Bongcheon-Dong Ghost

"Bongcheon-Dong Ghost" (Korean: 봉천동 귀신) is a short South Korean horror webtoon created by Horang in 2011.

"Bongcheon-Dong Ghost"
Author(s)Horang
Websitecomic.naver.com
Current status/scheduleCompleted
Launch dateAugust 23, 2011
Publisher(s)Naver Webtoon
Genre(s)Horror
Preceded by"Ok-su Station Ghost"

Background

In July 2011, artist Horang published the short webtoon "Ok-su Station Ghost" on Naver Webtoon. This webtoon included 3D-like effects, including in a scene in which a ghost's hand appears to jump out of the screen as if to grab the viewer. Horang followed this webcomic up with "Bongcheon-Dong Ghost" later that month.[1] An English fan translation and video dub were created in August, as the webcomic quickly went viral internationally.[2] An official English translation was published on September 17.[3]

Synopsis

Set in Bongcheon-dong, Seoul, the webcomic shows a student walking home from school late at night meeting a female ghost who was apparently looking for her baby. Scared, the student simply points in a direction in order to create distance between her and the ghost. However, as she starts to run away, the ghost rapidly chases her and quickly catches up with her, at which points she faints. When she is woken up by a neighbour the next day, she finds out that a woman in her district had committed suicide the previous night after losing custody of her child.[4]

Animation

Horang implemented sudden animations in his webcomic, intended to deliver jump scares. The ghost's head suddenly rotates 180 degrees when the student first approaches her, and the rapid attack of the ghost is similarly animated.[4] Horang composed sound effects to go alongside the work. "Bongcheon-Dong Ghost" comes with a warning, stating "Reader discretion is advised for pregnant women, the elderly, and those suffering from serious medical conditions."[5]

Impact

"Bongcheon-Dong Ghost" was popularized in part for English-speaking audiences by YouTuber PewDiePie.[6] "Bongcheon-Dong Ghost" served as an inspiration for the 2017 horror visual novel The Letter, alongside various Japanese horror works.[7] The webtoon similarly influenced Cameron Lucente in creating his webcomic RoomZero.[8]

Horang has continued creating horror webtoons: he has released a large number of short animated webcomics since 2007.[9]

References
  1. Ko, Dong-hwan (2015-11-02). "Korean 'webtoons' turn to technology, genre-based stories". The Korea Times. Retrieved 2020-01-29.
  2. Kim, Hee-yeon (2011-08-29). "'봉천동귀신' 세계로?…해외 누리꾼 '화제'". ZDNet (in Korean). Retrieved 2020-01-29.
  3. Horang (2011-09-17). "[ENG ver.] Bongcheon-Dong Ghost". Naver Webtoon. Retrieved 2020-01-29.
  4. Fitria, Hanin (2018-06-26). Lufityanti, Gaya (ed.). "Berani Baca? Komik Horor Webtoon Asal Korea Selatan Ini Bisa Bikin 'Jantungan'". Tribun Jogja (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2020-01-29.
  5. Meslow, Scott (2015-10-30). "9 terrifying short stories you can read right now". The Week. Retrieved 2020-01-29.
  6. Baker-Whitelaw, Gavia (2017-10-27). "Get ready for Halloween with 5 bone-chilling webcomics". The Daily Dot. Retrieved 2020-01-29.
  7. Priestman, Chris (2015-10-31). "The Letter Hopes To Bring Its J-Horror Inspirations To Visual Novels". Siliconera. Retrieved 2020-01-29.
  8. Christianson, Jon Eric (2017-02-08). "How Cameron Lucente's Personal Journey Transformed 'RoomZero'". ComicsAlliance. Retrieved 2020-01-29.
  9. "'터널 3D' 웹툰 호랑작가, '옥수역 귀신' 재조명…공포 웹툰의 대가". ETNews (in Korean). 2014-07-17. Retrieved 2020-01-29.
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