Seoul, Korea—The seventh “One Korea! Peace Road” cross-country cycling event successfully took place from June 21 to August 15, 2019 in Korea. The nearly one-month-long activity, whose theme was “Let’s Open the Path to Unification,” was held in support of the joint bid by South Korea and North Korea to host the 2032 Olympic Games. The organizers were the Peace Road Organizing Committee, which worked in collaboration with UPF; the Unification Korea Federation; and the Ambassador for Peace Association. The sponsor was the Department of Unification, Ministry of Public Administration and Security of Korea.
The cyclists, comprised of Japanese participants who had cycled across Japan and international students from approximately 20 countries, cycled across the Korean peninsula, passing through 50 city districts and 17 provinces and concluding at Imjingak, a park in Paju city that has many statues and monuments commemorating the Korean War.
The penultimate event was held on August 14, in Seoul Square, where a crowd of about 1,000 people, including youth and students from over 130 nations, welcomed the cyclists. At the event, UPF-Korea Chair Mrs. Yeon-ah Moon encouraged the cyclists saying that “Unification of the Korean peninsula is a task that must be fulfilled for the prosperity and peace of the world and requires the support and cooperation of society.” She also expressed her hope “for a new road to peace and unification to open through a Peace Road in Pyongyang.”
National Assembly member Mr. Jae-kwon Shim gave the congratulatory remarks in which he said: “The Peace Road reminds us of the need for and importance of unification in an age of division. It has become a national movement that brings people together to enhance our capacity for unification.” National Assembly member Mr. Jong-seong Lim said, “Let us ride for peace until the day the South and North become one and the world becomes one.”
One high school cyclist Mr. Keita Yamanishi from Japan shared his reflections on participating in the event and said, “Being from a Japanese-Korean family, I decided to participate because I felt that it could contribute to improving Korea-Japan relations and relieve current tensions between the two countries.”