Tim Folzenlogen's 1994 letter to Rev. Sun Myung Moon regarding his son Hyun Jin Moon's assault

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January 10, 1994

Dear [Father][Sun Myung Moon],

I am writing to you about a couple of serious incidents which happened between Hyun Jin Nim and myself. It is very important to me that this situation be resolved.

I have been a member of the Unification Church for nineteen years. I went through Barrytown training, six years MFT and two years with OWP before winning Mr. Kamiyama's blessing to pursue a mission relating to fine art in which I have a substantial background. Over the last ten years I have had a dozen solo shows in New York City, a number of shows in Japan and three shows in my hometown, Cincinnati Ohio. The subject of my last Cincinnati show was the testimony of my spiritual quest in life. In part, the show explained Divine Principle and the concept of True Parents. It was well received.

As an artist, I do a lot of creative writing both inside and outside of the movement. I send my writing out through mailing lists. My purpose is to make people think. Create give and take. Most recently, I wrote something entitled "WHY" (enclosed) which pertained, in part, to Jun Sook Nim's speech in Harlem which I attended. I sent a copy to Jun Sook.

On the evening of December 31, I received a call asking that I come to Ossining to meet with Hyun Jin Nim. When I explained that I didn't have a car I was told that someone would come and pick me up. I immediately showered, shaved, put on clean clothes and prepared a presentation containing my resume, a catalogue from my last show in Japan, and a collection of writings from my testimony show.

I presumed that he wanted to meet me in connection with my writing. I falsely assumed that he was intrigued with my writing and wanted to discuss it further.

When I entered the room, Hyun Jin Nim was meeting with a few Japanese members. He asked everyone to leave the room but me. He told me rather strongly to sit down. He told me to wipe the smirk off my face. I apologized and told him that I was not aware that I was smirking and certainly didn't mean to be.

He then walked over, put his face close to my own and said "What was that piece of shit that you sent to my wife?" (This was the first I realized that Jun Sook was his wife.) I told him that it was something I wrote which was honest and sincere. He then punched me in the side of the head, knocking me off the chair and into the wall. He then proceeded to kick me in the ribs. I stood up and said "I'm outta here. I didn't come here to be beat up." He yelled at me to sit down. I told him I would sit down if he treated me with respect. He then physically threw me out of the office and kept screaming that I was "cut off". As I made my way down the steps to leave the building I encountered the brother who had come to pick me up. He looked upset. He asked me if I believed what I had written. I told him that of course I did. He told me to go back up there and defend it. I told him that Hyun Jin seemed more interested in punching and kicking than talking. Just then Hyun Jin came flying down the steps and pushed me into several walls as I tried to make my way out of the building not knowing the way. No one came out to give me a ride home.

I made my way to the train station and, luckily, had money with me to get back to Manhattan.

The next day was God's Day. I, of course, did not attend. Hyun Jin Nim gave the speech. In part, I'm told, he spoke about our encounter. Later that day I spoke with my spiritual parents and a trusted friend. I think we all agreed that Hyun Jin Nim's behavior was out of line but that I myself may have erred in the protocol department in sending my writing to Jun Sook directly. Since she had never met me, I could see where she might misunderstand my intent. In the hope of having a future relationship with Hyun Jin Nim, and since I was not permanently injured, I decided to write an apology to him in which I accepted all the blame. He received it on the night of January 2 through my friend Edric Debos. He told Edric that he would like to meet me again the next morning. Edric said that he smiled and said that this time he only wanted to talk.

I met with Hyun Jin Nim for the second time in Ossining at 10:00 AM January 3 in his office. The meeting lasted approximately 30 minutes. Throughout the meeting I sat in a chair; he alternately sat, walked up to me, knuckled my skull, poked my forehead, slapped me upside the head and sat some more. Since it didn't really hurt that much, I determined to endure it in the hope that if I could get through the meeting, I could then present him with my package containing my foundation (the resume, catalogue and written testimony). My hope was that he would then come to understand that I am not just a negative member, that I have something of value to offer, and then we could possibly meet again in the future and have give and take.

