The Shincheonji church has a lot of explaining to do.
First, everyone was shaking their fists at Patient 31, a 61-year-old woman who was a member of the church’s Daegu branch. The woman refused twice to test for the coronavirus and even attended church services at least four times despite having symptoms typical of the disease.
She sounds like a pleasant person.
The woman later tested positive for the virus on 18 Feb after which the number of cases in Daegu skyrocketed and the authorities started labelling her as a “super spreader”.
Netizens now call her “Crazy Ajumma” (affectionately, of course).
But then more and more people started to get the disease, with the large majority of South Korea’s 4000 plus cases being linked to the alleged cult, and people wondered how one lady could possibly spread the disease to so many.
Then, details about the church’s unorthodox practices emerged.
Unorthodox Practices Could Have Led to Spread
Some observers say that their the church’s unconventional practices could have contributed to the rapid spread of the disease.
According to The New York Times, worshippers were forbidden to wear glasses or face masks.
Moreover, after the first coronavirus infection was reported among its members, they were told to lie about being followers, though the church later said that was not its policy.
Church members would also always bring lunch boxes to services and share with others who did not bring any food, one former member said.
Why would they do such a thing?
Because of one Man.
Man-hee, Lee Man-hee to be exact.
Church founder called virus an “act of the devil
The church’s founder, Lee Man-hee, called the coronavirus “an act of the devil who saw the rapid growth of Shincheonji and wants to destroy our advancement”.
If this is true, this is one extremely productive devil.
One former member said that worshippers were also trained not to fear illnesses.
Because of these practices, Lee, 88, a self-proclaimed messiah, has been widely criticised for failing to do enough to stop the spread of the disease.
But now he’s on his knees, begging for forgiveness.
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Apologised for national “calamity”
On Monday (March 2), Lee knelt before the nation and apologised for the national “calamity” he may have caused.
As The Straits Times reports, this was an attempt to defuse public anger over his church’s role in spreading the coronavirus.
“We did our best but were not able to stop the spread of the virus,” Lee told a news conference, asking for forgiveness and bowing low twice.
Unfortunately for him, netizens were too angered by the gold watch he was wearing to accept his apology.
A gift from an infamous corrupted president
But why would people care about a gold watch?
Well, the gold-coloured watch was reportedly given by disgraced former President Park Geun-hye, who was impeached and jailed in 2017 for corruption and abuse of power.
The image quickly spread on social media, and as you know, people on social media are really nice and usually keep their opinions to themselves about these things.
“He is bragging about Park’s gift,” said one angry Twitter user.
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“His watch was shiny and crystal clear, like his loyalty and ties with Park Geun-hye,” said another. (Ok, that was pretty good)
One leader at the Shincheonji Church defended the watch, however, saying there was nothing shady about it.
“It has nothing to do with politics,” the official told Reuters, noting that Lee was a veteran of the Korean War. “He wears it because he doesn’t have anything else.”
The watch, however, might be a fake
Lee Gun-yong, a former aide in Park’s presidential office, said on Facebook that Lee’s watch must be fake because Park’s office only made silver ones.
At any rate, the only thing we should actually be keeping a watch on is South Korea’s rising number of cases.
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With 599 new cases confirmed on Monday, the country now has a total of 4,335 Covid-19 cases. 26 people have died so far.
It might be too late for the Shincheonji church, but let’s hope South Korea turns things around because things are really getting out of hand.
