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Hak Ja Han (Korean: 한학자, Hanja: 韓鶴子) or Hakja Han Moon (born January 6, 1943) is a Korean influential figure in the Unification Movement, which consists of the Unification Church and organizations affiliated with it. She is the wife of the movement's founder Sun Myung Moon. The couple are viewed by Unification Church members as the "new messiahs". They are referred to as the "True Parents"; she is called the "True Mother" and regarded as the "Perfect Woman". She is his designated successor as the leader of the Unification Movement. A daughter of one of Sun Myung Moon's followers, Han married Moon in April 1960. They have 13 children and 20 grandchildren.

In 1992 she established the Unification Church affiliated-organization Women's Federation for World Peace, and traveled the world speaking on its behalf. She traveled to 20 cities in the United States in 1993 promoting the organization, as well as to 12 countries. Han traveled the world in 1996 speaking on behalf of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, the current official name for the Unification Church. Han gave the closing address at the organization's Inaugural World Convention at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C., called the "Founder's Address", where she said that the "True Parents" had arrived on Earth to complete the work of Jesus. In books on religion, authors George D. Chryssides, Massimo Introvigne, James R. Lewis and Jesper Aagaard Petersen write that Han's influence within the Unification Church has steadily increased.

Early life and family

Han, the daughter of a Korean woman who later became a follower of Sun Myung Moon, was born on January 6, 1943. In April 1960 as a high school student at the age of 17, Han, by then a member of the Unification Church, married Moon who was then 40 years old. In the American media Han is sometimes referred to as "Mrs. Moon"; although in Korean culture a married woman keeps her original family name, with the children taking their father's.

Members of the Unification Church view their marriage as "the fulfillment of the marriage supper of the Lamb", referred to in Book of Revelation 19:9. Their marriage is held to have restored Eden and to be the source of new life for humanity by completing the salvation work left unfinished by Jesus, and is seen as a key event to bring about a "Cosmic Era".

According to religious scholar Christopher Partridge, Han and Moon are together believed to be the "new messiahs" by Unification Church members. Within Unification Church theology, the Moons are regarded as the "True Parents" of humanity and are addressed by its followers as the "True Father" and "True Mother". Their wedding established what Unification Church members refer to as the "True Family". Church members have also referred to Han as "the Bride of Christ", and the "Perfect Woman". She is seen within the movement as the "Mother of humankind, the final chosen of God". Moon and Han are also seen as the "exemplars of the God-centered existence" by Unification Church members.

Han has 13 children, and as of 1993 had 20 grandchildren. Han's estranged daughter-in-law, Nansook Hong, published an autobiography in 1998, titled In the Shadow of the Moons: My Life in the Reverend Sun Myung Moon's Family. Hong told of a lack of closeness in the family, and sometimes a lack of good judgement, such as when Han would hand her son large amounts of cash in spite of his cocaine addiction. She stated that she was abused by her husband but that Moon and Han did not intervene to stop the abuse, and blamed her instead.

Unification Church involvement

In 1962 Moon and Han together founded the Little Angels, a girls Korean folk ballet company meant to promote a positive perception of South Korea. In 1993 U.S. Senator Trent Lott supported the bill "True Parents Day" in the U.S. Senate and in 1995 U.S. President Bill Clinton signed a bill into law called "Parents Day"; children are to honor their parents on this day. In 1993, U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch introduced Han to a crowd at Capitol Hill; she stated at the event that she and Moon are "the first True Parents". Moon was in the audience watching her speech, along with members of the United States Senate and United States House of Representatives. Han has also joined together with Moon in pairing up couples who had never met one another, based merely upon looking at their photos, for the mass marriages that the Unification Church is known for.

Women's Federation for World Peace

In 1992 Han established the Unification Church-affiliated organization Women's Federation for World Peace, and traveled the world speaking at conventions on its behalf. The organization's purpose is to encourage women to work more actively in promoting peace in their communities and greater society, and it includes 143 member countries. According to the publication Unification News, Han organized a Unification Church conference held in Tokyo in 1993, which was the first anniversary of the Women's Federation for World Peace. The keynote speaker was former U.S. Vice President Dan Quayle's wife Marilyn Tucker Quayle, and in a speech at the event Han spoke positively of Mrs. Quayle's humanitarian work. Sociologist William Sims Bainbridge cites the "lavish conventions" of Han while traveling in 1992 to speaking engagements on behalf of the organization, as examples of how "with money the appearance of ever greater success could be achieved", in spite of the fact that "Church-related public events had often fallen short of expectations".

