This post is a DeepL translation (partially revised by the blog administrator) of the following article.
本投稿は以下の記事のDeepL翻訳（一部、管理人修正済み）です。
Five former female believers talk about the reality of "Mass Wedding is the biggest goal"
"I thought it was like a vegetable auction" and "It was horrible that there was no conflict"
[Special Report].
TBS TV
Special Report
Saturday, August 27, 2022 20:51
In addition to large donations and Spiritual Sales, there is also the issue of Mass Weddings, where lives and families were ruined over the damage caused by the Unification Church. Former Mass Wedding participants talked about their marriages and the reality of the cult in this special report.
■ Mass Wedding is a "blessing" and "the greatest goal of believers
Former female believers who held a Mass Wedding in South Korea, all but one, four, showed up for interviews, said they joined the church in the late 1980s and 1990s through introductions from acquaintances or after being solicited on the street.
Ms. Takako Zenba, anchor
"Can't (Unification Church members) be interviewed on their own initiative?"
All of them
"No, we can't." "No."
Yoko, a former member of the Unification Church who participated in a Mass Wedding ceremony in 1988, said, "It is Satan who denies the Unification Church or speaks ill of it. I thought so too when I was in (the cult). If I hadn't stopped, I would still be there (among the believers). The staff are good people, and during the time I was there, they repeatedly listened to my stories, or reviewed the content of the lectures, so they convinced me that it was a great story."
After joining the church, the biggest goal of the believers is to have a Mass Wedding.
Yoko, a former believer
"After that, we learn that if we don't receive the Mass Wedding Blessing, we can't really enter heaven. Receiving that (blessing) is the goal. In the end, we want to receive the blessing, and that's what we want to do."
Caster Zemba
"Do they confirm whether or not you have a desire (for a marriage partner)?"
Former believer, Yoko
"Japanese people have historically occupied Korea, so basically, believers are taught that this is Japan's greatest sin, or something like that, at the entrance point. We were told that marrying a Korean is like a prince marrying a dog, a dog that has been abandoned, and that it is a real honor to be in such a position."
■For the 1.4 million yen to participate in the ceremony... focused on "Spiritual Sales".
To be with a prince charming...
Zemba Caster
"Is there a fee for participating in the Mass Wedding?"
Yoko, a former believer
"I think it was 1.4 million yen."
In order to participate in the Mass Wedding, she put more effort into Spiritual Sales, selling expensive vases, paintings, and other items.
Former believer, Yoko
"We sell seals and other such items through Spiritual Sales talks, and the amount of sales would be added to the donation as an achievement. The amount of money sold is added to the total amount of donations."
Caster Zenba
"You mean that you were required to meet some sort of quota?"
Yoko, former believer
"Yes, but I think there was an understanding that all of it (donations) would go to Sun Myung Moon's father."
There is a big difference in the participation fee for Mass Wedding between Japan and South Korea.
According to the "Mass Wedding" manual for South Koreans obtained by the Special Report, the basic fee is 2 million won (200,000 Japanese yen), which is lower than the fee for Japanese.
■ What is the reality of Mass Wedding? It was like "a vegetable auction" and "not my type at all"
When Japanese believers arrive in Korea to participate in a Mass Wedding...
Taeko, a former believer who participated in the Mass Wedding in 1988
"When I got off the plane, I was told, 'Get on this bus,' and we went to the Mass Wedding venue, and what I felt there was that it was like a vegetable auction. My partner in front of our group, hold a card with my name, and we each say, 'Hi,' and there we go."
Yoko, a former believer
"When I saw the face and atmosphere of my Korean partner, he was not my type at all. To be honest, I thought, "What? But he was my chosen spouse, so I felt that I shouldn't have those feelings. But honestly, I was conflicted. Even though, I thought I was rather better, as there were many more, who is like an mysterious, unknown person..."
Caster Zenba
"What do you mean by "mysterious" for example?"
Yoko, a former believer
"There were all kinds of people, including very elderly..."
