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Cheuksin (厠神): South Korea’s Vengeful Toilet Goddess

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One of the most evil house deities in Korean Folklore is the spirit said to haunt the toilets. If you don’t enter respectfully, Cheuksin will wrap her long hair around your neck and strangle you to death when you are at your most vulnerable, at the toilet.

Ah, public restrooms—the universal hotspot for supernatural nightmares. If you thought Japan had a monopoly on haunted bathrooms with Aka Manto and Hanako-san, think again. South Korea has its own toilet deity, and she is angry, violent, and living in the filthiest stall with a grudge and murderous intent.

Read Also: Check out all ghost stories from Korea

Cheuksin (厠神), the goddess of outhouses and one of the most terrifying spirits in Korean folklore from a time when the toilets were darker, colder and outside of the family home. She doesn’t ask you cryptic questions like Aka Manto, and she doesn’t just make eerie noises like some wimpy poltergeist. No, Cheuksin takes her haunting to a whole new level—with murderous rage, long snake-like hair, and an explosive temper.

Feature Image: Sammi Sparke

The Legend: The Goddess of the Outhouse

Long before modern indoor plumbing, Korean households relied on outhouses—small, isolated structures separate from the main house. People have always felt rather vulnerable when sitting on the toilet, more exposed and afraid. And because old-school Korean outhouses were dark, eerie, and full of filth, naturally, something terrifying had to live there.

Enter Cheuksin, the guardian of restrooms, the queen of the latrine, and the nightmare of anyone with a weak bladder. Her worship is a minor part of the Gashin cult, and she is not the best known household deity. There were no gut, or shamanistic rituals dedicated to Cheuksin, unlike the other household deities. This was because she was said to be an evil and malevolent spirit, more like a toilet ghost than a goddess, really. 

The entity is said to have several names throughout the years and places. She was called Cheukganshin (측간신), Byeonso Gwishin (변소 귀신), Dwitgan Gwishin (뒷간 귀신), Buchul Gaxi (부출 각시), Chikdo Buin (칙도 부인) and Chigwi (치귀) among other things.

She is said to appear as a young girl, something she is said to have been once, her hair 150 cm long and she is said to spend her time counting her strands of hair, furious to be exiled to live as a toilet ghost in the outhouse. In the original texts it was said she was pictured as a concubine in fancy clothing, but today Cheuksin is mostly pictured as a ghost in white like the Korean Virgin Ghosts.

Read Also: The Korean Virgin Ghost

The bloody version: The virgin ghost has evolved into a more bloody and violent ghost than before. She is also said to be the visual image people picture when describing ghosts like Cheuksin as well. // Source: Screengrab from Hometown Legends: Gisaeng House Ghost Story.

When the toilet ghost appeared, Koreans tended to avoid the toilet for three days during the year, when the date had a number six in them. Like on the sixth, the sixteenth and twenty-sixth day in the lunar calendar. Or when someone dropped a shoe or a child fell into the pit toilet. Or even when she was just angry for some reason. 

When this happened, Koreans held a ritual called jesas dedicated to the toilet ghost, often offering Tteok, meaning dung rice cake or nonglutinous rice, all thought to banish evil spirits. This also happened when a pig got sick or when they built the outhouse. 

Jesa Ceremony: The ancestral rituals known as Jesa in Korean, have been practiced since the legendary Dangun era in ancient Korea. Today, Jesa functions as a memorial to the ancestors of the participants. Jesa are usually held on the anniversary of the ancestor’s death.

She was a dangerous Gashin, or household deities and hated children. She liked to push them into the pit toilet. If a jesa wasn’t done at once to appease her, the child who was pushed into the pit would live to grow up. 

Cheuksin was believed to embody a trip of cloth or white paper on the outhouse ceiling. She lurks above, watching and waiting for foolish mortals who dare to enter. 

When entering the outhouse, you should cough three times. Cheuksin was known to use her long hair to attack the intruder if not, her snake-like hair slithering down from the ceiling. She waited until her victim was at the most vulnerable and wrapped her long hair around the neck and strangled those who offended her to death. If she touched you with the hair, you would grow sick and die, and no mudang or shaman could help you. 

If you somehow escape her initial attack, don’t think you’re safe. Cheuksin can curse you, ensuring you suffer horrific misfortune after leaving her domain. People who mock her or forget to show respect often find themselves falling mysteriously ill or suffering from severe accidents.

Origins: Where Did This Nightmare Come From?

Cheuksin is deeply rooted in Korean shamanism and folklore, dating back centuries. She was once considered a household deity, part of the Gasin (家神), the family guardian spirits that protected different parts of the home. They each had their rites and their purpose and was worshiped for a long time. Today however the tradition is mostly died out, although there are some traces of it still lingering, mostly as ghost stories.

