The latest Unification Movement Worldwide News

	I arrived in Seoul on Monday evening, February 1, five days before 
Blessing '99 was to begin at Olympic Stadium. My mission - to work with the 30-
odd members of the foreign press stationed in Seoul.  As soon as I stepped out 
of the airport in Seoul and felt a blast of Arctic air, my heart sank and I 
immediately had images of a half empty stadium with gale force winds buffeting 
brides dressed in down parkas.  How were we going to pull off an outdoor
 Blessing in the middle of a Korean winter? 

	However, faith soon kicked in as I recalled feeling the same kind of dread 
just prior to Blessing '97 in RFK stadium, and miraculously, the weather wasn't
 so bad there after all.  God exists and I decided to offer up the weather 
program to more able hands than mine.

	Upon arriving at the elegant Lotte Hotel in downtown Seoul, I noticed 
several government cars parked in front and soon learned that True Parents and 
President Kim Dae-jung of Korea were inside celebrating the tenth anniversary of
 the Seyge Times.  The lobby was swarming with our church leaders and Korean 
government officials.  This was a great blessing for the Seyge Times and the 
first time President Kim appeared in public with our True Parents.  He urged the
 Times to become a special bridge between Korea and the world and he praised 
Father's worldwide media network as being uniquely qualified to strengthen that 
bridge.

	Robin Marsh, our brother who takes care of Public Affairs in Great 
Britain, soon arrived in Seoul to help with the foreign media. (I prefer 
'international media' but they call themselves the 'foreign media'.)  Robin had 
lived in Korea for two years and had a fairly good command of the language and 
knew how to get around in Seoul.  Also, he had worked in Korea doing media 
relations during the 1992 Blessing.  He proved to be an invaluable partner.

	The next day we visited the Foreign Press Club which was only a fifteen 
minute walk from the hotel.  Many of the 30 or so foreign media use this 
club/office as their base of operations and it became a good place to meet them. 
We took our newly created press packet for them and found several of them in and 
willing to talk.  A few of them asked about Mike Breen, our church brother who 
had been in Seoul as a journalist for many years and was the former president of 
their press association.  It was a great feeling to walk into an office full of 
journalists and immediately feel welcomed and respected.  They all showed a 
great interest in attending the Blessing as well as the Special Convocation of 
the Fifth World Culture and Sports Festival that was taking place at the Lotte 
Hotel for four days.

	At the Convocation's opening banquet, Father spoke from a prepared text 
and was introduced by Gen. Alexander Haig, Jr., the former Secretary of State 
under Reagan and the White House Chief of Staff under Nixon.  Robin and I hosted 
a media table that was attended by about ten journalists, including those from 
the International Herald Tribune, Itar-Tass (Russian), Business Week, Time 
magazine,  The Washington Times (Tokyo bureau),  The Sydney Morning Herald and 
Diplomacy Magazine (Korean).  There were also correspondents from Tiempos del 
Mundo and Czech Radio among the convocation participants. 

	 Gen. Haig gave a moving introduction and tribute to Father, describing 
how their lives first intersected during the Korean war.  Gen. Haig recalled how 
his regiment was among those which landed during the famous Inchon strike, and 
he continued to fight his way up to Hang Nam where his forces were able to help 
liberate the prison where Father was held.

	He then praised Father for publicly calling for a more conciliatory 
approach to then President Richard Nixon during the Watergate crisis. Finally, 
he praised Father as one who dealt a decisive blow to communism, saying that it 
was not primarily the arms race which toppled the Soviet Empire, but rather the 
culture war which was fought on a number of educational and media fronts which 
was the deciding factor.

	Two days later, Robin and I organized a press briefing by Gen. Haig in his 
hotel suite.  It was well attended and when asked if he were a Unification 
Church member he replied, "No, but who couldn't be behind the values espoused 
here at this conference?  It would be like being against motherhood."

	Two days before the Blessing, the International Herald Tribune ran a story 
in the business section which drew attention to some of the financial problems 
of the Tongil business group.  However, the headline said it all, "Rev. Moon 
Rises Above Ailing Businesses".   For me, it was a testimony to Father's ability 
to go beyond the temporal problems which would cripple a lesser man.

