Downtown Seoul in 1968 / Robert Neff Assortment
By Robert Neff
Each neighborhood has its secrets and techniques. Behind the facades of fresh storefronts, tastefully embellished interiors and the busy sounds of pedestrians going to and from work or college, some buildings have darkish histories. If solely the partitions may discuss — some ultimately do.
Residence is meant to be an inviolable sanctuary, a bastion in opposition to the evils surrounding us. However in response to some outdated Korean superstitions, it turns into a jail the place the supernatural reigns, judging and punishing mortals for the slightest transgressions. Nothing escapes their discover. But, it’s not the spirits that folks concern revealing their secrets and techniques to — it’s their fellow people. Secrets and techniques will be hidden for some time, however ultimately, all skeletons within the closet — or partitions — are revealed.
In 1997, “Saturday Mysteries,” a preferred Korean program that explored ghost tales and unexplained occasions, aired an episode a few chilling encounter in South Gyeongsang Province in 1980. A younger lady had not too long ago rented a small room in a hanok, a conventional Korean home, however her first night time there rapidly was a nightmare.
Whereas studying, she felt an unnatural coldness seep into the room, together with the unsettling sensation that somebody was standing behind her. Glancing nervously round, she noticed nothing uncommon and satisfied herself it was merely her creativeness impressed by being in a wierd place for the primary time. Later that night time, she awoke to the icy feeling of palms brushing in opposition to her within the darkness. As soon as once more, nobody was there.
The sample continued over a number of nights, every incident rising extra intense and violent. Lastly, within the dim gentle of early morning, she witnessed two shadowy palms stretching out from the wall, greedy for her. Her terrified screams introduced the neighbors speeding in. They knocked down the wall and uncovered a grisly secret — the corpse of a 10-year-old boy hidden inside.
Looking upon Seoul from Fred Dustin’s condo in 1969 / Robert Neff Assortment
A few years earlier, a former tenant had kidnapped and murdered the boy, concealing his physique behind the wall to cowl up his ghastly crime.
Whereas this story appears unbelievable, it’s value noting that typically reality is stranger than fiction. Our bodies have been discovered secreted in partitions and flooring — some very not too long ago.
Within the early months of 2002, unusual occasions started to plague Eungam-dong, a quiet neighborhood in northwestern Seoul’s Eunpyeong District. Rumors unfold of a feminine ghost wandering the streets at night time close to a multi-family brick-and-cement constructing. Residents started to maneuver out, complaining of a heavy, darkish, and oppressive feeling that appeared to originate from the constructing’s basement.
The constructing was not that outdated. Constructed in September 1992, it initially housed a small textile manufacturing unit owned by a 54-year-old man in its basement. However enterprise struggled, and in 1994, he took his personal life — presumably within the basement.
Following his loss of life, one other man tried his luck, working a tailor store in the identical area. Nevertheless, after solely two years, he was pressured to surrender his enterprise as a result of poor well being — he ultimately died of most cancers in 2001.
A view of the Jeong-dong space of Seoul in 1969 / Robert Neff Assortment
In 1996, the basement turned a sweater yarn manufacturing unit owned by a 55-year-old lady and her enterprise companion, a 45-year-old man. In March 1997, the companion borrowed 12 million gained from the proprietor, promising to speculate it in a card-scam enterprise. His timing couldn’t have been worse — the nation was getting ready to the Asian monetary disaster, with the gained plunging to 2,000 gained to the greenback by the top of the 12 months.
By Might 1997, when the proprietor demanded her a reimbursement, the companion, bored with being badgered for cash he couldn’t pay again, made a horrifying resolution to finish his torment. He lured her into the manufacturing unit basement, bludgeoned her to loss of life with an iron rod and sealed her physique in an area beneath the basement stairs. He even used sand and cement stolen from a close-by development web site to hide his crime.
