Shinchonji, now promoting through 'pop-up stores'?

Enticed by the phrase "Dopamine Detox Experience Pop-Up Exhibition," a laundry room turned out to be a place for Shinchonji's missionary activities.

On the 2nd, No Cut News reported, quoting the Busan Ieum Church of the Presbyterian Church of Korea, that Shinchonji had opened a pop-up store called 'Pposong Pposong Laundry Room' at a cafe on Art Street in Dong-gu, Gwangju, in March of last year for its missionary activities.

According to the report, this pop-up store consists of various zones such as a laundry zone, a dry zone, a stylist zone, and a clothes organizing zone. At first glance, it appears to be a trendy pop-up store, and upon purchasing an admission ticket worth 10,000 won, up to three people can participate, making it seem like a casual stop with friends.

However, upon entry, phones are collected under the pretext of "needing to let the dopamine-soaked brain rest," followed by various psychological counseling experiences.

This is not just a simple experience but a means to assess the participants' tendencies. They even provide tarot or fortune-telling experience coupons in a draw format, naturally collecting contact information, which leads to 'customized missionary work.'

The Pposong Pposong Laundry Room has operated across the country since early last year, visiting cities like Seoul, Busan, Jeongeup, and Incheon. In February, it was reported that they expressed new recruits as 'love' and sorted personalities like laundry, connecting them with counselors.

Such forms of recruitment collect participants through social media, blogs, and referrals from acquaintances, making it easy to lower defenses due to the pop-up store's setup, along with the challenge of tracking them since it operates in rented spaces for short periods.

Currently, there are no pop-up stores of this theme in operation, but the Ieum Church warned through the media, saying, "Shinchonji has a characteristic of changing themes immediately if their model is exposed, and similar forms of pop-ups may be ongoing with different themes."

Image source: Pposong Pposong Laundry Room blog, Lee Man-hee, Shinchonji Chairman / Photo = Insight