K-pop ghost stories
Korean celebrities always have interesting stories to share, be it embarrassing ones about fellow group members or funny anecdotes when filming. However, these are 20 ghost stories from K-pop idols and Korean celebrities you’d wish you’ve never heard, because they’ll have you checking your back constantly.
1. A female voice in EXO’s MAMA MV
Image adapted from: SMTOWN
Many 2nd-gen K-pop fans already know this story as it was a well-known one. In 2013, 6 members of EXO guested on a horror-themed episode of Mnet’s Beatles Code.
Baekhyun shared that in the MAMA music video (MV), you can hear a female voice saying “Thank you everyone” in Mandarin at around the 4:17 minute mark.
Image adapted from: SMTOWN
He then added that they have never recorded the song with a female singer. Furthermore, they kept hearing a woman’s voice in the music video but not in the song itself.
Watch EXO’s debut MV here, and be sure to wear earphones so you can catch the ghostly voice:
Video credit: SMTOWN
2. Dark figure spotted in EXO’s Growl MV
Image adapted from: SMTOWN
This supernatural EXO story was so popular that many K-pop web forums were discussing it when the MV was first released.
At the 1:16 minute mark in the Growl MV, you can see a humanoid figure standing behind the rightmost window behind the members.
Image adapted from: SMTOWN
What makes the whole situation even more terrifying is how the figure remains unmoving as the lights in the filming venue flicker, illuminating the silhouette in an eerie manner.
Image adapted from: Mnet
However, the EXO members themselves clarified that it was just a staff member, and that they were unaware of his presence due to the MV being a one-shot take.
3. Henry’s haunted apartment
Image credit: @henryl89
When former Super Junior member Henry moved in 2014, he experienced consistent paranormal activity in his new apartment.
He was sleeping when he heard heavy breathing, so deep it almost sounded like low growling.
Image adapted from: KBS WORLD TV
When he opened his eyes, he saw a smog-like shadow above him. To make matters worse, he knew it wasn’t sleep paralysis as he could still move his body. Even after experiencing the frightening events for 3 days straight, he tried to convince himself that it was just his imagination.
However, his worst fears came true when a fellow celebrity guested on Super Junior member Kyuhyun’s show and shared her own paranormal experience. The actress mentioned that she had moved out of her house because she’d seen a ghost while living there.
Image adapted from: KBS WORLD TV
When she revealed the location of her house, Henry realised that it was the exact location of his current house. Henry then personally contacted her for more information and she confirmed that she did indeed see a ghost and had moved out immediately.
4. Kim So Eun saw a little ghost boy
Image adapted from: JTBC Entertainment
Actress Kim So Eun had never experienced anything paranormal until she started filming the MBC drama Horse Doctor.
As it was a historical drama, the filming set was in Yongin-si, Seoul. The road to the set was quite bumpy and there were many streams surrounding the area. When she was travelling to the filming set, So-eun always saw a young boy alone by one of the streams, either standing or sitting barefoot.
Out of curiosity, she asked her manager about why he was at the stream everyday, and whether he had any friends to accompany him. Her manager shocked her when he replied that he had never seen a little boy by the stream.
Image adapted from: JTBC Entertainment
However, fellow cast member Jo Bo Ah and her manager had seen the boy too. Spooky.
Check out her appearance in Men on a Mission, where she shared the story:
Video credit: JTBC Entertainment
5. Son Naeun stayed in a haunted hotel
Image credit: Daum Movie
It’s not uncommon for actors to experience paranormal activity when filming horror films. Former Apink member Naeun was filming The Wrath, a remake of the 1986 Korean horror film Woman’s Wail, when it happened to her.
On her last day of filming, she had to record in a set located in Namyangju. Since filming went on till around 4am, Naeun decided to take a shower in a motel located right next to the set. Her room was on the 3rd floor, which was rumoured to be haunted.
A female staff member was taking a nap on the bed in Naeun’s room, while her male manager was napping in the car. Naeun was drying her hair in her room when the front door sensor light was triggered.
Image adapted from: KOCOWA TV
When she looked at the door, she realised that someone had opened it and was peeking at her. Thinking that it was her male manager who came to check on her, she went to open the door for him. However, the door was shut immediately when she approached.
