my (scary) encounter with a korean cult l yourstrieuly

[@somethingsomethingson5203]

I think that if you felt that something was off, it probably wasn't for no reason. Sometimes you just have to go with your gut feeling, so good thing you didn't go with them. The sketchiest part to me is that they specifically wanted you to follow them to their place, instead of inviting you to like a cafe for example. Glad you still had fun in South Korea though!

[@yourstrieuly]

It was tons of fun! Not gonna let one weird encounter ruin my fun haha. But yeah, it was a really odd situation 😂

[@nikkaalmazan-biasotto3344]

Now, they recruit via Instagram due to coronavirus restrictions. It’s happening here in Australia. I’m happy I never fell into their trap. I just confronted the recruiter today and asked her a lot of questions about SCJ. By God’s grace, I never got caught into it

[@splashnstar5870]

I got caught up in doing the bible study for 1 month and then they told me who they were and I rejected any further study

[@nikkaalmazan-biasotto3344]

@@splashnstar5870 That's great to hear. Do you still get recruited? Ever since I left, I've received invites from 7 people at least - both via Facebook and Instagram

[@splashnstar5870]

@@nikkaalmazan-biasotto3344 no I haven’t received anymore messages! So sorry to hear that’s happening to you. Hope it stops soon. Just send them a video of why not to join their group. Maybe they will stop cause they understand you know about them

[@sC-vk8xi]

i dont think that you over-reacted. that seems like a really weird and scary situation... i never heard of that cult, but good to know!

[@yourstrieuly]

I never heard of them either! Scary stuff out there, but if you google it, there's tons of info on them on the internet. crazyyy

[@allyonightmare]

As a fluent Korean speaker, I too had this experience when I visited Korea back in January/2019. I was visiting a friend at a hospital to have his knee surgery done, and as I was walked out into the street, 2 young females in their early 20s walked up to me. They asked me do you have time? and started to ask me about my ancestors. They were like "how well do you know your acnestors? We would like to ask you a survey and we just need a bit of your time." I didn't think a big deal of it and said "sure" like a nice American would (although I spoke in Korean). But something felt real fishy and suspicious because the girl next to another girl asking me questions just kept shivering. I thought she was just cold but as I was answering the questions from the other girl, she kept acting like she was almost freezing to death. That's when I was like "oh shit are they asking me for money?" and kind of got this suspicious vibe from them. They asked questions like, "what's your last name? which region are you from? what linkage is your last name?" (certain last names have certain regional importances - i.e - My last name is Kim and my ancestry is from Sun-san region so my last name ancestry is Sun-San Kim/선산 김씨). Like you, when I showed them some opposition and told them I had to go, they became more persistent; angry almost. I felt some danger vibe going on so I just told them "I'm sorry" and left. And just like you, I called my local cousins who I was staying with and they told me to NOT follow them and get the hell outta there. I immigrated to the states in 2002 so i'm practically an American so I didn't know these cults still existed. I was so unaware and so naive. I still think back to that moment and sometimes imagine what my life could be like if i did follow them and answer their questions After asking my aunt/uncle, Korea still have these cults where they ask you these suspicious questions. Real popular one is "Do you know Do?/ 도를 아십니까?" Copy and paste that last korean phrase into google and you will get some weird korean religious cult shit. Mad freaky yo.. And As an American traveling in Korea, i can definitely say that these cults exist and they are on the lookout for foreginers, and I can only imagine it's because of how you look or how you dress; otherwise how would you distinguish foreigners from real local koreans?

