Netflix digs deep into South Korea's tragedies through 'The Echoes of Survivors'

Chapter 2 of Netflix's documentary In the Name of God: A Holy Betrayal, The Echoes of Survivors: Inside Korea’s Tragedies, is premiering on August 15.

The Echoes of Survivors is a Netflix original documentary that brings to light the stories of those who survived Korea's darkest chapters through the eyes of victims themselves.  

Through two years of in-depth investigation, producer Cho Sung Hyun and the production team vividly captured the survivors' voices. It unveils long-hidden truths of events everyone thought they knew.

The trailer captures Maple's unending pain, who revealed herself in 2023 through In the Name of God and fought against Jung Myung Seok, the leader of CGM (Christian Gospel Mission), also known as JMS (Jesus Morning Star).  

Despite the threats of the power protecting JMS and Jung Myung Seok, as well as the scrutiny, Maple fought desperately. She even reveals that 21 victims came forward to sue Jung Myung Seok after seeing her courage in In the Name of God. Another victim testifies, "The first time I was assaulted, I remember I was in my eighth grade." 

"There's a minor as well. The follow-up series on Netflix will talk about that girl. We need to stop this, people. Otherwise, It's all over." Following these words from Jung Jo Eun, JMS's second-in-command, the story traces "the truth they want to hide," with scenes of someone tailing the production team and the appearance of a police officer who is also a JMS follower. This series examines how JMS, still operating in South Korea's shadows, and Maple's struggle against it reveal the ways in which the country's society and public authority have protected vile forces.

It's not just JMS. The documentary, airing eight episodes, covers four incidents. Through the voices of the survivors, the documentary warns of tragedies that are still ongoing and may yet repeat in the future.

"Every single week, he'd say the same thing. 'You people are human garbage,'" cry the survivors of the notorious Busan Brothers Home welfare center tragedy, who continue to live in pain even 40 years later. The series examines how public authorities abetted the crimes in one of the worst human rights violations in modern Korean history, where unlawful exercise of state power led to the deaths or disappearances of thousands.

"My biggest regret is I didn't kill more people," says a voice in the Chijon Family case, where hatred toward the wealthy escalated into the formation of a heinous gang and a string of serial killings. Through it, the series explores how those pushed to the edge by society turned into monsters, and listens to the courage of the survivor who helped stop the crimes.

The Sampoong Department Store collapse stands as one of the worst man-made disasters, born of shoddy construction, corruption, and the negligence of authorities. "We should never forget about those disasters. And to those who lost their child in it... I don't think it's all in the past. Not to them," says a survivor of the Sampoong tragedy, as the series exposes why such disasters have been repeated in Korean society and sounds a piercing alarm against its deep structural faults.

PD Cho Sung Hyun, who directed The Echoes of Survivors, stated, "The four most horrific incidents in South Korea are not cases closed in the past, but ongoing in the present," adding, "Under the protection of our society's systems and public authority, these tragedies under different names and on different places continue to repeat. In a world where human life becomes the least valuable option, The Echoes of Survivors is not a documentary about the past but a warning about the kind of world and disasters yet to come." 

The Echoes of Survivors will be released exclusively on Netflix on National Liberation Day of Korea, August 15. Watch the trailer here. 

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