“Female Mou-dang (shaman) dancing for deities”(무녀신춤)

The Genshi gods is found in The Munjeon Bonpuri (Korean: 문전본풀이), meaning ‘‘Book of the Door’, and is a myth of Jeju Island regarding the deities that are believed to reside within the house. In this story, the whole lists of household deities are presented as they were once human, alive and well, until they ended up as lingering spirits.

Read Also: The Haunting on Jeju Island

And what about Cheuksin? Who did she use to be?

How a Woman Became The Toilet Goddess – The Munjeon Bonpuri

Noiljadae is the ultimate villainess of this tragic Korean folktale, and let’s be honest—she’s as cunning as she is cruel. She starts as a charming innkeeper’s daughter who seduces the gullible Namseonbi, convincing him to squander his wealth on wine and gambling. She doesn’t know it yet, but she will end up becoming the famed toilet spirit of the nation. When her lover is broke and useless, she kicks him to the curb, leaving him to go blind and starve in a filthy shack—a classic case of “used and discarded.”

But Noiljadae isn’t done yet. When Namseonbi’s devoted wife, Yeosan Buin, comes to rescue him, Noiljadae lures her to a bottomless icy lake and drowns her. She then assumes Yeosan Buin’s identity, thinking she’s about to live a lavish life with Namseonbi’s family. Unfortunately for her, the youngest son, Nokdisaengin, is no fool. He quickly sees through her lies and sets a clever trap: when she demands his liver as a cure for her fake illness, he tricks her into eating a boar’s liver instead. When she pretends to be miraculously healed, her deception is exposed, and her fate is sealed. Cornered, she hangs herself in the bathroom.

For her wickedness, Noiljadae is cursed to become Cheuksin, the vengeful toilet goddess, forever banished to the filthiest corner of the household. Being exposed by a child, field her hatred for them. Her enmity with the resurrected Yeosan Buin, now the kitchen goddess Jowangsin, creates a divine grudge match, leading to a long-standing Korean taboo: never place the bathroom next to the kitchen. Because even in death, Noiljadae’s spite lingers.

The Toilet Goddess in the Modern World

While other spirits, like the Jowangsin (kitchen god) or Seongjushin (house god), were worshiped with offerings and prayers, Cheuksin was more of a necessary evil. You didn’t worship her—you feared her.

Her job? To maintain order in the filthiest part of the house. If people disrespected the restroom, she would punish them. If they followed the rules, she would simply remain unseen.

Cheuksin has a lot of similarities with the Chinese Toilet Goddess, although the Chinese poets treated her legacy a little bit kinder. In both the stories, she was a concubine, or mistress, and died in the toilet, forever to haunt it. Except that in China, the goddess was worshiped and revered, while in Korea she was just… well. feared. 

Read more: Zigu (紫姑): The Lady of the Latrine – China’s Most Unsettling Restroom Ghost and Goddess 

But as Korea modernized and outhouses became a thing of the past, Cheuksin faded from common belief to a mere whisper of a good ghost story. Still, some old buildings and rural areas are said to be haunted by her, especially in places where old traditions still linger.

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References:

Cheuksin: The Chilling Tale of Korea’s Outhouse Goddess — The Kraze

측신 – 위키백과, 우리 모두의 백과사전

정랑각시 – 나무위키 

Munjeon bon-puri – Wikipedia

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The Kong Kong Ghost Haunting Korean Schools

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One of the urban legends from the Korean classroom is the legend of The Kong Kong Ghost haunting the schools. It is a legend of the dangers if you reach for the number one spot without really deserving it, and the consequences of your actions. 

The Kong Kong Ghost (콩콩콩 귀신) is an Korean urban legend about the student of a ghost haunting the school. There are many ghost stories tied to the school premise because of the long hours kids spend there and the means for stories to travel between the students. 

Read More: Check out all ghost stories from Korea

This particular legend about The Kong Kong Ghost became told in the hallways, in the bathrooms and locker rooms throughout Korea’s schools in the 1990s. Still to this day, and at least back then, it wasn’t uncommon for students to stay until late in the evening to self study, and the schools were open until 10 and 11 in the evenings. 

The legend of The Kong Kong Ghost that is about the best student in school speaks to the fear of not being number one, and the ultimate defeat of being number two, no matter how you handle the situation. 

In many of the reimaginings of the urban legend of the Kong Kong ghost haunting the Korean schools, art and other, it is often about two girls competing for the number one spot, but not always. They are usually in high school age as there is high stakes of what type of university they get accepted into on the line.

The Legend of the Second Best

The story of The Kong Kong Ghost follows the second best student in school. It is better than most, but it still isn’t enough for some. For the students’ future there is only one option, and that is becoming the number one. Because of the pressure from the school, the teachers, parents and even from the student herself. 

To get into the college this particular student wants, she needs to prove that she was number one in something, but she is constantly beaten by her classmate that always score as the top of the class. Being the second best is simply not good enough. Because of this, the student turns her anger at her enemy and starts to hate her for being better. 

