The Song of Han Blossoming from a Land Steeped in 6,000 Years of Longing
The following contributed article commemorates the 1st anniversary of the Entrance into the Cheon Won Gung Cheonil Sanctum, reflecting on the providential significance of the era of “Holy Mother Han.” The Cheonshim Cultural Center highlighted how Heavenly Parent’s dream has borne fruit through True Mother’s life and her path of Hyojeong (filial heart). The musical The Song of Han demonstrated how art can become the language of faith, serving as a stage that reveals communal love. This month’s contribution from the Cheonshim Cultural Center carries a profound message: that we must all practice the life of true filial children, writing together a new culture for Cheon Il Guk alongside Holy Mother Han.
The Significance and Providential Results of the First Anniversary of the Entrance into the Cheon Won Gung Cheonil Sanctum
“Heavenly Parent, the Creator and Master of the universe, today we have finally reached this unique day, after You patiently endured and waited for 6,000 years due to the Fall. Heavenly Parent, we thank You. We offer our profound gratitude and our humble apologies.
Now You are truly the rightful Master of this earth. Our second, third, and fourth generation, the Pure Water, born of many blessed families who exist because of True Parents, are going out into the world to proclaim the vision of Your earthly kingdom across the land. From this day forward, Heavenly Parent, please embrace and love Your children with all Your heart!
This world will now gradually be set in order under Your dominion, and a world of one family of humankind attending the Heavenly Parent with true love will surely unfold. In the name of Holy Mother Han, I proclaim to the world that the gates of Heaven, the gates of God’s kingdom of Cheon Il Guk, are now wide open.” (True Mother’s Message at the Entrance Ceremony into the Cheon Won Gung Cheonil Sanctum, 13 Apr 2025)
Last April, as the sun broke through and the rain stopped on a cold spring day, one scene became deeply engraved in our hearts. We remember True Mother’s earnest proclamation resounding through the Cheonwon Gung Cheonil Sanctum—a voice that brought to an end 6,000 years of waiting and stood as the radiant fruit of providence, finally making it possible to attend Heavenly Parent on this earth.
From the very beginning, Heavenly Parent’s dream was to live together with all humanity as one family, building the kingdom of heaven both on earth and in the spirit world. Yet throughout the course of history, humankind never fully came to know the profound love of Heavenly Mother, hidden behind the name of “Heavenly Father.”
Because of the life course of True Parents, who became completely one with Heavenly Parent and achieved victory—Heaven’s earnest dream—which for so long had remained unfinished, was finally able to bear beautiful fruit.
Two months before the Entrance Ceremony of Cheon Won Gung Cheonil Sanctum, True Mother shared, “Because Holy Mother Han and Heavenly Mother have become completely one, I pray under the name ‘Holy Mother Han.’” This was a precious moment, revealing that Heavenly Mother, who had long remained only a conceptual presence in our understanding, had become fully one with True Mother and had drawn near to us with tangible warmth.
Now, Heavenly Parent, our Creator, dwells fully within our lives as the rightful Owner and Parent of this earth. True Mother has dedicated her entire life with utmost devotion to fulfilling Heavenly Parent’s dream. Her noble life embodies Hyojeong—the heart of filial love and devotion for Heaven—which we must all cherish and strive to reflect.
This year, as we commemorate the first anniversary of the Entrance Ceremony, Cheon Won Gung has become a loving embrace where Heavenly Parent can warmly hold all humanity in both spirit and flesh, and a sanctuary where blessed families throughout the world can always find comfort and rest for their hearts.
At the center of this fruition lies the poignant story carried through the Han people of Korea. At last year’s Entrance Ceremony, the musical The Song of Han conveyed the grand providential epic of the chosen Han people through the communicative arts. Through the performance, the indescribable heart of Heavenly Parent, who has watched over this land since the dawn of creation, finally permeated our hearts.
A Cheon Il Guk Culture Where Art Becomes Faith and the Stage Becomes a Holy Sanctum
“The songs of praise born of the Christian cultural sphere of the past will no longer suffice. This is Cheon Il Guk. This is a new history. . . . Through the Only Begotten Daughter, True Mother, the conditions have finally been established for the Creator, our Heavenly Parent, to be attended on this earth. Now, we shall attend upon Heavenly Parent. This signifies the completion of the providence, a new history, and the dawning of a new day. With what melody, what song, and what lyrics should all of humanity offer tearful praise and gratitude?” (True Mother’s Message, 31 Aug 2024)
“First of all, the joy welling up from one’s heart must be expressed through the body. This expression can take the form of dance, song, or painting. It must not remain a feeling kept to oneself; it must be something all can share. Creating such a world is the dream of True Parents.” (Excerpt from True Mother’s Words 6 Jan 2017, Cheon Jeong Gung)
At the historic moment of the Entrance into the Cheon Won Gung Cheonil Sanctum, the language True Mother offered us was none other than “art.” For a long time, we may have learned and taught the truth through spoken words and written text. Yet there are times when a single melody quenches the thirst of the heart more deeply than a hundred words of explanation.
