What Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light does

Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light (HWPL) is a Seoul-headquartered international non-governmental organization founded in 2013 by Chairman Lee Man-hee (이만희). Incorporated as a 사단법인 (incorporated association) under Korean law, HWPL is structured as a non-profit and does not disclose financial results. Its mission is establishing sustainable peace and the cessation of war through a combination of legal-framework advocacy, civil society mobilization, religious harmony dialogue, and peace education.

HWPL's core product is the Declaration of Peace and Cessation of War (DPCW), a 10-article, 38-clause international framework covering prohibition of force, disarmament, dispute settlement, self-defense rights, religious freedom, and culture of peace. The DPCW is operationalized through the Legislate Peace (LP) Program, which runs four global campaign modules: Sign Your Support (a signature collection reaching ~900,000 signatories across 178 countries), Peace Letter (handwritten letters to heads of state, 564,445 participants in 192 countries), Peace Walk (annual multi-city events), and a Spreading a Culture of Peace sub-program. Supporting lines include Peace Education (with deep integration into Philippine higher education via CHED Order No. 1), the Mindanao Peace Projects (following HWPL's 2014 mediation ending a 40+ year conflict), and an Alliance of Religions initiative. Affiliated operating arms IPYG (International Peace Youth Group) and IWPG (International Women's Peace Group) extend reach into youth and women's segments.

HWPL's business model is donation- and membership-driven with no commercial pricing. Go-to-market is community-led — voluntary mobilization via peace letters, signature drives, peace walks, and direct advocacy to governments and regional parliaments (PARLACEN, Panafrican Parliament, PARLANDINO, BBS Center, CCLP). Customer segments are governments/policymakers, religious leaders, youth, civil society organizations, and educational institutions. An 8-language website (Korean, English, German, Portuguese, Czech, Romanian, French, Mongolian) serves as the primary digital distribution surface, alongside a member portal (member.hwpl.kr). A 2025 KMI partnership added a health-checkup member benefit.

Name

Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light

Legal name

사단법인 하늘문화세계평화광복 (Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light)

Website

https://hwpl.kr

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

HWPL is a Seoul-based international non-governmental organization founded in 2013 that advocates for peace and the cessation of war by promoting its 10-article, 38-clause Declaration of Peace and Cessation of War (DPCW) through global campaigns, peace education, and government partnerships across approximately 192 countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

International Peace Advocacy

NAICS

International Affairs (928120), Human Rights Organizations (813311), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813), Professional Organizations (81392)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), International Affairs (9721)

akta.pro primary industry

Peace, Security & Arms Control Organizations (BPADAAAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus & Resilience Programming (BPADAEAK)

Keywords

• Peace advocacy
• International peace law
• Peace education
• Interfaith dialogue
• Civil society mobilization

Headquarters

HQ city

Seoul

HQ country

South Korea

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership and Donations: As a non-profit NGO, HWPL generates revenue through membership fees and donations from supporters worldwide. The organization operates a member portal for registration and engagement.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

HWPL is an international non-governmental organization (NGO) that advocates for the adoption of the Declaration of Peace and Cessation of War (DPCW), a 10-article, 38-clause international legal framework, as binding international law. It delivers this mission through the Legislate Peace (LP) Program, which encompasses signature campaigns, peace letter drives, peace walks, and peace education initiatives across 192+ countries, supported by affiliated youth (IPYG) and women's (IWPG) organizations.

Product overview

HWPL (Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light) operates as a unified peace advocacy platform centered on the Declaration of Peace and Cessation of War (DPCW), a 10-article, 38-clause international declaration. The core HWPL organization coordinates the Legislate Peace (LP) Program, which serves as the overarching framework containing four key campaign modules: the Sign Your Support Campaign (signature collection), Peace Letter Campaign (handwritten letters to world leaders), Peace Walk Campaign (annual global walks), and Spreading a Culture of Peace Campaign. Supporting initiatives include Peace Education programs, Interfaith Harmony initiatives through the WARP office, and regional Mindanao Peace Projects. The organization also maintains affiliated sub-brands including IPYG (International Peace Youth Group). A KMI Health Checkup Partnership provides member healthcare benefits. The organization does not offer technology products, APIs, or AI capabilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Declaration of Peace and Cessation of War (DPCW) A 10-article, 38-clause international declaration embodying principles and means to achieve sustainable peace, prevent and resolve conflicts, and spread a culture of peace. HWPL's ultimate goal is to develop the DPCW into an internationally legally binding instrument through the United Nations.
• Legislate Peace (LP) Program A global initiative that supports and promotes the DPCW as international peace law. The program includes signature campaigns, peace letters, peace walks, and spreading peace culture activities to involve civil society in achieving sustainable peace.
• Peace Letter Campaign A campaign where citizens worldwide inform national leaders about the DPCW and urge them to support its implementation through handwritten peace letters. Letters have been sent to 192 countries with 564,445 participants.
• Sign Your Support Campaign A campaign collecting signatures supporting the DPCW. The campaign has collected signatures from 176 countries with 741,655+ signatures (Korean data) and 900,114 signatures from 178 countries (French data).
• Peace Walk Campaign An annual campaign held every May where youth organize peace walks in major cities worldwide. The campaign aims to spread a culture of peace and support the DPCW. The 2019 event involved participants from 50 countries and 100 cities, reaching approximately 1 million people.
• Peace Education Educational programs teaching children and youth the value of peace worldwide. In the Philippines, HWPL has partnered with 60 universities, 74 high schools, 7 integrated schools, 151 elementary schools, and 1,434 others through 14 MOA agreements, training 3,639 peace education instructors to reach 390,301 students across 482 schools.
• Interfaith Harmony / Alliance of Religions Initiatives bringing together religious leaders from various groups worldwide to engage in comparative discourse on religious texts, promoting harmony and peace among religions. Includes the WARP (World Alliance of Religions for Peace) office and Scripture Discussion programs. Over 330+ in-person sessions and 1,369 online discussions as of March 2026.
• Mindanao Peace Projects Regional peace initiatives in Mindanao, Philippines, including the Civilian Peace Agreement signed January 24, 2014, peace monuments, exhibitions, and ongoing peace education programs. The January 24 signing date was declared as 'HWPL Peace Day' by Maguindanao province and MILF leadership.
• KMI Health Checkup Partnership A partnership with Korea Medical Institute (KMI) providing comprehensive health checkup services to HWPL members and staff at preferential rates. KMI operates 8 centers across Korea including Suwon, Gangnam, Gwanghwamun, Yeouido, Busan, Daegu, Gwangju, and Jeju. The agreement auto-renews every 2 years.

