The Dark Side of Seoul Podcast

Topics Discussed

Insa-dong as one of Joe and Shawn’s first experiences of Seoul
How the neighborhood has changed since the early 2000s
Traditional Korean incense and surviving specialty shops
The hidden waterways that shaped Insa-dong’s streets
Insa-dong during the late Joseon period and Korean Empire
How Japanese colonial rule helped create the antiques district
Looted temple and palace artifacts entering the antique trade
The rise of artists, galleries, tea houses, and literary culture
Crime and kidnapping in old Insa-dong
Poet Chun Sang-byeong and his abduction by the Korean intelligence services
Torture, political repression, and Chun’s disappearance
Insa-dong’s designation as Korea’s first cultural district
Starbucks, Hangul signage, and the commercialization of “traditional” Seoul
Ssamziegil and the transformation of Insa-dong into a shopping destination
Dragon’s Beard candy and Insa-dong’s changing street-food culture
The 2013 Insa-dong fire
Museums, galleries, traditional crafts, and what remains worth visiting
How nostalgia shapes the way longtime residents remember Insa-dong

Timestamps

00:00 Tourist Season introduction

02:10 Introducing Insa-dong and memories of old Seoul

05:00 How Insa-dong has changed

08:00 Traditional Korean incense and surviving old shops

25:10 The geography of Insa-dong and its buried waterways

30:00 Insa-dong during the Korean Empire

35:00 How Insa-dong became Seoul’s antiques district

39:00 Japanese colonial dealers and looted cultural artifacts

42:00 Crime and kidnapping in old Insa-dong

47:05 Poet Chun Sang-byeong and Seoul’s literary culture

48:55 Chun Sang-byeong’s abduction and torture

55:00 The legacy of Chun Sang-byeong

1:00:25 Insa-dong becomes Korea’s first cultural district

1:00:55 Starbucks and the famous Hangul sign

1:04:55 Ssamziegil and the commercialization of Insa-dong

1:09:00 Insa-dong street food

1:10:45 Dragon’s Beard candy

1:36:05 The 2013 Insa-dong fire

1:48:30 What remains worth seeing in Insa-dong

2:00:00 Museums, crafts, tea, and surviving cultural attractions

Mentioned During the Episode

Insa-dong
Cheonggyecheon
Jongno
Joseon Dynasty
Korean Empire
Japanese colonial period
Chun Sang-byeong
Ssamziegil
Starbucks Insa-dong
Dragon’s Beard candy
Korean traditional incense
Insa-dong antique dealers
Insa-dong art galleries
Traditional Korean tea houses
The 2013 Insa-dong fire

Follow The Dark Side of Seoul

Website
https://darksideofseoul.com

Patreon
https://patreon.com/darksideofseoul

Instagram
https://instagram.com/darksideofseoul

Facebook
https://facebook.com/darksideofseoul

YouTube
https://youtube.com/@darksideofseoul

About The Dark Side of Seoul

The Dark Side of Seoul explores Korea's hidden history, true crime, folklore, ghost stories, urban legends, disasters, political scandals, and the strange corners of Korean culture that rarely make it into guidebooks. Hosted by long-time Korea residents Joe McPherson and Shawn Morrissey, the show blends historical research, cultural analysis, and firsthand experience to examine the people, events, beliefs, and mysteries that have shaped the Korean peninsula.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Topics Discussed

Nami Island’s origins, General Nami and the false tomb, Korea’s domestic tourism boom, Winter Sonata and the early Korean Wave, K-drama tourism, artist Kang Woo-hyon’s transformation of the island, the Republic of Naminara, tourism marketing, Gapyeong attractions, Instagram tourism, overtourism, and whether Nami Island is actually worth visiting.

Useful Timestamps

00:00 Tourist Season summer replay introduction
00:31 Why are we talking about Nami Island?
02:01 Nami Island wasn’t originally an island
03:07 General Nami and the false tomb
04:22 The Bukhangang “land of tourist traps”
05:28 Winter Sonata changes everything
06:43 How Winter Sonata helped launch the Korean Wave
07:12 K-dramas as tourism marketing
08:17 The artist who reinvented Nami Island
~12:00 The Republic of Naminara and its tourism gimmicks
~18:00 What Nami Island is actually like to visit
~21:00 Other Gapyeong tourist attractions
25:40 Who should actually visit Nami Island?
26:37 The contradiction of “eco-tourism” and mass tourism
27:10 Instagram, influencers, and manufactured destinations
28:01 Closing and Dark Side of Seoul tours
29:34 Final travel advice

Mentioned During the Episode

Nami Island / Republic of Naminara, Winter Sonata, Bae Yong-joon, Choi Ji-woo, Korean Tourism Organization, Bukhangang, Cheongpyeong Dam, General Nami, Gapyeong, Petite France, K-drama filming locations, the Korean Wave, Korean domestic tourism, Instagram tourism, Dark Side of Seoul tours, and ZenKimchi Experiences.