Image adapted from: KOCOWA TV
Naeun later asked her manager if he came to her room around that time, only to find out that he was sleeping in the car the whole time. This experience terrified Naeun so much that she still gets goosebumps every time she tells the story.
6. MAMAMOO seeing Hwasa’s doppelgänger in the dorm
Image credit: @mamamoo_official
The members of MAMAMOO often saw Hwasa in the dorms when she wasn’t physically present. One night, when Moonbyul was sleeping in the top bunk of her bed in the dorms, she was awoken by the sound of someone rummaging through drawers.
She looked down from her top bunk and realised it was Hwasa, who was eating candy while going through Moonbyul’s belongings.
Video adapted from: JTBC Entertainment
Hwasa then climbed up to the top bunk where Moonbyul was, then started banging furiously on the wooden frame of the bed. Abruptly, Hwasa just walked off as if nothing happened, still eating the candy.
Image adapted from: JTBC Entertainment
When Moonbyul talked to Hwasa about the event later on, Hwasa revealed something chilling: she was visiting her hometown in Jeonju that night and couldn’t have been in the dorms.
That was apparently just one of the many paranormal events that happened to MAMAMOO, many of which also involved Hwasa.
Watch MAMAMOO’s story on Men on a Mission here:
Video credit: JTBC Entertainment
7. AB6IX’s Woojin meeting a foreign ghost
Image credit: @wannaone.official
When Wanna One was on a US tour, Woojin experienced something scary. On one of their tour stops, they stayed in a hotel in Newark, New Jersey. Woojin thought that the hotel felt spooky and the lights in the hallway were yellow and dim. His room was at the end of a hallway and had a door that led to the next room.
Video adapted from: KBS WORLD TV
After falling asleep, he dreamt that a blond, burly foreign man opened the door to his room and walked towards him. Woojin immediately woke up in fear and looked at the door. Though he was relieved that the door was closed, he then realised that he wasn’t able to move his body.
Video adapted from: KBS WORLD TV
He was lying down with one arm crossed over his head and rolled his eyes to his left to try to figure out what was happening. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see a shadow cast on half of his raised arm. After he forced his arm down, the shadow disappeared.
But his horrors did not end there. When he turned his body to get up, he saw the shadow move right past him. The next morning, he found out that the hotel where they were staying was built right next to a cemetery.
8. Big Bang’s ghost-infested dorm
Image adapted from: @xxxibgdrgn
SBS’ Strong Heart is a talk show where guest stars share emotional stories. In the 13th episode, Big Bang’s Taeyang recounted the strange phenomena that occurred in his dorm.
Image adapted from: SBS
For instance, when one of them was showering, they’d hear pounding on the door, or the computer speakers would make sounds even when the computer was switched off.
Taeyang had always been a sceptic, brushing these incidents off. It was only until a dark and stormy summer morning that he became a believer of the paranormal.
Image adapted from: SBS
Although he was certain that the computer in the bedroom was switched off, the speakers suddenly turned on with a tick and played radio static. Taeyang added that it sounded as if someone was speaking in tongues.
Frightened, he went to the bathroom to wash up. Whilst doing so, he heard someone turning the doorknob. Thinking it was one of the members playing a prank, Taeyang shouted at the other person to stop joking around. In response, they kicked the door forcefully.
Video adapted from: SBS
When Taeyang walked out of the bathroom, he realised that the other members were all asleep. After hearing about the incident, the other members told Taeyang that it had been happening to them too.
They all got spooked out and stopped using the computers all together for a while.
Image adapted from: SBS
In a separate incident, when the Big Bang members had first moved in to their dorm, G-Dragon had shot a video of the interior of the apartment.
When Big Bang watched the video much later on, they heard radio static and someone speaking in an alien-like language at a very fast speed.
The catch? The video was filmed when they just moved in, so there were no electronics anywhere in the house. So, the possibility of electronic interference was nearly impossible.
Image adapted from: SBS
After that, the members often experienced hallucinations such as seeing a member when he wasn’t at home.
