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WHEN Fiji was sold to disciples as the “promised land”, they had no idea they were being indoctrinated into a “mind-controlling” cult.
One that has allegedly encouraged its members to beat each other, and whose leader has been found guilty of violence, child abuse and fraud.
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GuardianThis tight-lipped church also “forced a mum and daughter to hit each other” and is now demanding its followers to “bear more children” a cult expert told The Sun.
Professor Tark Ji-il said that apocalyptic religious group Grace Road destroys its “disciples’ family values” before beginning “doctrinal mind control” of its members.
The ominous sect is said to “force husbands and wives to sleep separately” – while also encouraging the aggressive growth of their population.
Grace Road have set up an expanding business empire in Fiji under their corporate arm Grace Road Group – and now seek to “maintain their influence for a long time”, cult-watcher Tark said.
Fiji locals told The Sun about their “unsettling” experiences interacting with suspicious cult workers in a host of Grace Road establishments.
The brutal regime was headed by South Korean leader Shin Ok-ju before her arrest – after she was accused of forcing churchgoers to beat each other up.
These alleged “threshing ground” rituals were performed to “avoid punishment from God”.
The chilling allegations come as a growing number of cults in the East Asian nation use the Korean culture boom to indoctrinate younger members, according to Tark.
The Busan Presbyterian University professor, whose dad was killed by a cult in 1994 while researching them, explained the background of the church and why they took over Fiji.
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Occrp.orgGrace Road, set up by South Korean doomsday preacher Shin Ok-ju, moved 400 of its members abroad to Fiji in 2014.
She convinced her followers that the country would be safe from an imminent apocalypse – hailing the island as the “promised land to avoid war, earthquake or famine”, according to Tark.
After settling in Fiji, the members alleged that their passports were confiscated and they were kept captive by the oppressive heretic.
They were made to work without any pay, according to several members who managed to escape.
Many were reportedly beaten up to “drive out evil spirits”.
Tark confirmed that several years ago, fanatic Shin “treated her members in very violent way”.
“They forced a mother and daughter to hit each other” he said.
Shocking video footage which surfaced in 2018 showed a woman hitting a girl during a Grace Road gathering which was believed to be her daughter.
In 2019, pastor Shin was sentenced to six years in jail after being found guilty of several criminal charges including violence, child abuse and fraud.
A sub-court at the time said the victims “suffered helplessly” while experiencing “not only physical torture but also severe fear and considerable mental shock”.
But that was far from the end of Grace Road.
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Oocrp.orgStill operating in Fiji, professor Tark says that the Grace Road Group has amassed an influential presence across the tiny nation’s businesses.
He said that they will “try to maintain their influence” and demand its members to “bear more children” while they await the return of their leader Shin.
Grace Road Group’s website says that it was established with the “aim of food security and self-sufficiency”.
They also claims to have diversified their businesses to reach into “agriculture, construction, food processing, restaurants, trading, resorts, health services and more”.
The website says: “GR Group is laying the eternal foundation to raise Fiji to be the centre of the world as promised in the Bible.”
Who is Shin Ok-ju?
by Harvey Geh
Shin Ok-ju is the founder of a South Korean doomsday cult called Grace Road.
After amassing a following, she predicted global famine and asserted that Fiji was the “promised land” where her group could find salvation.
About 400 disciples moved to Fiji in 2014 and reportedly had their passports confiscated.
Some alleged that they were forced to work without pay and said that they were effectively trapped on the island.
She is said to have enforced a ritual known as “threshing ground” where she subjected her followers to beatings to drive out evil spirits.
Shocking footage showed Shin slapping followers across the face and making them hit each other.
Shin was sentenced to six years in jail for holding her followers captive in Fiji and subjecting the to violence.
Despite her imprisonment, the church’s corporate arm Grace Road Group continues to operate in Fiji growing their business empire.
Professor Tark said that the members of Grace Road “will be expecting the release of its leader Shin”.
He said: “Until then, they will continually try to settle down in Fiji.”
The group’s pervasive influence has even spread to the Fijian government, who have a “friendly” relationship with Grace Road.
