Dark Side of Seoul Podcast digs up city's secrets

The Dark Side of Seoul Podcast examines Korean history, folklore and unresolved social issues through the perspectives of Joe McPherson and Shawn Morrissey, who have lived in Korea for more than two decades. The show covers crime cases, political purges, disasters, shamanistic practices, superstitions and buried histories beneath Seoul neighborhoods. More than 300 episodes in, the podcast combines extensive research with skepticism toward supernatural claims.

The podcast hosts produced a 13-part series on rites and customs associated with the traditional Korean calendar.

A multipart series examined serial killer Yoo Young-chul, known as the Raincoat Killer.

McPherson identifies The Fall of Joseon, covering the dynasty that lasted from 1392 to 1910, as his favorite series.

Morrissey estimates that up to 99 percent of reported supernatural experiences result from misidentification or fraud.

The Dark Side of Seoul project also includes Morrissey’s book Supernatural Encounters in South Korea, a two-volume comics series and an ongoing Substack.

Published Oct 18, 2026 5:50 am KST

Joe McPherson, left, and Shawn Morrissey prepare to record a new episode of the Dark Side of Seoul Podcast. Courtesy of The Dark Side of Seoul

Korea has always been conscious of its own image, even as K-content exports and inbound tourism numbers continue to break records. But that global spotlight comes with an unspoken condition: show the shiny face, and sweep the unpolished parts under the rug. From outside, the country is often viewed through rose-tinted glasses, a tidy utopia of cute cafes and picture-perfect K-drama lifestyles.

The Dark Side of Seoul Podcast offers something that doesn't fit on a postcard: an unvarnished look at Korean history and culture, aimed at the genuinely curious rather than the credulous, equally comfortable with the country's dark folklore as with its murders, crimes and political purges, distant and not so distant.

The show is hosted by Joe McPherson and Shawn Morrissey, who have both lived in Korea for more than two decades and together lead The Dark Side of Seoul Ghost Walk . To be clear, this isn't a foreigner-complaint fest where the hosts look down on Korean culture. It respects the culture and its listeners enough to give the fuller picture, with a dark sense of humor that labels certain social issues as "K-poverty" or "K-crime," providing a deep, occasionally gruesome excavation of the history and folklore that rarely makes it into a tourist brochure.

Shawn Morrissey explores an allegedly haunted site in Paju, Gyeonggi Province. Courtesy of Ryan Berkebile

What distinguishes the show from a more straightforward Korean history podcast is its willingness to sit with the uncomfortable and the unresolved. Some of its most popular episodes have tackled notorious crime cases, including a multipart dive into serial killer Yoo Young-chul, the so-called Raincoat Killer. McPherson names "The Fall of Joseon," a long-running series on the 1392-1910 dynasty's collapse, as his favorite on an intellectual level, a window into "what it teaches us about Korean society today in both Koreas."

On a more visceral level, he was drawn into a series on disasters, struck by how each decade produced its own distinct category of catastrophe. He's just as fascinated by the buried histories under the city's trendiest neighborhoods: Itaewon, built on what was once a massive cemetery; Myeong-dong, where Japan funneled colonial money to finance World War II; and the now-hip Jongno 3-ga, Seoul's largest red-light district in the 1950s and 1960s.

None of it comes with a judgmental, finger-wagging tone. The hosts treat their subject matter and listeners with a level of research and honesty that keeps the show from tipping into mockery. Much of it draws on the hosts' own expertise and study of Korean culture and folklore, in episodes on lunar zodiac symbols, Korean shamanistic practices, misunderstood superstitions and burial and memorial traditions.

Joe McPherson prepares to lead The Dark Side of Seoul Ghost Walk. Courtesy of The Dark Side of Seoul

Folklore, unsurprisingly, is what Morrissey looks forward to the most. "Episodes about folklore and folk heritage are a blast to do," he said, pointing to a 13-part series the pair produced on the rites and customs of the traditional Korean calendar. "Ghostlore topics, being my specific research and interest, are my absolute favorite episodes to do."

