2025 GCS Slogan: Harmony Brings Glory!

 

Dear global GCS family,

For GCS International, the year 2024 was a great success with your full support and I am confident that the 2025 New Year of the Snake, which symbolizes change and wisdom, will be another great success.

The 2024 GCS International Convention took place in Kathmandu, Nepal on November 8, 2024, in which participants unanimously adopted a GCS Kathmandu Peace Initiative, calling for an immediate end to the ongoing regional conflicts worldwide.

The 2024 Nepal GCS Convention drew Nepal’s Youth and Sports Minister Teju Lal Chaudhary; Korean Amb. to Nepal Park Tae-young; and world well-known mountaineer Um Hong gil, executive director of the Um Hong gil Human Foundation.

GCS International plans to hold its 2025 GCS International Convention in India or Kyrgyzstan in November. We wish to inaugurate national GCS chapters worldwide and increase GCS members by networking various organizations at home and abroad.

The world has entered a period of uncertainty in recent months. The uncertainties seem to be prolonged for some time in the 2025 New Year of the Snake.

An ongoing Russia-Ukraine war has been intensified by North Korea’s direct involvement in the conflict. An abrupt collapse of the Assad regime in Syria and the downfall of other pro-Iranian forces in the Middle East are changing the geo-political landscape. Adding unpredictability are political uncertainties in mature democracies such as Japan, France, Germany and South Korea; and an intense strategic confrontation between major powers of the United States and China. South Korea is in a transitional period of the impeachment process of the president.

These new challenges, coupled with ongoing crises on the geopolitical, geo-economic and geo-technological fronts worldwide present turbulent waters for the world to navigate in the New Year.

Dear GCS members,

In times of uncertainties, GCS members have to reflect on the all-time GCS slogan of “Peace is More Precious than Triumph.”

The slogan is the book title of Dr. Young Seek Choue, founder of the GCS Movement and my late father. Dr. Young Seek Choue was, in a sense, a refugee himself as he was born in North Korea. He was a remarkable visionary. Back when Korea was recovering from the devastating Second World War and Korean War in the 1950s and 60s, he prioritized education and peace as his main pillars to build a civilized world. He envisioned Korea to be a global leader in these areas. For this reason, he created Kyung Hee University System to promote education.

In 1975, Dr. Young Seek Choue launched the Global Common Society, or GCS, movement. GCS focused on the development of individual ethical standards that collectively can contribute to a civilized world. It is from such humble beginnings and vision that he ultimately created the Global Peace Movement in 1981.

And it was through this Global Peace Movement that Dr. Young seek Choue left behind a legacy that is still relevant to this day. In 1981, South Korea was still not a member of the United Nations. At that time, Dr. Young Seek Choue was also the president of the International Association of University Presidents, or IAUP. During an IAUP meeting in Costa Rica in July 1981, Dr. Choue proposed the founding of a U.N. International Day of Peace. He believed that war and conflicts are part of humanity, but on this day, there should only be peace and respect for humankind.

Costa Rica submitted the proposal on behalf of the IAUP to the 36th United Nations General Assembly. That same year in 1981, the UN accepted the proposal and recognized the third Tuesday of every September as the International Day of Peace, which later changed to September 21. That was the beginning of the U.N. International Day of Peace, on every September 21.

This year marks the 44th anniversary of the U.N. International Day of Peace. Inspired by my late father’s peace vision, I have dedicated my life as president of GCS International and World Taekwondo to the realization of peace. In my case, it is through the sport of taekwondo.

In a fast-changing society where international communities are facing challenges every day, GCS International aims to proactively respond to this “New Normal” and continues to drive changes rather than being changed.

I wish to conclude my New Year’s message with GCS International’s 2025 slogan: Harmony Brings Glory! I am confident that this year will be a glorious year for each of global GCS members. I wish GCS members great health, happiness and peace.

Thank you.