The document discusses Reverend Sun Myung Moon's proposal for an International Peace Highway, which would connect major cities and continents via roadways and tunnels. Key aspects of the proposal include a tunnel connecting Japan and Korea, and a bridge/tunnel connecting Russia and the United States across the Bering Strait. The author argues that such infrastructure projects could help foster reconciliation between nations with historically strained relations, and advance global peace by facilitating greater communication and economic interdependence. The proposal is situated within religious contexts of facilitating spiritual unity, and social contexts of infrastructure traditionally building cooperation between former adversaries.

1. The International Peace Highway: Reflections on its Role for
World Peace
Thomas J. Ward
Journal of Unification Studies Vol. 11, 2010 -- Page 199
The construction of a bridge and tunnel complex that would connect Russia
and the United States via the Bering Strait, along with the building of a tunnel
complex to connect Kyushu Island in Japan with Pusan, Korea represent key
components of the International Peace Highway which has been publicly
advocated by the Reverend Sun Myung Moon since 1981. This paper explores
compelling dimensions of this project through the optics of religion, history
and international political economy.
Reverend Sun Myung Moon's Proposal for an International Peace Highway
Figure 1: Section of the map of the International Peace Highway from a
booklet prepared for the 1981 ICUS
On November 10, 1981 at the Tenth International Conference for the Unity of
the Sciences (ICUS) in Seoul, Korea, Reverend Moon introduced his vision
for a world highway system that would require the building of a tunnel
connecting Kyushu, the southernmost island of Japan to Pusan, Korea. In that
proposal he also called for the creation of a one mile stretch of neutral
territory on either side of the proposed International Peace Highway. That
perimeter would constitute neutral territory and it would allow the
administration of the project to rely on international legal instruments rather
than the laws or dictates of any particular nation.

2. The maps developed in conjunction with that 1981 proposal also depicted a
connector between Russia and the United States via the Bering Strait and a
highway network reaching through the Americas, Asia, Europe and Africa.
(Figure 1) Excavation initiatives began to advance this project in Japan almost
immediately after the conference.
In his keynote address to the second meeting of the Summit Council for
World Peace on February 2, 1990, Rev. Moon again spoke of the importance
of this project and of the unique opportunity provided through President
Gorbachev's implementation of Glasnost. He recognized President
Gorbachev's efforts and observed, "I would like to extend my hearty
congratulations to President Gorbachev for his courage and leadership in
bringing about these constructive changes, enabling us to usher in this new era
of cooperation." He reiterated his support for President Gorbachev and also
spoke once again of the importance of the International Peace Highway:
As you may know, in 1981 I launched an International Peace
Highway project. When completed, this highway will allow a
family car to be driven from Tokyo to London. I am seriously
discussing the project with the governments of Japan, Korea and
China, and I hope that the Soviet Union will also welcome this
project. Of course, this is a lofty dream, but every great undertaking
begins as a dream. Not so long ago, no one could even have
dreamed of men walking on the moon, but with a vision and hard
work, it became a reality. So it will be with the International Peace
Highway.[1]
In 2005 Rev. Moon further elaborated on the need for a bridge/tunnel complex
connecting Russia and the United States, speaking specifically on the need for
a connector between Russia and the United States at the Bering Strait. He
described this construction as an historical necessity, given the long history
during which the physical separation between Russia and the United States
had served as a source of the physical and spiritual division of humankind. He
emphasized that an International Peace Highway would play a key role in the
fostering of reconciliation and peace:

3. The United States of America, Russia, Europe, China, India, Japan,
Brazil and all the nations and religions of the world should work
hand in hand. With the complete success of this project, humankind
will be one step closer to the Peace Kingdom on earth where there
is no more division and war.[2]
In a speech delivered on February 1, 1986, Rev. Moon intimated a direct
relationship between the International Peace Highway and his lifelong efforts
to overcome the invisible barriers that separate humankind:
The final problem is opening the blocked spiritual gates of hell and
heaven… The name of the International Peace Highway came from
this. This is to break down the wall, which has been blocking us.[3]
Thus for Rev. Moon, the world highway system represents not only
humankind's physical integration but it also furthers spiritual reconciliation
and integration.
Research institutes and foundations were established as early as 1981 in Korea,
Japan and the United States to explore the feasibility and development of the
International Peace Highway project. Symposia have been dedicated to this
theme and the project has drawn statements of support from political leaders,
philanthropists, engineers and leaders in management and civil engineering.
Exploratory excavations have already been conducted in Japan and Korea.
Reverend Moon has more than a superficial understanding of Alaska and the
Bering Strait. He personally spent a significant amount of time working there
in order to develop the fishing and the fish processing industries that he
initiated there. Alaska has served as a laboratory where he has deployed and
personally tested the many models of fishing boats that his companies have
built in Korea and in the United States.
Reverend Moon has strong feelings about the way in which the former Soviet
Union must develop in order to foster peace. He has stressed that the Soviet
Union's prime political and commercial partner should be the United States
rather than Europe. Following a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Il
Sung in November 1991, he sent a message to President George H. W. Bush