One day the number one and number two student stands at the rooftop of the school together, perhaps taking some fresh air in between the intense study sessions. The anger that has been building in the second best student is reaching its building point and number two pushes number one off the roof, killing her as she hits head first into the ground when landing. 

The murder is looked at as a tragic suicide of the pressure of constant being number one and no one really suspects that the good student, now the best one could have anything to do with it. For a while it looks like the new number one got away with it, but her horrible actions comes back to haunt her. 

Read More: Check out stories like The Ghost in Red at Ping Shan Tat Tak School or Madam Koi Koi and The School Hauntings in Nigeria for more ghost stories from haunted schools.

Strange sounds are heard throughout the school, at least the new number one student hears it constantly. A mysterious thumping sound Kong Kong it goes. It is the sound of the murdered student walking the hallways, jumping on her head to move forward because of the horrible way she died. It is said that the horrible disfigured ghost of the student is looking for her killer. 

According to the legend, the Kong Kong Ghost finally got her revenge. The new number one student sat to the late hours in the classroom to study one night when she heard it: Kong… Kong… it sounded from the hallways and a door to another classroom opened further down the hall. Perhaps just someone looking for the right classroom?

Not here!

A voice could be heard in the distance, and it sounded eerily familiar to the new number one that is starting to realise something isn’t right. This is not the sound of a student getting lost in the hallways. More knocking sound of something heavy is heard down the hall before another door opened, closer this time. 

Not here!

The student is now panicking and afraid because she now recognized the voice of her former nemesis. She hides under her desk in hopes that the thumping sound will just pass her classroom and leave her alone. Kong… Kong… and the door opens slowly and something is staring in, looking for someone in particular. 

Not here!

The door closes and the relieved student crawls out from under the desk, ready to pack up her things and get out from the haunted school. But when she stands up she is faced with her former classmate she pushed to her death and took the place of. Upside down she hangs from the ceiling, bloodless white face with eyes filled with hate. 

Here!

The Kong Kong Ghost: Reimagined in Goeadam, the Netflix series about Korean urban legends and ghost stories, including a retelling of the urban legend about The Kong Kong ghost..

Of course, the student that thought she could get away with murder and take first place, was brutally murdered. Perhaps the ghost story of the Kong Kong ghost show us just how fierce the competition of school rankings in Korean schools can be, and to the extent it can drive certain people to madness.

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Featured Image: Deviantart/ iCephei

https://namu.wiki/w/%EC%BD%A9%EC%BD%A9%EC%BD%A9%20%EA%B7%80%EC%8B%A0

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The Jayuro Road Ghost

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On a big and foggy highway north of Seoul, there is an urban legend of a ghost known as the Jayuro Ghost along the road, looking like she has a pair of sunglasses on in the dark. 

The Jayu Motorway, or simply Freedom Road is a big highway in South Korea connecting Seoul to Gyeonggi Province. In some parts you can even see all the way to North Korea from the motorway. The Jayuro Road has a high rate of car accidents because of frequent foggy weather and being badly lit along some parts. 

Check out all of our ghost stories about haunted roads in the Moon Mausoleum.

But there is something else in the misty road to be wary of, according to many passing drivers, that claims to have encountered something that has been known as the Jayuro Ghost. 

The Jayuro Road Ghost (自由路鬼神) is a very famous korean urban legend that appeared in the early 2004 or 2005 and follows in with the many local variations of the global Vanishing Hitchhiker trope we have many stories about. 

Read the Urban Legend of the Vanishing Hitchhiker

The Vanishing Hitchhiker

The Vanishing Hitchhiker is a well known urban legend throughout the world. Here is a Moonmausoleum original writings based on the Urban Legend – The Vanishing Hitchhiker

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The urban legend grew large because of several celebrities that claimed to have witnessed the Jayuro Ghost along the highway. And although the popularity of the legend ebbs and flows since the early 2000s, there are still those who speak about seeing the Jayuro Ghost when driving in the dark.  

The Legend of the Woman in Sunglasses

Since it’s such a well known urban legend, there are now countless of variations of it as well. But most of them follow the same pattern.

If you drive along Jayuro Road in the middle of the night, there is supposedly a young woman in her 20s, waving to you while trying to hitchhike. It looks like the woman is wearing a long coat with large black sunglasses, and many realise who they met after they drive past her. 

Urban Legend: There have been multiple things inspired by the urban legend. Here from Goedam, an anthology horror series.

To just get a glimpse and not noticing anything strange of a lonely woman by a highway is perhaps the best. Because if you look closer, you notice that she is not alive at all. When you get closer to inspect, you can clearly see it’s not sunglasses, but rather a big black hole where her eyes were supposed to be. 

The Hitchhiker

One of the reports comes from a man that actually claims to have picked the Jayuro Ghost up when she tried to hitchhike. 

