The NUAC (National Unification Advisory Council) held inaugural sessions for the four chapters Dallas, Central America the Caribbean region, Houston and Denver from July 30 to August 7.

The inaugural session was attended by Kim Jeom-jun, Planning & Coordination Officer at the Secretariat of the NUAC, as the Promotion Director and Kim Jong-jin, Planning & Finance Officer.

The 1st program of the inaugural session included an introductory video on the 17th inauguration of the NUAC, oath by new council members, video message from President Park Geun-hye, opening address, congratulatory speech and a 'report on the direction of the activities of the 17th NUAC' submitted by Planning & Finance Officer Kim Jong-jin. The 2nd program included a lecture by Planning & Coordinating Officer Kim Jeom-jun on 'The Journey of the Trust Process in the Korean Peninsula for the Preparation of Peaceful Unification' and a chorus of 'Our Wish is Reunification' by all the attendees.

The 17th inaugural session of the Dallas Chapter (head of the Chapter: Ahn Yeong-ho) was held in the Grand Ballroom of the Carrollton Coyote Ridge Club with the participation of 275 people (55 council members and 220 representatives of Korean communities). In his opening address, Ahn Yeong-ho, head of the Dallas Chapter, said, "The unification of Korea is not only our wish, but also a responsibility. Koreans living in Dallas will build a network with South Korea so that our wish for the unification of Korea will become a reality. We at the Dallas Chapter will focus our capabilities on promoting civil diplomacy so that we can form a consensus on the peaceful unification of Korea."

One of the most important issues in Dallas is opening of the Korean Culture Center. The center, which is dedicated to support creative cultural activities for the Dallas Korean community and teach Korean tradition and culture to 2nd and 3rd generation Koreans, was built with money donated by Ahn Yeong-ho and other businessmen, store owners, Korean company branches, trading companies, students and housewives. It all started with Ahn Yeong-ho donated USD100,000 in August 2014, and the total amount of donation reached USD750,000 in November 2014.

The center will house a total of 14 organizations, including the Dallas Chapter of the NUAC (National Unification Advisory Council), Korean Community, Women's Association, Korean School, Baduk Association, Silver Welfare Foundation, Korean Classical Music Association and Artists Federation.

The Dallas Korean community is expected to make a significant development with the opening of the Dallas Korean Culture Center.

The 17th inaugural session of the Central American Chapter (head of the Chapter: Oh Byeong-mun) was held at the Sheraton Maria Isabel Hotel in Mexico City with the participation of 50 people (34 council members and 16 representatives of the Korean community). Oh Byeong-mun, who was appointed as the 17th head of the Central American Chapter, gave an opening address, by saying, "The Central American Caribbean Chapter is a multinational organization composed of members from 15 countries, making it hard for them to get together in one place. For this reason, communication and harmony between the members are two most important things for us. Members in their respective country of residence should play the role of a civil diplomat for the peaceful unification of Korea in the mainstream society to the fullest and propose the vision for the peaceful unification of Korea to the government of their country of residence."

Jeon Bi-ho, South Korean Ambassador to Mexico, gave a congratulatory speech to the audience, saying, "Now that we have celebrated the 70th anniversary of Korea's liberation and division, it's more important than ever to prepare the conditions for the peaceful unification of Korea by building an amicable relationship with the government, media and community organizations of the U.S., China, Japan, Russia, EU and Mexico that can have influence on the unification of Korea, and you're the ones who're tasked with the role."

The 17th Central American Caribbean Chapter has agreed to the appointment of council members and proposal of important projects as follows:

The 17th inaugural session of the Houston Chapter (head of the Chapter: Bae Chang-jun) was held on August 5, 2015 at the Norris Conference Center with the participation of more than 250 people (48 council members and over 200 representatives of the Korean community).

The inaugural session kicked off with the entrance of Korean National Flag and NUAC Flag carried by the Retired Marine Association.

Bae Chang-jun, head of the Houston Chapter, gave an opening address saying, "Upon celebrating the 70th anniversary of Korea's liberation, the unification of Korea is more important than ever, and there is an increasing demand for the preparation of the unification.

Council members, we have two countries. Korea is the country is where we were born, and America is the country that provided us with a new place to live." He stressed that the council members should work together to contribute to the growth and unification of Korea, and Koreans living in the U.S. must serve as a bridge between Korea and the U.S.

The 17th inaugural session of the Denver Chapter (head of the Chapter: Gwak In-hwan) was held on August 7, 2015 at the Marriott Denver South with the participation of 80 people (20 council members and 60 representatives of the Korean community).

In his opening address, Gwak In-hwan, head of the Denver Chapter, said, "We need to have a clear understanding of the relationship between South and North Korea and expand our capabilities by finding out we have to do to achieve the unification of Korea sooner. By doing this, we will also enjoy the sense of personal achievement, but we at the Denver Chapter must make bigger achievements. The Denver Chapter covers a number of other states such as Colorado, Utah and Wyoming, so our priority will be helping the Koreans in these states to have the same sense of awareness in achieving the unification of Korea in a desirable way and gathering their opinions on the unification of Korea." He also said that they will try to gain the support and cooperation of Koreans living abroad in promoting current Korean government's policy on North Korea based on the 'Trust Process', and play a part in turning Korea in a powerful, advanced country by spreading the philosophy of government administration and the will to achieve the unification of Korea in the Korean community.

The 17th Denver Chapter is composed of a total of 33 members: 18 members from Denver, 9 from Utah, 4 from Colorado Springs and 2 from Wyoming.

In each of the inaugural sessions, Kim Jong-jin, Planning & Finance Officer at the Secretariat of the NUAC, submitted reports on "The Role and Function of the NUAC", "The Goals of the Activities and Objectives of the 17th NUAC" and "Important Projects in the Second Half of 2015" in order to help the council members in foreign countries better understand their role, activities, direction for the activities and the role of the Korean communities.

In the 2nd program of the session, Kim Jeom-jun, Planning & Coordination Officer at the Secretariat of the NUAC, gave a special lecture on 'The Journey of the Trust Process in the Korean Peninsula for the Preparation of Peaceful Unification'.

The content of the lecture were as follows:

△ Why do we need to be prepared for unified Korea?

- Realize the value specified in Article 66 of the Constitution.

- Economic, social and cultural effects of the unification (build the basis for the Eurasia initiative, sense of oneness in unified Korea and recover national homogeneity)

△ Why the trust process of the Korean Peninsula?

- Trust in the sense of strategy in terms of both goal and method.

- Normalize the relationship between South and North Korea by solving the problems in the Korean Peninsula, increase the level of peaceful cooperation in Northeast Asia and building trust.

△ Objectives for the Preparation of the Unification

- Spread of the consensus on the unification of Korea and systematize the unification policy

- Build the government framework for consultation on the preparation for the unification

- Institutionalize the unification process and improve the capabilities in the preparation of the unification

- Supplement unification diplomacy strategies

- Expand the participation of the international society in the preparation for the unification

The session ended with a chorus of 'Our Wish is Reunification' by all the participants holding hands together.