4. emphasizing that the United States needed to do everything to foster
friendship and reconciliation with the former Soviet Union.[4] The proposed
Bering Strait project connecting the United States and Russia would help to
achieve this.
The International Peace Highway in the Context of History
Religion and the Symbolism and Significance of Highways
Roads and highways have always played an essential role in facilitating the
communication of ideas and beliefs. Efficient travel from one city or from one
country to another was essential for the expansion of Buddhism and
Confucianism. Buddha and Confucius both traveled with their followers from
one venue to another in order to teach the implicit proprieties of leadership
and human interaction. Christianity spread quickly from the Near East to
Europe because of the expansive Roman highway system that the Apostle
Paul and other traveled as early missionaries. Paul, the pioneer and architect
of such mission activities, found his own faith on the Road to Damascus, a
highway where he came face-to-face with Jesus in a spiritual encounter. Islam
was also reliant on highways for its growth and development. The trade routes
of Central Asia helped in the propagation on that faith. Travel between
countries allows religious ideas to be cross-fertilized and enriched by other
cultures.
Highways, it would appear, can have more than utilitarian significance. In the
case of Christianity and Judaism, the call for the creation of an International
Peace Highway arguably resonates with certain foundational scriptures. Isaiah
35:8-10 makes specific reference to a "highway of holiness" in the last days
that will coincide with the realization of the Kingdom of God:
And a highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called the
way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for
those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.
No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it
shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there:

5. And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with
songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy
and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.[5]
Social and Political Significance of Highways and Bridges
Highways reflect a human desire to be connected, while walls reflect another,
darker human sentiment, to remain isolated and separated. Structures such as
the Berlin Wall, the Great Wall of China, the Demilitarized Zone between
North and South Korea, the wall between Palestinians and Israel and the
planned wall between Mexico and the United States reflect the fact that
humankind still has a way to go before there can literally be one human family
on earth.
Unlike walls, bridges and highways can heal distances and contribute to peace.
For example, Canada and the United States opposed each other militarily both
during the American War of Independence and during the War of 1812. In the
years following the War of 1812, Americans and Canadians actively began to
explore ways in which to address their differences. One of the symbols of this
process of reconciliation was the construction of a Peace Bridge between the
cities of Buffalo, New York and Fort Erie, Ontario (Canada) in the early part
of the Twentieth Century. On the occasion of the opening of the Peace Bridge,
an editorial in the Buffalo Post described this historical development as
follows:
Let us trust that the structure that is to bring these two great
Anglo-Saxon countries into closer contact with each other will
serve also to increase mutual respect and appreciation and prolong
indefinitely the years of peace.[6]
In a similar way the Chunnel, connecting the United Kingdom with France,
marked a new level of relationship between the United Kingdom and France,
two nations that had waged war on each other since the days of Joan of Arc.
France and Great Britain had stood at opposite sides of the Battlefield during
the Napoleonic Wars, the American War of Independence and the American
Civil War. Through the Chunnel project they were finally "joined forever."
Bridges and highways serve as a clear statement that partnership and

6. collaboration are viewed by both parties as keys to their mutual future
success.
Contemporary social movements have utilized highway construction as a tool
to facilitate peace-building. Sri Lankan Gandhi Peace Prize winner Dr. A. T.
Ariyaratne, founder of the Sarvodaya non-violent movement, has dedicated
much of his life to helping to mitigate the dispute between Singhalese and
Tamils in Sri Lanka. One of his major venues for bringing opposing camps
together was having them work together on the building of a road. Dr.
Ariyaratne describes the outcomes of these efforts, as follows: "We built the
road and the road built us."[7]
Significance of the Bridge-Tunnel Structures in the International Peace Highway
The connecting bridge-and tunnel structure over the Bering Strait and the
tunnel between Japan and Korea that are centerpieces of Rev. Moon's
International Peace Highway serve as both symbolic and tangible structures
for alleviating the ill feelings that have existed between Japan and Korea and
between the United States and Russia for approximately a century in both
cases. Under Japanese rule, Koreans were exposed to demeaning colonial rule
that included "ethnic cleansing," slavery, torture, human trafficking and the
forced participation of Korean women as sex workers for the Japanese
military during Japan's occupation of Korea.
The United State and Russia have also opposed each other beginning with
American involvement in efforts to destabilize the government of Vladimir
Lenin through providing support to White Russians after the 1917 Bolshevik
Revolution. The United States and the Soviet Union continued to oppose each
other through proxy wars beginning with the American efforts to prevent Mao
Zedong and Kim Il Sung from expanding communism beyond China and
North Korea following World War II. Since then, the proxy wars have
continued intermittently in Cuba, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Angola, Nicaragua,
and Ethiopia. Arguably the recent wars in Kosovo and in South Ossetia do not
bode well in that they again would appear to constitute proxy wars, not
between the United States and the Soviet Union but between the United States
and Mother Russia.

