Contact
6F, 319 Cheongpa-roYongsan-gu
Seoul
Korea
04308
82-2-3279-4100
korea@upf.org
http://upf.or.kr/main.html
Since the first inter-Korean summit held in June 2000, South and North Korea have expanded mutual contacts and exchanges. The two Koreas have been developing inter-Korean relations of reconciliation and cooperation on a practical level. In other words, Seoul and Pyongyang have begun a process to end the Cold War on the Korean Peninsula by establishing a stable peace structure and ‘real’ talks for improving inter-Korean relations toward the long-term goal of unification.
ChunAn, Asan, DMZ, South Korea—The Interreligious Peace Sports Festival (IPSF), a unique and exciting project that has developed as an outgrowth of the Religious Youth Service (RYS). The program utilizes sports as a vehicle to promote interreligious interaction and understanding.
Seoul, Korea - Peace Cup, an eight-club tournament that includes the champions of five different nations, kicked off July 15 when Korean champion Seongnam Ilhwa faced Turkish champion Besiktas at the Seoul World Cup Stadium.
When I saw the Pyongyang Children and Students Performing Arts Troupe, the notion that the people of the North and South are ideological enemies seemed to dissipate like smoke. And it was a group of young children who had shown us grown-ups the truth.
Pyongyang, North Korea - On May 2, 1998, the Little Angels Children’s Folk Ballet of Korea arrived in Pyongyang via a special charter flight. The largest group in the history of north-south exchanges to date was invited by the North Korea’s Asia Pacific Peace Committee and met at their airport by their Northern counterparts. The young musicians and dancers took each others’ hands, bonding like old friends without even asking each others’ name.
The history of today is calling for peace, reconciliation, compassion, love, service and sacrifice. It is an age in which the present problems cannot be solved by the masculine logic of power. There is no longer any need for ideologies which oppress humanity. This is the age when the present problems must be solved by the more feminine logic of love.
As I approached the official residence, I found President Kim at the entrance, waiting to greet me. The two of us simultaneously embraced each other. I was an anticommunist and he was the leader of a communist party, but ideology and philosophies were not important in the context of our meeting. We were like brothers who were meeting for the first time after a long separation. This was the power of belonging to the same people and sharing the same blood.