Burial Mounds in South Korea: A Marine's True Paranormal Experience | True Ghost Stories & Spooky Folklore | Ep #61

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Welcome stranger to Madam
Strange Ways, where I, Madam

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Strange Ways narrate your true
strange stories of the

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unexplained.
Whether you're a skeptic, A

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believer, or some secret third
thing, stick around after the

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story where I will share my
strange thoughts and research

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about said strange story.
Along the way, I'll also drag

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you down a slew of strange
rabbit holes, kicking and

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screaming if needs must.
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strange story, however, the
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Settle in for a true strange

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story with Madam Strange Ways.
Something unexplainable in Korea

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by Anonymous.
This happened in 2013 when I was

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in Korea.
My wife was watching something

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yesterday about ghost stories
and it reminded me of this.

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I'm not that great at
storytelling, but I'll do my

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best.
I was in South Korea helping to

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train the Korean Marines.
We would teach them about fields

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of fire and how to advance on a
target and all that.

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My job in the Marines was
intelligence analyst, so I

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wasn't much in the teaching of
actual infantry tactics.

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I mainly helped them with
terrain study and building

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terrain models.
I also was part of the group to

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do OP for.
Basically when the classroom

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stuff was over, there would be
actual training on attacking

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objectives and simulation
fighting.

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OP for stands for Opposing
force.

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So my job was to act like the
enemy and attack them to give

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them scenarios on what to do.
We were training in these deep

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woods, like really thick woods.
Trying to navigate it during the

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day was tough enough, and we
were tasked with going out at

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night to find them.
There were eight of us for

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training purposes.
We were given their coordinates

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so we could find them.
So we started down this road and

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we stopped like a couple 100
meters down the road from where

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we could just go straight into
the tree line and find them.

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We didn't want to do that
because they could have sentries

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on the road and it would be
easier for them to see us.

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We split into two groups, me and
a few other guys were going to

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cut in to do the attack and the
rest of the guys were going to

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stay near the spot we stopped at
a few meters into the tree line

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and ambush any patrol.
We were using AGPS to navigate

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through the woods.
It was dark as hell and like I

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said, trying to walk through it
during the day is hard enough

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and it was going to take a long
time to get to them.

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I want to say that we were 15
minutes into the walk when the

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GPS stopped working.
I wish I was kidding when I say

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this because it sounds cliche.
It just straight up stopped

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tracking position.
And it's not like we had gone

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straight into the tree line, we
had taken an angle.

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We didn't want to risk going
deeper and possibly getting

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turned around to getting lost.
So we decided to head back.

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The road semi encircled the
woods we entered so we figured

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if we just head back in the
general direction we came we

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would hit the road again.
We were just about to head back

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until we heard what sounded like
someone to the right of us a

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couple meters away.
It's dark and the trees are

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thick so we can't see anything.
These were heavy footsteps.

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We just assumed it was someone
from the group that we split off

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with coming to find us, but it's
like they weren't even trying to

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be quiet.
We started to walk towards the

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footsteps trying to be quiet and
calling out to them.

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We didn't hear anything.
It wasn't like footsteps that

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stop whenever you start
listening for them.

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It was a constant trekking
through the trees like they knew

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where they were going.
We kept calling out louder each

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time but got nothing back.
We were walking towards the

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footsteps and it seemed like we
should have already ran into

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them at some point.
We didn't hear anything anymore

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so we stopped.
Then the footsteps were to the

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left of us going into the
direction we were headed before

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deciding to turn back at that .1
guy was starting to get uneasy

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and wanted to head back.
But a lot of us.

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Were 19 year olds in the
military hard headed and acting

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like we aren't scared of
anything?

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But I won't lie, I was uneasy
about it too.

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I wasn't thinking anything
paranormal was going on.

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I thought it was someone
stalking us because this

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training area was open to anyone
coming in and doing whatever.

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We ended up following the
footsteps and then all of a

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sudden the tree line opens into
a clearing.

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We don't see a single person.
If there was someone there, we

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definitely would have seen them
in that clearing.

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It's a flat field, except there
are these mounds, grass mounds.

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There was like 6 of them, maybe
a few more.

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At that point the guy that was
already scared said fuck this

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and started walking back towards
the road as fast as he could.

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I wasn't scared, I just remember
being extremely confused.

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I've never had something like
this happen until then.

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Was trying to rationalize it but
I couldn't.

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We started walking back and at
some point the GPS started

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working again.
We ended up exiting a bit

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further down from where we
entered.

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We started walking back towards
the other guys that stayed

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behind.
The guy that booked it was

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already there saying he wants to
go back.

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None of us really argued and we
walked back.

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We told the gunny that was in
charge that the garment was

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acting up and we couldn't find
them.

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When we got back to a cell
service spot, one of the guys I

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was with told me he looked up
what the mounds were.

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They were burial mounds.
I don't remember seeing the

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headstones, just the mounds.
This is the only time in my life

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something like this has ever
happened and I can't explain it.

