Haunted Busan, South Korea

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In 1981, I was an Intelligence Analyst with the 501st Military Intelligence Battalion at Yongson Barracks – Seoul, Korea. I had a 3-day job assignment in Busan, Korea. Wherever the Army sent me, I would always look for haunted places. I did manage to find a few haunted places with the help of my girlfriend at the time Yoon Sook Lee. Yoon being a psychic discovered some ghosts at Taejongdae Park. Yoon detected a female ghost that died by the hands of her abusive husband. The ghost displayed finger marks on Yoon’s neck. The ghost explained to Yoon that she was choked to death by her murderous husband. This was the only encounter we had in Busan. The mysterious markings on Yoon’s neck was good enough for me, after seeing the markings on Yoon’s neck, I was a believer and knew Yoon actually made contact with a spirit. The year now is 2026 and I was reminded of Busan, when a movie came on called “Train to Busan”. Busan in this movie is overrun by zombies, and it had me thinking….is Busan a haunted city? Come to find out, there are many ghosts in Busan. Let’s take a look at some of the haunted places in the city of Busan.

The Brothers’ Home:
From 1975 to 1988 The Brothers’ Home was an internment camp (officially a welfare facility) located in Busan, South Korea. 657 people died at this internment camp. Most of these people did not die of natural causes, but died after being subjected to torture. The inmates to this facility were not only tortured, but they were subjected to forced labor and sexual violence. The facility contained 20 factories and held thousands of people who were rounded up off the street, homeless people, children, vagrants, and student protesters who opposed the government. The camp was used to perpetuate numerous human rights abuses in South Korea during the period of social purification. Subsequent investigations into the incident revealed that the inmates at Brothers Home were subjected to serious violations of human rights, including arbitrary detention and collective punishment. In some cases, the entire platoon would be beaten or tortured over the mistake of a single member. Widespread torture was common. Some of the torture came from fellow inmates that received titles that placed them into a higher category than other inmates. Inmates were often forced to keep painful and exhausting postures for prolonged periods and were beaten when they failed to stay still. In 2020, the Kukmin Ilbo reported accounts from a former inmate who claimed that director Park In-geun physically abused inmates himself and kept handcuffs and oak clubs in the director’s office. He further claimed that he had heard rumors that about 40 to 50 inmates in Brothers were killed directly by Park himself. The Brothers Home was the inspiration for the TV series Squid Game. The Brothers’ Home was also nicknamed “Korea’s Auschwitz”. The Brother’s Home was a place of unimaginable brutal horror. Busan Ghost Pop (a paranormal group in Busan) conducted an outside investigation of The Brothers’ Home and obtained several EVPs. In two of the EVPs, screaming could be heard. Shadow figures are sometimes seen outside of one of the buildings.

Geumjeong Fortress (Geumjeongsanseong)
Said to be haunted by the spirits of soldiers who died defending the area. Visitors report hearing footsteps or voices at night. Some visitors feel sudden cold spots and see shadowy figures near the walls. One tourist claims he saw a soldier that was missing his right arm. The tourist could see blood spurting out from where his arm was missing.

Pusan National University (PNU)
Urban legend says ghosts of students who died before graduating roam the campus at night. A student named Eun-chae Park saw 3 women holding hands and skipping along the grassy area of the university. Eun-Chae could see the women laughing and talking, but no sound was coming out of their mouths. Eun-chae thought this was odd and kept watching them. Eun-chae was shocked as she saw the 3 skipping women vanish. Eun-chae realized she just saw 3 ghosts.

Gamcheon Culture Village
Some stories claim a young girl’s spirit haunts parts of the village. Several people have seen this young girl. Sometimes the ghostly girl will walk up to you and smile, before vanishing.

Taejongdae Park
Legends of a mysterious woman or “mermaid spirit” luring people near the cliffs.

Yeongdo Bridge
Emotional history from the Korean War (families searching for loved ones). Seo-Joon Cho, a local saw the spirits of an elderly woman and man walking along the bridge. The elderly woman looked like she was crying, she kept rubbing her face with a handkerchief. Other people claim that they hear disembodied moaning and crying.

Yeongdeok Haunted House: Located about 1.5 to 2 hours north of Busan in Gyeongsangbuk-do, this is considered one of the three most haunted places in South Korea. It is said to be built over a mass grave of teenage soldiers from the Korean War and is rumored to be inhabited by hundreds of spirits. Several people have seen soldier apparitions walking around. People also have heard the sounds of marching.

Gyeongsan Cobalt Mine: Also located in the Gyeongsang region, this site is tied to wartime massacres. Locals report hearing ghostly voices and seeing shadows in the abandoned tunnels. Many people have heard ungodly screams coming out of the mine.