A Search for Truth Shaping Unification Thought

He found the comprehensive explanation he sought: A life in search of truth led the thinker behind Unification Thought to Sun Myung Moon

What kind of legacy does a religion leave behind? Is it found primarily in its sacred texts and doctrines, or in the lives of the people it shapes? In a reflective column published on 31^st July 2026, Segye Ilbo religion correspondent Jeong Seong-su (정성수) argues that the most enduring measure of a religious tradition is the character and achievements of those it inspires.

As an example, Jeong turns to Lee Sang-heon (이상헌 – 1914-1997, usually anglicized as Sang Hun Lee), a physician, philosopher, and one of the leading intellectual figures of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, in Korea generally referred to as Unificationism (통일교). Although Lee devoted much of his later life to developing what became known as Unification Thought (통일사상) [See editor’s note 1 below] – a systematic presentation of the teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon (문선명) – his path to religion was anything but straightforward. Before becoming a religious thinker, he was a young activist involved in Korea’s struggle against Japanese colonial rule, experimented with communist ideas, and spent years wrestling with profound questions about human existence.

See also part 2: From “Scattered Pearls” to Systematic Philosophy

See also Building Bridges Across Korea’s Religious Divide

See also Crossing the Walls of Religion

See also Calls for Renewal at Father Moon Anniversary

In his article, Jeong presents Lee not simply as a religious leader but as someone driven by an intense search for answers. Rather than focusing on technical philosophical concepts, the column emphasizes the personal journey that led Lee from political activism to philosophy and ultimately to faith. It also places his work in the historical context of the ideological conflicts that shaped South Korea during the Cold War, when many intellectuals believed that competing worldviews were as important as military strength.

Sang Hun Lee (Lee Sang-heon) was not born into religious leadership. During Japan’s colonial rule over Korea, he became involved in the anti-Japanese student movement, joining demonstrations that demanded Korean independence. In the course of his political activities, he also became associated for a time with communist organizations, which attracted many young activists who saw socialism as a possible path toward liberation from colonial rule.

His activism came at a high personal cost. Japanese authorities arrested him several times, subjected him to harsh interrogations and torture, and expelled him from school twice – once because of his anti-Japanese activities and once because of his involvement with left-wing political groups. His early years were shaped by political upheaval, personal sacrifice, and uncertainty.

According to Jeong, Lee eventually abandoned communism, not because of changing political circumstances but because he became dissatisfied with its understanding of human nature. He began asking questions that he felt political ideology alone could not answer.

He wondered where feelings such as patriotism and love for humanity ultimately came from. If people are simply products of biological evolution, he asked, how can one explain acts of complete self-sacrifice, in which individuals willingly risk or even give up their own lives for others? Such questions led him beyond politics into a broader search for life’s meaning.

His inquiry soon became even more fundamental. Why do human beings exist? Why should they live? Why should they love one another? These were no longer political questions but questions about the purpose of human life itself.

Determined to find satisfactory answers, Lee immersed himself in the study of many different religious and philosophical traditions. He explored Buddhism, Confucianism, Christianity, and numerous works of philosophy. He also studied the teachings of the Japanese new religious movement Seichō-no-Ie [See editor’s note 2 below], hoping they might provide the comprehensive explanation he sought.

Yet none of these traditions fully satisfied him. Looking back years later, Lee described this period as one of the darkest chapters of his life. He recalled feeling so overwhelmed by the apparent lack of meaning in life that he even considered suicide. Jeong presents this not merely as personal despair but as evidence of the seriousness with which Lee pursued his search for truth.

According to Lee’s later recollections, everything changed in 1956, when he first met Rev. Sun Myung Moon (문선명) and encountered the Unification Principles (통일원리), the central theological text of Unificationism.

Lee believed he had finally found a framework that connected the many questions he had struggled with for years. What particularly impressed him was its explanation of history, which sought to present human history, human purpose, and God‘s plan within a single coherent narrative. Rather than seeing history as a series of unrelated events, Lee felt he had discovered an interpretation that gave human life an overall direction and meaning.

Continued in part 2: From “Scattered Pearls” to Systematic Philosophy

See also Building Bridges Across Korea’s Religious Divide

See also Crossing the Walls of Religion

See also Calls for Renewal at Father Moon Anniversary

Text: Knut Holdhus, editor

Featured image above: Sun Myung Moon (left) and Sang Hun Lee on a hike to the Korean mountain Mt. Seorak in 1972. Photo: FFWPU

[Editor’s note 1: Unification Thought is a philosophical system developed by Sang Hun Lee (1914-1997) from the teachings of Sun Myung Moon (1920-2012). It was designed as a comprehensive worldview that integrates religion, philosophy, science, ethics, and social theory into a single framework centered on God’s purpose for creation.

At its core, Unification Thought argues that reality reflects the nature of God, understood as a being of “dual characteristics”: internal character and external form, as well as masculinity and femininity in harmonious unity. Human beings, according to this view, are created to embody divine love through mature relationships, family life, creativity, and moral responsibility.

The system places strong emphasis on purpose and relationality. Everything exists through “give-and-take action”, a dynamic process of interaction that produces harmony, growth, and development. Human history is interpreted as a providential process aimed at restoring the ideal world originally intended by God, overcoming alienation, conflict, and selfishness caused by the human fall.

Unification Thought also attempts to respond to modern ideologies. It criticizes both materialistic Marxism and purely secular humanism while also seeking to modernize traditional religious thinking. Its ethical and political applications include theories of education, art, economics, and social organization grounded in family-centered ethics and mutual cooperation. The philosophical system can be regarded as a synthesis of Eastern and Western thought, religion and science.]

[Editor’s note 2:  Seichō-no-Ie is a Japanese new religious movement founded in 1930 by Masaharu Taniguchi. Its name can be translated as “House of Growth” or “Home of Infinite Life.” The movement emerged during a period of intense religious innovation in Japan and sought to present a universal spiritual message that could transcend the boundaries of traditional religions.

At the heart of Seichō-no-Ie’s teaching is the belief that the material world is only a partial expression of a deeper spiritual reality. It holds that human beings are, in their true essence, children of God who possess an inherently perfect spiritual nature. Suffering, illness, and misfortune are understood primarily as the result of mistaken thinking or an incomplete awareness of this spiritual reality. By cultivating gratitude, positive thinking, prayer, and harmony with God, individuals can experience both spiritual and practical transformation.

The movement draws on a wide range of religious and philosophical traditions. Its teachings incorporate elements of Mahayana Buddhism, Shinto, Christianity, Confucian ethics, and Western idealist philosophy. Rather than insisting that only one religion is true, Seichō-no-Ie teaches that all major religions express different aspects of the same divine truth. This inclusive approach helped attract followers who were interested in spirituality without abandoning their existing religious backgrounds.

During the mid-twentieth century, Seichō-no-Ie became one of Japan’s largest and most influential new religious movements, publishing millions of copies of Taniguchi’s writings and establishing branches around the world. While it has at times been associated with conservative social and political causes in Japan, in recent decades it has increasingly emphasized environmental stewardship, peace, and sustainable living as practical expressions of its spiritual principles.

For intellectuals such as Sang Hun Lee, Seichō-no-Ie was attractive because it offered a systematic attempt to explain the relationship between God, humanity, and the universe. Although Lee ultimately concluded that it did not fully answer the philosophical questions that concerned him, his study of the movement formed an important stage in his broader search for a comprehensive worldview.]

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