The Deep Meaning of Ocean Fishing

1. Catching tuna is not fishing; it is more like hunting at sea. I imagine you are hearing the term “hunting at sea” for the first time. Catching one tuna is far harder than killing a large bull.

One tuna can weigh well over one thousand pounds. Some tuna are five hundred, six hundred, or even seven hundred kilograms, which is bigger than a bull. It is exciting to catch such fish! We drain all the blood out since tuna will spoil if the blood is left in it for an extended period.

Instantly, the water becomes a sea of blood. At that moment I cannot help but think, “Oh, I am so merciless to do this to this fish!” Whenever I feel that way, however, I think, “I have to do as God does, who uses us as a sacrificial offering for the liberation of humanity.”

Furthermore, I feel better when I tell myself, “Well, these fish were caught from nature and I never invested myself in raising them, but from now on, I will raise fish and offer them as a sacrifice” For this reason, I am involved in the fish farming and marine products industries. (219-198, 1991.08.29)

Ocean fishing for a healthy mind

2. It is so interesting to see fish swimming in the sea. There are small fish in the shallowest areas at the edge of the ocean, and then as the water gets deeper you find bigger fish.

The smallest fish are eaten by slightly larger fish, and the slightly larger fish are eaten by fish that are even larger, and the cycle keeps repeating itself. What is fascinating is that the young have a similar appearance, whether they are baby whales or baby tuna.

Baby Alaska Pollack and baby tuna look similar. The food chain represents a process that all things take part in. There is no complaint. The offspring of the big fish are not born so large that they can eat all the small fish. They all start in the same position. God is fair like this. (264-286, 1994.11.20)

3. The deeper you go into the ocean, the greater the temperature differences you will find. The species of fish change entirely, even with a temperature shift of only one or two degrees.

Although most people do not know this, the fish of the world search the five oceans for a compatible temperature layer in the water that may only differ one degree from other layers. It is mysterious.

Even though one day you may see unlimited numbers of fish in a specific location, as if the ocean were half water and half fish, when you return the next day you may find not even one. This is due to the difference in water temperature.

The fish disappear entirely when the water temperature changes by even half a degree. To people, a one- or two-degree difference is not an issue, but for fish it is huge. People can live in the Arctic regions, the tropics, and the temperate regions, but this is not the case for animals. (200-263, 1990.02.26)

4. When we go ocean fishing we are not just going to a place where the horizon is flat. To catch fish, we must go where there are rocks on the bottom. There are creatures living on the rocks and fish gather there.

When you observe the water flow and see waves, there are fish there. If you go to a place where the waves are three to five meters high, you will find fish. You need to be near such a place to catch fish. (268-310, 1995.04.03)

5. I know exactly what temperature is right for fishing. I already know what species of fish are found at certain water temperatures. When you drop the fishing line a couple of times, the fish already nibble the bait. So if I reel the line in fast, the fish come up.

When the line is reeled in slowly, the hook tends to sink. While slowly reeling in the line, you should know how fast the water is flowing on the surface. By assessing the water temperature, I know at what depth the king salmon will swim.

Usually salmon remain on the bottom because they find lots of food there. Crabs and other small sea creatures live on the seabed, so the salmon like to gather there. (263-139, 1994.08.21)

6. I don't go out to the ocean only for the sake of fishing. The spirit of Alaska is the spirit of the salmon. Salmon come back to their birthplace to lay their eggs after swimming four to five thousand miles. For human beings the course of restoration is similar.

We should know how to go home even though we are thousands of miles away. No fishing is more exciting than catching salmon. You can't imagine how strong they are! Typically, for other fish, winding the reel a few times is enough, but for salmon, you must wind it many more times. (236-125, 1992.11.04)

7. I am excellent at fishing. I have fished day and night for forty days at a time. The fish I try to catch are not the kinds that immediately rush to eat the bait. I am waiting for the big one even as I say, “Bite this! Gather here, little fish!” But I am waiting for the big fish to come, and I will catch that one. Likewise, when you witness to people it is the same.

You go out to witness without knowing whether anyone is coming or not. However, the time will come to pull in the line. We need to wait. It doesn't matter how long; we need to be patient, with high expectations. Since we have this standard, we don't need to be impatient or rushing to witness to everyone at once.
(152-033, 1963.03.03)

8. Sitting in a boat with a fishing rod gives you a feeling of immense freedom, beyond description. Can you take a walk on a boat? You only have a small space in which to move about and cook your meals. Can you go to the theater or go out to meet your friends?

You cannot even listen to music because you need to remain silent. For this reason, you must gaze at the ocean and talk with the sea and the heavens. It is the greatest feeling to be at sea alone in the very place where the ocean and heaven become one.

