In the 1970s, Korean cult leader Sun Myung Moon coined a term for the attitude assumed by “Moonies”—members of his crackpot Christianity spin-off, the Unification Church. “What face could better represent love than a smiling face? This is why we talk about love bomb; Moonies have that kind of happy problem,” he said. Beneath the attentive smile, however, lurked a sinister reality. After Moonies had identified a potential recruit, their love bombing—a technique of emotional manipulation in which a person is bombarded with flattering attention—began. One former recruit testified that he had only agreed to go along to his first meeting because he thought the women who suggested it were flirting with him. Two years later, he had become so deeply indoctrinated that his family hired defected former members to “deprogram” him. This story is from Kinfolk Issue Thirty-Four Buy Now Related Stories Arts & Culture Issue 43 Paapa Essiedu The British stage star steps onto a new platform. Arts & Culture Issue 43 Amia Srinivasan Amia Srinivasan on the philosophy of sex. Arts & Culture Issue 43 David Erritzoe On the mind-bending potential of psychedelics. Arts & Culture Issue 43 Space Invaders Room dividers from a Roman studio. Arts & Culture Issue 43 Study: Tricks of the Mind The cognitive processing errors that shape us all. Arts & Culture Issue 43 Happy Medium In praise of average.