Hak Ja Han Moon (Korean: 한학자, Hanja: 韓鶴子) (born January 6, 1943, lunar calendar which is February 10, 1943, Gregorian) is a Korean religious leader. Her late husband Sun Myung Moon was the founder of the Unification Church (UC). Han and Moon were married in April 1960 and have 10 living children and over 30 grandchildren. In 1992, she established the Women's Federation for World Peace, and traveled the world speaking on its behalf. Since her husband's death, she has assumed leadership of the Unification Church, whose followers call her "True Mother" and "Mother of Peace".
Personal life and family
Han, whose mother later became a follower of Sun Myung Moon, was born on January 6, 1943 (lunar calendar). Han attended an all-girls high school in Korea but did not go on to college. She speaks Japanese and English as well as Korean. In April 1960, at the age of 17, Han, by then a member of the Unification Church, married 40 year-old Moon. Han has 14 children, 10 of whom are still living, and as of 2011 has 38 grandchildren. Her children are: Ye Jin Moon (1960–) (daughter); Hyo Jin Moon (1962–2008) (son); Hae Jin Moon (1964–1964) (son); In Jin Moon (1965–) (daughter); Heung Jin Moon (1966–1984) (son); Un Jin Moon (1967) (daughter); Hyun Jin Moon (1969–) (son); Kook Jin Moon (1970–) (son); Kwon Jin Moon (1970–) (son); Sun Jin Moon (1976–) (daughter); Young Jin Moon (1976–1999) (son); Hyung Jin Moon (1979–) (son); Yeon Jin Moon (1981–) (daughter); Jeung Jin Moon (1982–) (daughter). In Korean culture, a married woman keeps her original family name, with the children taking their father's.
On July 19, 2008, Han along with her husband and 14 others, including several of their children and grandchildren, were slightly injured when a Sikorsky S-92 helicopter owned by the movement crashed during an emergency landing and burst into flames in Gapyeong. Han and all 15 others were treated at the nearby UC-affiliated Cheongshim Hospital.
Role in the Unification Church
Some Unification members believe that Han and Moon's wedding established a "holy marriage" which Jesus was not able to establish, and also consider it to be a holy day, called "True Parents Day," as well as what members refer to as the "True Family." It is believed by the members to be the beginning of a new Completed Testament Age and to have fulfilled the prophesied Marriage of the Lamb in the Revelation of John.
According to Unification members, Han and Moon are together believed to be the new messiahs. The Moons are regarded by members to be the "True Parents" of humanity and are addressed by its followers as the True Father and True Mother. Members have also referred to Han as "the Bride of Christ" and the perfect woman. She is seen within the Unification Church as the Mother of humankind, the final chosen of God. Han and Moon are also seen as the exemplars of the God-centered existence by members. In Unification services, members bow down in respect for Moon and Han, when they are present, and to representative pictures of them when they are not.
In 1962, Moon and Han founded the Little Angels Children’s Folk Ballet of Korea, a girls Korean folk ballet company meant to promote a positive perception of South Korea. In 1984, Han spoke at a Unification Church sponsored academic conference in Washington, D.C. to a crowd of 240 which included professors from Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, University of Michigan and the Sorbonne in Paris.
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; according to this law, children are to honor their parents on this day. This showed the relationship of the Unification Church to the Republican and Democratic Parties of the United States, according to news media. 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.