Top 12 Most Haunted Places in South Korea!
In this article we will share to you something different about south korea. While most of us know that South korea is a really famous destinations for beauty products, korean drama, k-pop, street food, fried rice or hidden gems and destinations.
But that’s not all this country has to offer. Challengers who are always up for an adventure have something else to look forward to, which is Haunted Places. Do you believe in the supernatural? In ghosts? Fallen Angels? Not the song, but i mean real fallen angels. If you don’t, then you better stay away from these Haunted places!
Here’s a list of haunted places in Korea, in which some of them are still exist and some of them are not yet exist (has been torn down) due to some reasons.
This places are haunted not just because of their creepy looking, but also because there exist some stories behind this haunted places and how many people have ghost encounters in these place.
*If you are a fainthearted, you might want to stop from further reading*
1. Neulbom Garden (늘봄가든)
Neulbom Garden is located in Jecheon, North Chungcheong. There are a number of haunted stories concerning Neulbom Garden. The story tells us that the restaurant Neulbom Garden was once a successful enterprise, run by a couple who had a daughter with a physical disability.
However, one day the daughter was hit by a car on the road just in front of the restaurant, an accident which ended up taking her life. Her father, distraught with grief, committed suicide by hanging himself. Her mother, also in shock, died shortly after.
After the family tragedy, a few attempts have been made by other people to reopen the restaurant, but there was always an uncanny feeling surrounding the place. On top of that, strange incidents kept occurring.
Some of the stories are this. Guests of the restaurants would order their food from a female staff. After waiting for a long time, they called the male staff and said that they ordered to a female staff a while ago but not received the order yet. Being puzzled, the male staff said we don’t have any female staff.
And some customers claimed that they had been slapped by someone from behind after playing with food. After numerous similar incidents, customers started to avoid the restaurant, and it eventually shut down.
Neulbom Garden was later said to have been purchased by a priest who decided to just let it rest in peace. However, recently there has been some renovation work done on the building, and it is now a gathering spot for Daredevils and ghost busters.
2. Yeongdeok Haunted House (영덕흉가)
Yeongdeok Haunted House located close to Jangsa Beach in Yeongdeok County, North Gyeongsan Province. It takes 3-hour KTX ride from Seoul. Gyeongsang also happens to be famous for its national parks and beautiful coastline.
The province has lots of sights and good local dishes to offer, but to end your day on a high, a short visit to this haunted house isn’t a bad idea, isn’t it? Especially for you who are a challengers or claimed to be a warrior.According to locals, about 400 young soldiers were killed and buried in this area during the Korean War.
It’s believed that the house is haunted by the souls of soldiers who sacrificed their lives in the Battle of Incheon during the Korean War.Because of all the young soldiers that had been killed there, the place was already rumored to be haunted.
This rumours and stories drop down the price of land, and a young couple saw this as an opportunity to build a business, like seafood restaurant at the location. But not long after the building was completed, the wife looked up the staircase and saw a ghost, hair hanging down, descending from the second floor again and again. As this incidents keep occuring,the couple ended up abandoned the house.
Later, a couple of traditional Korean shamanistic beliefs moved into the house as the price drop even lower. But even their faith wasn’t enough to keep the spirits at peace, and they ended up leaving the place too. If you enter the house, there are still some traces to be found from this second couple did stayed here for a while as we can see their traces from their shamanistic items.
After that, a Korean talent together with a shaman visited the place, as a part of a TV show. The shaman claimed that over ten thousand spirits occupied the house, something which further increased its fame as a haunted place.
This building has also had some repair works done to it lately, and it is considered to be a powerful psychic spot. Even Ghost Busters who have visited the house mentioned that some of them left with a headache, while others felt chills as they were exploring the grounds. Many of them warned people not to visit this place.
3. Gonjiam Psychiatric Hospital (곤지암정신병원)
Gonjiam Psychiatric Hospital, located in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province. It’s usually called Gonjiam Psychiatric Hospital, but originally it was Namyang Psychiatric Hospital. A horror movie called Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum was released in 2018.
This dilapidated psychiatric hospital has been abandoned since 1995 and is located in Gyeonggi Province, approximately a 2-hour bus ride from Seoul. On top of being featured in a CNN article on 10 of the freakiest places around the world.
Needless to say, Gonjiam Psychiatric Hospital is not operating anymore. Warnings signs along with an iron gate will meet you by its entrance. It is also fenced with barbed wire, making it a tricky task to enter.However, there are some minor holes in the fencing, so you can still sneeking through it.
There are many stories surrounding Gonjiam Psychiatric Hospital. One of the stories said that before the hospital was built, there was a prison located at the place where many inmates had died. After opening the psychiatric hospital, many patients were later said to have died without any apparent reason.
And according to rumours, many patients in Gonjiam died under because of the director was mentally ill. So He allegedly held patients hostage and cause them deaths. Eventually, the director made a run for it and abandoned this facility.
4. Yongma Land Abandoned Theme Park
Yongma Land Abandoned Theme Park is a popular attraction among local Korean and tourists alike, even being featured on famous k-pop music Videos.
Many visit the place for its rustic charm and prime photo backdrops. But according to rumour spread around locals, there is a story of a little girl whose soul still lingers in the theme park after she died on a ride back in 2011.