Central Seoul's Jongno Tower has a ring-shaped structure at the top. Korea Times photo by Jon Dunbar

Asked for a favorite piece of Seoul folklore, Morrissey compared it to asking a parent to pick a favorite child, but settled on "inmyeon-gyeon," the legend of a dog-faced man said to lurk on the city's streets and highways. McPherson's pick is the old story that Jongno Tower was built with a ring at its top to release the bad luck embedded in the property beneath it.

That fondness for the eerie comes with a caveat, at least for Morrissey, a self-described skeptic. "Questioning claims is paramount to the whole venture of recording claims of hauntings," he said, estimating that up to 99 percent of reported supernatural experiences trace back to misidentification or outright fraud.

As for the ghosts of Korean pop culture, pale figures in white with long black hair rattling chains, Morrissey draws a clear line. "Those are ghosts of culture and fiction, not genuine phantoms that have potentially been encountered," he said. "The researcher's job is to highlight that."

Courtesy of The Dark Side of Seoul

That instinct runs through Morrissey's work outside the podcast too, which includes " Supernatural Encounters in South Korea ," his book on modern Korean ghost stories, the two-volume " Dark Side of Seoul " comics trade, retelling classic Korean ghost stories and folktales with eerie, visceral artwork, and an ongoing Substack that fleshes out these spooky topics in more depth.

More than 300 episodes in, McPherson and Morrissey show no sign of running out of material. Between the two of them, Seoul stops looking like a backdrop for K-dramas and starts looking like what it actually is: a city with centuries of buried history waiting for someone curious enough to dig it up.

Visit darksideofseoul.com to listen.

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Justin Kyle is a writer, photographer, and content creator based in Seoul who covers Korean cinema, culture and travel. His YouTube channel, The Seoul Scene , provides travel guides for South Korea.

《首尔的黑暗面》播客由在韩国生活了二十多年的乔·麦克弗森和肖恩·莫里西主持，他们以独特的视角探讨韩国历史、民间传说和悬而未决的社会问题。节目内容涵盖犯罪案件、政治清洗、灾难、萨满教仪式、迷信以及首尔街区下埋藏的历史。该播客至今已播出300多期，将深入的研究与对超自然说法的质疑相结合。

播客主持人制作了一个共 13 集的系列节目，介绍与韩国传统历法相关的仪式和习俗。

一系列专题报道调查了连环杀手柳英哲（Yoo Young-chul），他被称为“雨衣杀手”。

麦克弗森表示，他最喜欢的剧集是《朝鲜王朝的覆灭》，该剧讲述了从 1392 年到 1910 年的朝鲜王朝的历史。

莫里西估计，高达 99% 的已报道的超自然经历都是由于误认或欺诈造成的。

“首尔的黑暗面”项目还包括莫里西的著作《韩国的超自然遭遇》、两卷漫画系列以及正在连载的 Substack。

发布于2026年10月18日 上午5:50（韩国标准时间）

左图为乔·麦克弗森和肖恩·莫里西准备录制《首尔黑暗面》播客的新一期节目。图片由《首尔黑暗面》提供。

韩国一直非常注重自身形象，即便韩流内容出口和入境旅游人数持续创下纪录。但这种全球瞩目也伴随着一个不成文的条件：展现光鲜亮丽的一面，掩盖不尽如人意之处。在外界看来，韩国往往被粉饰得如同玫瑰色眼镜，是一个整洁美好的乌托邦，遍布着精致的咖啡馆和韩剧般完美的生活方式。

《首尔的黑暗面》播客提供了一些明信片无法承载的东西：它以不加修饰的视角展现了韩国的历史和文化，面向真正好奇的人，而不是轻信的人，它既能坦然面对韩国黑暗的民间传说，也能坦然面对韩国的谋杀、犯罪和政治清洗，无论这些事件是遥远的还是近在眼前的。

这档节目由乔·麦克弗森和肖恩·莫里西主持，两人都在韩国生活了二十多年，共同运营着“首尔鬼魂之旅”的黑暗面。需要说明的是，这并非一个对外国人充满抱怨、贬低韩国文化的节目。它尊重韩国文化和听众，力求呈现更全面的面貌，并以一种黑色幽默的方式，将某些社会问题称为“韩国贫困”或“韩国犯罪”，深入挖掘那些鲜少出现在旅游宣传册上的历史和民间传说，有时甚至令人毛骨悚然。

