Ghostly encounters in Korea's schools of the 1990s

Music soothes the savage beast, but what does it do to ghosts? Courtesy of Ryan Berkebile

By Robert Neff

In the early 1990s, ghost stories involving schools were very popular in Korea. It isn't clear how these stories spread so quickly and so widely ― the internet was still relatively new ― but undoubtedly they were gleaned from newspapers, magazines, radio programs and even TV (although there weren't many channels to choose from back then).

Looking at them now, they seem almost innocent ― especially as the ones provided below center on elementary through high school encounters. Perhaps next Halloween we will examine haunted universities.

In 1991, a young woman recalled a story she heard about a haunted high school in central Seoul. Perhaps she attended the school and it was a tale passed on from one class to the next ― kind of a rite of passage into high school where senior classmates scared their younger classmates with ghostly tales. According to her:

Late one night, the high school's elderly security guard slowly walked down a dark hallway checking the doors and classrooms to make sure they were closed and empty. As he made his rounds, he suddenly heard a girl's voice. It wasn't clear whether she was calling to him or merely singing to herself (he only heard her voice for a few seconds) but it was clear that she did not belong in the building. Even though the school was closed, students sometimes snuck back in and studied alone in the school's solitude ― away from their crowded and noisy homes.

An empty classroom… or is it? Courtesy of Ryan Berkebile

The guard went from room to room and finally found the source ― a pretty girl studying alone at her desk, with only a candle providing her with light. When he called out to her, she looked up and, as if recognizing him, smiled and then disappeared. She was literally there one second and gone the next.

It was not the first time she had disappeared. The man recognized her as a student who had gone missing the previous year and he was determined to find her. He looked about the classroom but could find no trace of her.

He went to the police station and, despite their reluctance and skepticism, convinced the police to go and search for the girl who was hiding somewhere in the school. They found her in the school building's attic, but she wasn't hiding. Her badly decomposing body was found sitting next to a book. Prior to her initial disappearance, the girl ― who had been adopted and may have been abused ― often came to the attic to read books; preferring its empty solitude to her own home filled with turmoil and hardship.

Judging from the decomposed state of the body, she had obviously been dead for quite some time. How she came to die is unknown; perhaps she died from natural causes, or from the alleged abuse she received at home or maybe she ended her own life. Although it is not stated, one can assume that once the body was recovered and properly buried, her ghost ceased to haunt the school.

Tomes from past Courtesy of Ryan Berkebile

Here is a story from 1993.

A security guard ― on his first night of duty at an undisclosed high school ― was making his rounds at 10 p.m. when he noticed a light coming from one of the classrooms. When he opened the door he found a male student studying diligently at his desk.

The boy seemed somewhat surprised at the security guard's sudden entrance and explained that he had been so engrossed in his studies that he was unaware of how late it was. The security guard assured him that he understood and offered to walk him to the gate. As they walked, the security guard tried to engage the student in conversation, but the boy was sullenly quiet and would only give his name.

The next day, the security guard remarked to the classroom's teacher that he had found one of his students in the classroom studying. The teacher was very surprised and impressed. He asked for the boy's name so that he could praise him. The guard told him the name but the teacher incredulously insisted the guard was mistaken.

The security guard insisted there was no mistake. The teacher gave him a strange look and stated that it was impossible, as the boy had committed suicide at the school a month earlier. The security guard, convinced he had seen a ghost, quit and never returned.

Why confine ourselves to Seoul? In the late 1970s or early 1980s in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, an old elementary school was said to be haunted by the spirits of women. According to the tales ― spread by students and some adults ― the school had been built upon an old cemetery that had not been properly cleared of its former inhabitants. Over the years, students claimed to hear voices in the empty halls and no one wanted to be alone in a classroom.

Is there anything scarier or more annoying than someone scratching a chalkboard with their fingernails? Courtesy of Ryan Berkebile

Apparently things climaxed when a new security guard was hired (judging from these tales, these guys deserved better wages). On his first night, the guard, equipped with an old lantern, was required to go from building to building and check all the doors and windows to ensure they were properly locked.

At around 2 a.m., while walking down one of the wooden halls, he heard footsteps echoing that did not seem to be his own. He stopped and fearfully expected to hear the footsteps continue but they didn't. Instead, he heard the faint sounds of a woman sobbing and muttering. It only lasted for a few seconds and so he assumed he was just imagining things.

Trying to reassure himself, he resolved to finish his rounds but as soon as he took a step, he again heard the sound of footsteps and then a woman's muttering and sobbing. Determined to find the source, he went in the direction of the sound but it always seemed to elude him ― as if it were mocking him.

Throughout the night, in that one hallway, he continued to hear footsteps, crying and muttering. The next day, when the teachers and other staff arrived, he informed them of what he had experienced. Despite having heard the rumors, they insisted his mind was playing tricks on him ― yet, apparently, none of them were willing to remain in their classrooms after sunset.

The guard lasted only about a week before he quit. He explained that each night the footsteps got closer and closer, and the woman's muttering became louder and louder, and he was convinced that he did not want to know the source.

Teachers, too, have had ghostly encounters, but they seem to be in the minority. The few accounts are mainly of seeing an additional student in a classroom in the late hours ― a student they do not recognize. Sometimes the classroom number on the student's nametag is completely incorrect ― that classroom or number not existing at that school.

Most ghost stories taking place at schools are from the students' perspective.

What stories could this room tell ― especially in the dark? Courtesy of Ryan Berkebile

In 1993, one young man recalled that when he was a middle school student, his school was located in the countryside and quite isolated. One night, he forgot his homework in his classroom and had to return for it (apparently the fear of his teacher's punishment for an incomplete assignment outweighed the fear of any ghosts).

His nervousness was greatly alleviated when he saw a light coming from his classroom's windows. When he opened the door he was surprised to see a strange girl studying at one of the desks. He did not know who she was and she paid him no attention, but the girl gave him the creeps and so he quickly retrieved his homework and left the room ― closing the door behind him.

He walked briskly down the hall, but before he had gone very far, he had the feeling that something was following him ― something dark and malevolent. He turned around and there was the girl, staring blankly at him. His eyes were drawn to hers and when he willed himself to look away from them, he noticed that the girl had no legs ― she was floating!

The blackness of terror overwhelmed him and he fainted.

Several hours later he awoke to someone shaking him. It was the security guard. The security guard patiently listened to the student's story and then gently urged him to go home. The student was convinced he had seen a ghost and avoided the school at night.

In 1994, a young man recalled that when he in the sixth grade, his class stayed overnight at their school during summer vacation. They all decided to play hide-and-seek in the halls and classrooms. He recalled making his way to the darkest part of the school where he would hide and try and scare his friends. As he walked down the hall he suddenly felt as if someone was watching him from a dark recessed area. When he turned and looked he saw a black silhouette of a boy with glowing red eyes staring at him. It was not one of his classmates. Startled, he ran away, but after a couple of steps, he felt rather foolish and turned back around to confront the boy, only to find no one there.

He fled from the hallway and rejoined his friends. He apparently never told them about his encounter, even though he believed he had seen a ghost.

His reluctance to tell his friends about his encounter is understandable; after all, who would you tell if you encountered a ghost?

My appreciation to Ryan Berkebile for providing the pictures of deserted schools around Korea.

Robert Neff has authored and co-authored several books including, Letters from Joseon, Korea Through Western Eyes and Brief Encounters.