Recently, K-pop fans have been tuned into the public feud between Korean entertainment giant HYBE and the CEO of its sub-label Ador, Min Hee Jin (민희진). Previously, the CEO dropped numerous claims against HYBE, including allegations of plagiarism. However, another major claim that Min Heejin made during her scandalous press conference was that HYBE and its top management were involved in cult activities and rituals.
Min Hee Jin was previously accused by the conglomerate of using shamans during her tenure at her label. However, the art director denied the claims and in turn, pointed at HYBE as the one with cult connections. Her shocking accusation led many netizens to dig deeply into the claims, resulting in some unsettling discoveries of the connection between HYBE, its founder Bang Sihyuk (방시혁) and the Korean organisation, Dahn World (단월드).
According to the post on a Korean forum site, Dahn World promotes the ideology that man and God are one and the followers are said to worship Mago, the goddess of the universe. Curiously, Mago is also the song of HYBE’s now-disbanded girl group GFRIEND (여자친구). The song was released while the group was under HYBE after the company had acquired GFRIEND’s label Source Music. This is the first alleged instance of the company’s ties to the organisation.
GFRIEND’s final album, “回:Walpurgis Night” is also said to be another instance of HYBE’s cult connections as the album’s title refers to the German feast day under Christian tradition. It is believed that on Walpurgis Night, held on the evening of 30th April into 1st May, fire rituals are performed to eliminate witches and evil spirits. Some also suggested that HYBE’s other girl group, LE SSERAFIM (르세라핌), is another one of HYBE’s “sacrifices”, since the group debuted on 2nd May, the day after Walpurgis Night.
Another issue that netizens allege links LE SSERAFIM to HYBE’s cult connection was the group’s previous albums. For their “UNFORGIVEN”, the group had a fire-related concept that refers back to the activities of Walpurgis Night. The same album also had an image of member Kazuha (카즈하), which netizens say was reminiscent of depictions of the goddess Mago.
Many people believed that these alleged connections to Dahn World were why Min Hee Jin tried to distance herself, Ador and NewJeans from HYBE. It is also said that Min Hee Jin used NewJeans’ music and their music videos to bring public awareness to the company’s cult connections. However, all these accusations remain unproven and HYBE has denied all these claims.
Nevertheless, many more allegations have been coming out on social media, tying other HYBE groups like TOMORROW X TOGETHER (투모로우바이투게더), BTS (방탄소년단) and ILLIT (아일릿) to Dahn World. What are your thoughts on these allegations? Could they be true or are these just conspiracy theories?
