I'll start with this quote from sympathetic scholar Eileen Barker on the importance of a second and the subsequent generations from the survival of the UC:
Jan. 17, 2013: Beyond Belief: The Unification Church (https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01pnmxj) (BBC Radio - Downloaded Audio)
From 2:03QuoteHost: Eileen, from your study of a wide range of new religious movements, what do they have to do in order to ensure their survival?
Eileen Barker: Well they have to have a membership and that can come two different ways: second generation and subsequent generations, you have to keep them. And the other thing is to get converts, and as far as I can gather, the rate of conversion isn't very high at the momemt so I think very largely it's going to depend on the second generation.
The above does seem like a longer way to convery the essence of this quote from 1984:
QuoteThe only recognized purpose of marriage was to beget children for the service of the Party
- George Orwell
1984Here are some more related quotes and thoughts on marriage in Orwell's 1984 (https://www.enotes.com/topics/1984/questions/what-some-quotes-that-found-book-which-gives-66491) which I certainly feel also apply to Moon's mass arranged weddings.
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1982 Matching Ceremony - This is quite different from the usual images of later and larger ceremonies. In this video, Moon walks around seperated male and female members and selects some couples. Former member Teddy Hose has mentioned on Facebook that sometimes siblings were initially matched:
Dec. 16, 1983: What's Behind the Moonie Mass Marriages (https://web.archive.org/web/20240926113139/https://www.christianitytoday.com/1983/12/whats-behind-moonie-mass-marriages/) (Christianity Today/Internet Archive)
Aug. 26, 1992: Moonies Make Dollars 60m In Record Mass Wedding (https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/moonies-make-dollars-60m-in-record-mass-wedding-corrected-1542642.html) (The Independant)
QuoteIt was without doubt the loudest 'I do' in history. More than 40,000 brides and grooms, packed into the Olympic Stadium in Seoul, South Korea, responded in unison as The Rev Sun Myung Moon asked them to affirm their marriage vows. It sounded as if the home team had scored a goal.
In the largest mass wedding held by Mr Moon's Unification Church, 20,825 couples were married yesterday. Another 9,800 couples in 10 other countries were linked to the ceremony by a live satellite link.
Many participants, who do not like to be called Moonies, met their partners hours, or at most days, before the ceremony. They had been paired by Mr Moon on the basis of photographs and brief life histories. Some do not share a common language. But these are mere details in the face of Mr Moon's vision of a world family unified in peace through his mediation. 'The festival is a model of a synergy that could exist on a global scale,' said Thomas Cromwell, a spokesman for the minister. ...
Annie Hong, 36, an Englishwoman who joined the Unification Church in 1979 while on holiday in California, said: 'The reverend is definitely a prophet and most people would regard him as a Messiah too.'
Feb. 17, 1993: Moonies Make Dollars 60m In Record Mass Wedding - CORRECTION (https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/moonies-make-dollars-60m-in-record-mass-wedding-corrected-1542642.html) (The Independant)
QuoteCORRECTION
IN an article on a record mass wedding conducted by the Unification Church on 26 August 1992, it was estimated that the Church 'made' dollars 60m in connection with the ceremony. The stated assumption for this estimate was that some 30,000 couples paid, on average, a fee of dollars 1,000 per person. The Church has asked to make clear that this is an estimate which they do not accept. In particular, fees were not paid by the 10,000 couples who participated in the ceremony without going to Seoul; and fees charged were in no sense profit, since many expenses were incurred. Any impression to the contrary is regretted.
May 8, 1996: Japan Court Rules Marriage Invalid (https://www.upi.com/Archives/1996/05/08/Japan-court-rules-marriage-invalid/8165831528000/) (UPI)
QuoteThe couple registered the marriage with local authorities in Naha on Japan's southern island of Okinawa, the man's hometown. The woman, however, left the religious group before she started living with the man and filed a lawsuit at a local court to nullify the marriage. The district court ruled in favor of the woman in 1993, saying the marriage registration did not reflect the resolute will of the couple. A high court also upheld the lower court's decision last October.
Nov. 29, 1997: Happily Ever After? (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/special_report/1997/unification_church/35377.stm) (BBC)
QuoteCritics say that Moonie couples are placed under enormous pressure to stay together and that the central role played by the Reverend Moon in their lives is essentially unhealthy.
Daniel O'Connell is a professor of Religious Psychology and he believes the Moonies' approach to marriage risks missing the central message of the marriage contract. He says, "I find it in fact a violation of the very nature of the marriage bond, which is a free contract between two parties. And it is the freedom of that contract which constitutes a very essential part of the bond."
Dec. 5, 1997: Moonies Stage A Mass Wedding (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/36942.stm) (BBC)
QuoteAmongst them was a man who had been through one of these weddings and had since left the Church. He said that just as followers come under intense pressure if they try to leave the movement, so couples come under intense pressure if they try to separate.
For those who find it hard to surrender their own free will to the will of the church an arranged marriage with little chance of escape is a frightening proposition - and they know that separation is not part of the Reverend's plan.
