Korea’s Top 3 Most Absolutely Scariest Places! AHH! – Seoulistic

Korea’s Top 3 Most Absolutely Scariest Places! AHH!

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The word “scary” can mean many things – but scary in Korea does not just mean spooky ghosts or little girls dressed in school uniforms (stereotype much?!). It can also be about the history of a particular area that can spook people out or even the bone chilling atmosphere of abandoned buildings, schools, and churches that can get people running for a second pair of underwear. Korea has a very long and impassioned history (conflicts with Japan, the Korean War, etc.) that makes the scary factor about a particular place even scarier. Also, it can also be explained partially by Korea’s geography, mostly it being a mountainous and woodsy country.Β Blair Witch Project, anyone?Β 

Although South Korea may be a small country, many murder accounts and unusual episodes have been reported in South Korea. Forget the many buildings, schools, and even churches that give the aura of horror. These are nothing. With a little bit of surveying, we gathered the top three most scariest places in Korea. If you are given the chance to check out the places we are about to mention, we dare you to go. Double dare you!

These places featured on our list below are less about the sort of commercial scare that you can buy with money, but more focused about the authenticity, disturbing, and horrifying places of Korea! Read on scaredy cats!


 

1) “Demilitarized Zone” (aka DMZ)

Did you know that South Korea and North Korea is still technically at war? Well, if you didn’t pay attention in your world history class, your professor probably said something along the line about the North and South being the only place in the world that is still affected by the Cold War. The armistice signed in 1953 during the Korean war only created a ceasefire which did not end the war. No official peace treaty was signed between the two countries making it a war lasting for about 57 years (and still counting). Upon entering the boarder of the Koreas, you should keep in mind that you are literally entering a war zone. But don’t worry, we’re not trying to scare you by saying that a war will break out! It’s more of the atmosphere of the place that gives you the chills. Sort of a spooky thought, eh?

The North and South is separated by a border called the Demilitarized Zone, or the ‘DMZ’ for short. The DMZ has been arguably one of the most spookiest places on earth and if you ever get the chance to visit the zone, you can take a small glimpse into the world’s least understood country – North Korea. Even US presidents such as Bill Clinton, George Bush, and Obama labeled the DMZ to be the scariest place on Earth. The DMZ is about 2.5 kilometers wide between the north and south; filled with land mines, barbed wires, and guard posts watching your every step. Soldiers from both the South and North eye each other every second to see if any suspicious acts are occurring, and hopefully, no miscalculations are made between the two rivals.

Although this is the most heavily militarized zone in the world, it is also the one of the biggest tourist hot spots for people visiting Korea. This is a must place visit if you are in Korea where it is a one time experience where you can accustom yourself with the only country in the world that is still divided. If you’re still not scared enough by reading this…! Go take a tour at the DMZ for a very reasonable price. Taking the tour, you will learn about the history of the DMZ and many incidents that occurred since Korea’s split in 1953.Β  You can discover the secret tunnels that the North Koreans built so that their soldiers can have access to South Korea’s land in case a war was to break out. You can also check out the Joint Security Area (JSA – shown in the picture above). The Joint Security Area is the only part of the DMZΒ  where the North Korean soldiers and South Korean soldiers face each other to see who can stare at each other the longest. And you will definitely lose if you play the staring game with these soldiers.

But can you handle it? Is the thought of a war still freaking you out? We dare you to check out the place! But don’t worry, we are sure that there will be no war between the two sides πŸ˜‰

Special Note: Environmentalist rejoice! As the DMZ is one of the most heavily guarded area in the world, this is one of the few places in the world where there is virtually no human intervention. It’s pretty much nature at its purest. As a result, the biodiversity in the DMZ area is one of the most untouched places in the world! Too bad you’re not allowed to see any of it! (Unless you have power binoculars ;))

 


2.) “Gonjiam Psychiatric Hospital” in Gyeonggi-do, South Korea

If you’re the type of person that is always looking for weird things to do in Korea, well we did all the searching for you. If you ever get to stop by a tiny city called Gwangju in Gyeonggi-do, Korea, stop by the Gonjiam Mental Hospital just for the heck of it. This hospital was shut down nearly 15 years ago and there was no real conclusion on why this place shut down. This is the freaky part: people were just randomly dying in this hospital. Well, you’re thinking that there should’ve been at least some kind investigation, right? Not really. There was no mention of why people started dying so mysteriously at this mental institute.