9. OH MY GIRL’s haunted VLIVE broadcast
Image credit: @8_OHMYGIRL
On 20th June 2016, OH MY GIRL members Jiho and Arin went on VLIVE to recount their own scary stories and read out creepy stories submitted by fans.
However, what frightened fans the most was not the 2 idols’ anecdotes, but the supposed paranormal activity that occurred during the live broadcast.
Video adapted from: VLIVE
Throughout the VLIVE, the camera shook several times on its own. It even tumbled to the ground once, startling both members.
Video adapted from: VLIVE
The members had to end the first VLIVE and start another broadcast because they got so creeped out.
Video adapted from: VLIVE
Fans also noticed that there were many shadows behind the members, and there were voices and sounds that didn’t come from either of them.
Image adapted from: VLIVE
Arin felt so distraught that she wanted to cry. We may never know if the broadcast was staged by the members or the staff, but it sure spooked those who watched it.
10. The ghost in WM Entertainment
If OH MY GIRL’s broadcast was not creepy enough for you, wait till you hear about the ghost that resides in WM Entertainment, the girl group’s agency.
On MBC’s Late Night Ghost Talk, OH MY GIRL’s Yooa shared that the ghost was a small female child with a bob, and would almost always be in the dance practice rooms.
Image adapted from: MBC 미스터리 : 심야괴담회 X 서프라이즈
Before the band’s debut, member Mimi was practising alone in a room when she saw a hand penetrate through a closed door. Petrified, she decided to open the door, only to find no one standing behind it.
Image adapted from: MBC 미스터리 : 심야괴담회 X 서프라이즈
Yooa also shared that OH MY GIRL’s labelmate and seniors B1A4 have similarly encountered this ghost girl numerous times.
When the company moved from Bangbae-dong to Mangwon-dong, they discovered that the ghost had followed them there too.
Image adapted from: MBC 미스터리 : 심야괴담회 X 서프라이즈
OH MY GIRL member Seunghee told her members that she saw the ghost walking across the new lobby, on the 3rd floor, and on the 5th floor.
11. SNSD’s Sunny saw a ghost in the dorms
Image adapted from: TCAST
At SNSD’s 1st dorm, Sunny shared a room with Yuri. One day, another member walked past their shared room and saw the 2 of them, noting that Sunny was beside Yuri looking at her computer with her hair down.
But shortly after, Sunny came out of the bathroom after taking a shower. That member was surprised and asked Sunny how she managed to shower so fast. When asked, Yuri told the member that she had been alone in the room.
One night, Sunny awoke from her sleep and felt extremely dizzy. Confused, she looked at her feet while still lying down.
Video adapted from: TCAST
To her utter horror, she saw a creepy woman shaking her bed with both hands while looking at her. After that, Sunny was too terrified to sleep in her bed, instead choosing to sleep in the living room for a while.
12. Choo Sung Hoon & the ghost at the crosswalk
Choo Sung Hoon, a mixed martial artist and judo athlete who gained popularity from his appearance on KBS’ Return of Superman, had a chilling experience when he was in Tokyo, Japan.
Image adapted from: JTBC Voyage
While waiting to cross a busy road, he saw someone on the other side wearing long sleeves even though it was summer.
Curious, he stared at them and thought that that person could be a ghost, but brushed it off. He reasoned that he was able to clearly see the person and there were many people around, so they couldn’t be a ghost.
Video adapted from: JTBC Voyage
After the traffic light turned green and Sung Hoon crossed the road, he came face-to-face with that person.
Video adapted from: JTBC Voyage
That person whispered to him, “How did you know [that I’m a ghost]?”
Sung Hoon froze in fear and stiffly walked past the ghost, too fearful to look back. Despite being a tough mixed martial artist, he was startled by this encounter. He called his friend to pick him up and had to skip work that day.
13. TARA’s haunted dorm
Image credit: @dingo_official
TARA, a 13-year-old girl group, has had several paranormal experiences over the years. In one of their dorms, they stayed on the 15th floor. Once, they called for the elevator, which was then on the 14th floor.
Image adapted from: 아는형님 Knowingbros
However, instead of coming up immediately as it usually did, it went to the 8th floor. They thought that it was because someone had called for the elevator before they did, but could not hear anyone entering the lift. All of a sudden, the elevator started going up to the 15th floor at a really fast speed.
