Dr. Hyun Jin P. Moon’s book, Korean Dream: A Vision for a Unified Korea, spends significant time exploring hongik ingan and proposing that it can serve as a unfying and guiding principle for Korean reunification.
He writes:
“The Korean identity, originating in the Dangun founding story and the Hongik Ingan ideal, and forged through harsh historical experience, is inseparable from Korea’s destiny. Hongik Ingan laid out the principles that took root in the Korean consciousness, leading Koreans to aspire to high-minded ideals and adopt a fundamentally spiritual outlook toward life. On the level of society this produced the desire to establish an ideal nation and to become a source of inspiration and learning for the rest of humanity. […]
These characteristics run like a thread through Korea’s history and point us toward our unfulfilled destiny. They have given us the capacity to embrace a wide range of religions and ethical systems – Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, and Christianity – yet, always being able to adapt them to correspond with our unique spiritual consciousness – one that has been forged and tempered by a Korean reality and a pursuit of our destiny.
Unification is the next significant step towards realizing that destiny. However, to successfully achieve it, Korean must revive those core ideals that still burn deep within the Korean consciousness and are an essential foundation of our Korean identity.”
The book outlines some of the manifestations of the hongik ingan ideal in Korean history.
READ the full article: http://www.hyunjinmoon.com/what-is-hongik-ingan/