Ghost Stories Bring Tradition, Horror
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By Han Sang-hee
Staff Reporter
This summer, broadcaster KBS is bringing back one of Korea's scariest and oldest dramas back to the small screen: "Korean Ghost Stories".
"Korean Ghost Stories" first aired in 1977 and had an unbroken run for 12 years until 1989. After being brought back for short spells several times until 1999, the famous series is returning for the first time in nine years.
"It's a shame that we don't have any anthology drama series. With 'Korean Ghost Stories', I hope we can realize the need and importance of these series", Choi Soo-jong, a leading actor said at the press conference of the drama.
The genre has vanished from Korean television screens due to poor ratings and financial difficulties, thus leading to a lack of diversity and creativity.
Despite the trend, "Korean Ghost Stories" will follow the tradition as separate episodes with different characters, settings and storylines. There will be a total of eight episodes under eight different themes including "Korean Ghost Stories - 2008 - Nine-Tailed Fox" and "Korean Ghost Stories - 2008 - Baby, Let's Go to Cheong Mountain".
"The actors didn't feel any competition. There were so many things they had to take care of, from costumes, special effects to acting their roles. But the producers, to tell the truth, felt hard competition", Kwak Jeong-hwan, the director of "Korean Ghost Stories - 2008 - Nine-Tailed Fox", said.
One of the most interesting features of the program is that all of the series take place in ancient Korean history. With movies and television programs full of westernized stories about serial killers, aliens and other such plots, KBS saw the need of bringing back traditional myths and folk tales to the Korean public. Kwak mentioned that this was one of the main guidelines before starting the project.
"The characters and plots didn't really matter, but had to be based on Korean tradition and during a particular era. Thus, the audience will be able to find many traditional aspects throughout the drama", he added.
The first series will be the sad yet haunting tale of "gumiho", a young woman transformed into a fox with nine tails. The woman is brutally murdered by her own brother, reincarnated into the legendary fox and the search for revenge unfolds. Another episode "Korean Ghost Stories - 2008 - Baby, Let's Go to Cheong Mountain" covers twisted motherly love. Worried about her ill daughter, a rich mother visits a shaman and asks for a remedy. The shaman says that the only way to save her is to kill another child and feed her the child's liver. The desperate mother orders someone to find her a liver and with help, eventually finds and kills a poverty-stricken mother and her baby. But the plot turns as the dead mother and child disappear.
"It may look old fashioned, but I can guarantee that it's scary. Some editors had to stick post-its on the screen because it was too hard for them to edit the scenes", Kwak said smiling.
"Korean Ghost Stories" will start airing tonight every Wednesday and Thursday at 9:55 p.m. on KBS.
Episode list:
Part 1: "Korean Ghost Stories - 2008 - Nine-Tailed Fox"
Part 2: "Korean Ghost Stories - 2008 - Baby, Let's Go to Cheong Mountain"
Part 3: "Korean Ghost Stories - 2008 - The Curse of the Sajin Sword"
Part 4: "Korean Ghost Stories - 2008 - Ghost Letter"
Part 5: "Korean Ghost Stories - 2008 - Oh Goo the Exorcism"
Part 6: "Korean Ghost Stories - 2008 - Gisaeng House Ghost Story"
Part 7: "Korean Ghost Stories - 2008 - Demon's Story"
Part 8: "Korean Ghost Stories - 2008 - Returning Lady"
Staff Reporter
This summer, broadcaster KBS is bringing back one of Korea's scariest and oldest dramas back to the small screen: "Korean Ghost Stories".
"Korean Ghost Stories" first aired in 1977 and had an unbroken run for 12 years until 1989. After being brought back for short spells several times until 1999, the famous series is returning for the first time in nine years.
"It's a shame that we don't have any anthology drama series. With 'Korean Ghost Stories', I hope we can realize the need and importance of these series", Choi Soo-jong, a leading actor said at the press conference of the drama.
The genre has vanished from Korean television screens due to poor ratings and financial difficulties, thus leading to a lack of diversity and creativity.
Despite the trend, "Korean Ghost Stories" will follow the tradition as separate episodes with different characters, settings and storylines. There will be a total of eight episodes under eight different themes including "Korean Ghost Stories - 2008 - Nine-Tailed Fox" and "Korean Ghost Stories - 2008 - Baby, Let's Go to Cheong Mountain".
"The actors didn't feel any competition. There were so many things they had to take care of, from costumes, special effects to acting their roles. But the producers, to tell the truth, felt hard competition", Kwak Jeong-hwan, the director of "Korean Ghost Stories - 2008 - Nine-Tailed Fox", said.
One of the most interesting features of the program is that all of the series take place in ancient Korean history. With movies and television programs full of westernized stories about serial killers, aliens and other such plots, KBS saw the need of bringing back traditional myths and folk tales to the Korean public. Kwak mentioned that this was one of the main guidelines before starting the project.
"The characters and plots didn't really matter, but had to be based on Korean tradition and during a particular era. Thus, the audience will be able to find many traditional aspects throughout the drama", he added.
The first series will be the sad yet haunting tale of "gumiho", a young woman transformed into a fox with nine tails. The woman is brutally murdered by her own brother, reincarnated into the legendary fox and the search for revenge unfolds. Another episode "Korean Ghost Stories - 2008 - Baby, Let's Go to Cheong Mountain" covers twisted motherly love. Worried about her ill daughter, a rich mother visits a shaman and asks for a remedy. The shaman says that the only way to save her is to kill another child and feed her the child's liver. The desperate mother orders someone to find her a liver and with help, eventually finds and kills a poverty-stricken mother and her baby. But the plot turns as the dead mother and child disappear.
"It may look old fashioned, but I can guarantee that it's scary. Some editors had to stick post-its on the screen because it was too hard for them to edit the scenes", Kwak said smiling.
"Korean Ghost Stories" will start airing tonight every Wednesday and Thursday at 9:55 p.m. on KBS.
Episode list:
Part 1: "Korean Ghost Stories - 2008 - Nine-Tailed Fox"
Part 2: "Korean Ghost Stories - 2008 - Baby, Let's Go to Cheong Mountain"
Part 3: "Korean Ghost Stories - 2008 - The Curse of the Sajin Sword"
Part 4: "Korean Ghost Stories - 2008 - Ghost Letter"
Part 5: "Korean Ghost Stories - 2008 - Oh Goo the Exorcism"
Part 6: "Korean Ghost Stories - 2008 - Gisaeng House Ghost Story"
Part 7: "Korean Ghost Stories - 2008 - Demon's Story"
Part 8: "Korean Ghost Stories - 2008 - Returning Lady"
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