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I'm more inclined to believe
someone was fucking with us and

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a few guys were in on it.
More so that they were messing

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with the guy that got really
scared because they knew him

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better than I did and we're
probably messing with him

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knowing that he doesn't like
ghosts.

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But at the same time, how would
they know those mounds were

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there?
It was everyone's first time

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being in that area, let alone
being in Korea.

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Anonymous, thank you so much for
sharing your story, your cool

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story.
What a cool story.

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I think this is the first
military based story, so that's

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very exciting.
So Anon, thank you so much for

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sharing your terrifying
experience with me.

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I'm sorry that it happened.
If you are still kind of spooked

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by it, you know, like I'm sorry
that you went through that.

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On the other hand, a lot of
people kind of like having a

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scary story.
So if you're happy that you have

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a scary story, clap your hands
and I'm happy for you.

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Otherwise, I'm so sorry that you
went through that.

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OK, It's crazy to me.
This is OK.

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There's a couple of things, but
like, it's crazy to me that Anon

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you and your squadron, what do
you call them?

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The boys?
You know, I don't know you and

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them.
It's crazy that y'all, that's

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This is why we have see, This is
why the word y'all exists.

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So I don't need to know what the
word is.

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It's crazy that y'all were
hearing these, like phantom

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footsteps moving around in the
forest and you didn't even know

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that those things were burial
mounds.

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Like it would be one thing, you
know, if everybody in the group

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all knew that they were walking
around these burial mounds and

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then, you know, yeah, I could
totally see everybody being

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paranoid.
And you know, you're you're

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being primed, right?
Like you're, you're like, oh

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man.
Like if you're in a cemetery,

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you're you know, you're in a
graveyard and you're expecting

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ghosts, right?
But like y'all are in a forest

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that I assume you've been in
other wooded or forest adjacent

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areas previously at night and
not been spooked, not been half

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as scared, but for some reason
you're in a wooded area around

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burial mounds and now you're
hearing phantom footsteps and

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now you're paranoid.
That's what's crazy.

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But if even like the one guy who
was like we got to get out of

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here, which by the way, he is
me, that would be me.

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I would be like, guys, can we go
home?

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Actually, I wouldn't even be
there in the 1st place.

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It's that would be out of very
out of character for me.

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But assuming that I was there, I
would be like, can we please go

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home?
But even if that one guy, even

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if he didn't know about the
burial mounds and he was still

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creeped out, like did he know
something that y'all didn't

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know?
Or is he just always kind of

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scared to get, you know what I
mean?

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Or, hmm, did someone else know?
Did multiple people know

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possibly what those mounds were?
Did they know they were burial

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mounds?
Is it possible they knew they

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were messing with you and they
thought that you knew too?

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Hmm, Put a pin in it.
We'll get back to it.

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OK.
But back to the story, the GPS

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going out.
Absolutely not.

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No, no, no.
Like how often do GPSS just

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glitch out?
I mean, I guess you know, back

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in the day, but you know, like
when you called GPSG.

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PS: Just as a layman, I feel
like if you're in the military,

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you call it GPS and you're not
saying like Google Maps or like

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Waze, you know, or like Apple
Maps, I assume.

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But I know back then it wasn't
so good.

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But if you're in the military, I
feel like your GPS is better.

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You've got like the best GPS.
So is that, is the military GPS

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going to just out at random?
Or maybe were the trees just too

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thick?
Thick with two seas, thick with

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two trees?
Was were the trees just too

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thick for the reception to work?
We're like, I don't know, you

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know, OK.
Or, or were the spirits of the

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bodies buried in those mounds
interfering with their

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electromagnetic fields?
I don't know how electromagnetic

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fields work with ghosts.
I've talked about it in at least

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one of the one other episode.
I still don't fully understand

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the the the pair of science
behind it.

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But you know, I sure keep trying
anyway, was it the spirits?

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Because a true believer would
say it was definitely ghosts.

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A true believer would say
unquestionably, this is a an

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open and shut case.
This is a standard case of

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ghosts because there's burial
mountains around.

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I think a skeptic would want to
1st reproduce the results and

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take note of things like weather
and like clouds.

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Like if if there's too many
cloud covers, I assume that a

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satellite doesn't do as good of
a job.

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Was it a cloudy night?
Was it a clear night?

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Unclear.
See what I did there?

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But you'd want to like reproduce
it or try to reproduce it.

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I mean, if you can't reproduce
it, that tells you one thing.

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And if you can reproduce it,
that tells you a completely

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different thing.
Now, a good paranormal

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investigator, they're going to
want to do the same thing that a

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skeptic is doing.
They're going to want to see

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what can we rule out what is not
paranormal, what is normal?

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Normal.
Because by the way, if you are

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talking to or watching a
paranormal investigator who does

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not do that, who is not trying
very hard to debunk the things

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that they are finding, you need
to find you a better paranormal

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investigator because they're
clearly not trying to get to the

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bottom of it.
They're not looking for answers

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anyway.
All to say, we'll never know.

