An Interview with Kang Dong-hoon,
Inaugural Director of the Social Contribution Department of FFWPU-Heavenly Korea Headquarters
On June 15, marking its 72nd anniversary, the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (FFWPU) officially launched a nationwide Social Contribution Corps to put into practice the principle of “true love that lives for the sake of others.” The initiative seeks to fulfill religion’s social responsibility through organized service activities, including environmental protection, support for vulnerable groups, and disaster relief.
At the center of this effort is the Social Contribution Department, established this past March as a new department of FFWPU-Heavenly Korea Headquarters. We spoke with Kang Dong-hoon, the department’s inaugural director, who believes that making the truth known and restoring the community of members must come before pursuing visible achievements, about the department’s founding and its vision for the future. <Editor’s Note>
As the director of the Social Contribution Department, could you please introduce yourself and offer a greeting to our members across Korea?
Dear Blessed Families,
Greetings. My name is Kang Dong-hoon. This past March, I was appointed to lead the newly established Social Contribution Department of FFWPU-Heavenly Korea.
Throughout my 30s and into my early 40s, I worked in volunteer service, overseas service projects, and international development cooperation, both in Korea and abroad. In 2021, I returned to Korea and resolved to dedicate myself to a public mission so that I could join True Mother on the great providential journey toward the fulfillment of the providence.
After serving with YSP, I worked in public relations for the Cheon Won Gung Entrance Ceremony. I later oversaw the Family Federation PR Task Force and communications planning at HJ PMC. Then, at this critical time, I was entrusted with the mission of leading the Social Contribution Department of FFWPU-Heavenly Korea.
What circumstances and needs led to the establishment of the Social Contribution Department?
Many people ask, “Why was the Social Contribution Department established? What does it do?” I have spent a great deal of time reflecting on those questions. There are many reasons, but above all, I would say that it exists to make the truth known.
True Parents and blessed families have lived lives of true love in order to realize One Human Family under Heavenly Parent. The Social Contribution Department was established to bear witness to that noble way of life.
At the same time, we seek to help restore our community of members while fulfilling our social responsibility. Building on more than 70 years of service to society, our mission is to strengthen that legacy and continue earning the trust of the wider community.
What significance does the launch of the Social Contribution Corps hold as the Family Federation marks its 72nd anniversary?
After three months of preparation, the FFWPU Community Service Corps was officially launched on June 15, 2026, the 72nd anniversary of the Family Federation’s founding. The Family Federation has grown alongside the Republic of Korea, sharing in both its hardships and its achievements. As Korea developed, the Family Federation likewise fulfilled religion’s fundamental responsibility of helping build a peaceful world, contributing across the fields of the economy, society, culture and the arts, education, and social welfare.
Today, we stand at a new turning point—a moment to return to the essence of our faith and begin anew. The launch of the Community Service Corps represents a return to our original spirit: the spirit with which, in the early days, True Parents and our elder members pioneered mission fields, served their neighbors and local communities through night schools, agricultural assistance, and relief work, and built the Unification Church through lives of devotion and service while putting true love into practice.
If you were to describe the Social Contribution Department in a single sentence that members could easily understand, what would it be?
“We show the values of the Family Federation by putting true love into practice.”
The Social Contribution Department was established to show people how we live that way of life.
Why is the Family Federation placing even greater emphasis on community service today?
Restoring families and serving others are what we do best. It begins with restoring our own community of members and extends to helping rebuild society.
At a time when families are struggling under the pressures of low birth rates and family breakdown, and when many people face hardship alone, the blessed family community can embrace them with true love as a warm and caring community. This is what we have always done best, and what we can continue to do best.
How does the role of the Social Contribution Department connect with the volunteer service and charitable activities that local churches and members have been carrying out?