Links

Dark Side of Seoul:
darksideofseoul.com

ZenKimchi Experiences:
zenkimchi.com

YouTube:
Dark Side of Seoul on YouTube

Patreon:
Dark Side of Seoul Patreon

About The Dark Side of Seoul

The Dark Side of Seoul explores the strange, hidden, and occasionally disturbing sides of Korean history, folklore, culture, crime, and travel. Hosted by Joe McPherson and Shawn Morrissey, the show draws on decades of experience living, researching, writing, and guiding in Korea.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Tourist brochures rarely tell the whole story. In this Tourist Season replay, Joe and Shawn revisit one of the podcast's most popular travel episodes, uncovering the wars, massacres, murders, ghost stories, and redevelopment controversies hidden behind some of Korea's best-known tourist destinations.

Topics Discussed

Tourist Season summer replay series

Why famous destinations deserve deeper historical context

Incheon and the Battle of Incheon during the Korean War

The 2017 Incheon child murder case

Jeju Island and the Bukchon Massacre

The Jeju Uprising

Bukchon Hanok Village and developer Jeong Se-gwon

Ghost legends surrounding Bukchon

Ikseon-dong before it became Seoul's trendiest neighborhood

Operation Butterfly and Seoul's former red-light district

Gentrification and commercialization of Ikseon-dong

The anonymous donor of Jeonju's Tree of Hope

The restoration of Cheonggyecheon and its impact on merchants

Listener mail: Why do Korean hikers wear bells?

Timestamps

00:00 Tourist Season introduction

02:30 Horror movie watch parties and summer updates

10:15 Why every tourist site has a darker history

13:30 Incheon and the Korean War

24:00 The 2017 Incheon child murder

37:45 Jeju's Bukchon Massacre

50:00 Bukchon Hanok Village beyond the postcards

1:02:00 Ikseon-dong before the cafés

1:22:00 Jeonju's anonymous Christmas donor

1:33:30 Cheonggyecheon before restoration

1:50:00 Listener mail: Korean hiking bells

Mentioned During the Episode

Incheon

Wolmido

Jeju Island

Bukchon

Bukchon Hanok Village

Ikseon-dong

Cheonggyecheon

Jeonju

Jeong Se-gwon

Lee Myung-bak

Operation Butterfly

The Dark Side of Seoul Ghost Walk

Follow The Dark Side of Seoul

Website
https://darksideofseoul.com

Patreon
https://patreon.com/darksideofseoul

Instagram
https://instagram.com/darksideofseoul

Facebook
https://facebook.com/darksideofseoul

YouTube
https://youtube.com/@darksideofseoul

About The Dark Side of Seoul

The Dark Side of Seoul explores Korea's hidden history, true crime, folklore, ghost stories, urban legends, disasters, political scandals, and the strange corners of Korean culture that rarely make it into guidebooks. Hosted by long-time Korea residents Joe McPherson and Shawn Morrissey, the show blends historical research, cultural analysis, and firsthand experience to examine the people, events, beliefs, and mysteries that have shaped the Korean peninsula.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This week kicks off our summer rerun series, digging up the best tourism episodes from the archive while we take a break from new true crime deep dives. First up: 141, Tourists from Hell.

Years of running walking tours and food tours in Seoul means years of collecting the worst behavior tourism has to offer. Hand holders who never read their confirmation emails. Tour-splainers who think they know the history better than the guide telling it. The no-show who ghosted, left a one-star review, then demanded a refund anyway. A hotel concierge (the irony) who wanted a private tour at group rates, only ate at Michelin-level places, and ended the day eating bread from a bakery because nothing else met his standards.

Plus, why Joe stopped taking media fixer gigs after some genuinely great experiences with names like Bourdain and Zimmern, and a stack of tourist horror movie recommendations to close things out.