肖恩·莫里西探访了位于京畿道坡州市一处据称闹鬼的地点。图片由瑞安·伯克比尔提供。

该节目与其他较为直白的韩国历史播客的不同之处在于，它勇于直面那些令人不安和悬而未决的问题。一些最受欢迎的节目探讨了臭名昭著的犯罪案件，包括对连环杀手柳英哲（即所谓的“雨衣杀手”）的多集深度剖析。麦克弗森认为，从思想层面来说，他最喜欢的节目是《朝鲜王朝的覆灭》，这是一部讲述1392年至1910年朝鲜王朝覆灭的长篇系列节目，它为我们了解“当今朝鲜半岛南北两岸的韩国社会”提供了一个窗口。

从更深层次上来说，他被一系列灾难事件所吸引，并惊讶于每个十年都会产生其独特的灾难类型。他对这座城市最时尚街区下埋藏的历史同样着迷：梨泰院，它建在曾经是一片巨大的墓地之上；明洞，日本曾将殖民资金输送至此以资助二战；以及如今时尚的钟路三街，在20世纪50年代和60年代曾是首尔最大的红灯区。

节目中没有任何评判或指责的语气。主持人以严谨的研究和诚实的态度对待节目主题和听众，避免了节目沦为嘲讽。节目内容大多取材于主持人自身对韩国文化和民俗的专业知识和研究，例如关于生肖符号、韩国萨满教习俗、被误解的迷信以及丧葬和纪念传统等主题。

乔·麦克弗森准备带领大家进行首尔黑暗面幽灵之旅。图片由首尔黑暗面提供。

不出所料，民俗是莫里西最期待的部分。“制作关于民俗和民间遗产的节目非常有趣，”他指着两人共同制作的关于韩国传统历法仪式和习俗的13集系列节目说道。“鬼怪传说是我特别感兴趣的研究方向，也是我最喜欢的节目主题。”

首尔市中心钟路塔顶部有一个环形结构。（韩国时报 Jon Dunbar 摄）

当被问及最喜欢的首尔民间传说时，莫里西将其比作让父母选出最喜欢的孩子，但他最终选择了“人面鬼”，一个据说潜伏在首尔街头巷尾的狗脸人传说。麦克弗森则选择了钟路塔顶端装有圆环的古老传说，据说圆环的作用是释放塔下地块中积聚的厄运。

莫里西自称是个怀疑论者，他对这种怪诞事物的喜爱也带有保留意见。“质疑各种说法对于记录闹鬼事件至关重要，”他说，并估计高达99%的超自然经历报告都源于误认或彻头彻尾的欺诈。

至于韩国流行文化中的幽灵——身着白衣、长发披肩、链条叮当作响的苍白身影——莫里西明确地划清了界限。“那些是文化和虚构作品中的幽灵，并非人们可能真正遇到过的鬼魂，”他说。“研究者的职责就是指出这一点。”

承蒙首尔黑暗面提供图片

这种本能也贯穿了莫里西在播客之外的作品，包括他的著作《韩国的超自然遭遇》，该书讲述了现代韩国鬼故事；两卷本漫画《首尔的黑暗面》，用诡异、触动人心的艺术作品重述了经典的韩国鬼故事和民间传说；以及正在连载的 Substack，更深入地探讨这些恐怖话题。

300多集过去了，麦克弗森和莫里西丝毫没有江郎才尽的迹象。在他们两人的笔下，首尔不再仅仅是韩剧的取景地，而是展现出它真正的面貌：一座拥有数百年历史埋藏的城市，等待着有好奇心的人去挖掘。

请访问 darksideofseoul.com 收听。

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贾斯汀·凯尔是一位居住在首尔的作家、摄影师和内容创作者，主要报道韩国电影、文化和旅游。他的YouTube频道“首尔风情”（The Seoul Scene）提供韩国旅游指南。