The family of Reverend Sun Myung Moon (1920–2012), founder and leader of the Unification Church, and his wife Hak Ja Han are known as the "True Family". Moon and Han are known as "True Father" and "True Mother" within the movement, and collectively "True Parents". They were married in 1960.[1] Their children are known as the "True Children":
Hyo Jin Moon (1960–2008) – Moon and Han's first son, who died of a heart attack in 2008.[2] He was a musician and a recording facility executive. He was born in South Korea and grew up in the United States in New York State.[3]
Heung Jin Moon (1966–1984) – Moon and Han's second son, who died in an auto accident and is believed by members to be leading workshops in the afterlife in which spirits of deceased persons are taught Unification movement teachings.[4]
Kook Jin Moon – Moon and Han's fourth son. Businessman and firearms designer. Owns and operates Kahr Arms, a U.S. small arms manufacturer,[8] former chairman of Tongil Group, a South Korean chaebol associated with the Unification Church.[9][10]
Sun Jin Moon – Moon and Han's daughter, appointed by Han as international president of the Unification Church in March 2015.[12]
Un Jin Moon (born 1969) – Moon and Han's daughter. She left the church and divorced her husband, who by had been picked for her by her parents.[13]
Young Jin Moon (1978–1999) – Moon and Han's second-youngest son who committed suicide in 1999, jumping from a casino window.[2]
Hyung Jin Moon (born 1979) – Moon and Han's youngest son and former international president of the Unification Church.[14] He has since founded a Pennsylvania-based unofficial Unification Church, militant offshoot, World Peace and Unification Sanctuary, also known as "Rod of Iron Ministries."[15]
Dan Fefferman – Executive Director of the International Coalition for Religious Freedom.[20]
Patrick Hickey – Nevada state legislator and author of Tahoe Boy: A Journey Back Home, his autobiography which told of his experiences as a Unification Church leader and of his marriage to a Korean woman introduced to him by Moon.[21]
Nansook Hong – Ex-wife of Hyo Jin Moon and ex-member of the Unification Church. Author of book about her experiences, In the Shadow of the Moons: My Life in the Reverend Sun Myung Moon's Family.[22][23]
Dong Moon Joo is a Korean American businessman. A member of the Unification Church and is best known as the president of The Washington Times. During the presidency of George W. Bush, Joo had undertaken unofficial diplomatic missions to North Korea in an effort to improve its relationship with the United States.[24]
Julia Moon (born 1963) – widow, by posthumous wedding, of Heung Jin Moon; born Hoon Sook Pak, oldest daughter of longtime major leader and key aide Bo Hi Pak; General Director and former prima ballerina of Universal Ballet, South Korea.[34]
Bo Hi Pak (1930−2019) — Founding chairman and president of The Washington Times; main translator (during the 70s and 80s) for Moon's speeches given to English speaking audiences. Author of Messiah, a biography of Sun Myung Moon.[35][36]
These are some people well known for their support of the Unification Church.
Shinzo Abe (1954–2022), Prime Minister of Japan (2006 - 2007 and 2012 - 2020). His public support of the Japanese Unification Church is cited as the main reason that in 2022 he was assassinated.[44]
Neil Bush, businessman, son of 41st President George H. W. Bush and brother of 43rd President George W. Bush, promoted Moon and the Unification Church at events in Asia-Pacific and the United States.[48][49]
Nobusuke Kishi (1896–1987), Japanese politician and Prime Minister and grandfather of Shinzo Abe. He was longstanding supporter the Japanese Unification Church, which his postwar political agenda led him to help set up in 1963.[57]
George Augustus Stallings, Jr., former Roman Catholic priest. Organized Washington, D.C. coronation of Moon. Married and his wife were in Unification Church celebration.[51]
Donald Trump, real estate investor and President of the United States (2017–2021) gave speeches at the event hosted by an affiliate of the Unification Church supporting Han's leadership and calling for Korean reunification.[65][66][67][68]
Researchers and Opponents of the Unification Church
These are the organizations and people well known for their opposition to the Unification Church and/or their malpractices. Also people who are known for their research on the organization and their beliefs.
