Netflix’s 8-episode documentary “In the Name of God: A Holy Betrayal” (hereinafter referred to as “In the Name of God”) is enraging Kpop fandoms.
Recently, Synnara Record, an album distributor that sells Kpop albums and runs fan signing events, is facing a strong wave of boycott from Kpop fandoms.
According to the pop music industry, the boycott began online after Synnara Record was mentioned in the 5th and 6th episodes of the Netflix documentary “In the Name of God”, which was released on March 3rd.
There episodes mentioned a cult called “Baby Garden”, which was founded in 1982 by Kim Ki Soon. Believers of the cult lived as a group at a cooperative farm and worshipped Kim, who called herself “Baby” and committed various evil acts such as sexual assault.
There were also deaths. Three believers, including Choi Nak Gwi, who was 7 years old at that time, lost their lives, and it was claimed that Kim was the perpretrator behind this case. In this regard, Kim was found not guilty, but “In the Name of God” raised doubts again through interviews with victims’ families and believers.
There was also a story about Synnara Record. One of the sources of revenue Kim created is Media Synnara, and she accumulated enormous wealth by running Synnara Record in Media Synnara. A believer who appeared in the documentary testified, “Kim Ki Soon made a lot of money with Synnara Record. She made a big profit because there was no foundation for music business at the time.”
Although its influence has decreased now, Synnara Record was once known as the largest album distributor in Korea. In particular, it received attention from idol fandoms by holding fan signing events based on album sales.
Since many years ago, there has been a story that Synnara Record is related to Baby Garden. Some fans recognized this and showed a boycott movement, but it did not lead to specific actions.
However, as “In the Name of God” has caused a big stir in all directions in Korea, including politics and society, it seems that the boycott will not end in an easy way. Some overseas Kpop fans also seem to agree with this trend.
The impact of “In the Name of God” already stirred up the music industry once. There was a rumor that the parents of DKZ Kyoungyoon are related to JMS, which was discussed in the documentary. It is said that Kyoungyoon’s parents are JMS’ believers and are running a related cafe.
Kyoungyoon’s agency expressed its position, “As soon as Kyoungyoon learned about the controversy, he was shocked. He has since confirmed the contents of the broadcast and his parents’ business has ceased operations. We have also checked all parts related to any specific organization and would like to clarify that there will be no connection (to JMS).”
Source: daum