7. Value of the International Peace Highway for Peace
Strengthening International Peace
The United States Institute of Peace, the official peace research institute of the
government of the United States, describes the various stages of discord and
conflict that one passes through in moving from overt conflict to a state of
durable or lasting peace (or vice versa) through what is referred to as the
Curve of Conflict. The Curve of Conflict that was developed by Michael S.
Lund[8] identifies the spectrum of warm, stable relations to volatile, violent
relations that can exist amongst nations. Depending on the quality of relations
between states or populations different forms of diplomatic remedies are
required. Lund's categorization of the gamut of relations between Durable
Peace and War serves as a useful model for examining the current relations
that exist between the United States and Russia or the relations that exist, for
example, between China and Japan. We can use this model to gauge the
potential impact of the International Peace Highway on world peace.
Let us begin by looking at the possible flow of relations between nations from
war to lasting peace by considering a chart that I have adapted from Lund
(Figure 2):
Figure 2: Stages in the Curve of Conflict[9]
Notes
[1] Sun Myung Moon, "The Reunification of Korea and Cooperation between
East and West," February 2, 2009, www.unification.net/1990/900202.html.
[2] Sun Myung Moon, "God's Kingdom of Peace is our Family's Eternal
Home," June 25-28, 2005,
www.tparents.org/Moon-Talks/SunMyungMoon05/SM050625.htm.
[3] Sun Myung Moon, Cheon Seong Gyeong (Seoul, Korea: FFWPU, 2006),
677.
[4] Based on oral accounts provided by individuals involved in facilitating
these communiqués.

8. [5] Prophecies regarding Highways can also be found in Rev. 16:12 and Isa.
41:2.
[6] "The Bridge that Peace Built," excerpted from a 1925 Buffalo Post
editorial, from
www.peacebridge.com/docs/Peace%20Bridge%20Museum.pdf.
[7] From a speech delivered at the University of Bridgeport, October 11,
2007.
[8] See USIP Certificate Course in Conflict Analysis, where the Curve of
Conflict is explained, origin.usip.org/training/online/analysis/2_0_2.php.
[9] The following chart is an adaptation of a chart developed based on USIP
instruments. Normally nations possessing lasting peace relations do not see
said relations dissipate into an Unstable Peace and worse.
[10] USIP Certificate Course,
www.usip.org/training/online/analysis/2_1_1.php
[11] USIP Certificate Course,
www.usip.org/training/online/analysis/2_2_1.php
[12] USIP defines "Unstable Peace" as "a situation in which tension and
suspicion among parties run high, but violence is either absent or only
sporadic. A 'negative peace' prevails because although armed force is not
deployed [or employed], the parties perceive one another as enemies and
maintain deterrent military capabilities... A balance of power may discourage
aggression, but crisis and war are still possible." www.usip.org/
training/online/analysis/2_3_1.php
[13] USIP defines "Crisis" as "tense confrontation between armed forces that
are mobilized and ready to fight and may be engaged in threats and occasional
low-level skirmishes but have not exerted any significant amount of force.
The probability of the outbreak of war is high."
www.usip.org/training/online/analysis/2_4_1.php

9. [14] Track II diplomacy is contrasted with official government to government
diplomacy and it usually involves citizen-to-citizen exchanges, especially
influential citizens, on crucial matters in inter-state relations.
[15] Sun Myung Moon, "America and God's Will," September 18, 1976,
www.tparents. org/Moon-Talks/SunMyungMoon76/sm760918.htm.
[16] The Russian government in 2007 projected that a Bering Strait bridge and
tunnel would result in up to 100 million tons of increased freight traffic per
year.
[17] Sun Myung Moon, "True Unification and One World," April 10 to 11
1990, World Media Conference, Moscow,
www.tparents.org/Moon-Talks/SunMyungMoon90/
[18] Dr. King visited the University of Bridgeport as a Jacoby lecturer and he
also received an honorary doctorate from the University. Bridgeport was a
place that he visited often because there he received significant financial
support for the civil rights movement.

