarkably under some of the most difficult circumstances. As a continued Fmncophile, I know how difficult it can be to reach a French audience, especially when one does not speak French. Yet despite the language limitations, Dr. Pak has the ability to inspire even the most reclusive and xenophobic of French citizens. I have seen over and over his ability to charm audiences of all backgrounds and win their hearts.

Dr. Pak's work over the past two decades goes far beyond being a great speaker and teacher. It has included playing a central role in defending Reverend Moon at a time when the American judiciary seemed destined to crush him. It is amazing to think that a young man who began his career as a Korean pig farmer would play a central role in the development of an array of major national-level organizations in the United States that dealt with issues such as religious freedom (Coalition for Religious Freedom and the World Council on Religious Liberty), racial injustice (Minority Alliance International), civic awareness (American Constitution Committee and the American Freedom Coalition), voter registration and education (Christian Voice), and the problem of communism (CAUSA International and the American Leadership Conference).

It is even more amazing that such a person would play a central role in fulfilling Reverend and Mrs. Moons vision of creating an organization of heads of state and presidents (the Summit Council for World Peace), a sophisticated media network (Washington Times, New York Tribune, Noticias del Mundo, Ultimas Natkias, and Atlantic Video), and a World Media Association that advocates ethics in journalism and balance in press coverage. And it seems most unimaginable that such an individual would play a pivotal role in the meetings between Reverend and Mrs. Moon and Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and later with President Kim lI Sung of North Korea.

When David prepared to meet the giant Goliath, there were those who questioned the qualifications of a shepherd boy in comparison with those of an accomplished and mammoth warrior. Yet David countered his skeptics by explaining that though only a young shepherd boy, he had done battle successfully with a bear and with a lion. When David engaged Goliath, his past experiences served him well. With humility and efficacy, he confronted and struck down his towering opponent. Like David, Dr. Pak had also slain his bear and lion before he took on the Goliaths that he would face in the 1980s and 1990s and that he describes in Volume Two. As in the Irish folktale Billy Beg and the Bull, Dr. Pak would join Reverend Moon in facing at least three multi-headed giants in the 1980s. The first of these would be a Western world that had tired of anti-communism and lost appreciation of its religious roots. The second would he the Soviet Union of the glasnost era. The third would he North Korea in a still pre-glasnost era.

Over the years Dr. Pak has earned a number of nicknames. One of them is "Mr. Bubbling Enthusiasm." Those who have worked with him know that Dr. Pak has been endowed with great energy and enthusiasm and, not only that, his enthusiasm is contagious. Another nickname that Dr. Pak has earned over the years is Mr. "To Make a Long Story Short." For every experience in Dr. Pak's life there seem to be anecdotes. Inevitably such anecdotes begin with Dr. Pak's imprimatur: "And to make a long story short..."

In the past I have laughed when it has been suggested that instead of referring to Dr. Pak as Mr. "To Make a Long Story Short," we should refer to him as Mr. "To Make a Short Story Long" because of his tendency to he expansive. However, after reading the first part of Dr. Pak's life, I realize that indeed there is a wealth of experience that Dr. Pak has not shared. We can feel grateful that this time has finally come.

Personally I look forward to Dr. Pak's second volume that promises to provide unprecedented testimony about

The miracle behind the 1980 presidential election.
The founding of the Washington Tines and its impact on national and world events,
Reverend Moon's unjust conviction and imprisonment - the "crucifixion" of the twentieth century,
Dr. Pak's kidnapping from the streets of New York City in 1984 and
The remarkable trajectory that led Reverend Moon to meet and literally embrace, first, Mikhail Gorbachev and, later, Kim II Sung.

The American people - indeed all free people, owe Reverend Moon a debt of gratitude for all that he did to halt communist expansionism and end totalitarian rule. I believe that Dr. Pak's second book will help us to understand that the debt involves more than dollars. It originates in a profuse out-pouring of righteous tears, sweat, and blood.

Thomas J. Ward

Dr Thomas J. Ward is vice president of international programs at the University of Bridgeport in Bridgeport, Connecticut. He formerly served as the executive director of the American Leadership Conference and as executive vice president of CAUSA International.

 

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