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We'll never know.
We can't go back and reproduce

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the experiment.
Or if maybe I don't know, can

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we?
Is someone, do I have a

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listener?
Do I have any listeners in South

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Korea or anyone that travels to
South Korea that knows where

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burial mounds are?
Oh my gosh, e-mail me

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madamstrangeways@gmail.com.
I would love to hear more from

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you.
Let's put something together.

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It's a special.
We'll do a burial mound special.

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00:12:52,720 --> 00:12:56,600
And since the story is set in
South Korea and Korean folklore

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00:12:56,600 --> 00:13:00,920
for talking about ghosts, the
question is a ghost or spirit of

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00:13:00,920 --> 00:13:04,040
a deceased person, which sounds
pretty much exactly like the

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00:13:04,040 --> 00:13:08,000
Western understanding of a ghost
where you kind of stick around

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00:13:08,000 --> 00:13:10,160
after you die.
If you've got some unresolved

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00:13:10,480 --> 00:13:13,200
issues that you need to work on
or you maybe you you want

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00:13:13,200 --> 00:13:15,000
revenge.
I think revenge is a really big

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00:13:15,000 --> 00:13:17,080
reason why you would stick
around after you die.

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00:13:17,280 --> 00:13:20,000
So I think even when you're
talking about, you know, Korean

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00:13:20,000 --> 00:13:24,000
ghosts and Korean folklore and
and parent the paranormal in

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00:13:24,000 --> 00:13:27,200
Korea, maybe the people that
were buried in those burial

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00:13:27,200 --> 00:13:29,240
mounds have just some unresolved
stuff.

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00:13:29,480 --> 00:13:34,320
Or maybe, maybe, maybe they were
trying to protect their

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00:13:34,320 --> 00:13:38,000
ancestral land from another
country's armed forces, which

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00:13:38,000 --> 00:13:40,800
were there.
They wouldn't know you're there

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00:13:40,800 --> 00:13:43,560
to help them.
How could they know they're

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00:13:43,560 --> 00:13:45,800
ghosts?
A ghost would not know.

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00:13:46,000 --> 00:13:47,680
A ghost would not know that
we're the good guys.

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00:13:48,560 --> 00:13:51,440
And how often are we the good
guys?

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00:13:51,440 --> 00:13:53,360
You know, are we the baddies,
etcetera.

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00:13:53,600 --> 00:13:57,200
I can't blame any potential
spirits for being protective

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00:13:57,520 --> 00:14:01,200
over their ancestral land.
Let's just say, OK, but you know

247
00:14:01,200 --> 00:14:02,440
what?
There might be something there

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00:14:02,880 --> 00:14:07,520
because as I have discovered in
my research, those burial mounds

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00:14:07,520 --> 00:14:10,800
aren't just randomly placed.
It's not like you look around

250
00:14:10,800 --> 00:14:12,200
and go, well, there's some
Freeland.

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00:14:12,200 --> 00:14:14,480
Let's just put our burial mounds
over here.

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00:14:14,480 --> 00:14:17,680
No, no, no, there's nothing
Willy nilly about it.

253
00:14:17,680 --> 00:14:20,320
There's nothing.
There's nothing Willy nor nilly

254
00:14:20,680 --> 00:14:22,600
about it.
Burial mounds.

255
00:14:22,960 --> 00:14:26,280
Those burial mounds were put
there with very specific

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00:14:26,280 --> 00:14:28,880
reasoning and consideration by
their descendants.

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00:14:29,000 --> 00:14:31,960
Like a lot of effort and thought
went into this.

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00:14:32,240 --> 00:14:35,080
They definitely weren't random.
So hold on tight because you're

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00:14:35,080 --> 00:14:38,400
about to learn all about the
spooky history and culture

260
00:14:38,400 --> 00:14:41,920
surrounding Korean burial mounds
and burial practices.

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00:14:42,760 --> 00:14:46,600
Now if you're new here, Hello,
hello, welcome.

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00:14:47,200 --> 00:14:48,520
I'm so.
Happy to have you here.

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00:14:49,160 --> 00:14:51,600
If you're not new here, welcome
back.

264
00:14:52,160 --> 00:14:54,240
Welcome back.
So good to see you again.

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00:14:54,560 --> 00:14:57,960
But if you're new here, some
episodes are really heavy on

266
00:14:57,960 --> 00:15:00,960
theories, you know, talking
about paranormal theories versus

267
00:15:00,960 --> 00:15:03,800
mundane or naturalistic or
skeptical theories.

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00:15:03,800 --> 00:15:08,040
And some episodes are really
heavy on folklore and culture.

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00:15:08,560 --> 00:15:10,400
And this happens to be one of
the latter.

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00:15:10,520 --> 00:15:13,840
OK so here we go.
Burial mounds actually have a

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00:15:13,840 --> 00:15:17,320
name outside of Korea and are
definitely not just found in

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00:15:17,320 --> 00:15:18,800
Korea.
They're found in a ton of

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00:15:18,800 --> 00:15:22,480
different places.
So from Wikipedia, a tumulus,

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00:15:23,120 --> 00:15:25,680
plural tumulae.
It's not.

