When individuals assume responsibility for their own happiness, they are also able to take more interest in society, and such involvement becomes the driving force of social change. Ven. Pomnyun Sunim formed the “Righteous People for Korean Unification” by gathering volunteers willing to devote themselves to the Korean reunification efforts.
By doing so, he is following in the historical footsteps of the righteous volunteer soldiers who fought for their country in times of great peril. The members of the “Righteous for Korean Unification” are cultivating the ability to read the signs of the times and are operating “Happiness School with the Ven. Pomnyun Sunim” and “Citizen School for the Righteous People for Korean Unification” in various locations in South Korea with the goal of realizing a peaceful reunification of the two Koreas.
At a time when there was absolutely no interaction between South and North Korea and the danger of a war between North Korea and the U.S. was at its peak, Ven. Pomnyun Sunim hosted the 2017 Korean Peninsula Peace Rally on December 23, 2017. It was attended by more than 10,000 people. During this event, Ven. Pomnyun Sunim emphasized that South Korea should send a presidential envoy to North Korea, make the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics into the Peace Olympics, and contribute to making the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and 2022 Beijing Olympics into festivals of peace in order to create a historical opportunity for peace in Northeast Asia. Aided in part by such efforts, North Korea participated in the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics and things are moving fast in the direction of peace talks since the North-South Korea summit meeting has already been held and a US-North Korea summit meeting is scheduled to be held in a few weeks. On March 15, a petition for a peace treaty for the Korean Peninsula was created on the “We the People” page of the White House website and received more than 100,000 signatures.
According to “We the People,” petitions on the page that receive more than 100,000 signatures within 30 days will be reviewed by the White House, which will then send an official response to the petitioner within the next 60 days. As of now, more than 112,000 signatures have been given to the petition for the peace treaty on the Korean peninsula. The Peace Foundation and Ven. Pomnyun Sunim will continue to do its best to bring peace and unification to the Korean peninsula and contribute to world peace.