True Parents' History for Children

Escape to the south! Escape to the south!" That was everyone's goal. The war was all around them, and the communists were on the move. The safest place in Korea was as far south as anyone could get. Thousands of people set out every day for Pusan, at the southernmost tip of Korea. The roads were full of people.

Father, however, did not go to the south right away. First, he wanted to check on his disciples in Pyungyang. Had they gone south? Were they safe? He refused to leave without them.

God's direction to Father did not include his going home, so he did not go back to his home city; he never saw his parents and family again.

In Pyungyang he found his first disciple, Won Pil Kim. Together they went to visit each disciple. To True Father's great disappointment, many of them had not remained faithful. While Father had been suffering so terribly in the prison, they had become discouraged and gone back to living for themselves. Father went to see each one of them three times, and three times they declined to join him.

During this time, the war continued between the communists and the United Nations troops. The communists were led by two men. One was a Chinese man named Mao Tse Tung, and the other was a Korean named Kim Il Sung. Satan was using these two men to build the Satanic Kingdom on earth. God was using Father to build the Heavenly Kingdom on earth.

Because his disciples had lost faith in him, Father decided that he should go back once more to the southern part of Korea. He told Won Pil Kim, "You and Mr. Pak should prepare to go to the south with me right away."

Won Pil Kim went to find Mr. Pak. Imagine his surprise when he found that Mr. Pak had a broken leg. He had been captured by the police and questioned. As punishment, they broke his leg, but then they decided he was innocent and let him go.

"Father," Mr. Kim said, "Mr. Pak has a broken leg and cannot walk. He has a big cast from the top of his leg all the way to the bottom. I found him lying down and feeling very sad because he thought you and I had already gone south without him."

Father answered, "We are all going south together."

When Mr. Pak heard this news, he was so surprised. He cried and cried from happiness because Father cared so much about him.

They found an old bicycle at the house of Mr. Pak's sister. Father struggled to put Mr. Pak on it. On December 4, 1950, in the middle of their very icy cold winter, Father, Mr. Kim, and Mr. Pak with the broken leg, began their long, hard journey to Pusan in South Korea.

True Father pulled the bicycle from the front, and Mr. Kim, who carried their packages, helped push from behind.

It was a most difficult and dangerous journey. They could not use the main roads because those roads were reserved for the United Nations troops. The middle roads were very crowded with people running away from the communists in the north. Father had to use the smallest back roads, which led through dark woods, cold rivers and steep mountains. Imagine trying to pull a person as big as yourself on a bicycle, over mountains, through rivers and in the woods! Mr. Kim was amazed at Father's strong body, even after two and a half years in prison. He was even more amazed by his strong spirit!

Sometimes the communists would shoot at the people from airplanes high in the sky. When the people saw this, they would run and try to save themselves. Mothers and fathers sometimes even forgot to care for their own children when this happened. Father never acted this way. No matter what happened, he always took good care of Mr. Pak and Won Pil Kim.

Even though True Father took care of Mr. Pak, eventually the poor man with the broken leg wanted to give up. One day he said, "Father, I just can't go on anymore. I am going to die anyway, so please go on without me."

"No!" True Father said, "That's no way to talk! How could you say such a thing? We pledged to God to live together and die together, and you must not say such things!" He would not abandon Mr. Pak.

After many days, the three struggling men came to a province called Hwanghae Do. Two miles from there was an island named Yongmae. They heard that if they went there they could take a boat the rest of the way to Pusan. This would take much less time than walking. There was only one problem: how would they get to the island without a boat? It looked rather hopeless.

"What will I do now?" Mr. Pak moaned in pain. "I can't walk through the water for two miles with a broken leg!"

"Don't worry," Father told him, "I will get you there."

"How can you do that?" Mr. Pak asked doubtfully. "You cannot pull a bicycle through the ocean."

