Little Angels visit Nederland, Sep. 14-16The Children's Folk Ballet of Korea, The Little Angels, touched the hearts of Korean War veterans during their performance on Wednesday, September 15 in The Hague; and the hearts of everyone who saw them while they were in Nederland.

While the veterans had particular memories that were stirred by the experience of seeing these children, written testimonies as well as verbal comments attest to many more having been profoundly affected by the experience of meeting them, even those who only saw them away from theatrical performance itself.

Prequel:1972, UNICEF, The Hague: here meeting Princess Beatrix & Prince Claus

2010: Prime Minister Balkenende welcomes them

Sep.14: Arrival, lunch & dinnerThe Little Angels arrived by coach from Belgium; the welcoming lunch at Restaurant Engels, Rotterdam also celebrated the 80th anniversary year of Dr. Bo Hi Pak, their founding Director. UPF Ambassadors for Peace Prof. Gautam, Sheikh August Santoe, Imam Jansen & Protestant Minister Bijl were amongst those present. The weather was very stormy & whole group was very tired, but in the evening they attended a dinner in their honour at the Korean Embassy in The Hague.

Sep 15: Yi Jun Peace Museum & lunchOn Sep. 15, they visited the grave of Korean patriot Yi Jun and the Yi Jun Peace Museum, there was a report in the Den Haag section of the Algemeen Dagblad.

UPF Nederland hosted a lunch at the hall of the Church of St John & St Philip. Dr. Pak met with the Korean Ambassador & senior AfPs: Dr. & Mrs. P. Beelaerts van Blokland, Dr. & Mrs. W. van Eekelen, Dr. & Mrs. J. W. Bertens and Mr. & Mrs. Dick Leurdijk.

Sep 15: Lucent Danstheater: ReceptionAbout 200 people attended the reception, hosted by Dr. Beelaerts, Dr. Pak and H.E. Ambassador Dr. Young-won Kim. Among the guests were the Dutch Minister of Defence, representatives of the Ministries of Defense and Foreign Affairs, nearly 30 representatives of embassies (inc. USA, Australia, Japan, Poland, Ireland, Columbia, Venezuela, United Arab Emirates) and high level UPF AfPs & contacts.

Sep 15: Lucent Danstheater: IntroductionMC Mrs. Lisa Janssen opened the evening, a video introducing the World Tour of the Little Angels was shown, Jhr (Sir) Dr. Peter Beelaerts van Blokland gave some words of welcome & called for a minute of silence to remember the Korean veterans who had passed away. He was followed by H.E. Eimert van Middelkoop, Dutch Minister of Defence; H.E. Dr. Young-won Kim, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea; and Dr. Bo Hi Pak, Co-Chairman & Executive Director of the International Korean War 60th Anniversary Memorial Committee.

Sep 15: Lucent Danstheater: PerformanceThe performance moved all with its cuteness, beauty, humour & artistic excellence

Sep 15: Lucent Danstheater: PerformanceOne UPF AfP jumped to his feet, cheering Bravo, when the LAs marched on stage with flags; and everyone was very moved when they sang traditional popular songs in Dutch; all spontaneously stood for the Dutch National Anthem, Het Wilhelmus.

Sep 15: Lucent Danstheater, post performanceIn conclusion, Dr. Pak called five representative veterans to the stage to receive medals honouring their service and invited all veterans in the audience to stand so they might be honoured and applauded. The Korean Ambassador also received a medal, as did the Minister of Defence, who lifted the little girl assigned to decorate him, so she could reach around his neck.

Sep 15: Lucent Danstheater, post performanceCees Motshagen, leader elect of the main Korean War Veterans Association Vereniging van Oud Korea Srijders (VOKS) - strijders means fighters, expressed the gratitude of all his comrades for The Little Angels visit to The Netherlands by reading a message from one of his fellow veterans who had not been able to attend the performance.

Audience, estimate 350 Dutch Korean War veterans and companions; also some Dutch military 225 Korean community, brought by Korean Embassy125 reps. of embassies & Dutch government, largely through Korean Embassy150 UPF Ambassadors for Peace, companions, guests090 Unification Family members & guests

The 1,000 seater hall was not quite full – though 1,040 had said they would come; we could have brought many more, but did not want too many to come and then be turned away; it would have been better to have an overflow room, which had been considered.