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00:15:25,680 --> 00:15:30,640
The tumulae is a mound of earth
and stones raised over a grave

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00:15:30,640 --> 00:15:33,520
or graves.
Tumulae are also known as

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00:15:33,520 --> 00:15:38,160
barrows, burial mounds, mounds,
hows, or in Siberia and Central

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00:15:38,160 --> 00:15:42,520
Asia as Kirgans and may be found
throughout much of the world.

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00:15:43,240 --> 00:15:46,320
A Cairn, which is a mound of
stones built for various

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00:15:46,320 --> 00:15:49,920
purposes, may also originally
have been a tumulus.

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00:15:50,560 --> 00:15:52,360
OK, this is me.
Presumably.

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00:15:52,360 --> 00:15:56,600
I guess they mean that like
those mounds of stones would

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00:15:56,600 --> 00:15:59,720
have been put over a grave site
and then there would have been a

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00:15:59,720 --> 00:16:04,280
mound of dirt around the rocks
and then over time I assume the

285
00:16:04,280 --> 00:16:07,200
soil would have eroded away and
then just left the rocks behind.

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00:16:07,720 --> 00:16:13,440
Unclear, but also pause because
Cairn, the only Cairn I know,

287
00:16:13,440 --> 00:16:16,400
Cairn.
The only Cairn I know is a

288
00:16:16,400 --> 00:16:19,000
terrier named Toto.
Is that related?

289
00:16:19,000 --> 00:16:21,360
Is a Cairn related to a Cairn
terrier?

290
00:16:21,400 --> 00:16:25,000
You know, like the Scottish dog?
And yes, it does appear that

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00:16:25,000 --> 00:16:28,880
Cairn terriers used to be called
short haired Skye Terriers Skye.

292
00:16:29,080 --> 00:16:33,480
And no, I don't know why they
were called Skye Sky Terriers.

293
00:16:33,680 --> 00:16:36,440
And no, I'm not finding out.
I am not going down that rabbit

294
00:16:36,440 --> 00:16:37,520
hole.
You cannot make me.

295
00:16:38,080 --> 00:16:40,600
You cannot make me.
I'm going to continue because

296
00:16:40,600 --> 00:16:42,680
this is already a rabbit hole.
We've already, this is an Ant.

297
00:16:42,680 --> 00:16:46,840
We're looking like an Ant farm
right now of rabbits.

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00:16:47,160 --> 00:16:50,160
Anyway, these terriers then
called short haired sky

299
00:16:50,160 --> 00:16:53,560
terriers, were used to like
wriggle between the rocks of the

300
00:16:53,560 --> 00:16:56,880
Cairns because there would be
foxes hiding in there from the

301
00:16:56,880 --> 00:17:00,000
hunters.
And so these short haired sky

302
00:17:00,000 --> 00:17:04,400
terriers were so good at
wriggling into the stones of

303
00:17:04,400 --> 00:17:07,800
Cairns that they got their new
name, the Cairn terrier.

304
00:17:08,119 --> 00:17:11,599
I guess burial mound terrier
just doesn't have the same ring

305
00:17:11,599 --> 00:17:12,400
to it.
Wait a minute.

306
00:17:12,640 --> 00:17:18,720
What else can we call it?
Tum tumuli terrier, tomb tomb

307
00:17:18,720 --> 00:17:21,760
terrier.
I am just now, I am just now

308
00:17:21,760 --> 00:17:25,480
putting together now that I'm
saying tomb and tumulus next to

309
00:17:25,480 --> 00:17:27,839
one another.
I'm just now realizing, you

310
00:17:27,839 --> 00:17:30,800
know, how much research I did on
this subject, hours I've

311
00:17:30,800 --> 00:17:33,040
researched on this subject and
I'm just now putting together.

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00:17:33,040 --> 00:17:37,240
Oh, I bet those, I bet those.
Yep, that has to be where we got

313
00:17:37,240 --> 00:17:39,680
the word tomb from, right?
Why is there AB there?

314
00:17:39,680 --> 00:17:42,520
Hold on hold please.
This is a rabbit hole I'm going

315
00:17:42,520 --> 00:17:45,880
to go down.
OK, this is online etymology.

316
00:17:45,880 --> 00:17:51,360
Something something tomb
originates from Old English tomb

317
00:17:51,920 --> 00:17:58,560
with an E at the end TO MB E and
late Latin tomba like tuba with

318
00:17:58,560 --> 00:18:02,280
an M in the middle.
TU MB A meaning a mound or

319
00:18:02,280 --> 00:18:03,480
grave.
Mm Hmm.

320
00:18:03,480 --> 00:18:05,200
OK.
I still don't know why there's a

321
00:18:05,200 --> 00:18:06,760
bee.
It traces back to the Greek.

322
00:18:07,040 --> 00:18:13,600
Greek tembos Ty MB OS burial
mound or grave, linking it to

323
00:18:13,600 --> 00:18:16,680
mounds or elevated earth, often
connected with tumulus.

324
00:18:16,840 --> 00:18:18,960
Tumulus.
Do you think we used to say

325
00:18:18,960 --> 00:18:22,120
tumba?
Tumba possible.

