Tabloid newspapers in South Korea have published untruthful comments about women in Providence Religious Movement, known as ‘evergreens’. These tabloids claimed that ‘evergreens’ are ‘500 to 1000 women groomed for sexual exploitation by Jung Myung Seok’ , ‘sex bribes,’ and ‘sexual favors’. These tabloids made no attempt to verify those allegations, before publishing them.
False Reports causing public contempt
There are no, and has never been any evidence or proof of, ‘sex bribes’, ‘sexual favors’ or ‘sexual exploitations’ ever occurring. A few individuals fabricated these claims. The false claims were made so that the media would publish, and thus, generate public contempt for Jung Myung Seok and Providence religious movement. These claims are no more than tabloid gossip. Such claims especially contradict the fundamental tenet of Providence–abstaining from sexual immorality.
Fortunately, the larger media organizations did not publish these allegations. However, the damage was already done to Jung Myung Seok and the Providence religious movement.
Ordinary lives of members in Providence Religious Movement
Members of the Providence religious movement go to universities, have careers, get married, and have families just like everyone else. Some individuals choose not to get married for multitudes of personal reasons, whether it be a lifestyle preferences, to dedicate themselves to religious devotion, or to pursue a career more ambitiously. These media publications conveniently omitted the fact that there are also male “evergreens”–men in Providence who also choose not to marry. Many of them have become high-achievers in their careers; some have become successful doctors, lawyers, and business people. Others have achieved great success in faith and have become pastors.
Other Biblical and Historical Examples
For people of faith who believe and follow the Bible, the choice to devote oneself to faith without marriage is highly respected. This stems from the Bible, in which devout believers like Apostle Paul remained unmarried and devoted their life to ministry. In the Bible, Apostle Paul stated that it was greater for a person to remain unmarried (see 1 Corinthians 7:8). Countless nuns and friars chose not to marry taking a vow of chastity making it a fundamental institution of the Catholic church. Likewise, it should come as no surprise that there are members in the Providence religious movement who also willingly chose to follow this course of faith without marriage.
The truth is indeed far from the what news tabloids and websites that cite these tabloids have painted about “evergreens.”