Can a place remember? In this episode, Shawn answers a listener question from his Seoul ghost walk and explains stone tape theory, the idea that ghosts may be imprinted memories rather than the souls of the dead. He applies it to two encounters on the grounds of Gyeonghuigung Palace: a boy in white hanbok who plays around a nearly 400-year-old zelkova tree, and a sudden, unexplained smell of burning hair and flesh that stopped an entire tour group in 2018.
Topics discussed:
What stone tape theory and the electrical impulse wave theory claim
Why cultural explanations don’t tell us what ghosts are
Psychometry in pop culture, from The Dead Zone to Millennium to Chew
Why ghosts that don’t know they’re dead might be the safest kind
EVP, ghost apps, and why Shawn isn’t buying them
The 2018 smell on the Gyeonghuigung grounds and the search for its source
Gyeonghuigung’s fire history and its 19th-century decline
The woman in the Ikseon-dong alley
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro and a question from a ghost walk guest
02:07 What stone tape theory is
03:05 Why culture doesn’t explain ghosts
05:00 Ghosts as imprinted memories, and psychometry
06:26 The Dead Zone, Chew, Millennium, and Key and Peele
09:17 Murder, joy, and memories in the landscape
12:06 The electrical impulse wave theory
14:32 Where the theory breaks down
15:01 EVP and ghost apps
16:20 The zelkova tree at Gyeonghuigung
17:48 New sightings since Shawn’s book
20:07 Ghosts that don’t know they’re dead, han and won
22:34 Bonus story: Gyeonghuigung, 2018
24:00 Palace renovations and the old concrete slab
27:29 The smell
30:24 Ruling out fire, smoke, and wind
32:20 Searching the palace’s fire history
35:15 Gyeonghuigung, Gwanghaegun, and the Mulberry Palace
38:27 Memory or ghost?
39:58 The woman in the Ikseon-dong alley
41:30 Wrap-up, Substack, and ZenKimchi Travel and Food podcast
Mentioned in this episode:
Our earlier episodes “The Problem with Korean Ghosts,” on Gyeonghuigung, and on Gwanghaegun
Shawn’s Substack article “A Lingering Scent of Ghosts” on Welcome to Savage Hollar
ZenKimchi Travel and Food podcast
The Dead Zone, Millennium, Chew, Key and Peele
Folklorist George Gomme
Support the show and get extra content: patreon.com/darksideofseoul
Website and merch: darksideofseoul.com
Contact: info@darksideofseoul.com
Find us on Instagram and Facebook as Dark Side of Seoul.
About the Podcast
The Dark Side of Seoul explores Korea’s hidden history, true crime, folklore, ghost stories, urban legends, disasters, political scandals, and the strange corners of Korean culture that rarely make it into guidebooks. Hosted by long-time Korea residents Joe McPherson and Shawn Morrissey, the show blends historical research, cultural analysis, and firsthand experience to examine the people, events, beliefs, and mysteries that have shaped the Korean peninsula.
Some episodes take deep dives into forgotten historical events, serial killers, political intrigue, and supernatural traditions. Others tackle current events and unusual news stories through our shorter ‘Fun Sized’ episodes, connecting today’s headlines to larger patterns in Korean society.
Whether we’re discussing Joseon-era conspiracies, haunted mountains, cults, disasters, ghost encounters, or modern social issues, our goal is always the same: to explore the darker side of Korea with curiosity, skepticism, and historical context.
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
