Mission Statement

Dr. Young Seek Choue (Miwon, 美源; 1921-2012), * the founding Chancellor of the Kyung Hee University System, was an educator cum peace thinker who devoted his life to a holistic worldview and planetary praxis. Driven by his deep-seated aspiration for “Unfolding Cultural Worlds for Humanity” and “Academe and Peace,” Miwon founded nine academic, educational, and medical institutions enshrined in that spirit. He also embarked on tireless global initiatives to empower the planetary spirit toward world peace.

Among them were: founding the International Association of University Presidents (IAUP) in 1965, leading the global movement to establish the United Nations’ International Day and Year of Peace in 1981, compiling the Encyclopedia of World Peace in 1986, and convening the 1999 Seoul International NGO Conference. Throughout his life, Miwon sought to lay the cornerstone for a Global Common Society where all humans are the beneficiaries of “spiritually Beautiful, materially Affluent and humanly Rewarding (BAR)” planetary civilization.

The Miwon Peace Prize Supporters Association raises and stewards the funds required for the Miwon Peace Prize, thereby advancing the Kyung Hee University System’s memorial and commemorative initiatives honoring Miwon’s legacy.

* Miwon (美源) is the nom de plume of Dr. Young Seek Choue. It embodies the meaning of ‘the aesthetic source of the cosmos.’ The Kyung Hee University System (KHUS) is the private foundation that established nine academic, educational, and medical institutions: Kyung Hee University, Kyung Hee Cyber University, Kyung Hee Medicine, Kyung Hee High School, Kyung Hee Girls’ High School, Kyung Hee Middle School, Kyung Hee Girls’ Middle School, Kyung Hee Elementary School, and Kyung Hee Kindergarten. Carrying forward its founding spirit, “Unfolding Cultural Worlds for Humanity,” and its tradition, “Academe and Peace,” KHUS and its board manage and oversee the human, physical, and institutional resources of the foundation and its affiliated institutions, and deliberate on and decide important matters related to institutional governance.