The History of Fishing Devotion
In the past, a ferry ran past the current HJ Heaven and Earth CheonBo Training Center from Cheongpyeong Dam all the way to Mogok. A guy from Gangwon province ran the ferry line. True Parents always used the ferry whenever they travelled to the Original Sanctuary site. Before they moved the fishing site to the front of today’s Original Sanctuary, they used to fish across the river, down the valley, below the Cheonyu Jang (summer house). Then, with a small rowing boat, they paddled upstream to check the waters from Hongcheon River all the way to Nami Island. They had lowered a rope into the water to measure its depth. After thorough exploration, they found out that the deepest water was under Seonin Peak. They also climbed every mountain around the area. They poured out their heart and effort to select the right holy ground. The inter-denominational movement officially began at the end of 1970 and early 1971. Through this movement, Christian pastors from all over the nation swarmed to Cheongpyeong. The tents for conferences to promote moral living and public hearings became today’s HJ Heaven and Earth CheonBo Training Center. Originally, the area was a mulberry patch. True Parents used to pitch a small tent when they came fishing. And, when they decided to carry out a public hearing with pastors, they brought large military tents and evened the ground. This work officially began with True Parents digging the first stones on June 17, 1971. They began work early to avoid the monsoon season. The leaders of 36 couples also helped with the work, and since they had nowhere else to sleep, they slept in tents at night. When the big tent was ready, True Parents held several conferences to promote moral living as well as public hearings. However, there was a limit to how many people they could educate under a tent. Therefore, they decided to build an official training center and began with the construction. In order to complete the building before the monsoon rain, they began shoveling before anyone else. The 36 couples dug the earth and piled the stones. And later, centering on Rev. Do-sun Lim, 30 theology students (yet to be dispatched) joined the workforce as a special unit.
Cheongpyeong Training Center (Original Sanctuary)
At first, they brought professionals to build the ground up high. But with the rain, the workers refused to come. So True Parents, themselves, had to come for work. Under their guidance, the 30 special workforce students carried out the construction. It was True Parents who taught them how to do the work by pointing with their stick and saying “Put the stone here. Put it there,” “Pile it up like this.” They did as they were told. Later, the monsoon brought a lot of rain which flooded the front yard. When the water was drained, the stones set by professionals all crumbled. But those set by True Parents were firmly put. They were all surprised at True Parents’ work. This tells us that since True Parents know everything, if we work with their heart in our mind, we can achieve anything. Under countless conditions and continuous guidance of True Parents, the Cheongpyeong Training Center (Original Sanctuary) was completed on July 12, 1971. The Original Sanctuary was the work of True Parents and elder members from the embankment to the completion of the building. If you observe the remaining embankment, the lower part is dark and the upper part is relatively white. The lower part was built by True Parents in 1971, and the relatively white part above was built at the time of the construction of the Cheonseong Wanglim Palace in 1999. True Parents, who started fishing in Cheonshim Lake in the late 1960’s, initially borrowed a wooden boat for their fishing condition. Since it was inconvenient to borrow every time, they purchased a wooden boat from a nearby wooden boat merchant. This boat was used until a motorboat was purchased. This wooden boat has been discarded because of deterioration.
Cheonseung-ho (天勝號)
On June 26, 1963, True Parents carried out the launching ceremony of the Cheonseung-ho (boat) at the pier in Manseok-dong, Dong-gu, Incheon City, Gyeonggi Province. They said, “Cheonseung-ho means Heaven’s victory, and today’s launching ceremony is the starting point of all the victories including Heaven and Earth.” Cheonseung-ho left Incheon and arrived at Cheongpyeong Training Center on Sept. 21, 1971. The 3rd fl. of the ship was further built under the direction of True Parents at the shore of Cheonshim Lake (near the present CheongShim Peace World Center). Cheonseung-ho was used by many members who visited the Cheongpyeong Training Center and it was docked at the rear site of the current Hyojeong Café.