The atmosphere of this abandoned hospital has an exterior thats all torn up, ash gray colored pipes, and shattered windows that no one has ever bothered to pick up. You most definitely want to check this place out during the day when the sun is at it’s peak because it’s probably intense enough to look around this place even when the sun is up. We can’t even imagine what it would be like at night. Inside the building you’ll find long hallways with aspiring black shaded corridors that make the interior even more scarier. You’ll also find thousands of shattered pieces of glass that still remain to this day probably left by psychiatric patients 15 years ago. Who knows what was going on in their minds at the time. From room to room, they all hold their own unique and distinct traits of some sort; some rooms you will find old cartoon books, examination tables, and scribblings on the walls that seem to have absolutely no definition of any sort. You can also see offices with jackets and white-coats still hanging on the wall — it feels just as if the doctor left the office yesterday. You’ll find scribblings on whiteboards and little sticky notes with personal messages saying that the hospital should be abandoned and evacuated as soon as possible. Again, no reason why. But we know one thing is for sure, the person who wrote the personal sticky note saying the place should be evacuated was a lucky one to get out alive. Or did he? Why don’t you go to the hospital and ask him in person! πŸ˜‰

 


 

3.) “Neulbom Garden” (λŠ˜λ΄„κ°€λ“ )

Neulbom Garden used to be a local hit restaurant, until things got very strange with the owners and employees. They say this place is so haunted that you can still hear the dishes being done in the kitchen at night.

Brief history of the restaurant: There was a family of three, one daughter and a couple that lived together. One day, the daughter got into a collision on a nearby road causing her neck to be snapped and leaving her in a vegetative state. The couples had no choice but to suffer the pain of having a daughter that couldn’t speak or think for the rest of her life. Because of this incident, the husband decided to commit suicide by hanging himself. Scary enough?!

Well, this has been in the talks for about 20 years.

Within that time span of 20 years, this restaurant has been bought by an unknown rich couple. The stories are not so specific in terms of events because there were not many witnesses that survived. But there were rumors of doors suddenly opening and shutting and customers would order food where all of the orders were getting messed up (well… sorta spooky!). The boss could not handle such situations and left the employees to do all the work because he was busy doing the dishes in the back kitchen (dude was one of those psychos that couldn’t stand dirty dishes!). Oh yea, and the boss was also known to club customers in the head if he saw them playing with their food or dropped scraps of food on his floor (can anyone say psycho?!). No one knows if this crazy boss is part of the party de haunt, but what we know is that it definitely is haunted! The building has been left to rot since it’s abandonment, and the exterior has that very abandoned (aka scary) look of red bricks deteriorating on the outer wall. It’s so haunted that people dare not enter because if they do, they might get a mistaken order for “AHHHHHHHH!!!!”

All of these places has their own unique scare factor to them. On a scale of one through ten (one being the scariest ten being the least scariest), how would you rate these haunted places in Korea? Would you like to visit one of these places on the list?

Leave a comment below and let us know what you think! Thanks! πŸ™‚

30 Comments

  1. Jacqueline says:

    I would go to the restaurant and the psych hospital yet for an American to be anywhere near North Korea is like digging my own grave, killing myself and then filling in the hole. I just got all kinds of serious ideas for those two places. I love horror movies so this is right up there for me. I didn’t know Korean had anything like this in it. I figured they would have clean well taken care building everywhere no matter where they are located. Interesting. More to explore.

  2. Mai' says:

    μ•ˆλ…•!!

    Such an interesting article! =)
    I had the chills just by reading… o.0 especially about the Gonjiam psychiatric hospital. I give it 10 haha

    But what really caught my attention was your impressions about the Demilitarized Zone. I live in a country which has never experienced a war before, but I can tell the feelings you guys may have about the DMZ. Obviously it’s not that a war is impending, but the fact that such a zone exists doesn’t let Korean people (from both sides) be at easy.
    Am I right?

    [There was that day when I was watching a Korean TV show… A message which said that a simulation was being run by the government at THAT MOMENT was displayed at the bottom of my screen. Whow! I was startled! I really felt that it’s happening in my own city so I held my breath for a second!]