He was driving back from a dinner party and looked away from the road for a second. When he looked up, he saw the woman standing along the highway and he nearly ran her over. It looked like she had just escaped from an accident herself. She asked him if he could give her a ride home. The man accepted and put the address in the navigation system to follow. 

But before they reached the destination, the Jayuro Ghost disappeared. When he found out where the destination was, he realized that it was a cemetery. 

Who was this Woman?

Can you really trace back a specific person to an urban legend? It is not for lack of trying at least. When they aired a piece on the story on a TVN show in 2007, Kim Sehwan tried to contact the ghost through a medium. 

According to that story, the Jayuro Ghost was a woman in her 20s that was killed on the road in 2002 by strangulation, not far from where she is spotted. It was because of decay that she looked like she did with her dark gouged out eyes. 

According to the medium relaying the story, the culprit behind her murder was arrested in 2005. Although they never really followed up with a police report on this though. 

No matter who she is supposed to have been, a name has never come up. Although, stories of her along the foggy highway often does.

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자유로 귀신 – 위키백과, 우리 모두의 백과사전

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The Legend of Arang

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One of the most famous ghost stories in Korea is about the unfortunate Arang. Until she got revenge on her murderer, she kept haunting the entire town in search of the one who could help her find the truth. 

Look at me, look at me, look at me
As you look at a flower in the middle of winter, please look at me
Although my sweetheart has arrived I cannot say a word of welcome
Just opening my mouth without a word, stuffed my mouth with flap of my skirt
Sound of flute played by a bachelor at the next door by the fence
Sighing of a virgin at the well as she pumps water
Are you better than others? Am I better than you? Who is better than whom?
The best one is “gu-ri-bak-tong ji-jun” (one with power and money)
— Variation of Miryang Arirang folk song

Arang (아랑) and her tragic story is one of the most well known ghost stories in Korea. She was the daughter of a magistrate (busa) working for the government in Miryang, southeast in Korea.

The legend of Arang is one of the more important stories about wongwi  ( 원귀 ), spirits seeking justice by revenge. This story is from the Joseon Dynasty, sometime between 1400 to 1900 and it is said she lived in the mid 1500s.  

The Death of Arang

According to the legend Arangs real name was Yun Dong-ok ( 윤동옥 /尹東玉) and had lost her mother when she was very young and basically brought up by a nanny. But her nanny was mean and hated her and wanted her punished. The nanny colluded with the servant Baekga to take her at night and rape her. But Arang resisted and he ended up stabbing her to death. Her body was taken into the woods and buried for no one to know. 

In some versions, Arang is said to have gone out to have looked at the moon when a man approached her which she turned down, leading to him killing her. There are also the versions where a low ranking officer bribed her nanny to bring her to him. 

Her father, the magistrate, was distraught as they all thought that she had eloped and ran off with a stranger. In shame he resigned from his position and the whole family took a backseat. 

The Legend of Arang: One of the more famous ghost stories is the story about Arang and her murder. She came back from beyond to uncover the truth of what really happened the night she died.

The Revenge

But this wasn’t the last they heard of her. Whenever a new magistrate was appointed in Miryang, the spirit of Arang appeared before him and asked for his help to restore her honor and avenge her. 

Read more: Another korean ghost story about a wrongfully shamed woman getting help from a government official is the story about A Ghost Tale Of Two Sisters — The Legend of Janghwa and Hongryeon

Problem was that the appointed magistrates were so afraid of her that they all resigned and in the end, no one wanted to take the position out of fear for the ghost haunting the place. In some versions of the legend, they died after not helping her. But that all changed when the man named Yi Sang-sa was appointed to the position. 

He saw past the scary ghost and promised the spirit of Arang to avenge her so she could have justice. In some version she just tells the name of the killer, in some version, she comes back as a butterfly to mark the murderer. 

In any case the murderer is found out and the young magistrate arrested Baekga and had him executed. After this, her spirit was able to move on and she no longer haunted the town. 

The Aranggak Shrine

To this day there is a shrine in honor of Arang’s spirit where she is venerated and is called the Aranggak Shrine. Even the popular folk song Arirang has its own local version which is said to may or may not be about the legend of Arang. 

The Shrine of Arang: In Miryang they have built a shrine to venerate her spirit. Source/Koreabyme

There are also movies and TV series inspired by the legend, like the 2006 movie, Arang and the 2012 drama series Arang and the Magistrate.

“Arang and the Magistrate” is a Korean drama that combines elements of historical romance, supernatural intrigue, and mystery. Set in the Joseon period, the story revolves around the ghostly character of Arang, who is determined to uncover the truth behind her own death. She teams up with the righteous and pragmatic Magistrate Eun Oh, who can see spirits, creating an unusual partnership. As they delve into the mysteries of Arang’s past and the corruption within the government, the drama weaves a compelling narrative filled with suspense, romance, and supernatural elements.

No matter what the meaning behind the words of the song is, her shrine is solely dedicated to her and standing on a cliff in Miryang on the Yeongnamnu pavilion, one of the important cultural treasures of Miryang, facing the Miryang River. 

