DATE NO. 1
NAME: Cha Myungbo aka Boz
INTERESTS:
Mathematics, Basketball, Horror Movies
Parent Occupations:
Online Games CEO; Tourism director
BOZ: It’s actually Myungbo, but you can call me Boz.
Jisu: Boz? I haven’t heard that one before—is there any special meaning behind it?
BOZ: No, I just like the way it sounds.
Jisu: Oh...okay. I guess it does sound unique. I’ve certainly never met anyone with that name!
BOZ: Yeah...that’s why I picked it.
Jisu: So, have you seen any movies lately? I saw you listed movies in your one-sheet.
BOZ: You actually read those? I never do. But yeah, I love horror movies.
Jisu: Cool. Did you see It yet? It looks so scary and I’m terrified of clowns, but I heard it’s good!
BOZ: No, American horror movies are a joke. They’re never scary and are always so predictable. Don’t you know that we make the best horror movies?
Jisu: We do? I actually don’t watch too many because I get scared so easily.
BOZ: That’s the thing though. A good horror movie isn’t about the blood or gore or any of that physically scary stuff. Those are all cheap thrills. The best horror movies mess with your brain and haunt you for days after. Like A Tale of Two Sisters. You saw that one, right?
Jisu: No. Like I said, I don’t really do scary movies.
BOZ: What? That one was a huge hit. Literally everyone saw that. You might be the first person I’ve met in Seoul who hasn’t seen it.
Jisu: *shrugs*
BOZ: Anyway, it’s based on the Janghwa and Hongryeon story—you do know that story, right?
Jisu: Actually, I do. With the gwisin sisters and the evil stepmom, right? My mom tells me those scary folklore stories all the time. They’re actually why I don’t even go to the movies. The stories alone are so terrifying!
BOZ: Really? What other stories has she told you?
Jisu: Well, there was the one about my great-great-grandmother...
BOZ: Wait, you have horror stories within your family? That’s so dope.
Jisu: Um, I wouldn’t say it’s dope. It’s actually really terrifying. When I was a kid, I couldn’t even go to bed because I was so scared.
BOZ: So...what’s the story? You can’t just say you have a scary family legend and not tell the story!
Jisu: It’s really not that interesting.
BOZ: C’mon, Jisu. Don’t tell me you still stay up at night, scared like a little kid.
Jisu: To be fair, my mom is a really good storyteller and scared the crap out of me when I was little.
BOZ: Do I have to ask Mrs. Kim for story time, then? What happened? I wanna know!
Jisu: Okay, fine. My great-great-grandmother lived in the shigol, in the deep neck of the woods. But my family has said that she was cursed by her own mother.
BOZ: A curse! What was the curse?
Jisu: Her mother had an unhappy marriage. Her father cheated on her mother all the time. But he stopped when she got pregnant. They wanted a boy so badly to carry on the family name. But they had my great-great-grandmother, and her mother was devastated.
BOZ: Geez.
Jisu: Right? I can’t even imagine being a woman back then. And even though we’ve made so much progress, I still think we see obvious traces of it in society today and—
BOZ: Wait, so what was the curse put on your great-great-grandmother?
Jisu: Well, her mother died shortly after giving birth to her. And she was so bitter and so broken by that point. Her marriage had long been dead. She knew she was dying to give birth to a child that couldn’t even win her husband’s love back. So she cursed her daughter so that she would be hyperaware of suffering and forever be haunted by all the wronged, betrayed, starved spirits that still roamed the land. Apparently, until the day my great-great-grandmother died, she claimed to always be bothered by these spirits.
BOZ: Wow. That’s messed up.
Jisu: Gee, thanks. My family is clearly so messed up.
BOZ: No, I didn’t mean it like that! That’s actually a really cool story. Have you heard about people seeing ghosts on the subways?
Jisu: I heard one of my classmates mention it, but I didn’t really listen. I take the subway all the time and I don’t want to get creeped out—
BOZ: This wasn’t even in Seoul. Remember the Daegu subway fire that happened when we were kids?
Jisu: Of course. That was awful. So many people died.
BOZ: Apparently, every year on the anniversary of the fire, multiple people report seeing the ghosts of the victims on the subway when they get close to Jungangno Station.
Jisu: Oh, my god. I don’t know if that’s more sad or terrifying.
BOZ: Right? My friend’s aunt who lives in Daegu apparently had a full-on conversation with a ghost who sat next to her. When the subway pulled up to Jungangno, the ghost apparently said, “Ah, finally I can go home.” When she stepped out to the platform and turned around, he was gone. She looked inside the car and it was empty. The doors closed, and when she peered through the window again, she saw the guy sitting right where he was before! That’s when she realized she had been talking to a ghost.
Jisu: So the ghosts of the victims haunt the subway station where they died because they never got to leave? That is so heartbreaking.
BOZ: Isn’t that an amazing story though?
Jisu: Amazing? I guess. But, Boz, those were real victims. It’s not just another fictional horror story. Real people died.
BOZ: All horror stories have roots in reality though. And they reflect the most tragic, ugliest parts of humanity. At least the good ones do.
Jisu: And that’s why you like it so much?
BOZ: Yeah, it’s compelling stuff. Look, Jisu, I get it if horror is not really your thing. But you have to admit it’s fascinating, right?
Jisu: To be honest, I just don’t think it’s for me.