This incident was said to cause the eventual closure of the park. Some of people come here expecting to hear a disembodied voice of a little girl, as a handful of people have reportedly experienced it.
5. Yeonpyeong Island
Yeonpyeong Island is located near the border dividing the two Korea’s, and ever since the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950, this area has been subjected to countless bombings and occasional military standoffs. The most recent one took place in November 23th, 2010, forcing its inhabitants to temporarily flee the island.
It is believed that there are many spirits, vengeful and lost alike, residing here. Given the sheer number of soldiers and innocent civilians who lost their lives on the island over the years.
Especially during the last 2010 Bombardment, many people are hiding in dugouts, shelter or even move to Incheon by Ferry, yet still many were killed. The island is only a ferry ride from Yeonan Port, located in Incheon.
6. Saebyeol Oreum Circus
Jeju island is a getaway paradise surrounded by a beautiful coastline and extensive green fields. It’s even gifted with the highest mountain in South Korea, Hallasan. While truth is there is some hidden tragic stories happened here.
When the South Korean government tried to suppress the separatist movement on the island, 10% of the Jeju population were slaughtered.
Many local residents have therefore claimed that the island continues to be haunted by those who were killed. Places such as caves and hiking spots, which were used as hideouts are becoming the spirits hotspot.
A mass grave filled with the bodies of those massacred was discovered right next to Jeju’s airport runway. We can only imagine how many of these spirits are still wandering around.
But that’s not all there is to Jeju’s haunted stories, as the island also has a few abandoned buildings will give you the creeps, in which one of them is this circus.
Not much information can be found about this circus. While no one has come outright to say that it’s haunted, you never know what to expect of a forsaken building, much less one that was once a circus filled with spectators, now left to be forgotten.
However, there is more forsaken building you can find in Jeju if you plan to be a Daredevils as you stroll around Jeju Island. Click here to look at the map of the forsaken building in Jeju Island.
7. Yongin Village
It is believed that virgin ghosts, known as cheonyeo gwishin, are the souls of women who died as virgins. They are said to have originated from Yongin Village and continue to roam the earth. Cheonyeo gwishin are commonly portrayed with long black hair and use a traditional mourning outfit known as sobok.
Parents often regale young kids with this legend and it was commonly used as a scare tactic to encourage women to get married. While the practice is not so common in today’s highly urbanised Korean society, this spooky apparition remains popular among Koreans especially after being featured on some korean dramas movie.
However, today, Yongin Korean Folk Village has been turned into a tourist attraction. It looks just like a traditional Korean village, complete with costumed historical performers.
Every summer, this place gets its actress to dress up as cheonyeo gwishin gliding as she performed,
8. Creepy Han River
The ever famous Han River where people go on picnic dates in the day and stroll along during the evenings is not as peaceful as it seems.
In the past, it used to serve as a route for many merchant ships coming into Korea. But as these ships got hijacked, people on board were killed and disposed of into the river. This culminated in the legend of the mul gwishin, also known as water spirits, who continue to lurk around in the river.
This legendary Korean folklore was depicted in a Korean award-winning film called The Host, which tells a story of a little girl who was kidnapped by a monstrous water spirit.
9. independence gate (Dongnimmun Gate)
The Independence Gate is a memorial gate located in Seoul, South Korea. The gate was built following the First Sino-Japanese War to inspire a spirit of independence away from Korea’s previous status as a Chinese tributary state, which was declared by the Treaty of Shimonoseki.
Myths told here is that there lies a lot of goblins, and how goblins chop off topknots on people’s heads as they pass through the gates.
10. Paldang Haunted House (closed)
This haunted house is located close to Mt. Geomdan in Hanam city, Gyeonggi Province.
Geomdan mountain has many steep slopes, and the public is prohibited from entering many areas of the mountain, making it difficult to access. Located inside the forest with almost no human presence, this place is said to be uncanny even during daytime.
Apparently, the place was originally used as a large storehouse for livestock, but rumor has it that spirits of people who committed suicide haunt the place. The moldy inside of Paldang Haunted House gave it a gruesome and spooky look. No wonder Koreans thought of it as a psychic power spot.
However now this place is also no longer exist.
11. Gyeongsan Abandoned Cobalt Mine (Closed)
The abandoned Gyeongsan Cobalt Mine is located in Gyeongsan, North Gyeongsan Province.
The mine was used during the Japanese occupation for mining cobalt, but it was later abandoned as the mine ran dry. So why is it said to be haunted?
During the Korean War, civilians and convicts, accused of conspiring with North Korea, were brutally massacred in the area. The mine is where they threw the bodies.
Estimates has it that around 3,500 people were brutally murdered here.
Several factories were later build close to the mine, but a number of factory owners later committed suicide. The last company to be in operation was a glasses manufacturer. The factory owner is said to have poured petroleum over himself and his still sleeping employees, burning everyone to death.
Good news is that this place is no longer exist now.
12. Naju Haunted House (Closed)
This place is famous for being inhabited by so many spirits as the large amount of underground water in the area meant that it was never an ideal spot to build a house. Also occupied by an abundance of spirits, they tried to purify the place by bringing a shaman, but it was to no use.
It is said that many who had visited the Naju Haunted House died a sudden death or developed deadly diseases. But the good news is that this place is no longer exist.
Haunted Places in South Korea
How do you think about these haunted places in south korea? Which one you excited to visit the most? Let us know in the comment sections below!
