Netflix has reignited a nationwide reckoning in South Korea with The Echoes of Survivors: Inside Korea’s Tragedies, a powerful follow-up to its 2023 hit, In the Name of God: A Holy Betrayal. This eight-part docuseries explores major Korean tragedies, but two episodes specifically revisit the shocking case of JMS (Jesus Morning Star), a religious cult founded by self-proclaimed messiah, Jung Myung Seok. The series shines a spotlight on how the cult thrived for over four decades despite rape convictions, media exposés, and international manhunts, all thanks to deep-rooted connections of the cult in politics, media, law enforcement, and even the K-pop world. Here’s all you need to know about the cult.
The Echoes of Survivors: Inside Korea’s Tragedies talks about the cult crimes, a messiah in disguise and his global victims
The Echoes of Survivors picks up where the earlier docuseries left off, it talks about how Jung Myung Seok was convicted of rape in 2008, and was imprisoned again in 2022, but still somehow managed to keep his empire alive. His cult, which had been active since 1978, spread beyond Korea to countries like the U.S., Australia, and Hong Kong. Followers viewed him not as a predator but as a divine figure. Survivors like Maple and Amy, who collected evidence and spoke out in In the Name of God, return in this sequel to show how the system failed them for years. The new series dives into how JMS operated like a shadow organisation, infiltrating institutions that were supposed to expose it.