Throughout his "lecture" I must say that I was really shocked at how little he seems to comprehend of the internal heart of the Principle. The only time he mentioned "love" was in reference to the earlier beating. He told me that he was a good judge of character and could immediately see that beating was the only form of love that I could understand as I was so full of hate and resentment. (I personally do not feel that I hold any resentment towards anyone about anything.) He also, repeatedly, kept referring to me in the most vulgar of terms.

The gist of his lecture (as hard as it might be to believe) was that a life of faith is not supposed to make sense. He seems to think that the True Family can do no wrong and that our (we fallen people's) responsibility is to unquestioningly follow. He wants us to be robots. He said that my writing makes people think, which causes them to have doubts, which makes them question True Family and so, obviously, I am Satan. He said that I had to promise him that I would stop writing. I told him that I would stop sending my writing to the True Family, but that the other people on my list were my friends. Brothers and sisters. How could he ask me not to have conversation? I told him that give and take was how I grew. I told him that I didn't know how to stop thinking.

This would cause him to back off, but he would keep circling around and coming back to the point that I had to stop writing. At one point, he said that if he even got a whiff of the fact that I was writing again, he would "hunt me down." He also repeatedly said that he would take away "everything" that True Parents had given to me. I don't know what he meant by "everything". The only thing he mentioned specifically was the fact that one of our businesses in Japan sells my paintings. (I'd like to add here that our business in Japan is very lucky to have my paintings to sell. They need me a whole lot more than I need them. If Hyun Jin Nim cuts that business relationship off, all he is hurting is that church business.)

Finally, he sat directly across from me with our knees touching. He asked me if I do Pledge Service every Sunday at 5 AM. I, honestly, said no. He then smacked me, extremely hard, in the left ear. I could immediately tell that he had done serious damage to the inside of my ear. I told him so. He told me that I still had another ear. I told him that I had to go see a doctor now. He asked me which was more important: a doctor or the Kingdom of Heaven? I told him that, at this time, a doctor was. I left the room.

I went directly to the Ossining Police Department and asked them if there is any time limit on filing an assault charge. They said no.

I then went to a local clinic and waited an hour only to be told that they couldn't help me because the doctor was booked that day.

I then went back to New York and saw my own doctor. He said that I was very lucky, that I had a lot of trauma inside the ear but that he didn't see any perforation. He gave me a couple of shots and two prescriptions. As I write this, I still have ringing in my left ear and cannot hear so well out of it.

.........

Before Jun Sook's speech in Harlem, I saw a video of Father's life. In it, they said that Father's family name in Korea meant "people who live without laws" meaning that they don't need laws as they do no harm to anyone.

In this country, if you hit someone without cause, that's called "assault". Think about Hyun Jin Nim trying to explain his rational to a judge and you will quickly come to understand why so few join our movement these days.

.........

Not that it should make a difference, but I was putting in eighteen hour days on MFT when Hyun Jin Nim was five years old. I try very, very hard to be True as I understand True to be. My relationship with God is the most important thing in my life.

Not once did Hyun Jin Nim ask me a question in which I was free to answer with any kind of elaboration. He never gave me a chance to tell him who I am or why I don't do Pledge every Sunday at 5 AM. On neither occasion was I able to leave my presentation behind. In his eyes, seemingly, members only exist to be told what to do, or to be judged.

.........

I am absolutely furious (righteous indignation; not resentment) about this situation and so many others like it that seem to go unquestioned by anyone. This kind of abuse of power and position is shameful and has no place in the Kingdom building process. We can't build the Kingdom with force. Fear does not create unity.

I want this situation to be addressed in a way that will assure that it will not be repeated again.

I want an apology from Hyun Jin Nim and I want him to stay away from me and my family. No "hunting me down" thank you, as I will most certainly continue to think and express. If anyone thinks that my writing is wrong they need only point out to me where I err. I will be more than happy to meet with anyone to discuss anything.

I want him to keep his hands off my personal business dealings as they have got nothing to do with him. If Dumonde Fine Art (a branch of his business) wants to stop acting as the shipping agent for my paintings (from which they make money) I am more than happy to take over that aspect myself.

I want my status as a member in good standing of the Unification Church publicly understood.

I want to be financially reimbursed for my doctor bills, phone calls to my lawyer and my time which was wasted in going to Ossining.

I sincerely hope that all this can be satisfactorily resolved outside of the courts in an expeditious fashion.

I await a reply.

Sincerely,

Tim Folzenlogen

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