February 6, 2010

Will Dana, Executive Editor
Rolling Stone Magazine
Will.Dana@rollingstone.com

Dear Mr. Dana:

Rolling Stone magazine has published an article in its February 5, 2010 issue about Dahn Yoga, its affiliates and its founder.  The article is obviously biased, presents a distorted and false depiction of Dahn Yoga and is based on information which has been discredited.

Dahn Yoga first learned that Rolling Stone intended to do an article about the lawsuit against Dahn Yoga when a former employee, and one of the plaintiffs who are suing Dahn Yoga, Lucie Vogel, bragged about her interview on her FaceBook page on October 18, 2009.  The reporter, Sabrina Rubin Erdely, did not contact Dahn Yoga until December 15, 2009.  It is apparent that Ms. Erdely used that two-month period to interview several other plaintiffs, the plaintiffs’ attorney, and other individuals — all of whom shared a single, negative view of Dahn Yoga.

When Ms. Erdely contacted Dahn Yoga, her statements and lists of questions revealed that she was biased against Dahn Yoga and accepted (without critical review) the viewpoint of those who are antagonistic to Dahn Yoga, its affiliates and its founder.  Dahn Yoga anticipated that Ms. Erdely’s article would reflect that negativity and bias.  Without any basis, Ms. Erdely likens Dahn Yoga instructors and members as “moonies.”   Ms. Erdely uses descriptions like “cult” and “creep show” to denigrate Dahn Yoga and its people.  Her article is nothing more than an attack on Dahn Yoga and its practices and fails to provide any insight into the nature of the organization or the experience of its constituents.

In fact, Dahn Yoga invited Ms. Erdely to visit a Dahn Yoga center and speak with current instructors and members.  She declined, stating that her article was “about the lawsuit.”  Had she accepted Dahn Yoga’s invitation, Ms. Erdely would have learned that one of her main contentions in her article — that Dahn Yoga forces its members and instructors into financial bondage — is false.  Moreover, Ms. Erdely would have learned that her claim that Dahn Yoga “recruits” members from college campuses is also false — Dahn Yoga’s program in which student practitioners shared Dahn Yoga exercises and techniques with their peers was discontinued years ago. Instead, Ms. Erdely adopted the contentions of the attorney for the disgruntled former employees who are suing Dahn Yoga — who often claims that Dahn Yoga’s “college program” is a key recruiting tool for new members.  Ms. Erdely also adopts the accounts from these plaintiffs without writing about the substantial misconduct of those individuals, including significant (and criminal) fraud — which in some cases led these people to incur tremendous financial debt.

Finally, Ms. Erdely expressed an intense curiosity about Ilchi Lee.  However, her inquiries sought only to attack Mr. Lee on the same basis as the incredible accusations being made by the plaintiffs in the Arizona litigation and Mr. Lee’s detractors from Korea.  In that regard, Ms. Erdely ignored publicly available information in Korean media and public records which belie these contentions and discredit most of the allegations being made against Mr. Lee.  In fact, Ms. Erdely repeated much of the information from Korean sources, relying upon unverified and blogs and websites devoted to attacking Dahn Yoga, many of which have adjudicated to be false and defamatory by Korean courts.

In sum, Ms. Erdely’s article in Rolling Stone comprises nothing more than a regurgitation of previous allegations made by disgruntled former employees (who are seeking millions from Dahn Yoga and Mr. Lee in their lawsuit) and those detractors in Korea who have already been brought to justice in Korean courts.  Although Dahn Yoga acknowledges and embraces the rights of others to criticize its practices under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, the Rolling Stone article and Ms. Erdely’s conduct violates numerous principals of responsible journalism and runs afoul of any concept of fair play.  Dahn Yoga is in the process of evaluating its legal options against Rolling Stone.

Sincerely,

Joseph Alexander,
Vice President-Communications
Dahn Yoga & Health Centers