326
00:18:22,520 --> 00:18:25,880
Who knows?
Do you pronounce tomb tumba?

327
00:18:26,000 --> 00:18:28,080
Let me know,
madamstrangeways@gmail.com.

328
00:18:28,480 --> 00:18:30,080
Anyway, wow, I just put that
together.

329
00:18:30,280 --> 00:18:32,880
So that's fun.
Anyway, what are we calling

330
00:18:33,080 --> 00:18:36,520
Cairn terriers now?
Tumulus terriers?

331
00:18:36,520 --> 00:18:38,640
Terriers.
Tomb terriers?

332
00:18:38,640 --> 00:18:39,960
There it is.
Tomb terriers.

333
00:18:39,960 --> 00:18:43,120
We love an alliteration.
We love an alliteration here at

334
00:18:43,120 --> 00:18:45,120
Madam Strangeways.
Every human loves an

335
00:18:45,120 --> 00:18:47,200
alliteration.
Who do I need to talk to?

336
00:18:47,920 --> 00:18:51,600
Westminster Kennel Club.
If you're listening, which why

337
00:18:51,640 --> 00:18:54,480
wouldn't you be?
Send me an e-mail so we can work

338
00:18:54,480 --> 00:18:56,480
this out, Madam
strangeways@gmail.com so we can

339
00:18:56,480 --> 00:18:59,440
get Cairn Terriers properly
rebranded.

340
00:19:00,040 --> 00:19:03,600
Anyway, moving on back to tumuli
or burial mounds, which I will

341
00:19:03,600 --> 00:19:05,760
be using interchangeably for the
rest of the episode.

342
00:19:06,160 --> 00:19:09,640
So here is where I was going to
tell you all of the other places

343
00:19:09,640 --> 00:19:13,280
that tumuli have been found in
aside from South Korea, except

344
00:19:13,280 --> 00:19:15,760
Oh my God, there's so many.
Here's just some.

345
00:19:15,760 --> 00:19:18,320
This isn't even all of them.
This is, this is.

346
00:19:18,800 --> 00:19:20,480
I don't even know if this is
scratching the surface.

347
00:19:21,040 --> 00:19:26,000
Australia, Somalia, the Sahara
in Africa, which covers Niger,

348
00:19:26,000 --> 00:19:27,920
which is how Ken Jennings says
it.

349
00:19:27,920 --> 00:19:29,920
So I'm going to say that.
Although I don't know if he says

350
00:19:30,400 --> 00:19:34,520
Nigeria, I'm not sure.
So maybe we just Niger, Nigeria,

351
00:19:34,520 --> 00:19:39,280
OK, Burkina Faso, Sudan,
Mauritania and Senegal, Turkey,

352
00:19:39,280 --> 00:19:42,320
Ukraine, Russia, Bahrain, Syria,
Palestine, India, Pakistan,

353
00:19:42,320 --> 00:19:44,240
China, Albania, Bulgaria,
Croatia.

354
00:19:44,240 --> 00:19:46,120
At this point I'm just singing
the Animaniac song.

355
00:19:46,120 --> 00:19:48,520
United States, Canada, Mexico,
Panama, Haiti, Jamaica, Peru,

356
00:19:48,800 --> 00:19:52,840
except most of those that I just
said don't have it, but United

357
00:19:52,840 --> 00:19:55,960
States, Canada and Mexico do
have.

358
00:19:56,200 --> 00:19:58,680
They do have them.
And if you're wondering, yes, I

359
00:19:58,680 --> 00:20:03,080
can sing Every Country and
Yakko's World.

360
00:20:04,120 --> 00:20:07,080
But yes, we do have burial
mounds in North America ranging

361
00:20:07,080 --> 00:20:09,920
from Canada all the way through
the US down all the way to

362
00:20:09,920 --> 00:20:12,960
Chile.
But of course, of course.

363
00:20:13,600 --> 00:20:17,280
America has destroyed thousands
of these burial mounds in order

364
00:20:17,280 --> 00:20:20,840
to build roads and also to grave
rob, because of course we have.

365
00:20:21,160 --> 00:20:24,760
Those burial mounds would have
belonged to any of the numerous

366
00:20:24,960 --> 00:20:29,120
indigenous native nations that
existed in North America 10s of

367
00:20:29,120 --> 00:20:32,800
thousands of years.
Great, destroyed.

368
00:20:32,960 --> 00:20:35,320
I hate it.
And if you're curious, which I

369
00:20:35,320 --> 00:20:39,680
know you are, the largest, the
world's largest burial mound is

370
00:20:39,680 --> 00:20:43,840
found in Japan and it's called
Dyson Erio Cofun with a length

371
00:20:43,840 --> 00:20:46,800
of 840 meters, which as an
American means nothing to me.

372
00:20:46,800 --> 00:20:50,480
So I had the Internet convert
that to me and apparently that's

373
00:20:50,480 --> 00:20:55,720
half a mile long, which seems
large, perhaps too large.

374
00:20:55,880 --> 00:20:57,560
Why is it so big?
Doesn't make any sense.