10. Lund's model describes "Durable Peace" as follows:
Durable (or Warm) Peace involves a high level of reciprocity and
cooperation, and the virtual absence of self-defense measures
among parties, although it may include their military alliance
against a common threat. A 'positive peace' prevails based on
shared values, goals, and institutions (e.g. democratic political
systems and rule of law), economic interdependence, and a sense of
international community.[10]
It can be contrasted with the definition of "Stable Peace":
Stable (or Cold) Peace is a relationship of wary communication and
limited cooperation (e.g. trade) within an overall context of basic
order or national stability. Value or goal differences exist and no
military cooperation is established, but disputes are generally
worked out in nonviolent, more or less predictable ways. The
prospect for war is low.[11]

11. One could certainly make the case that Stable Peace, if unattended, can lead to
"Unstable Peace,"[12] as indicated in the chart above; and this may then
escalate to the level of a Crisis[13] or to War. The lack of regular
communication and exchange could allow for the Stable Peace that currently
exists between the United States and Russia to precipitate into an Unstable
Peace. What would have happened, for example, if the United States had
deployed troops in Georgia in 2008 when Russia provided military assistance
to South Ossetia when it again asserted independence from Georgia? It would
appear that by becoming involved military, Russia had determined that this
was a matter of national interest for which they were willing to "draw a line in
the sand" and fight.
Let us next consider Lund's categorization in terms of US-DPRK relations or
Japan-DPRK relations. The nuclear issue on the Korean peninsula could lead
to the Unstable Peace that we find today between North Korea and Japan or
between North Korea and the United States deteriorating into the Crisis stage
indicated in the Chart on page 8. North Korea's leaders have made it clear that
they view infringement on their territory through a blockade or through the
forced inspection of their ships to be an act of war.
An International Peace Highway between the United States and Russia and
between Korea and Japan would facilitate communication and exchange
between former enemy nations and thus help to maintain a stable peace in the
case of Russia and the United States or help to prevent the unstable peace
between North Korea and Japan from deteriorating into what Lund identifies
as a "crisis" or even "war."
There are numerous reasons why it would be in the interest of disputing
nations to explore the building of highway that would connect them. In recent
years, the value of Track II diplomacy[14] has become increasingly apparent.
Track I diplomacy consists of official envoys coming together to represent the
studied diplomatic positions of their respective countries. Track II diplomacy
is unofficial and "off the record." It can often be merely an exchange of
private citizens. In such a case, there are far more opportunities for a "sharing
of hearts" and for frank and open discussion. Highways and bridges increase
the flow of people from divergent countries and create venues for exchanges
of ideas.

12. Fostering a Shared Vision of One World
Normally a shared value system can contribute to the realization of a major
project when it involves one or more countries. In the case of the Peace
Bridge connecting Buffalo, NY and Fort Erie, Ontario that we have already
mentioned, one notes that the Buffalo Post editorial that we have cited points
to a commonality based on the shared Anglo-Saxon heritage of Canada and
the United States that was still manifest at the beginning of the Twentieth
century. In the case of the Chunnel connecting the United Kingdom and the
European mainland, it was the increasing appreciation of a shared European
heritage and a shared democratic vision that could foment the desire to
solidify the ties between the British Isles and the European mainland through
the construction of the Chunnel.
What is the unifying vision that lies at the root of the International Peace
Highway? Rev. Moon has called upon the United States (and other nations) to
go beyond its commitment to "One Nation under God," and to join him in
aspiring to what he has described as "One World under God."[15] The
emergence of the European Union and the creation of the South American
Common Market (MERCOSUR) and the North American Free Trade
Agreement (NAFTA) as well as the strengthening of other regional customs
unions and other institutions promoting economic cooperation including the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Asia-Pacific Economic
Cooperation (APEC), the African Union (AU) and the World Trade
Organization (WTO) itself all point to a trend towards further cooperation
within the world community of nations. The enhanced role of the United
Nations and the growth of international non-governmental organizations
(INGOs) in recent years also resonate with a growing proclivity, especially in
the economic sector, toward international cooperation.
Specific Sociopolitical Benefits
Although the increase in trade and commerce that would result from such a
highway may seem self-evident[16], it is also true that the proposed highway
could have important geopolitical implications. The United States could
support Russia in its efforts at modernizing its modes of governance and