Quantifiable outcome

• Mindanao Peace Agreement: 40+ year conflict ending after HWPL mediation, saving over 120,000 lives
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered minor, core and major.

• KMI (Korean Medical Institute / 한국的一家)minorOthers · 1 April 2025HWPL signed a health checkup agreement with KMI in April 2025. KMI provides comprehensive health checkup services at special rates for HWPL members, employees, families, and partner organization members. Services available at 8 KMI centers nationwide (Suwon, Gangnam, Gwanghwamun, Yeouido, Busan, Daegu, Gwangju, Jeju). The agreement auto-renews every 2 years.
• IPYG (International Peace Youth Group)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIPYG is HWPL's affiliated youth organization focused on engaging young people in peace movements. HWPL collaborates with IPYG on peace education, youth leadership programs, and civil society mobilization campaigns globally.
• IWPG (International Women's Peace Group)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIWPG is HWPL's affiliated women's organization. Together with IPYG, IWPG co-organized the Mindanao Peace Agreement ceremony and peace education initiatives.
• PARLACEN (Central American Parliament)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPARLACEN passed a resolution supporting DPCW and committed to work toward making DPCW official law. Guatemala and five other member nations' parliaments adopted the DPCW resolution.
• Panafrican Parliament (African Union Legislative Body)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHWPL signed an MOU with the Panafrican Parliament to collaborate on peace activities. The parliament represents the African Union's legislative body.
• BBS Center (Black Sea and Baltic Sea Center for Consensus Studies)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSigned cooperation agreement with BBS Center, an organization of former Eastern European heads of state, to work together for DPCW implementation.
• CCLP (Caribbean Peace Leaders' Alliance)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCaribbean Community (CARICOM) alliance of former presidents and prime ministers, founded by Belize's former Prime Minister Said Musa to support DPCW adoption internationally.
• PARLANDINO (Andean Parliament)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSigned MOU with PARLANDINO (Andean Parliament) in September 2022.
• Philippines CHED (Commission on Higher Education)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMOA signed in January 2018 for CHED to integrate peace education into higher education curriculum across the Philippines. CHED Order No. 1 (2019) mandated peace education in all higher education programs.
• Philippines Government and MILFcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHWPL mediated the 2014 Mindanao Peace Agreement between the Philippines Government and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), ending a 40+ year conflict that claimed over 120,000 lives. January 24 was declared 'HWPL Peace Day' by both parties.
• Manila Metro Rotary Club (RCMM)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership established in 2021 to jointly implement peace activities and volunteer projects in the Philippines for sustainable peace.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Peace Direct: International NGO that supports local peacebuilders and peace mediation efforts globally. Similar to HWPL in driving grassroots-to-international peace advocacy and conflict mediation, with comparable civil society mobilization methods.
• International Peace Bureau (IPB): Long-standing international peace NGO headquartered in Berlin advocating for disarmament and peaceful conflict resolution. Comparable to HWPL in advocating for international legal frameworks and mobilizing civil society for peace, though focused on disarmament rather than a single declaration.
• Search for Common Ground: International conflict resolution NGO operating in dozens of countries with peace education and interfaith dialogue programs. Closely comparable to HWPL in combining education, interfaith work, and policy advocacy for peace.
• Peace One Day: NGO that campaigned for the UN International Day of Peace and runs global awareness campaigns. Similar single-issue advocacy model and civil society mobilization approach to HWPL's peace walks and signature campaigns.
• GPPAC (Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict): Global network of civil society organizations working on conflict prevention and peacebuilding with regional networks. Closely comparable to HWPL in network-based civil society advocacy for preventing armed conflict.
• Religions for Peace: Multi-faith coalition advancing interreligious cooperation for peace, with affiliated youth and women's networks. Directly comparable to HWPL's WARP-style interfaith scripture comparison and to its youth (IPYG) and women's (IWPG) sub-brands.

Broad incumbents

• International Crisis Group: Established global think tank and NGO working on conflict prevention and resolution through field-based research and policy advocacy. Overlaps with HWPL's dispute resolution and prevention focus, but operates as a professionalized, staffed analytical organization rather than a volunteer-driven civil society movement.
• The Carter Center: Established NGO founded by a former head of state mediating conflicts and observing elections globally. Comparable to HWPL in the conflict mediation and election-related peacebuilding domain, with a much larger institutional footprint.
• Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP): Think tank producing the Global Peace Index and Positive Peace framework. Comparable to HWPL in developing structured frameworks to measure and operationalize peace, though oriented toward research and indices rather than civil society mobilization.

Others

• United Nations Peacebuilding Support Office (PBSO): UN system entity coordinating peacebuilding across multilateral institutions. Relevant comparison as the institutional target HWPL seeks to influence through DPCW adoption efforts.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/hwpl_kr
• Facebookfacebook.com/hwpl.kr
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hwpl

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light