That was only the beginning of their creepy experiences at that dorm.
Image adapted from: 아는형님 Knowingbros
Around the house, they started hearing electronics turn on by themselves, as well as strange typing noises around the apartment. When they eventually moved out of that dorm, they even heard cries from a ghostly being.
However, the TARA members ended their story on a good note, saying that the paranormal activities may have been beneficial for them as they were very successful while they were living in that dorm.
14. Red Velvet’s Joy & her ability to lucid dream
Image credit: @RVsmtown
Red Velvet’s Joy shared that during Peek-A-Boo promotions, they were so busy that they were only able to catch around an hour of sleep daily.
Joy has always been able to lucid dream, and during Peek-A-Boo promotions, she once dreamt that she was going through an incredibly tough schedule. In her dream, she told fellow member Irene that it felt like she was in a dream.
Image adapted from: JTBC Entertainment
Abruptly, Irene and their manager turned back and started glaring at her. Irene told her in an eerie tone that she was not dreaming. But since Joy was aware that it was a lucid dream, she counted to 3 and woke herself up.
Image adapted from: JTBC Entertainment
Without even realising it, she closed her eyes and went back into her dream, where Irene and her manager were still glaring at her. When she insisted that it was indeed a dream, they kept mum and continued glaring at her.
Image adapted from: JTBC Entertainment
Joy then woke up from her sleep and realised that she was having a nosebleed. Though the nosebleed may have been caused by exhaustion, the experience was still chilling to her.
15. Tae Hang Ho meeting a grandma’s spirit
Image adapted from: Mystic Story
Actor Tae Hang Ho once had a paranormal experience at an amusement park. When he and his friends were trying to find their way home, they got lost and were unable to get to the bus terminal from the park.
Image adapted from: 아는형님 Knowingbros
They saw an old lady carrying one bundle on her head and holding another in her hand. Desperate, they asked the old lady for directions. Luckily for them, the old lady told them that she was going to sell tickets at the terminal and told them to follow her.
The kind Hang Ho offered to help carry the old lady’s bundle, but they realised that it was too heavy to even lift, and only the old lady could hold them steadily.
Image adapted from: 아는형님 Knowingbros
The old lady started leading them to a dark alley, but they found the whole situation creepy and decided to just hail a taxi from the main road to get to the bus terminal.
Image adapted from: 아는형님 Knowingbros
When they got to the main road, they realised that the old lady was actually bringing them to a shortcut and felt apologetic for doubting her.
As they were buying tickets at the terminal, they chatted with the sellers and asked them if they were going to knock off from work soon. Surprised, the sellers said yes and asked them how they knew.
Hang Ho and his friends then told the sellers that they had met the old lady who was taking over them after their shift. However, the sellers, who were a couple, told them that it was not an old lady taking over their shift, but an old man.
Image adapted from: 아는형님 Knowingbros
After Hang Ho and his friends told them about the old lady with the bundles, the couple told them an sobering fact: it was their mother’s death anniversary that day, and the mother had died on the usual path that led to the main road, which she led Hang Ho and his friends away from.
Watch Hang-ho’s telling of the creepy yet heartbreaking story on Men on a Mission here:
Video credit: 아는형님 Knowingbros
16. B1A4 having simultaneous sleep paralysis
Image adapted from: B1A4 OFFICIAL
Like their labelmates OH MY GIRL, B1A4 is no stranger to paranormal encounters.
Image adapted from: JTBC Entertainment
Before a music show, members Jinyoung and Sandeul were exhausted from rehearsals and decided to nap in the waiting room, with the top of their heads next to each other.
Jinyoung was sleeping when he felt that he could not move his body. Realising that it was a nightmare, he forced himself awake with a jolt. Turning to Sandeul, he realised that Sandeul woke up in the same way.
Image adapted from: JTBC Entertainment
The 2 realised they’d both experienced sleep paralysis and agreed on waking up the other if it ever looked like they were paralysed from a nightmare.
Image adapted from: JTBC Entertainment
They then woke up and fell back asleep 5 times simultaneously as they kept getting sleep paralysis and waking each other up. When Jinyoung fell back asleep for the 6th time, he felt his body getting paralysed again and opened his eyes to look beside him.
