He was born in
Longjing,
Jilin as the first son of the Reverend, Moon Jae-rin and mother, Shin Sin-muk. He had two brothers and two sisters. He and his brother became pastors. He was raised in
Bukgando where
Korean independence movement was centered. After finishing up education at Myeongdong Elementary school and Eunjin Middle school that ethnic Koreans established, Moon went to Sungsil Middle School in
Pyongyang, and then Yongjeong Gwangmyeong School in Bukgando. Although Moon Ik-hwan entered
Tokyo Union Theological Seminary in Japan, he was dismissed from the school because of his refusal to enlist himself to Japanese army. He then transferred to Bongcheon Seminary (봉천신학교) in
Manchuria and served as a preacher at a Korean church. In 1947, he graduated Hansin University and received the
imposition of hands. After he earned his master's degree from
Princeton Theological Seminary in the United States, he returned to South Korea and began to lecture the
Old Testament at
Yonsei University and
Hanshin University. Later, he worked on translating the Old Testament until he devoted himself on unification of the two Koreas and democracy of South Korea. ==Career==