Bongcheon-Dong Ghost

"Bongcheon-Dong Ghost" (Korean: 봉천동 귀신) is a short South Korean horror webtoon created by Horang in 2011. Part of the Chiller series, "Bongcheon-Dong Ghost" is an urban ghost story that uses animation to deliver jump scares. The webcomic went viral shortly after its release.

"Bongcheon-Dong Ghost"
Author(s)Horang
Websitecomic.naver.com
Current status/scheduleOne-off
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.[1] This webtoon, published as part of the Chiller series, 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.[1] Horang followed this webcomic up with "Bongcheon-Dong Ghost", another short horror webtoon, the next month (August 2011),[1] though one source gives the publication date as July 2011.[2] An English fan translation and video dub were created in August, as the webcomic quickly went viral internationally.[3] An official English translation was published on September 17.[4]

Synopsis

"Bongcheon-Dong Ghost" starts with a warning, stating "Reader discretion is advised for pregnant women, the elderly, and those suffering from serious medical conditions."[5]

Set in Bongcheon-dong, Seoul, a student, walking home from school late at night, meets a female ghost who is apparently looking for her baby. The frightened student points in a random direction just to create distance between her and the ghost. However, as she starts to leave, the ghost rapidly chases her and quickly catches up with her, at which point 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.[2]

Animation

Horang uses two animations in the webcomic 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.[2] Horang composed the sound effects in the work.

Impact and reviews

"Bongcheon-Dong Ghost" was popularized for English-speaking audiences in part by YouTuber PewDiePie.[6] The Daily Dot, recommending it in a 2017 article, said it had become "a meme unto itself" and said "it has the same vibe as a dumb but terrifying ghost story told under the covers at summer camp, and once you’re finished, you’ll understand why so many people immediately share this comic with their friends."[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 as part of the Chiller series since 2007.[9] In 2013, Horang posted "Ghost in the Masung Tunnel", which similarly used 3D animation and programming to set a mood and deliver jump scares.[10]

References
  1. Ko, Dong-hwan (2015-11-02). "Korean 'webtoons' turn to technology, genre-based stories". The Korea Times. Retrieved 2020-01-29.
  2. 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.
  3. Kim, Hee-yeon (2011-08-29). "'봉천동귀신' 세계로?…해외 누리꾼 '화제'". ZDNet (in Korean). Retrieved 2020-01-29.
  4. Horang (2011-09-17). "[ENG ver.] Bongcheon-Dong Ghost". Naver Webtoon. 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.
  10. Pinto, Tom (2019-07-21). "A Web Of Terror: 5 Terrifying Tales From The Internet". Study Breaks.
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