The service and acts of sharing that members have carried out in their local churches are the very roots of our community service. Since launching in March, we have looked closely at community service activities across the country and found that many have been carried out faithfully over a long period of time. Some members have been serving their local communities for two or three years, while others have continued for seven or eight. These activities are part of our members’ lives and an expression of their heartfelt devotion—something we can proudly point to.
Our role in the Social Contribution Department is to show the facts through measurable data and to share the sincerity behind those efforts through people’s stories. That’s why we place so much emphasis on documenting what happens in the field. What isn’t recorded will eventually disappear.
Could you tell us about the key initiatives and future direction of the Social Contribution Department?
The work of the Social Contribution Department can be broadly divided into two areas: Family Healing and Community Service. The Family Healing program focuses on supporting communities in need of healing and restoration through four areas: individual counseling, group programs, support for families in crisis, and developing counseling capacity. Our Community Service work focuses on building a framework for volunteer activities through the launch of the Community Service Corps. We support the activities that local churches have been faithfully carrying out so they can grow even stronger, while also promoting the “WE: Let’s Do It” support project (“Let’s come together with a heart for others”) to help develop new model programs. These two areas are not separate. In the short term, our first priority is to strengthen our own community. Over the longer term, we hope to build on that foundation and once again become a community that embraces the world with warmth and goodness.
How can local churches and blessed family members across the nation take part in community service?
Volunteer service has the power to restore and heal both those who serve and the communities around them. It is also a vital capacity that strengthens a community and enables it to keep serving for years to come. If your church has been faithfully serving your local community, consider building on those efforts by registering as an official organization. Doing so can open the way to playing an even greater role in your community.
If you’re planning to start something new, I encourage you to begin with small, enjoyable activities that you can put into practice right away rather than trying to organize a large event. And if you’re not sure where to begin, try joining another local organization or volunteer group that is already active. As you work alongside them, ideas will come naturally, and a clear path forward will take shape.
What changes do you hope the work of the Social Contribution Department will bring, both within the Family Federation and in society?
I believe this is a time not to focus on publicizing outward achievements, but to turn toward one another within our own community—to care for and support each other. Serving others takes courage. But one word of comfort, two words of gratitude, and three small acts of kindness shown to our families and fellow members can become the encouragement that lifts up and restores our community. As True Mother has taught, if we never stop praying for ourselves, our beloved families, the blessed family community, and Heavenly Parent—and put those prayers into practice—I believe we can truly stand tall as blessed families called as a chosen people.
Finally, as the Director of the Social Contribution Department, what commitment would you like to make, and what message would you like to share with blessed families across the nation?
As the saying goes, “When we stand in the place of love, everything else will follow.” If we put true love into practice, trust will naturally follow. Trust is built not through impressive achievements, but through faithful, consistent action. That consistency becomes sincerity. It lowers the barriers between the church and society, and opens a wider door through which people can discover the truth. I invite all of you to join us in putting the truth into practice. If we faithfully sow the seeds of true love entrusted to us by Heavenly Parent and True Parents, I believe people everywhere will one day join our community in saying, “Sow Good! Plant the Seeds of Love!”
Thank you.
“Rice is Love” donations, received in place of congratulatory flower wreaths at the Family Federation’s 72nd Anniversary Celebration and later presented to local community welfare organizations
The Community Service Corps’ first outreach was quickly felt in local communities. As part of the Family Federation’s 72nd Anniversary Celebration, 102 bags (1,020 kg) of “Rice is Love” rice donations, offered by 52 organizations and companies nationwide in place of congratulatory flower wreaths, were presented to four local community welfare organizations.
The rice was distributed to organizations including the Cheorwon County Basic Food Bank in Gangwon Province, the Food Bank Market Center in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, and the Heukseok Comprehensive Social Welfare Center in Dongjak-gu, where it will be used to support vulnerable members of the local community.
Since its launch, the Community Service Corps has donated a total of 2,180 kg of rice, continuing the practice of replacing one-time celebrations with warm meals for neighbors in need—living out the conviction that “A Meal Is Love.”