The musical The Song of Han has become a beautiful precedent of the art of shimjeong, the art of expressing Heaven’s deep heart and emotion, giving visible form to the unseen sorrow of Heavenly Parent through bodily movement, and sublimating that Han (poignant grief) into praise. The original form of the Only Begotten Daughter, “Holy Mother Han,” who came to our side after 6,000 years of waiting, has now begun to be conveyed to the world through art.
The Filial Devotion of a People Who Answered the Call: The Han People Carrying Forward Heaven’s Dream
“Since before the creation of the world, I have awaited the Mother of the Universe.”
From the musical The Song of Han: “The Mother of the Universe”
This phrase, which opens the prologue of the musical, reminds us that the history of our people dwelling within the Korean Peninsula is by no means a product of coincidence. Long ago, the Semitic peoples crossed rugged mountain ranges and hastened eastward toward the rising sun, driven by one purpose alone: to prepare for the coming of the Only Begotten Daughter in the land promised by Heaven.
“Though we do not know the path we walk, with steadfast faith we press on eastward, until we reach the blessed land prepared by Heaven.” – From The Song of Han: “To the East, To the East”
“Having at last reached this land after immemorial ages, let us offer our prayers to Heaven in gratitude for this grace.” – From The Song of Han: “We Are the Chosen People”
The character of the Han people, who preserved their purity through every trial and fulfilled their duty of attending Heaven, was, at its core, an earnest filial devotion seeking to understand and honor Heavenly Parent’s deepest longing. The eastward journey of their ancestors was likewise a path of fervent filial heart, undertaken in obedience to Heaven’s call to prepare for the coming of Heaven’s representative. Beholding that unwavering devotion, Heaven at last bestowed upon this land God’s most precious fruit: the Only Begotten Daughter.
The Song of Han: Voices Consoling the Heart of Heaven
The true highlight of this musical was the overwhelming resonance of the 1,000-member choir, whose voices united those in the audience and on the stage as one. As a thousand voices rose in perfect harmony to fill the hall, the sheer majesty of the moment awakened the sense that we, too, were walking together with Heavenly Parent along the providential path.
Amid this majestic chorus, the pure and radiant performances of the Youth Camp members filled the stage with hope. Watching these young people sing of Heavenly Parent’s life—quietly persevering through the long course of the providence—became a tender consolation that gently embraced Heaven’s aching heart.
Ultimately, The Song of Han was a hymn sung with the heart of filial children. The harmony of 1,000 blessed members joined together with the younger generation revealed that the providence is not fulfilled through the sacrifice of any one individual alone, but completed when all people unite and participate in love.
Beyond the Stage and Into Our Lives: Co-Authoring a New Cheon Il Guk Culture Alongside Holy Mother Han
“You should experience on this earth the life of filial sons and daughters and loyal subjects—in which your thoughts are one with Heavenly Parent’s thoughts, and you discern and fulfill what Heavenly Parent desires of your own accord. . . . I am the Only Begotten Daughter, True Mother, who strives and waits, longing for the day when Heavenly Parent’s dream is fulfilled through you, and we can spend all day, for days and years together with Heavenly Parent, offering gratitude and songs of praise. Will you help me?” (Excerpt from True Mother’s words at a special gathering of future leaders at the Cheon Il Guk National University, 27 Jun 2020)
This assertion within True Mother’s words serves as a compass for our lives, as shown through The Song of Han. Through this stage, we could see that true filial devotion is the practice of love, seeking to discern the deepest heart of the Parent and joyfully going in search of what the Parent desires.
“When we bear witness to the Mother of Peace across the world, all people shall become true children.” – From The Song of Han: “The Mother of Peace”
True Mother told us that just as she came as the Only Begotten Daughter to resolve Heavenly Parent’s han (deep pain), she asked that blessed families too become “true children” who wipe away Heaven’s tears.
As we mark the first anniversary of the Cheonil Sanctum, our daily life in Cheon Il Guk truly begins. It is our hope that within each of our lives, attending Holy Mother Han, a warm culture of Cheon Il Guk will blossom where we love and cherish one another.