Nobody may clarify the proprietor’s disappearance. With the economic system worsening, the manufacturing unit shut down, and the companion repurposed the basement as a warehouse for his clothes retailer. In March 1999, a brand new tenant moved in and established a sweater manufacturing unit with 9 workers, all of their 50s and 60s. Nearly instantly, eerie and unexplainable occurrences started to plague the employees.
A number of workers reported wanting into mirrors at residence and seeing a girl’s face superimposed over their very own. Unusual well being points and accidents took a toll on the group, and by early 2002, 4 of the 9 had been useless. Even the CEO of the manufacturing unit wasn’t spared the basement’s sinister affect — he struggled to sleep and misplaced almost half his physique weight.
Rumors started to unfold that the basement was cursed, and those that entered may really feel an amazing sense of malevolence within the air.
By the summer time of 2002, the constructing was almost abandoned. In a bid to finish the rumors and make the property extra interesting, the owner determined to transform the basement. Whereas engaged on the renovation, contractors observed that the development beneath the steps appeared newer than the remainder of the room. With the owner’s permission, they started to knock it down. As quickly as they breached the wall, a foul stench permeated the basement. Inside, they found the mummified stays of the proprietor.
A short investigation rapidly pointed to the companion because the prime suspect, and he was ultimately apprehended. Based on his confession, he was relieved to be caught, admitting that he had been unable to sleep for the reason that homicide. He claimed that the murdered lady’s ghost haunted his desires, and through his waking hours, he heard unusual noises from the darkish corners of his residence.
The companion was tried, discovered responsible of homicide and sentenced to fifteen years in jail. What turned of him afterward is unknown. If he’s nonetheless alive, he has since accomplished his sentence and could also be wandering amongst us — a assassin haunted by the stressed spirit of his sufferer.
As for the basement, the owner renovated it after which summoned a shaman to carry out a purification ritual. Based on blogs and well-liked media sources targeted on mysteries, the shaman revealed that greater than only one spirit haunted the constructing. Regardless of provides of extraordinarily low cost hire and numerous perks, no tenants had been keen to maneuver in. For years, the condo remained unoccupied. Even the locals prevented strolling down the alley the place the constructing stood, as they claimed to really feel an oppressive ambiance — maybe a sinister, watchful presence.
In 2017, the constructing was offered and demolished for a pittance of its worth. It has since been redeveloped into new condo buildings. However the query stays: Does the ghost nonetheless wander the streets, or is she confined to haunting solely the imaginations of the brand new residents?
Eungam-dong’s alleged haunting is maybe essentially the most infamous of its form, however the timing raises some questions. The homicide and the concealment of the physique occurred nearly a month earlier than “Saturday Mysteries” aired its episode concerning the boy’s physique hidden inside the wall. Was it merely a coincidence?
Extra not too long ago, one other ugly discovery has come to gentle. In October 2008, a person murdered his girlfriend in his rooftop studio condo throughout a heated argument over their relationship. He then positioned her physique in a suitcase and encased it in cement and bricks on the condo balcony. For almost eight years, he lived along with her physique hidden simply outdoors his door till he was convicted and imprisoned in 2017 for drug-related expenses. Maybe the medication helped numb his guilt over her loss of life, or possibly they silenced the voices of self-condemnation echoing in his thoughts. For almost 16 years, she was listed as a lacking individual, however in August 2024, a development employee found her stays whereas repairing a leak on the roof.
Whereas her stressed spirit could lastly discover peace and freedom, his spirit and physique stay confined to jail for the remainder of his life.
Have been these three murderers haunted by the sounds of the night time, very similar to Edgar Allan Poe’s protagonist in “The Inform-Story Coronary heart”? Did the load of their consciences and the specters of their victims drive them to ultimately “admit the deed” to the authorities, in search of some type of peace within the darkness of their very own minds? Solely they know the reply to that query, however for now, they continue to be silent.
Robert Neff has authored and co-authored a number of books together with “Letters from Joseon,” “Korea By means of Western Eyes” and “Temporary Encounters.”