The Legend of Arang

In the end, the tale of Arang serves as a reminder of the power of justice and the perseverance of the human spirit, even beyond death. Through her haunting, Arang sought the truth and found an ally in the courageous magistrate, Yi Sang-sa, who helped her reveal the identity of her murderer and bring him to justice. With her revenge fulfilled, Arang’s spirit was able to find peace and move on.

As the wind whispers through the trees surrounding the Aranggak Shrine, it carries the echoes of Arang’s tale, reminding us of the importance of seeking truth, fighting for justice, and never forgetting the stories of those who went before us.

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milyang arirang | sejong prize 

Arang (koreanische Erzählung) – Wikipedia

https://terms.naver.com/entry.naver?docId=2120767&cid=50223&categoryId=51051

Arang Shrine – Headword – Korean Folk Literature

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The Haunted Yongin Folk Village

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In a town made up of old houses or replicas of homes from the Joseon Dynasty, Yongin Folk Village has today status as one of the more haunted places in South-Korea. 

Nestled right amid the modern city in Seoul, where high risers, public transportation and life are all from the 21st century, a small place where the traditional ways are allowed to remain in peace. 

The place of Yongin Folk Village perhaps looks a bit familiar to those interested in Korean period dramas, and famous TV series like Kingdom, 100 Days My Prince and The Moon Embracing the Sun for instance. But for many it has also been known in the later years as one of Korea’s most haunted places. 

Read also: Top Korean Horror TV-Series

Top Korean Horror TV-Series

The last few years, K-dramas has certainly taken over much of the media the world consume today. And although it is largely remembered from the overly romantic dramas with umbrellas in the rain and watching over people with a cold like they are on their deathbed, some more darker series has caught on. In fact…

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The Traditional Folk Town

Though the town Yongin Folk Village (한국 민속촌)  itself looks real enough it was first opened in 1973 as a response of the rapid westernization as well as the industrialisation of Korea at the time. 

Read More: Check out all of our ghost stories from Korea

This first open air museum in the country was supposed to work as a living museum and a destination to experience Korean culture, not only for foreigners to learn, but for Koreans to remember. 

Traditional houses: Traditional thatched roofed houses from the late Joseon Dynasty are all around the Yongin Folk Village.

Yongin Folk Village is found in the Gyeonggi province right by the capital, and the over 260 houses were relocated from across the country and put together to be a replica of a village and how it would have worked and looked from the late Joseon period. So although the museum is a fairly new and modern thing, the things inside it are old, very old. And believing the many legends about the place, also very haunted. 

The staff working in the folk village are all dressed up in costumes as well, representing characters from the Joseon Dynasty, contributing to the special atmosphere of the place. You can also attend workshops, watch performances or even host a traditional wedding ceremony there.  

Ghost Month of Summer

So where do the tales of the Yongin Folk Village being haunted come from? With the old and mysterious atmosphere there are no wonders legends about the place started to come. The events that are held by the village have perhaps also been a contributing factor to the ghost rumors. 

During the summer months the folk village hosts ghost events to highlight the ghost season which in Asia for most parts is in the late summer months. But also in later years Halloween later in the fall has become much more popular as well, and there are more than one ghost and haunted related events in the village. 

But there are those who claim that the folk village is not only haunted by ghosts or gwisin during ghost month or Halloween, but all year. 

Read also: The Obon Celebration

The Korean Virgin Ghost

Because there are those claiming to have seen actual ghosts around the village and in the supposed haunted old houses. Mainly tales of the Korean Virgin Ghost have been spotted with her dark long hair and wearing traditional burial clothes. 

Performance: Dancers holding a traditional Korean dance performance for the visitors in Yongin Folk Village.

According to legend, virgin ghosts were women that died before being married, and very often held a grudge and power to avenge herself in the afterlife. 

Read also: The Korean Virgin Ghost

The Korean Virgin Ghost

The Korean virgin ghost may be based on the ideals that all a woman needs is a husband, but the anger of these spirits tells of a woman with another purpose. And that is mostly vengeance. 

Keep reading

Question is, could it be nothing more than an actor wearing a costume and being too good at their job in the haunted house section of the village, or could it actually be something supernatural afoot?

The wildest claim though is the rumor that this is the place where the legends of the Virgin Ghost started. Especially since most written notices about ghosts being spotted in the village are vague or connected to the haunted house events.  

But when we look at the history of the Korean Virgin ghost, the legends about them trace back longer than the village itself. Although, perhaps the legend is as old as some of the houses that were relocated?

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The Spirits and Ghosts of Yeonpyeong Island

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Closer to North Korea than to Seoul, the Yeonpyeong Island has experienced many times the horrors of the war, even in the later years. Legends of the island being hunted are spreading through the locals and visitors alike of the people that have lost their life to it. 