Feb. 7, 1999: Moonies Wed on the Net (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/274133.stm) (BBC)
QuoteThe church says 360 million couples will join in the proceedings by satellite and via the Internet, although it admits this figure is impossible to verify. ...And its business empire in South Korea is crumbling because of the country's economic crisis. A recent religious service conducted by the Reverend Moon was disrupted by workers from one bankrupt subsidiary demanding back pay.
Feb. 17, 2010: Unification Church Woos A Second Generation (https://www.npr.org/2010/02/17/123805954/unification-church-woos-a-second-generation) (NPR)
Nov. 15, 2010: Just Like Old Times at the Washington Times? (https://washingtoncitypaper.com/article/222092/just-like-old-times-at-the-washington-times/) (Washington City Paper)
QuoteIf the Unification Church were launching The Washington Times today, the first thing media blogs would seize upon would be the Rev. Moon's weird micromanagement of Moonie sex lives. Following their group weddings to random strangers, Moonieweds follow a three-day instruction manual to consummate their unions. It works something like a military operation. The manual dictates which sexual positions are used each day, the positioning of cushions and the obligatory photograph of the Rev. Moon during the various acts, the direction from which "holy salt" must be sprinkled in order to properly "sanctify" the room. There's also an elaborate process by which the couple cleanses their sexual organs afterwards, using an official church-supplied "holy handkerchief" sprinkled with a mysterious fluid that is supposed to contain the "essence" of Moon himself. Moon preaches that sex that deviates from this rigorous regimen is sullied by a spiritual sort of venereal disease first passed to Adam by Eve after she cheated on him with the archangel Lucifer.
Sept. 5, 2012: I Got Married in a Moonie Mass Wedding (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2198444/I-got-married-Moonie-mass-wedding-He-public-schoolboy-wealthy-family-So-Mark-Palmer-spend-seven-years-disciple-cult.html) (Daily Mail)
April 16, 2014: Unification Church Mass Wedding: From Strangers to 'I Do' (ABC News)
Interesting quote from 5:00 above
September, 2015: True Story: My Marriage Was Arranged By The Unification Church (https://www.yesandyes.org/2015/09/unification-church-arranged-marriage.html) (Yes & Yes)
Note: A really fascinating and touching story.
May 4, 2017: When Truth is Complex - On Telling the Story of My Upbringing in the Unification Church (https://www.huffpost.com/entry/when-truth-is-complex-on-telling-the-story-of-my_b_5908073ae4b084f59b49fc57) (Huffington Post)
May 30, 2017: The Danger of A Single Story: On Telling the Story of My Upbringing in the Unification Church Part 2 (https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-danger-of-a-single-story-on-telling-the-story_b_592cfc52e4b0a7b7b469ccc3) (Huffington Post)
June 5, 2017: At age 20, I was Married by the Unification Church. Here's How I broke Away (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/soloish/wp/2017/06/05/at-age-20-i-was-married-by-the-unification-church-heres-how-i-broke-away/) (The Washington Post)
Sept. 7, 2017: Thousands of 'Moonies' Marry at Unification Church mass wedding in South Korea (https://news.sky.com/story/thousands-of-moonies-marry-at-unification-church-mass-wedding-in-south-korea-11024056) (Sky News)
Sept. 7: Thousands of Members of South Korea's Moonies Gather to Tie the Knot in bizarre Mass Wedding Ceremony (https://www.thesun.ie/news/1505192/thousands-of-members-of-south-koreas-moonies-gather-to-tie-the-knot-in-bizarre-mass-wedding-ceremony-to-mark-the-founding-of-the-religion/) (The Sun)
Sept. 8, 2017: Thousands Exchange Wedding Vows in Mass Ceremony in South Korea (https://www.aol.com/article/news/2017/09/07/thousands-exchange-wedding-vows-in-mass-ceremony-in-south-korea/23200601/)
Sept. 10, 2017: Mass Wedding: 4,000 Couples Exchange Vows at Same Time, Same Place (https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/lifestyle/trends/20170910/mass-wedding-4000-couples-exchange-vows-at-same-time-same-place) (The Korea Times)
Aug. 28, 2018: Thousands of Couples Marry in Mass Ceremony in South Korea (https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/relationships/marriage/thousands-of-couples-marry-in-mass-ceremony-in-south-korea/news-story/36e559e7c0a6cab32930d323045caeb4) (News.Com.Au)
Feb. 7, 2020: South Korean Mass Wedding Defies Virus Fears – In Pictures (https://www.theguardian.com/world/gallery/2020/feb/07/south-korea-mass-wedding-defies-coronavirus-fears-in-pictures) (The Guardian)
Feb. 7, 2020: In Sickness & In Health: Mass Wedding in South Korea Defies Coronavirus Fears (https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/in-sickness-and-in-health-mass-wedding-in-south-korea-defies-coronavirus-fears) (The Straits Times - Video & Article)
Quote"I am overwhelmed that I am getting married today," said Ms Choi Ji-young, who met her husband - matched by the church - only two months ago. "It would be a lie if I said I was not concerned at all about the infection," said the 21-year-old university student. "But I feel like I will be protected from the virus today."
