PURE LOVE EDUCATION ACADEMY

May 20 th 2012 Peace Embassy in Madrid Spain International Day of Family Celebration Korea as a Model Nation in Family Traditions and Culture
With this Event, we wanted to support the United Nations by celebrating the International Day of Family. At the same time we wanted to provide an opportunity for people to benefit with the content of the lectures on the different topics. It was Sunday afternoon, so we started by having lunch together. An audience of 24 people came, among them young people, couples, Ambassadors for Peace and others. It was an international group. We had representatives from: Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Italy, Japan, Korea, Poland, Germany and Spain. Part I Educational lecture. Mrs Mercedes Gonzlez from Spain spoke about the book of Dr. Richard Cohen Method of therapy for people with AMS To see the lecture, please click here: http://www.slideshare.net/Gonzamer/metodo-de-curacion-de-las-heridas-enpersonas-con-ams Part II Celebration of The International Day of Family. - Mrs. Sophia Kirkley from USA, former vice-president of CARP USA, graduated from the University of Bridgeport and teacher in a Madrid School. She gave an introduction about the meaning of this Day. This International Day of Family is celebrated on the 15th of May each year. Here in Madrid, on this day, we celebrate the Day of Saint Isidro and it is the tradition that many families gather in a field with the name of this Saint and together they dance, and eat many different and typical food dishes of Madrid. It is a family and happy time for everybody. We are celebrating this Day here in this Peace Embassy people from different countries all from the same international family. The UN General Assembly created this Day in 1993. This reflects the importance of Family all over the world. Now that the world is getting closer because of our communications systems, so many old barriers are falling down and we have in common the Family as the School of Love. Today, it is an opportunity to share and to give our knowledge and understanding about family values and about Korea as a good model for these values. We can learn from it and take it to our homes. Thank you. - Professor Emilio Asti from the University of Milan, in Orientals Studies and dedicated to Humanitarian Projects for Peace in International NGO s among them; The Universal Peace Federation. NGO He spoke about: Korea one Country, Two States and the Tragedy of a Divided Nation. The summary of his speech: With 5000 year history Koreans are one of the most homogenous people speaking the same language and valuing very much filial piety and patriotism.

Situated between China and Japan, Korean peninsula throughout the centuries has been a repository of cultural and artistic achievements and acted as a cultural channel between these two countries and despite the numerous invasions maintained its individuality. Korea, that has been playing a crucial role in the Far Eastern region, possessed great strategic importance and has been like a battle field between two opposite ideologies: communism and democracy. The distinction between North and South Korea, which has been separated since 1945 along the 38th parallel, is evident in many aspects. While North Korea is considered a totalitarian State, homeland of disregard of international laws and no respect for human rights, South Korea is an open society and was selected to host the Asian Games in 1986 and the 24th Olympian in 1988. Under the totalitarian rule of Kim IL Sung, North Korea was faced with starvation and still its economy is stagnant. South Korea is one of the richest countries in Asia with one of the fastest growing economy in the world. Even after the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the profound modifications in China, North Korea is still one of the most reclusive countries in the world, with a massive military establishment. Korean peninsula is a strategic area for peace and development and various attempts to reunify this divided country have been made. Recently the relationship between North and South Korea improved; North Korea started to increase contacts and exchanges with the outside world, seeking to attract foreign investment. Now the hope for Koreas reunification, which would bring great benefit to North East Asia and is also pivotal for world peace, putting an end to many years of hard confrontation and tension, is more real. Part III Awards Help to Others. - The Pres. Mrs. Pilar Gutirrez and her daughter Mrs. Sandra Gutirrez of the Association Unidos por la Vida received this award for the excellent work done to help women. (They help women to prevent abortion. They give therapy to women after abortion and they propose the Project of Adoption for their babies). They are receiving a lot of persecution from people and groups pro - abortion. Mrs. Pilar is Catholic and has a deep faith always asking God for guidance and strength to continue their work to help women in need. Part IV Cultural Activities. - We saw a video about the Little Angels of Korea a Folk Dance Group founded by Dr. Sun Myung Moon. Everyone agreed about the great art and beauty in all the dances of this excellent group. It was great to see the refine and extraordinary Korean culture, so well represented. We saw a Dance of a Korean Traditional Wedding Day. Truly Fantastic!!! - After that, we sang traditional Korean songs like: Omaya, Doraji, Arirang and Tongil. Mr. Choi and Lidia, both Korean, helped us to sing them properly. It was a way to unite with Korea, to respect its Culture and to feel the warmth and heart of this Nation. - At the end, we had a unison prayer. United in hands we prayed for the reunification of North and South Korea, and for the Will of God to take place in this Nation.

The following points we can share with the families in the whole world:
Korean Family Values

- The family is the most important part of Korean life. - In Confucian tradition, the father is the head of the family and it is his responsibility to provide food, clothing and shelter, and to approve the marriages of family members. - The eldest son has special duties: first to his parents, then to his brothers from older to younger, then to his sons, then to his wife, and lastly to his daughters. - Family welfare is much more important than the needs of the individual. - Members of the family are tied to each other because the actions of one family member reflect on the rest of the family. - In many cases the family register can trace a family's history, through male ancestors, for over 500 years. Confucianism - The teachings of Confucius describe the position of the individual in Korean society. - It is a system of behaviours and ethics that stress the obligations of people towards one another based upon their relationship. - The basic tenets are based upon five different relationships: 1) ruler and subject, 2) husband and wife, 3) parents and children, 4) brothers and sisters and 5) friend and friend. - Confucianism stresses duty, loyalty, honour, filial piety, respect for age and seniority, and sincerity. Korean Ancestors - Ancestors are based on the male family line. - Children are raised to believe they can never repay their debt to their parents, hence the popularity of ancestor worship. - They hold ancestral ceremonies for the previous three generations (parents, grandparents, and great grandparents) several times a year, particularly on Chusok and New Year's Day. - On Chusok, people cook and set out food to celebrate their ancestors.

As you can see Korea has something very good about Family Traditions and Values. Our society needs to learn from these good values and to unite with them. It was a great Day to celebrate at our Peace Embassy in Madrid!!!

Thank you to Korea and to the Korean people. Thank you to all the speakers and to the wonderful Audience. And above All, thank you to God