Michelle Goldberg is an American journalist and author, and an op-ed columnist for The New York Times:[70] "Like most Americans, Wineburg had been unaware of the power Moon holds in our nation's politics. Those events earned him a public reputation as a spectacle-mad eccentric, but that obscures his role as a significant D.C. power broker. In fact, Moon is an important patron of the Republican party and of the conservative movement."[71]
^Tucker, Ruth A. (2004). Another Gospel: Cults, Alternative Religions, and the New Age Movement. Zondervan. p. 258. ISBN0-310-25937-1.
^The New York City Symphony was "purchased/rescued" by Rev. Sun Myung Moon in 1973. From 1985 through 1990, the organization received the bulk of its funding in the form of an annual grant/subsidy from the International Cultural Foundation, a church-related entity. The ICF subsidy ended in 1990, and since 1991 the orchestra has received support (grants, contributions, in-kind, earned income) from a variety of sources (National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Council of the Arts, NY Daily News, Sony/Columbia, New York Stock Exchange, The Turkish Embassy, Uptown Chamber of Commerce, Universal Peace Federation, e.g.)
^Hong, Nansook. (1998). In the Shadow of the Moons: My Life in the Reverend Sun Myung Moon's Family. Boston: Little, Brown and Company. (ISBN0-316-34816-3)
^Briggs, Ed (November 3, 1992). "Specialist urges religious leaders to work together". Richmond Times. Richmond, Virginia. p. B-5.
^J. Isamu Yamamoto, 1974, Unification Church: Zondervan guide to cults & religious movements, Zondervan, ISBN0-310-70381-6 pages 8 and 22
^Isikoff, Michael (March 30, 1998). "Theological Uproar in Unification Church;Rev. Moon Recognizes Zimbabwean as His Reincarnated Son". The Washington Post. p. A1.
^Leigh, Andrew (October 15, 1989). "Inside Moon's Washington – The private side of public relations improving the image, looking for clout". The Washington Post. p. B1.
^From the Unification Church to the Unification Movement, 1994–1999: Five Years of Dramatic Changes Massimo Introvigne, Center for Studies on New Religions "The ceremony in Washington, D.C., included six "co-officiators" from other faiths, including controversial minister Louis Farrakhan from the Nation of Islam. The Blessing ceremony in Seoul on February 7, 1999 also featured seven co-officiators including Orthodox Rabbi Virgil Kranz (Chairman of the American Jewish Assembly), controversial Catholic Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo and the General Superintendent of the Church of God in Christ (a large African American Pentecostal denomination), Rev. T.L. Barrett."
^Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America: African diaspora traditions and other American innovations, Volume 5 of Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America, W. Michael Ashcraft, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2006, ISBN0-275-98717-5, ISBN978-0-275-98717-6, page 180
^Exploring New Religions, Issues in contemporary religion, George D. Chryssides, Continuum International Publishing Group, 2001ISBN0-8264-5959-5, ISBN978-0-8264-5959-6 p. 1
^Exploring the climate of doomArchived 2012-04-23 at the Wayback Machine, Rich Lowry, 2009-12-19 'The phrase "doomsday cult" entered our collective vocabulary after John Lofland published his 1966 study, "Doomsday Cult: A Study of Conversion, Proselytization, and Maintenance of Faith." Lofland wrote about the Unification Church.'
^ ab『両親の署名入り』会見中止要求は「“教団”の悪質性が如実に表れている」 鈴木エイト氏が解説 元2世信者が涙の訴え、語られた切実な思いとは [Eito Suzuki Explains the Demands for Cancellation of the Press Conference Signed by Parents as 'Revealing the Malicious Nature of the Religious Organization': Former Follower's Tearful Plea and Profound Emotions Revealed], Yomiuri Telecasting Corporation (in Japanese), 2022-10-11, retrieved 2023-08-03