	Every day, Robin and I faxed out one or two Press Advisories, informing 
the media about what transpired the previous day and what was upcoming.  These 
were very necessary.  They not only served to keep the media's interest alive 
but also served as direct copy for some of the articles that were written.

	The Special Convocation was a combined conference of leaders from the ten 
or so major Federations established by True Parents over the years.  It drew 
over 400 guests from more than 100 countries. The highlight for me was the 
establishment of the new Inter-Religious and International Federation for World 
Peace, an organization dedicated to bringing the wisdom of the world's religions 
into the political policy-making arena. 

	Some of the major participants in the convocation were Arnaud De 
Borchgrave, the new head of UPI news service; Susan Ford Bales, the daughter of 
President Ford; Carmilla Anwar Sadat, daughter of the late Egyptian president; 
Hon. Albert Reynolds, the former Prime Minister of Ireland; and Hon. Edward R. 
Schreyer, former Governor General and Commander-in-Chief of Canada. 

	There are two English-language newspapers originating in Korea, The Korea 
Times and the Korea Herald.  On the Saturday before the Blessing, The Times 
wrote a short, objective article about the WCSF '99 and ran a nice photo of the 
Women's Federation for World Peace. 

	Working with the media in a 'foreign' country was challenging on many 
fronts, but the main hurdle to overcome was coordinating our message with the 
message that was coming out of the Korean UC headquarters.  We had to get both 
messages to agree and when you're dealing with something as complicated as an 
international Blessing ceremony, there is a lot to work out. Whenever Robin and 
I needed to speak to Mr. Ahn, our brother who was working with the Korean media,
 we had to go through an interpreter.  Fortunately, Mr. Ahn was patient and had
 his message well outlined, but needless to say there were times of 
exasperation.

	On the Friday before the Blessing, the cold spell began to change and by 
Sunday the weather was like a spring day with plenty of sunshine!  Robin and I 
(along with our superb new volunteer Peter Ross) arrived at the stadium around 
11:00 am and began looking for couples that would be good subjects for 
interviews.  A reporter from Agence France Press began the first interview of a 
Dutch sister currently living in England and her bridegroom, a Czeck brother.  
They gave a very good interview and spoke from their hearts about how precious 
this day was for them.  Soon, a television reporter from the BBC was in on the 
interview as well.

	Much to my amazement, the cavernous Olympic Stadium quickly filled and by 
1:45 there was standing room only.  Almost everyone who wasn't dressed in formal 
bridal wear was wearing a wide, white blessing shawl, which gave a white, holy 
glow to the crowd. It was awesome and I felt as though I were looking at a 
glimpse of the Kingdom; the power of True Parents' foundation on earth was 
palpable.

	Before the ceremony, Reuters television and Associated Press television 
interviewed me standing in front of the seated couples.  They were short 
interviews of me explaining the purpose of the gathering. 

	Once the ceremony began, Robin and I mingled with the media behind the 
first section of couples who were arrayed in front of the stage.  We just 
chatted with them and answered their questions.  The ceremony was concise and 
powerful and as soon as it was finished BBC television asked me for an on-camera 
interview.  The journalist asked me about the purpose of the ceremony and ended 
the interview by asking how Father could be a promoter of family values when it 
appears that at least some of his children have had some major problems to 
overcome.  I explained that Father and Mother sacrificed personal time with 
their own children in order to realize their worldwide ministry, and as a 
result, their children suffered but were overcoming their problems. 
 
	Later that night at the closing banquet at the Little Angels' school, 
several journalists sat at our table and enjoyed a spectacular evening of 
ballet, speeches and gift-giving.  

	In closing, I can say that in the eyes of the public, the Blessing has 
become the defining event of the UC worldwide and it is an image which most 
people call to mind when they think of us.  While this is not a negative image, 
we hopefully can move beyond this to become known for the result of the 
Blessing. namely strong families and extraordinary children.  When the world 
truly knows us by our fruit, we will have accomplished what no public relations 
campaign could ever do,  the resurrection of our True Parents' name.