The recent outbreak of COVID-19 has caused a national epidemic, where people are in fear of contracting the virus. The virus had been claimed to have originated in Wuhan, China, more specifically in a seafood market that was known to sell other exotic animals. The virus became a national health crisis once the numbers of infected individuals skyrocketed and the death toll began to rise. Preventative measures have been taken, where China has been quarantined, and any other location or people that are infected. Currently, the strive for vaccines and treatments are being researched, but no immediate treatment is available for the public. As a result, people are being forced to endure the viral infection and are only being treated for their symptoms.
For this cultural post, I want to talk about an incident that caused the massive surge of COVID-19 infected people to rise in South Korea. The image (top) shows a woman in a mask walking by a branch of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony. The founder of this church, Lee Man-Hee, claims to have witnessed God in a vision and claims to be the second coming of Jesus. This is a significant claim in the Christian community, and as a result, many have deemed this church as a cult. Though the origin is yet unclear, a member of the church contracted the disease and managed to spread the disease at an alarming rate. Today, the South Korean government announced 169 new coronavirus cases and two more deaths. Currently, there is a total of 602 cases and six deaths in total in South Korea. As a result, the South Korean president, Moos Jae-In, took initiative and raised the national threat level to “red alert.”
To take preventative measures to limit the spread of the coronavirus, a petition was signed to dissolve the church of shincheonji temporarily. As a result, the church spokesman, Kim Si-Mon, told the public that its 1,100 churches have closed and that the churchgoers were told to refrain from external activities. The president claimed that this is not an infringement of religious freedom, but rather a necessary step to prevent further contamination of the disease. Luckily, the church agreed to comply and be cooperative with the Korean government as they said that they can understand the public worries.
In a recent investigation, investigators have been able to identify a 61-year-old churchgoer as patient-zero. She supposedly refused to get tested and lied about attending services. It is said that in one of the major services, there were potentially 1,000 people that could have been contaminated, which would explain the massive surge of coronavirus cases. This manipulation and deceit have caused a backlash within the Korean community, and stigma regarding these people have begun to arise. Discrimination against shincheonji members have begun to arise, and people are now afraid to associate with the church.
This is not surprising, because recently, the number of Korean cults has become more and more identified. With various new churches forming, and even with the previous Korean president, the cult mentality is very strong in Korea. Once again, for this culture post, I wanted to talk about the recent activities that have been occurring in Korea.
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