In the days following Min Hee Jin‘s press conference, rumors about Bang Si Hyuk and HYBE‘s involvement in an organization believed to be a cult have been making their way through online communities in Korea.
The organization in question, called ‘Dahn World,’ was founded by Lee Seung Heon, who also founded Global Cyber University, which six members of BTS have attended and have promoted in the past.
According to an article shared through Nate Pann, ‘Dahn World’ promotes the idea that man and God are one, and followers are said to worship Mago, the goddess of the universe. “Mago” is also the name of HYBE’s previous girl group GFRIEND‘s final single before disbandment, which was released under a ‘modern witch’ concept. ‘回:Walpurgis Night,’ the album the track belongs to, also refers to a German feast day under Christian tradition where fire rituals are performed to rid off witches and evil spirits.
Walpurgis Night is held on the evening of April 30 into May 1, which some are suggesting makes GFRIEND’s May disbandment and LE SSERAFIM’s debut date – May 2, 2022, the day after Walpurgis Night – relevant to the cult conspiracy. They suggest that GFRIEND ending with a witch concept and LE SSERAFIM debuting a day after Walpurgis Night under a name referring to Old Testament angels (or ‘seraphim’) is no coincidence.
Other rumors suggest LE SSERAFIM’s concept content around their debut and the “UNFORGIVEN” comeback contain fire-related imagery to refer back to the concept of burning witches and ridding evil spirits. Among such imagery is an angel version of Kazuha embracing a glowing orb, reminiscent of depictions of the goddess Mago.
There are also rumors showing how Min Hee Jin allegedly did not want to be associated with HYBE’s cult connection. One such rumor is that Min Hee Jin chose to move forward with NewJeans using a separate communications app ‘Phoning‘ instead of ‘Weverse‘ as ‘Weverse’ shares a name with ‘WeaversMind,’ an education company believed to have ‘Dahn World’ connections.
The music video for NewJeans‘ “OMG” is also said to allude to HYBE’s cult ideology. In the beginning of the music video (timestamped below), member Hanni narrates, “I exist for you. When you call, I’ll run to you, anywhere anytime. I will show you what you want to see. I will speak for you and sing for you. What do you want from me? My head is always full of this question. Now I am ashamed that I was worried. It doesn’t matter who I am anymore. I exist for you.”
In response, Minji asks, “So are you saying you’re Siri?” However, in Korean, ‘Siri’ is similar to the pronunciation of ‘Shin-i,’ which rumors suggest mean she could’ve meant to be asking, “So are you saying you’re a god?”
Meanwhile, as the rumors continue to spread throughout social media, more conspiracies are surfacing, adding another complicated layer to the ongoing Min Hee Jin vs. HYBE controversy.