Korea has seen warfare throughout its time and the last one, The Korean War is technically not even over yet since it started in 1950 between the two Korean countries that started in a civil war and ended up as two fighting nations. 

Near the border of the two Koreas, north and south, on the 38th parallel, there is an island called Yeonpyeong Island that is to this day disputed between the two parties. Although claimed by both, it is considered as part of and inhabited by South Koreans, but the island itself is so close to the North Korean border that you can almost see it. This has made the island exposed for North Korean retaliation and its bombs.  

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Only a two hour ferry ride from Incheon, Seoul where the ongoing Korean war can seem like a strange fever dream, you can experience how close some of the residents of the island are to the war and how it still affects the people living there. And also catch a glimpse of the ghosts of those who succumbed to it as well?

The Bombardment of Yeonpyeong Island

This island has also taken its share of bombings, and military attacks since the war started in 1950. The last big attack happened on November 23th in 2010 and led to the islanders having to flee their home island temporarily and got a lot of international attention as the world condemned the action of North Korea.

The Bombardment of Yeonpyeong Island: Yeonpyeong-do on fire cause by the brutal attack of North Korea’s shelling, November 23.//Source//대한민국 국군 Republic of Korea Armed Forces

The North Korean military bombarded the island where the disputed land was guarded by South Korean forces, ending up hitting civilians as well as military people, killing 4 and injuring 19 people. This incident is one of the things that are said to have escalated the tension on the Korean Peninsula in the later years.

After this, many chose to never return and would rather stay on the South Korean mainland after the attacks for a long time, creating a sort of ghost town feeling to the once bustling fishing community. And although by now most have returned, there are still those who never looked back to their original home. 

The Hauntings of Yeonpyeong Island

The island is believed to be a place of spirits of both lost and vengeful ones according to the locals that are haunting the island.

The island tops many of the lists of articles like: Most Haunted in Korea and the likes. Although this claim is mostly found on websites in English, not so much on the Korean ones. 

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8 Haunted Places In South Korea You Didn’t Know Existed

Haunted by Attack, Few Return to Island 

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Gyeongsan Abandoned Cobalt Mine

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What kind of tragedy can be so horrible that it is mostly silenced and forgotten by the world? The massacre of thousands of people that were found in the Gyeongsan Abandoned Cobalt Mine is one of them. But although often ignored and not talked about in the later years, the haunting rumors of ghosts from the past still has a firm clasp of the place. 

There used to be an abandoned cobalt mine in Gyeongsan in South Korea in full operation and a little easier to access than it is today.

The Cobalt Mine was used during the Japanese occupation where the Japanese used Korean labor to mine gold, silver and then eventually, cobalt, but abandoned it when the mine was emptied. 

During the Korean war, many people, civilians as well as convicts were accused of conspiring with the communists and North Korea. Many of them were brutally massacred in the area and their bodies were thrown into the mines to be forgotten in this so-called Red Hunt from July to September in 1950. 

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The Massacre in the Gyeongsan Abandoned Cobalt Mine

It is believed that many of the victims were political prisoners that were supposed to be moved from Daegu Prison to Busan Prison and it is estimated that around 2000 to 3 500 people were murdered and tossed into the mines. 

Gyeongsan Abandoned Cobalt Mine: A massacre is hiding inside the Gyeongsan Abandoned Cobalt Mine.

There is to this day not spoken a lot about the war crimes that happened and a lot of it has been silenced by both parties. Even by the families that were affected by the massacre as they even to this fear can feel fear of the guilt by association that many of the victims of the massacre was. 

The families affected by this have still not gotten their apology and answers for what happened to their family members as most of the skeletons found have never really been examined and the entrance to the mines simply sealed off.

And most likely, what really happened probably never will see the light of day. 

The Hauntings of Gyeongsan Abandoned Cobalt Mine

But their ghosts created legends of their own as sites of huge atrocities and tragedies have occurred. 

Many legends surround the last owners of the mine that brutally died as well as factory owners of factories that were built close to the mine. One of the last companies to be in operation around the same parts as the mine was a glasses manufacturer. 

The owner of said factury is said to have poured petroleum over himself as well as his sleeping employees before setting them all on fire. They all burned to death. However not really confirmed by any hard evidence. 

Although sealed off and left to be forgotten, the locals are said to avoid the site of the abandoned mines, even to this day. 

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Top 12 Most Haunted Places In South Korea!

Creatrip: Korea’s Most Haunted Places

경산 코발트광산 학살사건 – 위키백과, 우리 모두의 백과사전

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Yongma Land Abandoned Theme Park

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The look of the Yongma Land Abandoned Theme Park in South-Korea has made it a popular place for a photoshoot during the day. But an abandoned place like this also comes with haunting rumors about a little girl that tragically died on one of the rides and that haunts the empty place as a ghost to this day. 

Abandoned amusement parks are one of the most beautiful haunted places to exist. Yongma Land (용마랜드) opened in 1980 as a family friendly amusement park and was a popular destination for the local families the first decade after it opened in Seoul in South Korea. 