Out there God is alone, and I am alone, so we can get together and unite in heart. I might be the only one in history to go out fishing thinking these kinds of thoughts. Why do I continually go out to sea? There are many spiritual benefits.

If I stay at home all day I become distracted and end up thinking about the missionaries around the world, church problems, and other matters, and I can't deal with all I have to take care of. But when I go out to sea, I can think more comprehensively. Because of this, I love the ocean so much. I believe that is why the concept of cultivating oneself through fishing came about.
(079-270, 1975.09.01)

9. Whenever I go fishing, or anywhere else, I always think a lot. If you go fishing ten times you think ten times; if you go a hundred times you think a hundred times. If you think one hundred times while going fishing ten times, you can advance of other people. (221-085, 1991.10.23)

10. Hunting is exercise for the sake of your physical health, and fishing is for the sake of your mental health. You tend to reflect on your life and think a lot when sitting down and fishing.

Amazingly, you can have such a time. You can analyze your past and plan for your future. It can be your most important time. You can calmly reflect on yourself with dignity. This is necessary. In the East, this is called cultivating oneself through fishing. After fishing for a couple of years, you will want to free the fish and put aside all thoughts of eating the fish you catch.

That is the true way. The desire to eat simply vanishes. Thus, you can cultivate your mental and ethical development. By learning such things, you can rid yourself of cruel tendencies.

If you are a leader of a certain department, you will become a gentleman toward your people. Fishing provides a way to cultivate your character and create harmony among people. (252-208, 1993.12.30)

11. History is creating a new world. No one can tell me I'm wrong about this; I'm not ashamed to say it. When I see the face of a fish, I speak to it. All day while fishing I say, “You have never seen a person like me, right?

My purpose is not to catch you. I want to mobilize you, and based on this fishing ground I would like to solve the problem of hunger for humankind. Did you know that is the purpose of your creation? If that's the case, the one who catches you will not be doing anything wrong.”(247-033, 1993.04.21)

12. When I fish, I say to the fish, “Please come. I am your owner, your master.” Then all the fish come to me and I feed them. For that reason, I can always catch more fish than others around me. Other fishermen feel this is strange and cannot understand it.

If you do things centered on the vertical God, this is what happens. In that circumstance, also, a different, brilliant ray emerges. You have an average light, but I omit a special ray of light. The fish see that light, so even if I push them away, saying, “Don't come,” they still flock to me. (248-036, 1993.05.30)

13. When I go fishing, I always free the first fish I catch. I free it with the heart of God, who released it after creating it. Furthermore, I have not eaten any of the fish I have caught. Even so, I cannot allow the fish to die a natural death when there are 20 million of God's sons and daughters starving to death every year.

I say to myself, I catch you to save the 20 million starving sons and daughters of God. Fish are caught on my hooks much more often than on the hooks of others. This is because of my devotion. Whether animal or plant, since the principle is that they were created to serve human beings, fish should feel grateful for my attitude.

With this mindset, if I go to a fishing tournament, I can catch fish just fine when others cannot. It is because of my devotion. I think, “Hey, fish, I cannot dive into the water museum that God created, so why don't you just jump out of the water so I can appreciate the joy God wants me to feel?” Then the fish come, and it is easy for me to catch them. (276-147, 1996.02.18)

14. If you have true love, everything is possible, everything unites. From the animal world to the plant world, and even to the venomous snake, everything protects me. When I go fishing I say, protect me. I tell the fish, “This is for true love. I am trying to save all the people who are starving.

God is shedding tears out of His desire to feed them. With that heart, I am catching you. I'm catching you not for myself but for my posterity, all human beings, and so you have to forgive me” That's how I think and what I say.

So I always release the first fish that I catch, instead of eating it, as a sacrificial offering to God. Anyone who is given love is willing to offer their life. Suppose there are twelve people on my boat; still, I catch one-third of the total catch. Those people say, “The fish recognize you, Father, so they are biting your bait!”
(278-105, 1996.05.01)

15. Trying to catch fish from a boat on the blue ocean can be compared to God's providential work of restoration and salvation. The fish represent fallen people. If you prepare everything, use good bait, and tie a sturdy line to a fine fishing rod, you should catch many fish.

But you will not be able to catch a single fish if your skill is poor, the line is weak, the bait is spoiled or the fishing rod is worthless. It is all the same. Our life of faith is like catching fish. (277-017, 1996.03.17)

16. If you like to succeed in this world, you must put yourself in the position of a fishing rod and set it up with a good fishing line and good bait. Only then can you fish effectively. Fish are not caught easily. You reap the harvest when all the corresponding conditions are met.