She traveled to 20 cities in the United States in 1993 promoting Women's Federation for World Peace, as well as to 12 countries. At a stop in Salt Lake City, Utah she told attendants: "If a family is not centered on God's ideal of love, there will be conflict among the members of that family. Without God's love as an absolute center, such a family will ultimately break down. A nation of such families will also decline." Her 1993 speeches in the United States focused on increasing violence in the U.S., and the degradation of the family unit.

In July 1993 Oklahoma Governor David Walters signed a proclamation honoring Han, but was unaware she was the wife of Moon. In August 1993 a citation honoring Han by then-Massachusetts Representative Mark Roosevelt became controversial; his campaign manager in his bid for Governor released a statement saying it was a "complete mistake", acknowledging he had actually signed the citation on Rooselvelts behalf: "It was an error in judgment on my part. Mark has never had any personal interaction or involvement with Mrs. Moon or any organization she is associated with."

Han hired former United States president George H. W. Bush to deliver several speeches for the Women's Federation for World Peace in several cities in Japan in 1995 for an undisclosed fee (suggested by The New York Times to have been "in the millions"). Tokyo lawyer Hiroshi Yamaguchi sent a letter to Bush criticizing his decision to speak at the event, and wrote: "The Women's Federation for World Peace is a widely known front organization of the Unification Church." Bush's spokeswoman Jane Becker stated "We were satisfied that there was not a connection with the Unification Church, and based on the information we were given we felt comfortable speaking to this group."

50,000 people attended Bush's speech in Tokyo. The thesis of the talks were "family values". In the half-hour speech, Bush said "what really counts is faith, family and friends". Han spoke after Bush's speech and praised Moon, crediting him for the decline of communism and saying that he must "save" America from "the destruction of the family and moral decay". The event drew protests from Japanese people who were wary of unorthodox religious groups.

Family Federation for World Peace

In 1996 Han went on a world tour, speaking on behalf of the Family Federation for World Peace, the current name of the Unification Movement (also called Family Federal for World Peace and Unification). Her speeches included cities across the United States, as well as countries including Korea, Japan, Italy, and 16 other countries in South America and Central America. In July 1996 she spoke at the Family Federation for World Peace's Inaugural World Convention at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. – other speakers included Bill Cosby as entertainer and Gerald Ford as keynote speaker. According to The Washington Post, Han's closing address was the "climax of the proceedings", and was called the "Founder's Address". A significant portion of the non-Korean guests left the event during Han's speech. The Washington Post reported that Han's speech was long and that she spoke in "English thickly muffled by a Korean accent". Han stated that the "True Parents" had arrived on the planet to perfect incomplete work of Jesus.

Gerald Ford's chief of staff said "He didn't know" about the connections to the Unification Church: "There was no indication that Reverend Moon was involved. President Ford saw the previous speakers on the list they sent us." Bill Cosby stated he learned of the organization's affiliation with Moon from a reporter for The Washington Post the Friday before the event: "When I look down the list and see Gerald Ford, you say, well, gee whiz, that's fine, so you go ahead and sign up ... My decision was, call these people and tell them I'm giving the money back ... Then their lawyers got on the phone." Attorneys for the organization told Cosby they would not release him from his obligation to entertain at the event. Cosby did perform, but stated "I would not do this organization again," Cosby said. "Not because they are evil, but because there are some families that are hurt by this."

Coronation ceremony

In 2004, Moon and Han were crowned "King and Queen of Peace" in a ceremony held in a United States federal office building in Washington D. C.. More than 12 United States lawmakers were in attendance. The event met with widespread media criticism as a violation of the principle of separation of church and state in the United States.

Increasing influence

In 1992 Moon increased Han's position of authority within the Unification Church, and announced: "True Mother was elevated to True Father's level horizontally." Hak Ja Han has been Moon's successor designate as leader of the Unification Church since 1993. Massimo Introvigne of the Center for Studies on New Religions writes in The Unification Church (2000): "Her relative youth and the respect with which she is held by the membership may be a point of stability for the Unification movement." George D. Chryssides writes in Exploring New Religions (2001) that Han's importance with the church continues to grow. Authors James R. Lewis and Jesper Aagaard Petersen write in Controversial New Religions (2005) that she "has exercised increasing influence in the Unification Church".

References

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External links

• True Love King, Website about Rev. and Mrs. Moon
• The Birth and Childhood of Hak Ja Han Moon at website of Family Federation for World Peace and Unification in Oceania
• Speeches of Mrs. Hak Ja Han Moon, at www.unification.net
• Biography of Mrs. Hak Ja Han Moon, at www.reverendsunmyungmoon.org

• South Korean Unificationists
• Unification Church
• 1943 births
• Living people
• South Korean religious leaders