On February 12-14, 2019, the 25th International Conference on the Unity of the Sciences was held at the Lotte Hotel World in Seoul, Korea. ICUS XXV brought together eminent scientists from around the world, including Prof. Luc Montagnier, Nobel laureate of Physiology (2008), to discuss the theme “Environment Health and the Quality of Human Life”.
In three sessions addressing the topics: “Maintaining Healthy Lives Under Environmental Stressors”; “Earth’s Ecosystems and Food Production”; and “Preserving Freshwater and Protecting Marine Environments”, presenters and commentators discussed new approaches to the environmental challenges raised by explosive urban growth, the question of food production in relation to the health of soils and climate change, the sustainability of freshwater resources and the protection of the oceans, etc.
Launched in 1972 by the Founders Dr. and Mrs. Moon, ICUS has held 22 international conferences on the overall theme of “Science and Absolute Values” until the year 2000. In 2017, Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon reconvened the ICUS series, focusing it on finding fundamental solutions to regenerate the health of the Earth.
On February 16, the annual International Symposium of the Hyo Jeong Academy of Arts and Sciences was held at the Sunhak Universal Peace Graduate University.
HJ Academy President Dr. Jin Sung Bae opened the symposium with a speech on the significance of the 1919 March 1st Independence Movement against Japanese colonial rule and its significance for the current process of Korean unification.
In the first session Korean, Japanese and US scholars discussed the ideals of Interdependence, Mutual Prosperity and Universal Values and their implementation in our global environment and in relation to interreligious harmony.
In the second session Korean and Japanese scholars discussed on the topic of a unified Korea from an ideological, political and military viewpoint. The symposium concluded with a theological discussion by American and Korean scholars on the UPF Founders’ legacy.
On February 11, 2019, the Segye Times (Segye Ilbo), one of South Korea’s well-known daily newspapers, founded by Dr. and Mrs. Moon, celebrated its 30th anniversary. Korean government officials and international Summit participants attended the reception: Lee Ju-young, Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly; Thomas P. McDevitt and Christopher Dolan, Chairman and President of the Washington Times; Christopher Hill, former US Assistant Secretary of State, and several South Korean government ministers, politicians and leaders from industry, banking and the media.
After South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s congratulatory video-message, the Segye Times Founder, Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon, gave the keynote address. She reminded the audience in which circumstances she and her husband created the newspaper, at the end of the Cold War, to face the challenge of bringing peace and unification to the Korean Peninsula. On behalf of the Speaker of the National Assembly Moon Hee-sang, Deputy Speaker Lee Ju-young offered congratulatory remarks, followed by addresses from numerous dignitaries.
Prominent dignitaries from the World Summit attended the event, including Rt. Hon. Sir Iakoba Italeli, Governor General of Tuvalu; H.E. Patricia Marroquín, the First Lady of Guatemala, H.E. Dalia Itzik, former President of Israel and her husband; and H.E. Anote Tong, former President of Kiribati and Sunhak Peace Prize laureate.