Sep 16: Het Koninklijk Tehuis voor Oud-Militairen On Thursday, The Little Angels visited Het Koninklijk Tehuis voor Oud-Militairen Bronbeek (the Royal Military Veterans Care Veterans Home Bronbeek), one of the very few such veterans homes worldwide. After two videos, the officer in charge welcomed the group, Dr. Pak gave a short address, explaining the purpose of the KW60 tour and praising & thanking the veterans for their commitment, and The Little Angels sang Arirang & Dutch folksongs - and all stood for Het Wilhelmus. One of the veterans thanked The Little Angels in Korean, which was quite special.

Sep.16: Dutch UN forces Korean War memorialThe next & last stop was the Dutch UN forces Korean War memorial at the Oranje Kazerne (Barracks) of Regiment van Heutsz in Schaarsbergen.

The regiment was on "manoeuvers" in Germany and, though the commanding officer returned to The Hague for the Sep. 15 performance, it was only through the efforts of the Minister of Defense, the Chief of the Netherlands Defence Staff, the veterans association Vereniging Oud Korea Strijders (V.O.K.S) & the Korean Embassy that the admission was possible. The Little Angels laid a wreath & sang the national anthems of South Korea & The Netherlands. Two Korean War veterans were in attendance, as well as the captain in charge while the regiment was away.

Sep. 16: Little Angels leave for LuxembourgHaving fulfilled their mission to communicate the Korean people's heart of gratitude to those who defended their country, some at the cost of their lives, The Little Angels left on their coach for Luxembourg, to continue this second leg of the KW60 tour.

TestimoniesTestimonies were received from veterans, AfPs & Unificationists and all forwarded to Dr. Pak for his report to Rev. Moon, Founder of The Little Angels. We later heard from William Selig, Managing Director, Little Angels World Peace Tour 2010: "it seems Dr.Pak is most moved by the personal testimonies and how the Dutch people were touched by the performance and the gratitude of the Korean people. On those points, Father Moon was extremely gratified to hear about." ...all are available on request

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"... fantastic, we enjoyed it enormously, out of this world, the dedication, the discipline, the perfection and the artisticy were incredible, a feast for the eye & soul. One veteran told me he was so moved that he had tears in his eyes... how thoughtfully chosen, the Dutch songs & our national anthem Het Wilhelmus... we all felt the gratitude of the Koreans. So many initiatives of Rev Moon, we don't know of, but every time we hear about a new one I am amazed how thoughtful, creative and effective they are. God is really helping him. Wim & Hanneke van Eekelen"The initiative to honour the veterans is a gesture no one of them will ever forget; a "feel good" performance at an Olympic level." Dick Leurdijk, UN observer, commentator"It was not a simple visit, it gave me many realisations." Abdullah Haselhoef, Director, Foundation Zakaat & Sadaqh Fund"my special thanks for the founder of The Little Angels, Rev. Sun Myung Moon; my brother, You are doing a big job. Together we can rebuild international peace." S.N.Taheri, Nasr Foundation "I know what discipline is needed to perform. When there are people with Love & Heart Care, like Dr. Moon, then one can reach this most highly performance with young ladies." Milly Scott, artiste"The Little Angels represent the future of peace: wherever they go, they will bind people together. They will bring the Freedom for Korea." Fatma Aktas, Chair of Avraysia, Selamnetwork "I was in Korea with the Navy for two years and was active in the Inchon operation. I'm happy to hear I contributed to saving the life of Rev. Moon." Herman Repping, Korean War veteran

Media & internet - that we know of

Arts and Entertainment - www.thehagueonline.com

Ballet to commemorate war veterans: Little Angels of Korea perform in The Hague

http://www.thehagueonline.com/arts_and_entertainment/top_events/2010-09-06/ballet-to-commemmorate-war-veterans-little-angels-of-korea-perform-in-the-hague - Mon 06 September 2010

The world famous Children's Folk Ballet of Korea, The Little Angels, will perform in the Netherlands on Wednesday, 15 September, at the Lucent Danstheater in the Hague. The Little Angels are currently undertaking a worldwide tour of the 16 nations that sent troops to Korea to defend the peace and freedom of the Korean people from North Korea’s invasion of the South 60 years ago, on 25 June 1950.

“We want to give the veterans a breathtaking and heartwarming performance that will delight them, and at the same time, astound them with the contrast between the ragged children they remember begging in the gutter in 1953 and those ‘visions of perfection’ they will see on stage today,” said Dr. Bo Hi Pak, founding director of the Little Angels.

More, much, at the link

Notice in TheHagueonLine, prominent website (see below); visit to Yi Jun Peace Museum in AD Haagsche Courant (mentioned previously); on Ministry of Defence site: on News Agency nieuwsbank.nl site; on our own sites & internet groups.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~