Grace Road have secured several construction contracts from the Fiji government, and even won a business excellence award from the former prime minister.
Tark said that the group’s relationship with Fijian officials was “much better” than the one it shares with South Korean authorities.
“The church will try to be a Good Samaritan in Fiji to stay there for a long time,” he warned.
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GR GroupLocal missionary Cullen Carlson told The Sun that he confirmed Tark’s analysis of Grace Road Group’s growth.
He said that he encountered many Grace Road members who seemed like “ordinary people” – but could never figure out why so many South Koreans had moved to Fiji.
The local said: “As my companion and I continued to visit their restaurants, we began to notice subtle but odd details.”
He added that there was “something unsettling about the sheer number of workers” at each establishment.
“The businesses also had religious undertones, incorporating faith-based messages into their branding,” he explained.
He remembered a specific encounter he had with a teenage Fijian girl working at a Grace Road business, who was seemingly “friendly” but became scared when asked about her personal life.
Carlson said when he initiated some small talk, her “expression shifted” and she suddenly “grew anxious, as if afraid to engage with us”.
A Korean worker then hurried over before “aggressively” interrupting the interaction, and ushering the Fijian girl away.
“The young worker’s expression became eerily vacant,” Carlson said.
He admitted that he had seen “nothing concrete”, but certainly felt “a sense of something much darker, hidden behind the facade of hospitality and faith”.
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Locals living in Fiji said they felt a ‘darker sense’ when speaking with employees of the religious sectAnother local spoke to The Sun about the group, but wished to remain anonymous out of fear for several of their friends who work for the group.
He said he also lives within walking distance of one of Grace Road’s farms in Navua.
The former teacher told The Sun that he had actually met the infamous Shin Ok-ju’s son – Daniel Kim, who serves as the group’s de facto leader on the island.
He said that the first time he met Kim was about a decade ago – and the supreme leader’s son was trying to buy the school he was working at.
The local recalled: “Daniel Kim was interested in acquiring the school so they could use it as a place for instructing the Korean kids.
“They said they needed a ‘Korean exchange school’.
“Little did we know at the time that they were going to move the whole church over to the country.”
The local also claimed to know a man who was given a tour inside one of Grace Road’s compounds, which are shrouded in mystery.
He said that he made a bizarre discovery inside – one which appears to align with claims that professor Tark made.
The local said that when his friend went over to the Grace Road compound, there was a “long dorm building” with “all the girl bunks on the left and all the boy bunks on the right”.
He also alleged that there were “dozens of pregnant Korean girls”
“It was unbelievable how many of them were pregnant”, the witness claimed.
The man also confirmed their expansive presence in Fiji today.
He said: “They’re in every industry.
“I mean s**t they just opened a Mexican restaurant.
“Barbers, dentists, fashion, what have you – they’re doing it.”
TARK JI-ILSouth Korean cult expert Tark believes that South Korea‘s doomsday cults boomed in popularity during the country’s previous political chaos.
Many doomsday groups twisted Christian roots – with leaders claiming to be the reincarnation of Jesus and signalling the apocalypse.
Tark estimates that 1 in 10 Christians in South Korea are in a cult.
But today, they have evolved and adapted to stay relevant.
Tark said: “Nowadays, the world is interested in Korean culture, such as K-pop, beauty, dance, food, and more.
“The Korean cults wisely use these trend to propagate.”
He explained that many of these religious groups will “indirectly approach” the youth, and prefer “hiding” rather than directly preaching their messages – making them all the more scary.
“They focus on cultural and relational approaches… before beginning their doctrinal mind control,” he warned.
Tark dedicates his research to his late dad who he said was murdered by a cult member in 1994.
The professor said he decided follow in his father’s foot steps.
But he explained that even since his dad had started researching cults, the problem had not gone away.
“Since my late father’s time, the cult-related problems have never stopped.”
He said that in Korea the groups were “not simply a religious matter but a social problem” and that they could “cause serious family and social harm”.
The devoted expert said: “What I’m doing is not a choice but destiny.”
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