[@yourstrieuly]

That is crazy! Glad you're safe. When I spoke with my friend who lived in Korea, she said that because this has been happening to locals more often, they've kinda caught on and are able to avoid these people. So now, they've switched to targetting foreigners because they're more unassuming. She said she had one friend who actually followed these people too because they just didn't seem suspicious at all and yes, they do some WEIRD shit. 😦

[@priyankashete8232]

My husband, who is a korean national, once followed two korean Male students to see what exactly they do. He doesn't believe in God nor he follows any religion but he had heard of cult groups and was so curious to know that what exactly they do and since he knows that Seoul has CCTV everywhere so they possibly won't harm him physically. So he followed them where they do some kind of prayer for ancestors. After the prayer, they asked my husband to give cash to offer to his ancestors. My husband had 500 KWN 😂 in cash so they said it's not enough . Then he left from there. When he told me about it after couple if years ( it happened when we were not married )I was so freaked out 🙄🙄

[@saliiwa]

They are not scary, if you just decline nicely that s enough to make them go away, even if they persist a bit that s not dangerous, i ve been approached by them many time, and with time you start knowing how to deal with these situations right away.

[@yury_kim]

See what they have done now with Corona. Thanks for sharing. I now understand I have been approached by them once, too. I thought they wanted my organs, coz there are some gangs that do that. Thank you!

[@mr.nielmanlapig]

I think that was fake news!!

[@mikefitzgerald18]

Sean Moon, youngest son of the Reverend Sun Myung Moon, has a YT channel

[@imbored710]

Quick question about communication in Korea, what is your experience with communication with the locals? Do people in the cities speak and understand English (like in Tokyo)? I am thinking of going to Korea perhaps sometime next year.

[@yourstrieuly]

Hi Kweek! I definitely think it was a little harder to communicate/get around in Korea, but not impossible! Another thing to keep in mind is Google maps didn't work as well in Korea for me. It often started glitching, so I did get lost quite a few times :/ Overall though, it wasn't too hard to navigate and people were friendly for the most part!

[@waikikitaiyaki6229]

That’s super creepy. I’m glad you are a smart traveler and had your guard up. You did exactly the right things by protecting your belongings, being aware of your surroundings, and keeping your answers short. Lastly gettin the f*@# out of there. So happy that you didn’t get caught up in anything bad. It was wise of you not to vlog too much after that. Honestly even though I love seeing new places, stuff like this makes me appreciate Japan even more lol. What will your next trip be? Looking forward to more vlogs and stay safe!!!!

[@yourstrieuly]

Yes, definitely! This experience made me appreciate Japan even more also. Korea was fun, but I think the encounter was just unexpected or maybe it's not a place meant for people traveling alone. I definitely think Korea would be a fun place to go with a group of people! Not sure where my next trip will be yet, but hopefully it'll be sometime soon! Hope you're doing well, Hiroshi! :)

[@peterpetigrue9299]

Hi just wanna ask if you're okay after posting this video? Hope you're doing well.

[@welfareoffice]

Korea teen in U.S, had a fake name; job and car at school

[@coko3124]

I lived in Korea for 3 years. It's really strange.

[@flowerpower2906]

Never heard about this before, thanks for the heads up!!

[@yourstrieuly]

Definitely! Safe travels!

[@piepachu2196]

korea be kinda crazy with cults tho, it's kinda crazy

[@jefflinahan5853]

Did they let you know the name of their group?

[@yemimahkim]

There's a high chance that they were a part of the Shincheonji Church. They usually start by getting you to attend a so-called "Bible study" even if you're not a believer and I think they also do teach a bit about Korean culture and stuff just to get you a bit more comfortable with the place, this can go on for months before they eventually introduce you to their church.

[@Chorizo1]

Stay away from the Good News Mission/IYF

[@Youtuber-y6o]

Yes!

[@lovebts1459]

Why genuine question cuz once I attended their camp and it was weird but are they cult?

[@kookienics1022]

Omg. Thank goodness you are safe! I'm thinking of solo traveling to SoKor for a long time now but now I changed my mind lol. Btw, I just found your channel bc of your first Japan vlog! 💕 if you don't mind what's your nationality I mean you're probably American buuuutt likeeee Filipino? Vietnamese? lol sorry my eng is sooo bad.

[@xeathenia8539]

“CULT-ure”

[@ufmit]

Don’t join it, Jess!!!!!

[@yourstrieuly]

lol.. but man.. following a stranger in a foreign company to their studio.... so tempting!! lol jk jk

[@eddogovindha]

Stay safe!

[@WhatsThisThenLucchiSupremeson]

♡