375
00:20:57,560 --> 00:21:00,000
Anyway, weren't I here to
discuss the Japanese burial

376
00:21:00,000 --> 00:21:01,840
mounds?
We are here to discuss the

377
00:21:01,840 --> 00:21:06,240
burial mounds in South Korea.
Also, here's a note I.

378
00:21:06,240 --> 00:21:08,360
Did a lot.
Of research and wrote out

379
00:21:08,360 --> 00:21:11,760
phonetically all of the Korean
words that are included in this

380
00:21:11,760 --> 00:21:16,160
episode Obviously I am not a
native Korean speaker so please

381
00:21:16,160 --> 00:21:18,360
be gentle with me.
I have tried very hard.

382
00:21:18,560 --> 00:21:23,200
So the Korean word for tumulai
or burial mound is hongbuen.

383
00:21:23,400 --> 00:21:26,880
Now when discussing South Korean
burial mounds picture this

384
00:21:26,880 --> 00:21:32,120
picture a lush landscape of
green grass and there's this

385
00:21:32,120 --> 00:21:37,160
perfectly rounded, perfectly
sloped hill.

386
00:21:37,160 --> 00:21:40,960
You know, like when you're a kid
and you're drawing your, when

387
00:21:40,960 --> 00:21:44,000
you're a kid and you're drawing
hills, right?

388
00:21:44,000 --> 00:21:46,640
Like a landscape and you know,
it's this perfect.

389
00:21:46,640 --> 00:21:49,120
What is it a sine wave?
I don't know science.

390
00:21:49,480 --> 00:21:57,440
Is that science or is it math?
Let's find out together.

391
00:21:58,440 --> 00:22:01,600
OK?
A sine wave is math, not

392
00:22:01,600 --> 00:22:06,640
science, but you get the gist.
OK, it just looks too perfect.

393
00:22:06,640 --> 00:22:09,920
This hill looks perfect.
It's too perfect.

394
00:22:09,920 --> 00:22:11,680
In fact, it's a little too
perfect.

395
00:22:11,800 --> 00:22:14,480
And some of them are very large.
Some of them look like they're

396
00:22:14,480 --> 00:22:18,520
actually just gigantic hills.
But others, like for family

397
00:22:18,520 --> 00:22:21,840
mounds of working families,
those might only be like a few

398
00:22:21,840 --> 00:22:24,800
feet tall Max.
Of course, the really large

399
00:22:24,800 --> 00:22:30,560
massive ones were only for
royalty and the rich of course,

400
00:22:31,120 --> 00:22:35,360
specifically like the Sheila
Dynasty royal tombs in the Dae

401
00:22:35,360 --> 00:22:40,240
Lung Wan tomb complex in Jungju.
Especially Huan Nam de Chong

402
00:22:40,520 --> 00:22:44,960
Tomb, which is 75 feet tall at
its peak and 403 feet long.

403
00:22:45,160 --> 00:22:47,880
So still too big.
Why is it so big?

404
00:22:48,960 --> 00:22:50,880
How many people are in there?
Actually, I didn't look that up.

405
00:22:51,000 --> 00:22:54,400
Hold on, let's find out.
Oh, oh, look at this.

406
00:22:55,200 --> 00:22:58,920
Don't know.
Published 2 days ago in Yahoo

407
00:22:58,920 --> 00:23:02,680
News Australia.
This headline I did not know

408
00:23:02,680 --> 00:23:04,920
this.
I wrote this script like over a

409
00:23:04,920 --> 00:23:07,720
week ago.
This is the breaking breaking

410
00:23:07,720 --> 00:23:11,480
strange news.
Ancient Korea had people from

411
00:23:11,480 --> 00:23:16,880
sacrificial caste killed to
please royalty skeletons reveal.

412
00:23:17,280 --> 00:23:20,360
I will say, aside from that
being extremely messed up, I

413
00:23:20,360 --> 00:23:23,320
know that Korea's not the only
culture that does this, but can

414
00:23:23,320 --> 00:23:28,400
I just say it sounds like the
skeletons have told them, you

415
00:23:28,560 --> 00:23:33,640
know, like skeletons reveal and
the skeletons are just dishing

416
00:23:33,640 --> 00:23:35,080
the tea.
You know, they're like, and then

417
00:23:35,080 --> 00:23:38,640
they made us.
It's not funny.

418
00:23:38,680 --> 00:23:39,880
This is actually not funny at
all.

419
00:23:40,360 --> 00:23:42,800
Anyway, listen to this.
Entire families were sacrificed

420
00:23:42,800 --> 00:23:46,560
in Korea about 1500 years ago in
rituals to honor royalty,

421
00:23:46,760 --> 00:23:50,000
according to a new analysis of
dozens of skeletons unearthed in

422
00:23:50,000 --> 00:23:53,520
Jiangsam, in the southeastern
region of the Korean Peninsula.

423
00:23:54,040 --> 00:23:56,960
The findings raise further
questions about slavery, social

424
00:23:56,960 --> 00:24:00,160
mobility and institutionalized
violence in ancient Korean

425
00:24:00,160 --> 00:24:02,720
kingdoms.
Wow, that's messed up.

