SBS 'I want to know' digs into the reality of S Church.
With the subtitle of 'Missing: Disappearing Children - What Happened at S Church', which will be broadcast on the 19th, 'I want to know', we trace the reality of S Church, which does not send children to school, but engages in hard labor, evangelism, and even violence. .
One day in 2003, something embarrassing happened to Kim Ok-bun (pseudonym).
It was because the inside and outside of his son suddenly disappeared with his grandson Geon-woo (pseudonym), who would not hurt even if he put it in his eyes.
The son and his wife left behind only the words that they were leaving to lead a deeper religious life.
The grandson Geon-woo, who had such a lovely smile, was a 7-year-old kindergartener at the time.
The grandmother wanted to see her grandson, but there was no contact at all, and she did not know where he lived.
10 years have passed since I miss him, and one day, my grandson, Geon-woo, appeared at the house of my grandmother Ok-bun.
It was nice to meet my grandson who had grown so much after 10 years, but I couldn't help but be surprised at the unusual appearance of the child.
The skinny body, pale eyes, charred skin, and the things that hurt more than the appearance were the things that the grandson had to go through.
Gun-woo, now a 25-year-old young man. The place he went to with his parents at the age of 7 was S Church. Geon-woo confessed that he was forced to do strange and painful things while living together with young children of the same age while separated from his parents there. The children had to listen to sermons about the end times during the 90-minute worship service three times a day, and they had to be trained to visit all over the country in the name of evangelism. In addition, he said that he received catechesis that was packaged as 'homeschooling' without going to school. The only education was Bible study, and Pastor Choi, who led this church, called the children 'the Lord's elite soldiers' and managed and taught them while cutting off their contact with the world.
The children who escaped from the Church of S were angry at the hard work and violence they had to endure. When there was time between worship services, the children were put into farms, junk shops, and even church extensions, where they had to work more than 10 hours a day. Moreover, he confessed that it was a daily life where verbal abuse and assault continued if he did not work properly or if he disobeyed the elders of the ministers.
After all these years, at the age of 16, Gun-woo, who had the courage to escape without his parents' knowledge. In his memory, S Church was not a common place. Although it has been 9 years since he escaped, Gun-woo is worried that there may still be children in the same situation as him. S Church, which is known to have been planted by Pastor Choi in 1989, has continued to grow and now has churches, prayer centers and farms in five locations across the country.
Pastor Choi introduced himself as God's representative. He is said to have preached that the end was coming soon and that following him was the only way to heaven. Victims say that they had no choice but to believe the stories of '666 Veri Chip' and 'Sounds of Hell' that Pastor Choi often heard during worship. They remember that Pastor Choi's prayer method was also unique. His favorite prayer method was 'laying your eyes on one' in which he prayed while pressing his eyes. He said that it is a prayer that puts the weight of the whole body and presses the eyes of the subject because it is to send out the evil spirits dwelling in the body. The victims testified that they frequently experienced vomiting, fainting, and even injuries while receiving the 'ordination of eyes' by Pastor Choi.
Pastor Choi led the church in a nonsensical way, such as mobilizing children to evangelize, constructing a church, and running a farm without even sending them to school. What is his true identity? Also, what is happening in S Church, where everyone from adults to children gathers to live a community life?
We will dig into the reality of the S Church, which filled the victims' childhoods with memories of hard labor, violence, and fear, and trace the truth behind Pastor Choi, the ministers who follow him, and the truth they seek. 'I want to know' will be broadcast at 11:10 pm on the 19th.
(SBS Entertainment News reporter Kang Seon-ae)