Festivals, graduation ceremonies, and K-pop concerts have been cancelled over fears large events could facilitate virus transmission, and the authorities have asked religious groups to cooperate in preventing it spreading. The church went ahead with the event because it had been "four years in the making", as part of the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of Moon's birth, said official Jang Young-chul.
July 14, 2020: Review: Blessed Child Only Half-Lifts the Veil on a Family's Ties to a Cult (https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review-blessed-child-only-half-lifts-the-veil-on-a-familys-ties-to-a-cult/) (Slant)
Oct. 22, 2021: Inside The Moonies: 'Perfect' Cult Celebrates Mass Weddings, Sex Rituals (https://au.news.yahoo.com/inside-the-moonies-perfect-cult-celebrates-mass-weddings-sex-rituals-073654178.html) (Yahoo News)
July 15, 2022: UC Ex-Member in Japan Opens Up About Dark Past After Mom Became Follower (https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20220715/p2a/00m/0na/016000c) (The Mainichi Shimbun)
Quote"I was at an age where I couldn't live without help from my parents, and it was difficult to reject them," she said. While the Unification Church has explained that "donations are made by followers at their own will," the woman criticized the religious group as being "full of lies."
The woman was a high schooler when her mother began to devote herself to the religious group. Her mother eventually forced her three daughters, including the woman, to follow the Unification Church's "teachings." The woman also began to attend a church establishment, thinking that accepting her mother's beliefs would make her a better daughter.
In 1995, the woman, then aged 21, participated in a mass wedding held by the group. Under the system where the group matched followers who were strangers, the woman married a Korean man who was two years younger than her. After they began living together in Japan, he soon began to assault her, and the abuse continued even after they had a child. Though she wanted to file for divorce, she was told by her mother and other followers that she was at fault because she did "not show enough faith in the religion," and that "a divorce would make Satan happy.
Her second husband was also a Korean man selected by the group, and the woman moved to South Korea. She said the group demanded that she donate 1.4 million yen, or about $10,000. "My partner made false reports about his academic background, occupation, and age. He used my credit cards and other things, and I was forced into personal bankruptcy by my husband," she said.
Afterwards, she was assaulted by the man in front of her mother, and was allowed to divorce him, but remarried after being invited by the group to undergo another "blessing ceremony." The woman said, "The group teaches the doctrine that you cannot go to heaven unless you're a married couple. My mother was saddened that her daughter could not go to heaven. I also had feelings of guilt."
March 5, 2023: 'I Married A Stranger At A Mass Wedding': Life Inside The Unification Church (https://www.sbs.com.au/news/dateline/article/i-married-a-stranger-at-a-mass-wedding-life-inside-the-unification-church/b3itvk2rv) (SBS Dateline)
April 8, 2025: UC to Defy Order in Japan to Dissolve With Mass Wedding (https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2025-04-08/national/socialAffairs/Unification-Church-to-defy-Tokyos-order-to-dissolve-with-mass-wedding/2280618) (Korea JoongAng Daily)
QuoteThe Unification Church will stand strong against the "religious oppression" of the Japanese judiciary and marry off 5,000 couples this weekend, the Korean church's leader said Tuesday.
April 23, 2025: 'Happiness, Love' at Moonie Mass Wedding After Japanese Court Blow (https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20250423-happiness-love-at-moonie-mass-wedding-after-japanese-court-blow) (France 24)
QuoteSince the 1960s, the church is believed to have generated as much as 80 percent of its global revenues from Japan, according to Levi McLaughlin, a religious studies professor at North Carolina State University. During Japan's 1980s bubble economy, its branch reportedly sent up to 10 billion yen ($70 million) per month to the South Korean headquarters.
Japanese followers are told to "atone" for the country's colonial past, and McLaughlin told AFP the mass weddings have been framed as a form of "indemnity". The church plays a role in match-making couples, experts say, with Japanese women often matched with non-Japanese men -- and critics slam the cult-like cutting of family ties that sometimes results.
April 25, 2025: Unification Church in South Korea Holds Mass Wedding for 5,000 Couples (https://apnews.com/video/unification-church-in-south-korea-holds-mass-wedding-for-5000-couples-d29571dca9f74912adb510586ed8b1d5) (Associated Press Video)
Dec. 14, 2025: Match, Married, Manipulated: The Dark Reality of the Moonies (https://open.spotify.com/episode/6Vwi6km5agAj2VmxUQHx1Z?si=GB92BBOvQry_BHUmIbHmPw&context=spotify%3Ashow%3A4GlmLKnbLUFPui5f7tizAQ&fbclid=IwY2xjawPa92JleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFHbHV4cTJXTzNVdjVVeGl6c3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHh8dR7MFt5s2xHqCKNaePBUlM33rKihxIOFczfm36PSxx3QdcWbpO62m9-n6_aem_PBSbYySUUPApwY-JBG6v6Q&nd=1&dlsi=864feca7d4ef4365) (Jong-hee Celest on The Cultimatum Podcast)
Dec. 23, 2025: 10,000 Strangers Were Married in One Day. Then It Got Darker. (Truth or Hoax)