Han River Mysteries

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The Mighty Han River! The river is highlighted in Korea’s economic success: the Miracle on the Han. Its waters are also keepers of dark secrets of death and ghosts.

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Produced by Joe McPherson and Shawn Morrissey

Music by Soraksan

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Notes

A recent mystery inspired this episode. Well known site for suicides (approximately 400 to 500 attempts annually). Other tragedies have occurred, many of them mysteries, including claims of the supernatural. Unfortunately, the river has been the site to a few high profile mysteries the past few years.

Long important to Korean history.

• Part of Baekje
• Strategic military site
  • Heavily fortified today
• Site for merchants and leisure
• Ice collected here
• Gives name to Bukhansan mountain cluster
• Major leisure and tourism site (mostly domestic, but also some inbound)

Unsolved Deaths

2001 - Somewhat of a mystery

• May 29: Military chopper lowered 88 Olympics Flame statue on platform atop bridge tower
  • After lowering, chopper continued decent (pilot unable to slow descent rate - won’t attempt to fully explain physics that led to disaster)
  • Blades hit statue causing chopper to turn and crash
  • Part of chopper landed on bridge, part landed in Han
  • All three pilots killed
  • Traffic halted at time; no pedestrians hurt
• Mystery? Apparently, pilot would have known something was wrong and was trained to do so; not much time to respond, but didn’t seemingly didn’t. Why? No one knows
• The Olympic Flame statue is still atop bridge today
• Seoul Helicopter Crash Of 2001

2022 - Rainy season mystery

• July 6: body of young boy (about ten years old) found near Jeollyu-ri Port (Gimpo)
  • Fishermen found body around noon
  • Boy had no sign of injuries; was extremely thin
    • Wearing shorts (no labels), no shirt (current may have pulled shirt off)
    • Rubber band around waist to hold shorts
  • Decomposition removed fingerprints
  • Assumptions boy was North Korean
    • Rainy season: N. Korean items wash south
    • Very heavy rains that season; heavy floods
      • Happened before
        • 2007 (August): 11 North Koreans floated south after floods
        • 2016 (August): young child floated south
    • No missing children reports around Gimpo, Paju, or Goyang at the time
  • Authorities didn’t rule out possibility of South Korean child
• Related:
  • July 2: body of young boy (about 3 to 7 years old) found near Gyodong Island (mouth of Yellow Sea, west of Ganghwa)
  • July 16: body of infant boy (about 6 months old) found Imjin River, near Tongil Bridge (Paju)
• Identities, causes of death, and backgrounds of each child remain a mystery

2021 - High profile death

• April 25: Son Jung-min and friend drinking together in Banpo Park
• Allegedly, Son and friend (identity unreleased, as far as I can decipher) fell asleep in park
• Friend woke up 4:30am (April 26); Son&

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Credits

Produced by Joe McPherson and Shawn Morrissey

Music by Soraksan

Top tier Patrons

Angel Earl
Joel Bonomini
Devon Hiphner
Gabi Palomino
Steve Marsh
Eva Sikora
Ron Chang
Mackenzie Moore
Hunter Winter
Cecilia Löfgren Dumas
Josephine Rydberg
Devin Buchanan
Ashley Wright
George Irion

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