426
00:24:03,040 --> 00:24:06,480
In 1982, archaeologists first
unearthed the burial complex in

427
00:24:06,480 --> 00:24:08,560
the region.
Constructed sometime between the

428
00:24:08,560 --> 00:24:12,160
4th and 6th centuries, it was
thought to contain the graves of

429
00:24:12,160 --> 00:24:17,000
local ruling families, with over
1600 tombs, Jesus and the

430
00:24:17,000 --> 00:24:20,760
remains of nearly 260
individuals unearthed from the

431
00:24:20,760 --> 00:24:23,040
site.
At least 20 of the tombs

432
00:24:23,040 --> 00:24:27,280
displayed evidence of Sungjiang,
a practice in which individuals

433
00:24:27,280 --> 00:24:29,720
were sacrificed and buried
alongside the dead.

434
00:24:30,080 --> 00:24:32,760
I don't like it, like it, like
it.

435
00:24:33,160 --> 00:24:36,720
Our genetic findings are the
first to confirm the acts of Sun

436
00:24:36,720 --> 00:24:40,200
Chong of an entire household,
they wrote in the study

437
00:24:40,200 --> 00:24:42,640
published in the journal Science
Advances.

438
00:24:43,160 --> 00:24:46,080
Wait, hold on, there's more.
The latest findings suggest that

439
00:24:46,080 --> 00:24:50,560
people chosen for the Sun Chong
ritual inherited their roles.

440
00:24:50,760 --> 00:24:53,760
I guess that's what a cast is,
you know, I guess you're kind of

441
00:24:53,760 --> 00:24:57,640
born into that cast.
But that sucks being born into

442
00:24:57,640 --> 00:24:59,880
that cast.
That would be awful.

443
00:25:00,240 --> 00:25:02,640
You know, you're a kid and
you're you're OK.

444
00:25:02,680 --> 00:25:04,720
Are you are you learning?
I was going to say a picture of

445
00:25:04,720 --> 00:25:08,760
being a kid back in this time.
And you're in the sacrificial

446
00:25:08,760 --> 00:25:12,560
cast and you're learning about
casts, you know, and you're

447
00:25:12,560 --> 00:25:17,120
like, mom, what does what kind
of cast are we in?

448
00:25:17,320 --> 00:25:20,880
Are we in royalty?
Are we in the working class?

449
00:25:21,920 --> 00:25:25,520
No, no, sweetie.
Our entire family will be

450
00:25:25,520 --> 00:25:28,200
sacrificed as soon as someone
royal dies.

451
00:25:28,600 --> 00:25:32,920
OK, OK, I'm going to have to do
more research on that, but

452
00:25:32,920 --> 00:25:33,960
that's crazy.
Are you?

453
00:25:33,960 --> 00:25:36,120
Do you know more about this
topic than I do?

454
00:25:36,120 --> 00:25:37,800
Let me know
madamstrangeways@gmail.com.

455
00:25:37,800 --> 00:25:42,480
Are you?
In the sacrificial cast, do you

456
00:25:42,480 --> 00:25:44,680
want to?
Speak out while you can. e-mail

457
00:25:44,680 --> 00:25:48,640
me madamstrangeways@gmail.com.
Wow, I'm so glad I looked that

458
00:25:48,640 --> 00:25:48,960
up.
How?

459
00:25:48,960 --> 00:25:52,680
What a fun find.
Fun is maybe not the word.

460
00:25:54,880 --> 00:25:57,440
OK, where were we?
We're talking about Korean

461
00:25:57,680 --> 00:26:00,320
burial mounds.
So if you're like me, you're

462
00:26:00,320 --> 00:26:04,040
probably wondering, I hope
you're not like me, But if you

463
00:26:04,040 --> 00:26:07,600
are like me, you're probably
wondering what are the logistics

464
00:26:07,720 --> 00:26:10,960
around how these bodies are
buried under these mounds?

465
00:26:10,960 --> 00:26:13,080
Because, you know, I told you,
some of them are not very large.

466
00:26:13,360 --> 00:26:15,680
Some of them are pretty short.
They're not large enough to put

467
00:26:15,680 --> 00:26:17,680
a body in.
And I didn't think that there

468
00:26:17,680 --> 00:26:20,040
was cremation happening.
So then how are they fitting

469
00:26:20,040 --> 00:26:23,360
these bodies?
Here we go.

470
00:26:23,360 --> 00:26:25,840
From a 2020 issue of Kwongju
News.

471
00:26:26,080 --> 00:26:27,920
Here we go.
The Korean burial method has

472
00:26:27,920 --> 00:26:30,800
traditionally been subterranean
internment.

473
00:26:30,800 --> 00:26:33,760
I knew it.
That is, burying the coffin in

474
00:26:33,760 --> 00:26:37,040
the earth on a hillside with an
earthen mound on top.

475
00:26:37,200 --> 00:26:42,400
This practice includes pung SU
jili, or geomancy, the selection

476
00:26:42,400 --> 00:26:45,280
of a blessed site as the
location of the grave.

