‘Taxi Driver 2’ Episode 7: Rainbow Taxi Case Has a Shocking Similarity to Manmin Church Cult
Taxi Driver 2 continues with the Rainbow Taxi Company helping victims seek justice and retribution when the system has failed them. The crime K-drama takes inspiration from real-life cases, like the Nth Room sex trafficking case. Taxi Driver 2 Episode 7 had fans sitting on the edge of their seats as the team took on a religious cult with strikingly similar details to the South Korean cult, Manmin Church.
[WARNING: This article contains spoilers for Taxi Driver 2 Episodes 7 and 8.]
‘In the Name of God: A Holy Betrayal’ brought global attention to religious cults in South Korea
Netflix debuted the docuseries, In the Name of God: A Holy Betrayal in March. It unearthed the brutal reality of some of Korea’s worst cults. Audiences watched in horror as the truth behind Jeong Myeong-seo’s JMS church was made a global discussion. In the Name of God: A Holy Betrayal detailed the heartbreaking story of Maple, a former member, and victim.
Among the Five Oceans mass suicide case and the still functioning Baby Garden cult was the story of Manmin Church and its leader Lee Jae-rock. In the Name of God: A Holy Betrayal explored how Lee used Manmin Church to rise to global power as a false messiah. He had his followers believing in his inexplicable healing abilities and how to enter a “pure” and white afterlife.
But behind the “holy” figure was a con man and a predator. The docuseries detailed how Lee and the church would swindle its followers out of thousands of dollars to reach levels of faith. Through spiritual manipulation, his followers would donate whatever money they had. They would get special privileges and prayers and be deemed “worthy.”
Manmin Church even had its own bookstore selling merchandise and “healing” water. Lee had his followers believe they would never get sick or he would heal them. But many were unknowingly ill or had life-threatening sicknesses, like cancer or tuberculosis. All these details about Manmin Church struck a chord with Taxi Driver 2 fans as they watched the team take down a cult.
‘Taxi Driver 2’ has the team infiltrate a fake cult with a false leader
In Taxi Driver 2 Episodes 7 and 8, Do-gi and the team listen to the story of a young woman concerning her sister. Her older sister raised her, and they lived a happy life together. But when her sister is diagnosed with advanced cancer, they begin immediate treatment. But when they no longer had the money, an older woman approached the older sister at the hospital. She was soon brainwashed by Sunbaek Church and its leader Ok Ju-man.
The sister falls for Ju-man’s doctrine of being admitted into a pure afterlife if they follow him. But above all, the followers are led to believe that Ju-man is a prophet with healing abilities. He urged everyone not to go to the hospital and said his powers would heal their illness. According to him, suffering from pain is a way to heal the body.
Taxi Driver 2 dives even further into the religious cult when they witness Ju-man assaulting his followers under the ruse that it will save them. He also has them cut ties with their families and friends. It is important to note that behind the white robe is a con man. In reality, Ju-man is not religious. He is using their illnesses to trick them out of money to spend on his lover, lavish life, and future building plans.
Ju-man goes above and beyond to portray himself as a “messiah.” He put on a show of absorbing “darkness” from water into himself. In exchange for money, he offered healing water for their ailments. But the water was laced with pain medicine to fool them into believing it worked.
Sunbaek Church in ‘Taxi Driver 2’ parallels details of Manmin Church
Fans who have learned about Manmin Church from the Netflix docuseries would find similarities to Sunbaek Church in Taxi Driver 2. The K-drama is known for using real-life crime cases as a basis for their storylines, and it is safe to assume that they used Manmin Church. Ju-man shares many of the same qualities as real-life leader Lee Jae-rock.
Both of them advertised themselves as great prophets given powers by God to heal others. Like Lee, Ju-man’s doctrine included a pristine and perfectly white kingdom in the afterlife. But the only way to get there is by being devoted. The biggest similarity is Ju-man’s healing abilities like Lee’s. Lee would put on spectacles of having followers who use wheelchairs walk again.
Manmin Church followers would run at the chance of being touched by Lee and saved. In Taxi Driver 2, fans saw how the Sunbaek followers also flocked to their leader. Like Manmin Church, Taxi Driver 2 had the Sunabek followers blind to the reality of their illnesses. Lee also used the church’s money to put on special events, live a lavish life, and manipulate his followers, like Ju-man.
Taxi Driver 2 is available to stream on Viki.