Without these conditions, you cannot bring in the harvest. We are not living alone. We live together with all the creation, with all humankind, with heaven and earth, and with God. Furthermore, we must see with the eyes of all humankind, with good eyes, good sense, and good bodies.

We should realize that God sees and owns our five senses and our body. The person who lives like this and feels like this doesn't need religion.
(277-017, 1996.03.17)

17. For fishing, the best bait is love. In fishing for all the people of the world, God's bait is love. With what bait could you fish for history and God? If there were any bait that could catch God, wouldn't you want to prepare that bait?

That bait is love. If there were any bait that could catch history and catch heaven and earth, it would be love. (145-228, 1986.05.11)

18. Now our time has come. The time that God has been longing for has come. The one time for which so many people, so many saints and sages, shed their blood has now arrived in front of our eyes. This is our time. I feel it is like a big fish now circling our hook, eyeing the bait that looks and smells so good.

I am ready to yank up the rod as soon as the fish strikes. In this respect, I think fishing is such a wonderful hobby. You wait with your rod even past midnight, until three or four o'clock in the morning, almost falling asleep. In the distance you hear a dog barking and a rooster crowing; at that moment the bell on the fishing rod rings.

You snap back to life instantly with all senses alert. It is so quick, faster than lightning. If you have this kind of spirit, unity in the world will come.

Even if your eyes are closed, and you are snoring, when a fish bites, you are holding the rod straight up and so are instantly alert. That's how it is. That joy, the taste of that moment, is truly heavenly training. (040-221, 1971.02.01)

A vision for the future of humankind

19. We need to conquer the oceans in the future. By myself alone, I will recover all the gold, silver, and treasures in the sea. After thinking about it, I concluded that we have to dig many tunnels. For this reason, I came up with the International Peace Highway project.

If I could drill a tunnel under the sea and construct a road, then create a door, wouldn't it be fun to open that door and catch a fish? How wonderful it would be if we could directly supply ships with oil from under the seabed using a pipeline.

There is an unlimited supply of oil under the ocean. How great it would be if we could provide oil from a pipeline with one press of a button. (116-327, 1982.01.02)

20. Human beings should be free to go anywhere. If they want to go to the ocean or mountains, they should be free to do so without any national boundaries. They should be able to live beneath the water as well. The age will come when, through scientific advances, we can build a submarine and live freely underwater.

Otherwise, humanity will have no place to live. A submarine sinks by letting water into its tank until it becomes heavy enough to sink. With the push of a button, you can control the inflow and outflow of water and accordingly dive or rise in the water.

Therefore, we can live in the water. There is no better place in heaven and earth than that which lies deeper than ten meters. If you go down thirty meters it is very calm. A truly serene world emerges in an underwater kingdom.

If you go up in the air, however, you can encounter trouble with lots of wind and constant change. The air currents and atmosphere are capricious, and it can suddenly storm. That is why I believe living in the ocean is an ideal way of life. (262-272, 1994.08.01)

21. In the future, we will be able to live beneath the ocean. That's why I have initiated research on a five-person submarine. When the wind is not blowing, the calm sea lets you feel like a billionaire, a master of the ocean. You don't know how mystical and awe-inspiring this is.

Think what it would be like if a husband and wife could look over the great ocean on the crystal-clear surface of the sea when the winds are calm, dreaming about their love nest while talking about their future together. That would not be a problem.

If a storm should descend, they could dive in their submarine thirty meters below to safety, A time will come when we will be able to live freely under the water. Therefore, you do not have to worry about the Republic of Korea being small.
(233-052, 1992.07.20)

22. In the future, there will be a shortage of food on land, so we will live in the ocean. In the ocean, we will eat fish instead of meat, and we will eat seaweed instead of vegetables.

If you were a leader, wouldn't you have such a plan so we could live in the ocean in the future? Isn't there enough oxygen in the water? We can supply oxygen by extracting it from the water.

What is the percentage of oxygen in ocean water? We could never consume it all. Shortly, the time will come when we will conquer the ocean. (116-327, 1982.01.02)

23. I am preparing for the future world. I am not doing this because I love the ocean. It is difficult being at sea. My entire body was sore after one week of this. Still, I pushed myself, telling myself “There is so much to do; do not use your age as an excuse.” I could not rest.

After about ten days, even if I went out early in the morning and stayed out until midnight, I had no physical problem whatsoever. Nonetheless, those people who fished with me were dozing while holding their fishing rods.

Since I was the commander, in a position to give orders, I always thought I had to catch the first fish. Thinking like that, I anticipated when the fish would take my bait. That kind of determination is wonderful. (189-295, 1989.06.17)