    Well… when I go to Korea someday I’ll make sure to visit this places =)

    Thank for the site… hugs from Brazil ^.^

  3. Peggy says:

    I just found the place I think inspired American Horror Story: Asylum
    I totally have to go to Gonjiam Psychiatric Hospital when I visit Korea now!
    And I’ve always really wanted to see the DMZ if I get the chance! πŸ˜€

  4. Malak says:

    I didn’t continue a single full sentence of the last 2 places. I am so scared. this freaked me out. It is even giving me chills to leave a comment

  5. kenny says:

    wow. i lived here over 5 years and even i didnt know about this~
    thanks keith

  6. Blueeyes says:

    Can anybody tell me if there are piano’s or a piano in one of these places. I am not scared of ghosts but I am obsessed with pianos and would love to photograph some…

  7. Theofilus says:

    Your comment…is those haunted places open to the public?

  8. Dave White says:

    Im looking at coming over to korea sometime next year for couple of weeks. Ive been getting lots of very useful info from you guys and thanks for that πŸ™‚ . But definitely gonna check out theses places when I come over. Especially the haunted hospital might go visit it at night lol just have to bring a flashlight.

  9. Lorrie says:

    Korea is an interesting place. I hope to see it one day. I enjoyed this site, I like to be scared ! But I might not go in the Neulbom Garden if I go to Korea !. Passed away kids , that is the stuff that is too scary for me, !

  10. Katie says:

    Omg……i was about to stop…!!! But i kept reading omg thanks for scaring me cant believe i read tht @.@!!!! Omg gonna like never get any sleep tonight lol..

  11. Katie says:

    Omg……i was about to stop…!!! But i kept reading omg thanks for scaring me cant believe i read tht @.@!!!! Omg im gonna like never get any sleep tonight lol..

  12. Katie says:

    Oops sorry said it 2 times.

  13. sakura-hana says:

    lol the hospital reminded me of a similar hospital in my country .. but you know what people did to that hospital ?
    they chose a day to gather all the scary places lovers and invade that haunted hospital !!
    they had a great fun and there was a huge crowd that day .. which makes me wanna visit the hospital when I come to korea
    but surely not alone >.<

  14. Marq says:

    Yeah… definitely staying away from the DMZ… I don’t have a death wish >_> But, that hospital isn’t scary at all (at least, not to me). It’s just got a lot of sorrow coming from it. Just so much sadness. Anyway, I will definitely be stopping by number 1 and 2 (and other places) when I go visit Korea. Thanks for doing the research for us!

  15. Nicola says:

    Now I want to go to that mental hospital… at night πŸ˜€ i dont get scared so i would probably end up wondering through it at night XD possibly recording it so people know what its like at night

  16. Tereza says:

    These are the first places where I definitely HAVE to go when I get to Korea. I haven’t thought about the trips yet, but man… I have first 3 planned!!

    Awesome article ~ THUMBS UP!!

  17. JamieC says:

    My son is stationed in South Korea and I went to visit. I did the DMZ Tour. Is it scary – yes but not in a “boo” kind of scary. Because it is listed as a “tourist” attraction you are taken off guard when soldiers board your bus, count how many are on it – and ask to see your passport – all while carrying a rifle. That’s when it hits you…if it didn’t hit you on your way to the DMZ to see manned guard towers and barbed wire outlining the water and land from Seoul to the DMZ.

    Was I “creeped out”.. at the time not really – after I returned and realized where I had been and what I had witnessed – yes it is a “scary” place. There is a “presence” there you cannot explain.

  18. Marcelle says:

    Gwangju is not in Gyeonggido

  19. Isiah Peck says:

    I want to know if the psychiatric hospital is somewhere i could actually go at night and not get in trouble for trespassing

  20. Kapland says:

    Gonjiam used to be a high school, not a hospital, and it’s being torn down to build a military training facility instead.

  21. Benjamin says:

    This website is really necessary and you can learn a lot.

  22. Bradley says:

    I can only say that it is really amazing.

  23. Mia says:

    The hospital was demolished I went to visit it and it was gone😣 I was very sad and the restaurant has been bought and is back up and running now. We went to the restaurant and sat down and had a nice lunch there. And I haven’t been to the DMZ yet my husband is military so I kinda stay away it’s a little scary.

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