But then, bigger and brighter amusement parks like Lotte World opened in 1989 and people turned to that instead and they closed down in 2011. But was it only because of poor business that the park decided to shut down the rides, or was it because of a tragic death that the legend will have it as? 

The Ghost in Yongma Land

The hauntings of the place are not only the close down rides and eerie mood that surrounds the place after dark according to popular rumors and legends. Reports of the voice of a little girl is something more than one visitor has heard among the silent amusement rides and 80s nostalgia. This is supposedly the voice of a little girl that allegedly died on a ride back in 2011. 

This is the very incident that is said to have been the reason that the park closed down back in 2011, though no evidence of this incident to have ever occured has been provided and is most likely the rumor the atmosphere creates. And the official statement is that Yongma Land closed down due to poor business.

Even so, a handful of people still claim that the voice of a girl like this is exactly what they heard in the supposedly abandoned amusement park.

K-Pop and Showbiz

This reportedly haunted place is not only for the paranormal interested either and the main attraction is not for paranormal seekers but rather people looking for a good location for a photoshoot. 

This abandoned theme park has in the later years been the site of music videos of iconic K-pop groups like Twice’s ‘Like OOH-AHH’ and Crayon Pop’s ‘Bar Bar Bar’ used this place to shoot. 

It has also been featured in numrous of K-Dramas and famous idols photoshoots and therefore tourists visits not only for the ghosts, but also for their favorite idols music videos sites and to relive scenes from their drama series. 

It has a certain rustic charm to it in daylight for a beautiful backdrop in photos and videos. Even today you can walk around in the 80 nostalgia of Sailor Moon statues and vintage looking posters and rides. 

But when the darkness befalls the silent joy rides and the rest of the park, the mood changes to a slightly more haunted one, even when the caretaker of the place turns on the lights for your night shoots.

Although a closed down park, the place still has its entrance fees at around 10 000 KRW for an adult to behold the wonderful magic of decay and nostalgia all in one, and perhaps take a moment to listen for the sound of a little girl among the silent and closed down rides. 

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Yongma Land – Wikipedia

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The Haunting on Jeju Island

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After terrible tragedies, stories of ghosts often linger hauntingly at the same place. This is the case of Jeju Island, a place that experienced a horrible massacre the place is still recovering from. 

In Korea, the self-governing Jeju island is probably most known to be a great vacation place with its beautiful coastline and lush green scenery. It also houses the biggest mountain in South Korea, Hallasan. 

But the light and lush place has its dark and horrible past. The Jeju massacre from 1948 to 1949, is one of the horrible memories the island holds when in an anti communist campaign the Korean army massacred a tenth of the Islands population. 

The Jeju Uprising

The Korean peninsula was in an uproar during the Korean war and loyalty to the different regimes were in black and white. The Jeju Uprising was also later known as April 3. Incident (제주 4·3 사건)

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A separatist movement of the communists broke out on the island and the South Korean army struck hard on it right before the outbreak of the Korean War. The government ordered a massacre and although not a definite number has been provided the massacre itself resulted in around 30 000 people dying. That is around 10 % of the Jeju population that were slaughtered in fear of them being for the communists. 

However, the guilt by association sentiment was strong in the Korean army and both innocent and children were killed and harmed during this massacre. And in the aftermath of the massacre several people died by their wounds, starvation or exposure seeing that entire villages were burned to the ground. 

The Haunting Aftermath of the Jeju Massacre

After this horrible tragedy, the islanders claim that the place is haunted by the people that were massacred as they never got peace, justice or even recovered the bodies in some cases. 

Go Wan-soon was one of the survivors of the massacre at just nine years old. Even she remembers the stories of ghosts that the survivors allegedly encountered after the massacre: 

“People said they saw a white skirt, a white top – there were ghosts,” she said. “I could not go to some places, I was so scared.” She told Asian Times in 2018.

Caves and popular hiking spots are said to be places where the ghosts still roam those who were killed. 

Jeju Uprising: Jeju citizens awaiting execution in May 1948.//Source.

Why especially are these places claimed to be haunted? Perhaps the mass grave next to Jeju’s airport can hold the answer as 388 bodies were uncovered in this grave far from everything else as recent as in 2008. 

Secluded places where mass graves of the killed people sometimes come to light even in the later years, showing just how raw and huge the collective trauma of the massacre still are to the locals.

Places like the Saebyeol Oreum Circus are said to be haunted, although perhaps because of its abandoned eeri aura or perhaps because of the massacre itself. 

When tragedy and atrocities such as the Jeju massacre happens, the aftermath of it is often explained through paranormal phenomena. The same can be said of the Gyeongsan Abandoned Cobalt Mine massacre from the same time that also suffers from legends of ghosts and hauntings in its later years. 

One can wonder if it is the dead or the survivors that are not able to move on from the tragedy. 

