Rumors circulated among Korean internet groups in the days after Min Hee Jin's press presentation regarding Bang Si Hyuk and HYBE's alleged membership in a cult.
Lee Seung Heon, who also created Global Cyber University, which six members of BTS had attended and supported in the past, is the founder of the organization in issue, Dahn World.
A post uploaded by Nate Pann claims that 'Dahn World' propagates the belief that God and man are one, and that its adherents worship Mago, the universe's goddess. The last song released by GFRIEND, HYBE's former girl group, before their breakup was titled "Mago" and included a'modern witch' theme. The song "嫞:Walpurgis Night" from the album also alludes to a Christian feast day in Germany where fire rites are carried out in order to drive off witches and evil spirits.
Since Walpurgis Night falls on the evening of April 30 and into May 1, some have suggested that the cult plot is connected to GFRIEND's May disbandment and LE SSERAFIM's debut date of May 2, 2022, which is the day following Walpurgis Night. They contend that it is no accident because LE SSERAFIM, which made its debut the day after Walpurgis Night and goes by a moniker that alludes to Old Testament angels (or "seraphim"), ended with a witch theme in GFRIEND.
According to other sources, LE SSERAFIM used images connected to fire in their concept content for both their debut and their "UNFORGIVEN" comeback, alluding to the idea of burning witches and driving out bad spirits. Among these images is one showing Kazuha as an angel holding a shining sphere; this image is similar to pictures of the goddess Mago.
Additionally, there are speculations that Min Hee Jin did not want to be connected to the cult aspect of HYBE. One such story is that Min Hee Jin decided against going with Weverse and instead decided to go with NewJeans utilizing the independent messaging app Phoning. This is because Weverse is named after WeaversMind, an education organization that is thought to have links to Dahn World.
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