If you've ever worked in hospitality, this one's for you. If you've ever been that guest, you might recognize yourself.

Topics Discussed

Introducing the "Tourist Season" summer replay series

The most memorable difficult guests from years of leading tours

"Hand holders" who never read booking information

Tourists who showed up at the wrong location and demanded refunds

Guests who tried to explain Korean history to the guides

No-shows and last-minute cancellations

Refund requests after missed tours

Hecklers and guests with personal agendas

The infamous "Touché!" guest

Drunk guests and disruptive tour behavior

Guests distracted by phones and Pokémon Go

Problems unique to hiking tours

Food tour horror stories

Vegetarians booking Korean BBQ tours

The worst guest ever: a hotel concierge with impossible expectations

Working as media fixers for international television productions

Positive experiences with Anthony Bourdain, Andrew Zimmern, National Geographic, and Milk Street

Horror film recommendations for travelers

Mentioned During the Episode

ZenKimchi Experiences

The Dark Side of Seoul Tour

Korean BBQ Experience

Anthony Bourdain

Andrew Zimmern

National Geographic

Milk Street

Listen & Follow

Website:
https://darksideofseoul.com

Apple Podcasts:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-dark-side-of-seoul-podcast/id1504623984

Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/show/1lZBXNX79kwH2NXcJWNcb8

Patreon:
https://patreon.com/darksideofseoul

YouTube:
https://youtube.com/@darksideofseoul

Instagram:
https://instagram.com/darksideofseoul

Facebook:
https://facebook.com/darksideofseoul

Contact:
info@darksideofseoul.com

About The Dark Side of Seoul

The Dark Side of Seoul explores Korea's hidden history, folklore, true crime, urban legends, supernatural traditions, and the overlooked stories that shaped the peninsula. Alongside deep dives into Korea's darker past, the podcast also explores life in modern Korea through travel, culture, and the often hilarious realities of working as professional tour guides.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Episode Summary

A father and his four children were found dead in their home in Ulsan after months of severe financial hardship. While the case was ruled a murder-suicide, the discussion quickly expands beyond the crime itself into the failures of Korea's welfare system, the stigma surrounding mental health, and the bureaucratic obstacles that can leave vulnerable families without meaningful support.
Joe and Shawn examine how the family had already been identified as a high-risk household and had been visited by schools, welfare officials, police, and child protection workers. Despite multiple warning signs, no agency ever developed a complete picture of the family's crisis. The episode explores whether this tragedy represents an isolated incident or a broader failure of institutions designed to protect children and families.

Topics Discussed

The Ulsan family murder-suicide

Carbon monoxide deaths using charcoal briquettes

Poverty and financial collapse

Single fathers in Korea

Mental health stigma

Child welfare investigations

Bureaucratic barriers to assistance

In-kind support versus direct cash assistance

Coordination failures between government agencies

Korea's suicide rate

Proposed welfare reforms

Timestamps

00:00 Introduction
02:00 The Ulsan case

06:00 Financial hardship and the family's circumstances

12:00 Welfare assistance and why it wasn't enough

19:00 Single fathers and asking for help

24:00 Child protection and looking for the wrong warning signs

31:00 Mental health, stigma, and caregiver burnout

37:00 Bureaucracy and agency coordination failures

43:00 Possible reforms and remaining concerns

Mentioned During the Episode

Korea's Basic Livelihood Security Program

Korea's child protection system

Previous Dark Side of Seoul episodes on K-Poverty, child abuse, Yoo Young-chul, and the WaWo Apartment collapse

Shawn's book on ghost encounters in Korea

Dark Side of Seoul Ghost Walk

Listen & Follow

Website: https://darksideofseoul.com
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-dark-side-of-seoul-podcast/id1504623984

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1lZBXNX79kwH2NXcJWNcb8 Patreon: https://patreon.com/darksideofseoul

YouTube: https://youtube.com/@darksideofseoul

Instagram: https://instagram.com/darksideofseoul

Facebook: https://facebook.com/darksideofseoul

Contact: info@darksideofseoul.com

About The Dark Side of Seoul

The Dark Side of Seoul explores Korea's darker history, folklore, true crime, urban legends, supernatural traditions, forgotten places, and the cultural stories that don't usually appear in guidebooks. New episodes include deep historical dives alongside our "Fun Sized" discussions of current events, controversies, and unusual aspects of life in Korea.
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.