12 hours ago
Sex cult brainwashed me into being a ‘bride' for a rapist… I thought he was God & was sucked in with love-bomb tactics
LIZ Cameron, 32, is a health sector project manager and author. she lives in Canberra, Australia.
'As I walked out of the bookshop, a smiling woman approached.
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She was a foreign student studying Australian culture, she explained, and asked if I'd mind completing a survey.
It was January 2011 and I was a shy, insecure 18 year old just starting my gap year.
I had no idea she was from a cult – and that I'd get sucked in.
I took the pen from the girl, who said her name was Yujun.
The questions were easy, from what I liked about Australia to my religion, so I gave my answers then said goodbye, thinking no more of it.
A week later, Yujun emailed more questions about my faith, as I'd said I was Christian.
She told me my answers showed I was 'beautiful', which made me feel good.
The next week, I went to her home for tea with her and her housemates.
That was the start of the love-bombing – the hugs when I arrived for meals, their joy at me joining Bible sessions.
Seeing how happy they were made me want to feel that way, too, so within a few months, I was getting up at 5am to pray, followed by a 6am service at their house and hours of Bible reading.
Inside a 'mind-controlling' CULT which 'forced mum and daughter to hit each other' and chose Fiji as the 'promised land'
My mum started to worry, but I reassured her I was fine.
As the brainwashing took hold, the girls told me they belonged to Sarang Church and that its founder, Pastor Joshua, had been falsely imprisoned in South Korea because of his faith.
Searching for information on him or the church was forbidden, though.
I accepted this without question, even taking part in a 'heavenly bride' fashion show organised by the church.
In September 2011, they revealed Pastor Joshua – also called Jung Myung-seok or SSN – was the Messiah.
I was ecstatic when SSN wrote to me from prison to say he loved me, and I dreamed of being chosen to be a 'Faith Star' – one of his brides on Earth.
I moved out of my parents' house that November to live with the group.
I no longer saw any of my old friends, as the church had become my life.
When my mum tried to show me research on the church in January 2012, I ran away, terrified – I'd been taught that even looking at it would be 'spiritual suicide'.
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Another time, when my dad came to the house to see me, my housemate hid me in the back of a car and drove away, because nothing was more important than being spiritually pure.
A few weeks later, a group of us flew to South Korea to meet SSN and, waiting in the prison, I was so nervous.
Suddenly, there he was.
He said how happy he was to see us, while I said in stilted Korean: 'I love you.'
Deep down, I didn't actually feel any love during our meeting, but I blamed myself and prayed harder.
Back home, I received letters from SSN, which had become sexual.
I told myself he was the Messiah and everything he did was holy.
One wrong thought could taint me, and to be saved I had to sleep less, pray more, eat little and exercise.
Losing a dangerous amount of weight caused my organs to atrophy and, in January 2012, I ended up in hospital with an eating disorder.
'DEEPLY DECIEVED'
Mum saved me by convincing the clinic to discharge me to her instead of the church, then by bringing me to a cult de-programmer.
After two days of them talking to me about the tactics cults use, it hit me – Jung Myung-seok was in prison for raping and sexually assaulting three women, and I'd spent 18 months in his cult.
Months of grief followed as I realised how deeply I'd been deceived.
I began slowly rebuilding my life, meeting other cult survivors, making new friends and forging a career for myself.
In 2023, Jung Myung-seok was convicted of further sexual assaults, including rape, and sentenced to an extra 23 years in prison.
Leaving a cult isn't easy, but sharing my story helps.
