History has shown that the country that controls the seaswill become a world leader. Consider Britain. It was once
invaded by the Vikings from Norway and Sweden. In the
sixteenth century, soon after she was crowned, Queen Elizabeth I realized that if Britain didn’t have control of the sea it could lose everything. She strengthened her country’s maritime policy, and through her dedicated effort Britain became a powerful maritime country. She mobilized capital and technology to have strong ships built, manned the ships with brave sailors, and sent them out to sea. They did not know what was waiting for them beyond the seas, but they risked their lives to go. As a result, Britain, a small island nation in the Atlantic, came to possess colonies on all the continents and oceans and built an empire.
Western civilization centering on Britain saw tremendous development in science and technology. With the aid of the compass, British ships journeyed to many different places in the world. The country’s highly developed material knowledge and technology gave it abilities with which it sought to conquer the entire world. Korea, and most of the rest of the East, has taken a different approach.
The Eastern world does not discard the spirit in the pursuit of the material.
If there is a conflict between the material and the spiritual, the East
would rather discard the material. So generally speaking, life in the East
has been more difficult than in the West because it is less materially
developed. In the West, however, spirit will not be dominated by the
material forever. As a totally materialistic civilization brings degradation,
the opportunity presents itself to learn from the more spiritually
oriented East.
Civilization developed from Egypt to Greece and Rome to Britain
and the United States and is now moving toward the Pacific region
surrounding the Korean peninsula. The era of a Pacific civilization is
opening, bringing together Western science and Eastern spirituality.
The leaders in this new era will be nations like Korea and its Asian
neighbors. It is not by mere coincidence that Korea and Japan have been
able to rise to international prominence in a short time. This development
was a historical inevitability pointing to the Asian era.
The United States and Russia, however, will not stand by and
watch as our country rises to a leadership role in the world. It is
possible that there could be a major conflict involving the United
States, Japan, Russia, and China in the vicinity of Korea. We must
prepare for this contingency in two ways.
First, we must create a strong bond between Japan and the
United States and link this to Russia and China so as to protect
Korea. How can we do this? With a philosophy and a heart that
create oneness. The only philosophy that can prevent wars between
religions and open a path to a peaceful world is one that
proclaims that humanity is one, transcendent of race, nationality,
and religion. To protect itself from the dangers of war, Korea
must plant a philosophy of oneness in the world.
The second thing we must do is prepare ourselves for the new oceanic
era. The Pacific era is at hand. Anyone who cannot rule the ocean cannot
become a leader in the Pacific age. If heavenly fortune comes and
we are not prepared, we cannot take advantage of the opportunity. If we
know that an oceanic era is about to begin and Korea wants to be the
leader of that era, then Korea must make the necessary preparations.
There are more resources than fish in the ocean. A greater treasure
is its ability to provide energy. As crude oil reserves decrease, a sense
of crisis over sources of energy is growing day by day. If the world runs
out of oil, human civilization will immediately find itself in the dark.
There is an effort to develop alternative energy from corn, but this does
not seem realistic when there is not enough food being distributed to
feed the world’s population as it is. The true alternative energy source
is the ocean. Energy from the hydrogen in the sea represents the future
of humanity.
Two-thirds of the earth’s surface is water. This means that two-thirds
of the raw materials that humanity needs for the future are contained in
the ocean. A new future for humanity cannot be accomplished without
the ocean’s resources. Developed countries are already extracting oil
and natural gas from the ocean and selling it at high prices. The world
has only begun to discover the resources in the ocean. The day is at
hand when humanity will find itself dependent on the ocean.
The oceanic era will not begin without human effort. We must first
go out into the oceans. We must go out on boats and fight the waves.
Without such courage we cannot prepare ourselves for the oceanic age.
The country that conquers the oceans will become a dominant power
in the world and find the world eager to study its culture and language.
Korea must become the champion steward of the Pacific Ocean. It must
understand the will of the Creator and manage His resources well.
