People who live in Korea have heard the phrase, “Do you know Tao?” at one time. It is the way that a cult addresses people to gain followers. Recently, there has been a conflict between the entertainment company HYBE and director Min Hee-Jin’s. HYBE is related to a cult called Dahn yoga. As a result, cults are controversial once again. People who are involved in cults cannot distinguish between real and fake religions because of serious brainwashing. Cults cause controversy everywhere. The followers do not live normal lives and commit crimes in the name of their belief. Therefore, Pharos will examine the danger of cults and discuss ways to avoid them. 

 Cults are defined in the dictionary as, “The outside is similar, but the inside is completely different.” It originated from the teachings of Confucius. Their appearance is similar to normal religions, but the inside is completely different. The reason that cults are different from normal religions is that they commit crimes using doctrine. They require followers to donate all their wealth, practice communal confinement, threaten members, murder, and even demand suicide. Abroad, they disrupt social order through terror. Many people have died due to the terror of cults, so people criticize cult activities. According to the Constitution of the Republic of Korea, Article 16, all individuals in Korea have the freedom of religion. They are guaranteed freedom of religion as a basic human right. However, if a religion damages social order, the religion is limited by law. According to precedent, inner faith is freedom, but if the religion hates security, social order, and public welfare, it will be limited. 

 Since long ago, cults have caused trouble and confused not only believers but also entire nations. In March of last year, the Netflix documentary ‘I Am God: People Who Are Betrayed from God’ shocked people because it specifically explained some of the cult crimes. They arouse caution in people. One of the most notorious cults is Odaeyang. Odaeyang’s representative and religious sect leader is Park Sun-Ja, who established a craftwork business in 1984. Actually, this cult is concealed as a normal business. Park Sun-Ja asserted eschatology and brainwashed her followers to lend her money. Park Sun-ja continued living in a group with her followers and their children and they loaned her 17 billion won. However, she didn’t repay the money, and people who went to receive the money were attacked and killed. Worried about being punished for her crimes, Park Sun-Ja committed suicide along with 32 followers. The nation was shocked when the case was exposed. 

 JMS, a very large cult has hundreds of thousands of followers. The president of JMS is Jeong Myeong-Seok. He committed sexual assault and terror to broadcasting stations. People say JMS is the most infamous cult in history. The leader preyed on young women, and he was arrested in 2007. He served out his 10-year sentence. However, he didn’t stop the cult activity when he finished his sentence and continued to sexually assault women who are citizens of Australia and Hong Kong. One woman who was a victim of JMS said she was raped by Jeong Myeong-seok from winter 2019 to September 2022. She suffered for three straight years. Furthermore, three out of 10 said they had experienced sexual assault when they were minors. JMS is a cult that deceives young people. Finally, Jeong Myeong-Seok has been sentenced to 23 years in prison. When he was sentenced in court, his followers screamed and cried. This was evidence of deep brainwashing.

 People were shocked because a TV program broadcasted the story of a cult follower who still suffers now. When she was a minor, she experienced sexual exploitation and was threatened with a video being released. In addition, she didn’t experience compulsory or elementary education. She suffered from exploitation night and day. If her mother didn’t meet her donation quotas, she was punished by being beaten. She has suffered from those memories until now. She shows anxiety when someone rings a bell and escapes to her room when she sees a silhouette of someone. Those who watched this program cannot conceal their anger. She said she has sociophobia because of psychological harm from the cult. Therefore, people can realize the seriousness of cults. 

 If so, how can people distinguish cults and avoid them? Cults are different from normal religions because they assert to deify the leader of a sect and promote false eschatology, which means the world and its people will all end at some point. They force false beliefs through false doctrine. If a religion demands that you to donate all your wealth or commit assault, confinement, or murder, you must escape from the religion quickly. For people who want to escape from a cult, the best way is to struggle not alone but by asking someone to help. It is important to ask for some help from reliable family, friends, and a psychological counseling center. Cults are hard to break away from alone. Therefore, you need assistance. To prevent the breakup of families and prevent the diffusion of cults, people support the Religious Corporation Act. Furthermore, people criticize the light sentences as part of the problem of cults. These sentences are not effective. As mentioned earlier, Jeong Myeong-Seok committed attacks, terror, and murder but he was sentenced to only 40 years. People can see how their sentences are light. Thus, the law needs to be revised as soon as possible and the nation must strengthen their punishments to protect people from being brainwashed so that they can know about the danger of cults.

 Cults’ methods develop as time goes by. They use clubs, free image consulting, and surveys to access people. They also use secondhand websites through free psychology consultations and surveys. Cults are the biggest swindlers and huge criminal organizations. If people are steeped in cults, it is the easiest way to lose ego. If you have difficulty escaping from a cult, you must ask for help without hesitation. You join a religion to get peace of mind, but if it pushes wrong beliefs, you must leave that religion quickly.

80th Reporter • KIM YU JIN • yujinkim627@gmail.com