Since the release of Netflix‘s In the Name of God: A Holy Betrayal, Korean cult JMS has been a hot topic worldwide.
Many Korean celebrities have been accused of being associated with the cult, including an idol who was a victim, having been born into a family of believers, a producer who got accused on live TV, and an actor who confessed.
Now, it seems like JMS’s influence outside Korea is becoming more apparent. Recently, a post was made on a popular Taiwan online community, accusing a YouTuber of being part of the cult.
The netizen first admitted that they went to the church themselves.
I attended this church for about two years while in high school. The church’s beliefs and practices are the exact same as what’s shown in the documentary. One thing of note is that during a meeting, someone from the church wanted to introduce me to ‘a sunbae who teaches English on YouTube,’ so I chatted with this ‘sunbae.’
– Netizen
Then, the netizen described how they realized who this YouTuber was.
At that time, YouTube wasn’t popular yet, so I didn’t know who this ‘sunbae‘ was. Years later, I finally realized he was that YouTuber with a million subscribers. It’s really unbelievable. JMS is all over Taiwan, so be careful, everyone!!
– Netizen
The netizen also revealed that the YouTuber’s younger sister hosted events in the church.
By the way, I saw his sister hosting an event at the church once. Later on, I found out she’s also a member of JMS….
– Netizen
With the hints given in the post, netizens quickly discovered that the YouTuber in question is Ray Du, who runs an English-learning channel with 2.73 million subscribers. His sister, Crown Du, runs her own channel with 1.46 million subscribers.
Additionally, netizens discovered that Ray Du once wore a necklace with the word “Seok,” and guessed that this referred to Jung Myung Seok.
After the online post gained attention, Ray Du addressed the accusations through a statement on his Instagram.
Ray Du explained how he first became involved with JMS and what they did.
I came to know JMS while I was in university, on campus. At the time, I participated in church events such as Sunday worship, art classes, and evangelism activities. To us, it was like participating in regular events at an ordinary church.
– Ray Du
He then went on to directly address the controversial nature of the cult.
As for the contents of the Netflix documentary being reported by the media recently, we indeed knew Jung Myung Seok was in jail for sexual assault while we were participating in church events. However, members of the church kept explaining that he was falsely accused. They used reasons like ‘fight between religions in Korea’ and ‘smearing our name for their own gain’ to make churchgoers believe he’s innocent. They even expressed that the details circulating online are malicious, false information.
– Ray Du
Finally, he confirmed that he and his sister left the church many years ago.
During this time, we began to doubt the church’s beliefs. The church had many strict rules that did not align with our values. As such, my sister and I left the church around 6 – 7 years ago. After watching the documentary last night, we are even more certain that leaving JMS many years ago is the right decision.
– Ray Du
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