The rapture scare of the Dami Mission

Home > Opinion > Meanwhile

The rapture scare of the Dami Mission

Published: 28 Oct. 2025, 00:05

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Roh Jung-tae

The author is a writer and senior fellow at the Institute for Social and Economic Research.

On the evening of Oct. 27, 1992, hundreds of people who believed they had been chosen by God gathered at the Dami Mission in Seoul’s Mapo District, western Seoul, and other locations, beginning an all-night prayer session. They believed that only the faithful would ascend to heaven in the “rapture,” while those left behind would face seven years of Satan’s rule filled with terror and suffering.

On October 27, 1992, the so-called “Day of the Apocalypse,” families of followers gather around the Dami Mission building in Seongsan-dong, Mapo District, Seoul. [JOONGANG ILBO]

At the center of the movement was Pastor Lee Jang-rim of the Dami Mission. His vision of the apocalypse drew heavily from “Raptured (The Rapture, and the People Left Behind)” (1950), a book by American televangelist Ernest Angley. Set in the 1950s, the novel depicts the tribulations of those left on Earth after the righteous ascend to heaven. In Korea, fiction turned into feverish belief. The rise of millennial anxieties, fueled by global fascination with Nostradamus’ prophecies and the televised shock of the Gulf War, gave the prediction a haunting sense of plausibility.

As followers donated their possessions and disappeared from their communities, the authorities intervened. Lee was arrested on charges of fraud. Police later discovered a 300 million won ($209,300) repurchase bond in his home, set to mature on May 22, 1993 — six months after the predicted rapture date. Yet, even his arrest could not dispel the mass hysteria.

When midnight struck on Oct. 28, nothing happened. Television broadcasts showed scenes of believers storming out in anger or being led home in tears by their families. The much-anticipated moment ended in disillusionment and ridicule, closing what came to be known as the “Rapture Scare of 1992.”

The incident is often seen as a turning point that shook the public image of Korean Christianity. Once a moral force that inspired independence movements and national reconstruction, Protestantism suddenly faced questions about its credibility and discernment. The Dami episode revealed how fragile faith can become when mixed with fear, speculation, and charismatic authority.

Decades later, echoes of that hysteria persist. Some self-proclaimed prophets on YouTube claim divine visions or political missions, blurring the line between religion and spectacle. In that sense, Korea’s “rapture” may not have ended in 1992 — it simply moved online.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.