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8 Haunted Places In South Korea You Didn’t Know Existed

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Jeju’s Most Chilling Ghost Stories

On Jeju, Korea’s island of ghosts, the dead finally find a voice – Asia Times

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Yeongdeok Haunted House

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Named one of the most haunted houses in South Korea, this house has attracted its fair share of ghost tourists. But is the Yeongdeok Haunted House really haunted by the death of Korean soldiers during the war, or is it simply the decaying look of the house that made the legend?

On a 3 hour KTX ride from Seoul with a high speed train you will find the Yeongdeok haunted house (영덕흉가). Located in Gyeongsang Province, known for its beautiful nature and coastline. The house near the beach has in the later years taken the role as one of the most famous haunted houses in South Korea that are not yet demolished or revamped to something else. 

The ones said to haunt this particular basic building are said to be the student soldiers that lost their lives when almost 800 of them staged a diversion operation at Jangsari beach in Yeongdeok to draw the North Koreans attention away from the well known Battle of Inchon in the Korean War.

Read More: Check out the rest of our ghost stories from Korea

According to locals, around 400 to 700 soldiers lost their lives during this battle and were buried in this area during the Korean War. It is said that while 139 were killed and 92 were wounded, the rest just went missing. 

The house itself was built in October 1980 and supposedly the house is built upon a mass grave of the soldiers that died. Is this true? Some locals claim that no, it isn’t, but then again, the legends uphold the claim and the house has been featured on many lists as Korea’s most haunted.

The Ghost in the Staircase

After the war the Yeongdeok Haunted House, hauntings have been to blame when the owners of the house died in mysterious ways, although no real evidence of any of the owners having actually died has been presented. One variation is that the owner of the house in its earlier days was killed in a car accident and that those buying the house after this died as well. 

In all the legends surrounding the house though it is because of all the people that died during the war here, that it drove the price of the land down and some people saw the opportunity to get it cheap. But then, they didn’t calculate all the souls that came with it. 

The Haunted House: Years without anyone to take care of it has left the Yeongdeok Haunted House on the hill in decay and deterioration, fuelling the haunted house rumours. // Source

In one of the many haunted legends about the house, a young couple once bought the place to turn it into a seafood restaurant as they got it cheap because of the haunted rumors. But not soon after they opened for business strange things started to happen. 

The wife reported spotting a ghost in the staircase, descending from the second floor again and again with the hair hanging down and when she first saw it she is reported to have fainted at the spot by the mere sight of it. It all was too much and they ended up abandoning the place not soon after because of all the incidents that kept occuring in their home. 

The Shamanist Against the Ghosts

A new couple moved into the Yeongdeok Haunted House as the price of the house dropped even further. They were believers of traditional Korean shamanistic beliefs and tried to keep the ghosts at bay with their shamanistic items and rituals. It seems to not have worked as they also moved from the house not soon after. 

This story of shamanism inhabitants has contradicting variations. Some say that they ran away because of the ghosts, some say that they were kicked out because they were squatters, not real owners.

Read More: Check out all our ghost stories from Haunted Houses

Now the hype of the house started to pick up though, and the place attracted ghostbusters and shamans alike to have a look at the house and try to cleanse it as well as getting a few minutes of screentime on TV. 

One shaman that visited the place as a part of a TV show claimed that over ten thousand spirits were present in the house. During this part they supposedly got the hold of recording of voices they didn’t hear when they were on site, although speculations that it has something to do with the radio tower right by the house, is under discussion.

Visitors, or trespassers if you will, complain that a throbbing headache or an intense chill takes hold of them as they explore the abandoned building that is decaying and getting more and more of a haunted look as no one is taking care of the building. It is also rumored that machine equipment is malfunctioning while staying at the place. 

The Ghost of Student Soldiers: The ghosts that are said to be haunting Yeongdeok Haunted House are the dead ones from a battle at Jangsari Beach to lead the attention of North Korea away from Incheon. Here from the movie about the battle: The Battle of Jangsari. // Source

The Truth of the Legend Behind Yeongdeok Haunted House

The truthness to these haunted rumors though can be disputed. What we do know for a fact is that the owners moved to the US. Why? Perhaps not for the paranormal reasons the legend is insisting on. What is a fact though is that the uprooting of the owners led to the neglected buildings starting to deteriorate.

A little footage of the house from around 5 years ago.

The owner, in articles called Mr. Ham is currently residing in the US and is considering demolishing the Yeongdeok Haunted House as it seems to disturb the plans to create a memorial park for those dying in this battle were the supposedly haunting started from. 

So perhaps the same fate of some of the famous abandoned buildings with a haunting reputation will get another addition to the list when this house also gets flattened to the earth, soon to be forgotten.

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전국 3대 흉가 선정, 영덕 ‘귀신 나오는 집’ 헐린다

귀신 나온다는 ‘한국 3대 흉가’는 조작됐다 – 시사저널