"When the tide goes out, I will put you on my back and carry you there," Father answered. Mr. Pak was amazed. He wondered if Father could really do it. Sure enough, when the tide went out, Father put Mr. Pak on his back and began the walk through the cold, muddy, slippery ocean bottom. With each step the mud hung to Father's feet, making them so heavy.

While he walked Father prayed and thought, "This man represents all the people of the world. If I cannot succeed in carrying him to this island, then my mission to save the world cannot succeed." This prayer gave Father strength to succeed no matter how heavy Mr. Pak was or how tired Father might be.

Finally, they did make it. It was the hope of catching the boat that kept them going. Father was so tired he was panting. A boat was just leaving for the south, but there were more people than could possibly fit on the boat. They realized they couldn't get on. Father saw people thinking only of saving themselves. One mother even got on the boat without her daughter. "Mother!" the daughter cried out. "Why are you going on the boat alone? What about me? Please don't leave me here alone!"

"You are young and you'll think of something," her mother answered grimly, "I am old, and I must go on this boat or I'll surely die." Father felt deep pain and sadness to see people acting that way. How miserable they were! Father turned to his companions; sadly he said, "We must go back."

The boat left. It was hopeless to think about going South on a boat now. Father knew they must leave before the communists came, so once again, when the tide went out, he put Mr. Pak on his back and carried him the two miles back to Hwanghae Do. Again they walked slowly through the thick, heavy mud.

When Father arrived back on land, his first thought was for the two men. "Somehow I must comfort and revitalize my brothers," he thought. He turned to them and said, "Tonight someone will feed you well."

They began to walk, but a policeman who at first thought Father was a communist made them go north. Soon it was night, and there was no light. The three men walked in complete darkness. On and on they trudged, so tired, so dirty, so hungry.

Suddenly they saw a red light sparkling in the distance! As they went toward the light they saw it was a house. Mr. Pak and Mr. Kim were filled with joy.

When Father knocked on the door, it was answered by a young schoolteacher and his wife. They had been preparing to go south but hadn't left yet. "My name is Moon Sun Myung," Father told him, "and these are my friends, Kim Won Pil and Pak Jung Hwa." Father told him about all their experiences and the man felt sorry for their sufferings.

"You are very welcome here," the schoolteacher said. "Your road has been very hard. I don't have much, but what I have I will gladly share with you." He fed them a nice dinner and invited them to sleep in the warmest part of the house where he and his wife usually slept. The next morning he killed a chicken and made them a wonderful breakfast. Father was so grateful to God for this wonderful gift. He had prayed, "Heavenly Father, even if I am sacrificed, it is all right as long as my disciples are given enough." When God heard this prayer, He was deeply moved and led the three men to this house, where they were given good food and a warm place to rest.

Soon they set out to complete the journey. By the end of December, 1950, the three men reached Seoul in South Korea. Many of the houses were already deserted, because the communists were coming. It was almost like a ghost town.

Father decided they should continue on their way to Pusan, which was at the southern tip of Korea. Mile after long mile, they walked. Sometimes wonderful things would happen. Once they came to a town where they had all the apples they could eat! In another town, they were given all the rice cakes they could eat.

On the way, Mr. Pak's broken leg finally healed, and the cast could be taken off. Then they came to a place named Kyung Ju City and Mr. Pak, worn out by the long journey, begged to stay there and meet them in Pusan later. Father saw that he was strong enough to take care of himself and he agreed.

Then Father and Won Pil Kim went on to another town called Ulsan. There they were able to catch a train to Pusan. It was a cargo train and there wasn't any room for them to sit, so they had to hang on to the front where the engine was running and the coal was burning. Father's clothes became black with grease and dirt from the train. At least it was faster than walking.

On January 27, 1951, about two months after they began their journey, they reached Choyang Young Station in Pusan, where they would begin a new life.

Satan had tried his hardest to defeat True Father, but Father's strong spirit and love for God were unchanging, and he was able to endure to the end and gain the victory for heaven and for earth.