13. commerce. It could also help Russia to fulfill her role as a bridge between
Asia and Europe.[17]
NAFTA Membership for Russia?
Furthermore, if a bridge were actually built between the United States and
Russia, the two nations would share a common border for the first time.
Perhaps the existence of a bridge, i.e., a concrete border between Russia and
the United States, could even provide the rationale for the United States,
Canada, and Mexico to view Russia as a partner in the North American Free
Trade Agreement. This could help to address the ill feeling perpetrated by
Russia being isolated from NATO. It could contribute to the strengthening and
the diversification of the Russian economy. It could also contribute to Rev.
Moon's call in 1990 for Russia to build an alliance and partnership with the
United States rather than doing so with in a way that would have Western
Europe as Russia's major partner.
Russia as a Mediator for the United States in the Middle East?
A partnership with Russia would also have important strategic implications
for the United States. For example, Russia could assist the United States in
establishing constructive dialogue with the Muslim world. The United States
has extremely complicated relations with countries such as Iran and Syria. In
1979 at the time that supporters of the Ayatollah Khomeini took over the U.S.
Embassy in Teheran, the United States called for an economic blockade of
Iran. The Soviet Union defended Iran in the Security Council. Iran has
become reliant on the Soviet Union as an ally over the years, as has Syria.
Russia has a political influence on Iran and on Syria that could be very helpful
in "mending bridges" and in mollifying the problems that have long existed
between the United States and the Islamic world.
Korea as a Mediator between China and Japan
The building of the Tunnel system between Korea and Japan could help Japan
in resolving the deep-rooted animosity that has existed between China and
Japan since the conclusion of the Second World War. By demonstrating a
commitment to partnership with Korea as has not been seen in the past, it

14. would go far to allaying China's deep suspicions of Japan. These have been
reinforced because of the fact that Korea has shared the same types of
reservations toward Japan. The building of the tunnel between Japan and
Korea would make a powerful statement about the need for China to reassess
its relationship with Japan, just as Korea would clearly be doing through the
Tunnel project. Korea could play an important leadership role in helping to
facilitate this dialogue.
Role of Religious Leaders
Religious leaders can provide important guidance to political and civic leaders
and also motivate the public for peaceful and constructive change. Many of
the dramatic positive changes of the twentieth century happened because of
bold initiatives by religious leaders. This included the movement of
non-violence (Ahimsa) led by Mohandas Gandhi that liberated the Indian
subcontinent after a long period of British domination. Likewise, Dr. Martin
Luther King's religious convictions led him to a path of non-violent resistance
and constructive engagement which ended segregation in the United States.
Religious leaders committed to non-violence also brought an end to the
dictatorship of Filipino leader Ferdinand Marcos. Each of the aforementioned
initiatives required not only prayer and meditation but significant financial
support and civic involvement. Dr. Martin Luther King frequently traveled to
the Northeast United States[18] to solicit financial support for the Civil Rights
Movement. Religious leaders can stir hearts and also inspire others to generate
the concrete measures and resources needed for dramatic change.
Religious leaders have at times gathered to pray for peace or to address social
injustices. Could religious leaders appreciate the vision of an international
highway system? Could they appreciate the appropriateness of building an
inexpensive transport system that would enable the international community
to reach areas of the world affected by epidemics, famine and natural
disasters? Could they be inspired and inspire others by the vision of a world
where former enemies become partners in building peace and prosperity?
Why not host convocations that invite religious leaders to join together for
spiritual reflection and prayer with a focus being the realization of an
International Peace Highway to bind humanity together? If such convocations
were held regularly, in time they could perhaps inspire the world's religions,

15. as representatives of international civil society, to play a key role in winning
support for the project from the media and from key political and economic
institutions.
Conclusion
In this paper we have tried to outline the symbolism behind the International
Peace Highway, some historical precedents and the inherent benefits of such
an initiative. It could go a long way in addressing the deep-rooted animosities
between the United States and Russia and between Korea, Japan and China.
Robert F. Kennedy liked to say, paraphrasing George Bernard Shaw: "Some
men see things the way they are, and ask why? I dream of things that never
were, and ask why not?" Reverend Sun Myung Moon is a man who,
throughout his life, has labored and dared to dream and ask, "Why not?" His
life of sacrifice allowed him to dream big dreams and, through them, strive
onward for the liberation of humankind and the liberation of God.
Some day in the not too distant future Russians and Americans will shake
hands and laugh in the cold Arctic air, and Japanese and Koreans will share
bulgogi, sushi and kimchi at the completion of the Kyushu-Busan Tunnel. The
International Peace Highway will allow all of us to feel part of one family.
When such things come to pass, the world may finally learn more about the
work of a still misunderstood individual who, throughout his life, dared to
dream and say, "Why not?"