11/5/09

Young Jin Moon

This name may mean something to you. You may think you know his story or you may confuse his name for another one of Rev. Moon’s kids. As a Unificationist I grew up believing he was a martyr. Little did I know the truth about his death.

On October 28, 1999, a 21 year-old Young Jin Moon had been found dead after his body had landed a 17 floor jump from his hotel room in Reno. Following his death many reports were coming out and voices were saying different things.

The story that I was taught as a kid was that Young Jin had been pushed off his hotel room’s balcony by Satanic forces. I had heard this story several times while at camps and workshops and from others who had conviction in that tale. Rev. Moon himself had taught that this dark spiritual force was truly the cause of his son’s death.

But those investigating the scene had quickly ruled it a suicide. But of course that was impossible, Rev. Moon’s son could do no such thing.

Rev. Philip Schanker, a voice well known in the Unification Movement, had told the press that Young Jin had “every reason to live” and that he had shown plans that “had direction”. Dr. Tyler Hendricks had blamed the Movement for Young Jin’s death, saying in a memo to members: “Now is a time for us all to repent and reflect deeply, offer our prayers for Young Jin Nim, who has become an offering for our own inadequacies and inability, and make our determination to fulfill the path of the providence in his place.”

Faith is important to any religious faith and being a true believer can pull you to accept such blame and such a tale. But how can we know for sure that this was out of contact with the Spirit World? How can we know that this was not an act of Young Jin’s depression? Was Young Jin, a true child, in fact… depressed?

Yeon Jin “Kat” Moon, Young Jin’s sister who was on the reality TV-show “Survival of the Richest”, had written in much anger after her brother’s death. She wrote of her brother’s pious lifestyle of “read[ing] the Divine Principle regularly” and “try[ing] his best to live a selfless life”. She had shared many great experiences and spoke fondly of her brother. Though she loved her brother she had come to recognize the darkness that was building in his life.

Young Jin had married Hwa Jung in the 3.6 Million mass wedding ceremony conducted by Rev. Moon. His marriage was arranged by his father. His father is told to have spiritual powers of being able to see a person’s whole life and see all their ancestors and when he matches a couple he is even able to see their offspring. Rev. Moon is magical. Little did Rev. Moon know that when he matched his son to Hwa Jung he had actually matched his son to a “fallen 2nd generation”. The girl had sex before marriage and would stain the pure, holy lineage of Young Jin.

Yeon Jin wrote, “He had unveiled the past of his then wife, Hwa Jung, the heartless beast who single-handedly ruined him. After they had been together for a year, and after she assumed she could not possibly be kicked out of the family because she was pregnant with his child, she confessed to him that she was not as pure as he had thought she was. She had had a sexual relationship with another man in Korea prior to my brother, and she still called that Korean bastard from time to time. Hwa Jung, Satan, had this guy in Korea wait for her, in case her marriage with Young oppa did not work out.” Yeon Jin was a bit passionate about this subject.

Young Jin and Hwa Jung had a time of separation and Yeon Jin speaks of her brother’s changes and deep sadness. She noted that “his countenance had changed…there was a sadness about him that was so unlike him.” Young Jin was in fact depressed.

So was it a cover-up? Yeah, pretty much. So did Rev. Moon lie? Yep. It makes you think, ya know? How well do you know your Moon?