Image adapted from: JTBC Entertainment
To his utter shock, he saw a ghost holding a big mirror and showing him his reflection, as if taunting him with his own pained expression. The 2 members ended the horrifying story on a funny note: they have never treated ghosts with disrespect since then, always referring to them with honorifics.
17. Heo Ji-Woong’s classic extra cadet story
When actor Heo Ji Woong was serving in the military as a drill sergeant, he and his recruits did a head count before heading to a Buddhist sanctum.
He was leading 2 companies and there were a total of 20 recruits, so each line was supposed to have 10 men.
Image adapted from: Netflix
When the 2nd line reported the head count, everyone heard a voice say, “Eleven, last number.”
Thinking that the recruits were playing a prank, Ji Woong scolded them and made them recount. He then made the recruit who was the 10th in line report to him, and asked him if someone had said 11. The recruit said yes and added that when he turned around, there was no one behind him.
Image adapted from: Netflix
The recruits sincerely promised him that they had lined up perfectly and reported to him accordingly, and were so frightened they were going to burst into tears.
Even the tough drill sergeant Ji Woong got spooked and never returned to that Buddhist sanctum again. He mentioned that this creepy story remained quite famous until he got discharged.
18. Apink’s Eunji & her sleep paralysis ghost
Image adapted from: JTBC Entertainment
Apink’s Eunji was about to fall asleep when she heard a low, mumbly voice singing the OST of a drama she’d acted in.
She intuited that something horrendous would happen if she didn’t wake up and forced herself to break free from the sleep paralysis.
Video adapted from: JTBC Entertainment
After using all her might to wake up, she heard someone say, “Look at how strong this wench is.” Terrified, Eunji couldn’t move until sunrise and remained frozen in her bed for the whole night.
19. IU & her ghostly doppelgänger
Image credit: tvN
It seems like IU has had an affinity with ghosts even before she played Jang Man-wol in Hotel Del Luna.
She once dreamt of Seo In Young walking towards her while laughing in a high-pitched tone. Feeling really creeped out, IU suddenly had a bad feeling that it wasn’t merely a dream and forced herself awake. When she opened her eyes, the loud laughter halted.
Image adapted from: 레알예능 스브스
Instead, she saw a ghost girl sitting next to her bed, crouching with her knees drawn in. The ghost girl’s hair was dishevelled and she wore oversized, tattered clothes. IU was really shocked and kept staring at the ghost girl, who kept her head down to hide her face from IU.
Video adapted from: 레알예능 스브스
When the ghost girl finally lifted her head, IU realised that the ghost girl looked exactly like her. IU was frightened and shouted, “Who are you?”
Having already experienced several other paranormal events in that dorm, this incident was the last straw that made IU beg her company’s CEO to let her move out.
Image adapted from: 레알예능 스브스
IU revealed that after her labelmate Sunny Hill moved into that dorm, they also went through similar paranormal experiences.
20. Girls Day’s shower ghost
Image adapted from: KBS WORLD TV
Girls Day member Minah was taking a shower at 6am when someone suddenly tried to open the bathroom door. Thinking it could have been one of her members, she asked what they needed.
Image adapted from: KBS WORLD TV
When no answer came, she thought she’d misheard and went back to her shower, only to hear someone aggressively kicking the door.
After gathering courage and opening the door, she realised that there was no one there. Fellow member Sojin also shared that almost every member has experienced something similar while taking a shower. For example, when she was washing her hair alone in the toilet, a ghostly being had yelled into her ear.
Ghost stories from K-pop idols & Korean celebrities
While there is a Korean superstition that seeing spirits will bring good luck, we’d rather not have such horrifying encounters with the unalive. Fatigue and stress may cause hallucinations, but these 20 ghost stories from K-pop idols and Korean celebrities seem to have a more supernatural explanation.
Anyway, sleep tight.
Also check out:
- Haunted places in South Korea
- Best Korean horror movies
- Shows similar to Squid Game
- Korean urban legends & folklore
- Horror Korean dramas
Drop us your email so you won't miss the latest news.