According to the cult's doctrine at that time, one could not live with one's spouse until the age of 30, and sexual intercourse was also forbidden. Therefore, many Japanese wives under the age of 30 returned to Japan for a time, and some left the church during that time; five former believers also left the church and divorced when they returned to Japan.
There is a photo from a Korean "Mass Wedding" manual.
It was taken when a Korean man, who could not live with his wife, visited Japan to meet his spouse. Perhaps it was to relieve his anxiety. The cult had been conducting such 3-day/2-night tours and other activities.
■In some cases, a Korean man violently attacked his Japanese spouse, she thought she would be dead for this...
There were also cases in which Korean husbands violently attacked their spouses.
Kyoko, a former believer who participated in a Mass Wedding in 1992
"Korean spouses immediately think that a blessing means marriage, so he call me all the time to ask me when I will come. Since he was not a person who had a steady job, he started asking me for money. I think he got so frustrated that on the way home (when we met), he got very angry and choked me. I thought he was going to kill me..."
Caster Zenba
"Not to run away or fight back?"
Kyoko, former believer
"No, not at all. Even if they strangle me, beat me, or get angry at me, I think that if I overcome such things, I will be saved that much more."
Yoko, former believer
"Yoko, a former believer, said, "There were people who approached me in a sexual way, demanding, of course, half-raped his spouse. they said to had tried to avoid it, but 'I couldn't make it'."
■ In many cases, the partner was "not a believer," and "the Blessing was just a means to get married."
Many husbands who welcomed Japanese wives were not believers.
Zemba, anchor
"Are there are many cases where the man is not a believer?."
All
"Most of them, I think...most of them."
A leaflet that the cult is said to be distributing in Korea says the following...
- "Unmarried men and women who are having trouble choosing a marriage partner."
- "Those who are desperate because they have missed their chance to get married.
- "Please feel free to call us right now."
The flyers do not include the words "Unification Church" or "Mass Wedding," and could easily be mistaken for an invitation to join a marriage counseling agency. A number of Korean men have reportedly joined and married easily after reading such flyers.
Japanese former followers also testified that Mass Wedding was nothing more than a means for Korean men to get married.
Former believer, Yoko
”My ex-husband had three or four brothers, but he was the only one who couldn't get married. I thought it was because he didn't have a wife to apply for the Mass Wedding.
■ Even sleeping in the barn... "It was horrible that I didn't have any conflicts.
Yuko, a former believer, participated in a Mass Wedding in 1995.
"I think it was somewhere around here. It was about an hour from Seoul, or about an hour by express bus. It was in the middle of the mountains."
Yuko, a former believer, has lived with her Korean ex-husband for three months. They lived with her husband's brother's family in their farmhouse.
Former believer, Yuko
"We were like house-sitters, and I think the brother probably did all the work in the fields, rice paddies, and taking care of the cows. I don't know what kind of work my husband does for a living. We only go here at night when we sleep, and our whole life is done here..."
Zemba Caster
"Did you sleep in the cowshed?"
Former believer, Yuko
"Yes, I did. That's right, a cowshed. There were a lot of family members there originally. His brother and his wife, his mother and her children, there were about seven of them."
Caster Zenba
"There were cows, too, weren't there?"
Former believer, Yuko-san
"When I opened the door, the cows were there. Yes, they smelled pretty good..."
The photograph, taken in 1995, shows a rural Korean village where a Japanese wife married into the family. The damaged house, outdoor baths and laundry tubs. It is believed that numerous Japanese wives are still living in poor farming villages.
Zemba Caster
"I think it is difficult to treat people with love even if you are told to have a family, and I think it is difficult even if you are suddenly told to have a family."
Former believer, Yuko
"No, I think the fact that I didn't have any conflicts is frightening when I think about it now. It's kind of strange. I can't help but wonder myself when I think about it now. I wonder how I could have done that, thinking about it in a normal way. Now I can only laugh at it."
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