477
00:26:45,280 --> 00:26:48,720
Now put a pin in geomancy,
because you know, we're going to

478
00:26:48,720 --> 00:26:49,880
be back for that.
I can't wait.

479
00:26:50,240 --> 00:26:52,920
Any kind of mansy, really.
I'm interested.

480
00:26:53,280 --> 00:26:56,760
But OK, the subterranean
internment doesn't fully answer

481
00:26:56,760 --> 00:27:00,320
my question, but I found this
other article and it's by Simon

482
00:27:00,320 --> 00:27:04,200
Morley from his blog called
Notes from the Edge, and the

483
00:27:04,200 --> 00:27:05,680
article is called The Korean
Dead.

484
00:27:05,680 --> 00:27:08,160
Here we go.
Koreans traditionally bury their

485
00:27:08,160 --> 00:27:12,880
dead under the mound upright in
a coffin made from six planks of

486
00:27:12,880 --> 00:27:16,040
wood.
How many planks go into like a

487
00:27:16,040 --> 00:27:18,160
Western coffin?
I guess it would be like, well,

488
00:27:18,160 --> 00:27:22,080
I guess it would OK, because you
got like the two, is it a

489
00:27:22,080 --> 00:27:24,240
rectangle or is it like a
vampire?

490
00:27:24,440 --> 00:27:28,760
I think if it's a rectangle,
that's like 1-2 on the side and

491
00:27:28,760 --> 00:27:30,720
then like 2 on the top and
bottom.

492
00:27:30,720 --> 00:27:33,240
So that's four.
And then there would be two on

493
00:27:33,240 --> 00:27:34,640
the top and bottom.
So that would be 6.

494
00:27:34,640 --> 00:27:37,320
That would be 6 planks of wood.
But yeah, just kind of like a

495
00:27:37,440 --> 00:27:40,280
like a traditional rectangular
coffin.

496
00:27:40,480 --> 00:27:43,960
Now, when I first read that and
I was like made from six planks.

497
00:27:45,040 --> 00:27:49,840
Tell me why I was picturing like
a hexagonal almost like, you

498
00:27:49,880 --> 00:27:54,480
know, like almost like roundish
tube of a coffin.

499
00:27:55,160 --> 00:27:58,040
I was definitely picturing A
hexagonal like, you know, you

500
00:27:58,160 --> 00:28:00,080
probably don't know because I
shouldn't have thought that.

501
00:28:00,160 --> 00:28:02,080
Like I should have just thought,
Oh yeah, six.

502
00:28:02,080 --> 00:28:05,480
That makes sense. 6 planks.
That's OK, that makes sense.

503
00:28:05,600 --> 00:28:09,200
Anyway, these planks represent
the four cardinal points on the

504
00:28:09,200 --> 00:28:13,320
compass, in addition to a plank
for heaven and one for earth.

505
00:28:14,080 --> 00:28:17,840
Corpses either face South or
towards some important spiritual

506
00:28:17,840 --> 00:28:19,600
part of the landscape, like a
mountain.

507
00:28:19,920 --> 00:28:23,440
OK, now this next paragraph is
actually not specifically

508
00:28:23,440 --> 00:28:26,000
relevant to what we're talking
about, but when do I let that

509
00:28:26,000 --> 00:28:27,840
stop me?
So listen, this is just so

510
00:28:27,840 --> 00:28:30,400
interesting.
There are more than the usual

511
00:28:30,400 --> 00:28:33,520
number of such burial mounds
around the DMZ, or the

512
00:28:33,520 --> 00:28:37,080
Demilitarized Zone, which is
what separates South Korea from

513
00:28:37,080 --> 00:28:40,760
North Korea, because many exiles
from North Korea opt to be

514
00:28:40,760 --> 00:28:43,800
buried as near as possible to
their homeland.

515
00:28:44,160 --> 00:28:47,120
That's so sad for, like, a
myriad of reasons.

516
00:28:47,120 --> 00:28:49,680
It's sad.
But actually the whole of the

517
00:28:49,680 --> 00:28:52,680
Korean Peninsula is a massive
graveyard.

518
00:28:53,160 --> 00:28:56,440
Everywhere you go in the hills
and mountains, as you cruise

519
00:28:56,440 --> 00:29:00,360
along a highway, for example,
you will see these tumuli graves

520
00:29:00,520 --> 00:29:03,680
dotting the landscape.
So listen.

521
00:29:04,160 --> 00:29:07,120
Anonymous, this does.
Make me wonder if at least

522
00:29:07,120 --> 00:29:10,320
someone in your group did pay
attention and see all of those

523
00:29:10,320 --> 00:29:14,440
mounds and asked what they were
at some point when y'all weren't

524
00:29:14,440 --> 00:29:18,320
around and found out.
It's very possible someone in

525
00:29:18,320 --> 00:29:20,560
your group knew that they were
burial mounds.

526
00:29:21,000 --> 00:29:25,040
But even if they did know, I
feel like for it to be a really

527
00:29:25,040 --> 00:29:27,720
good prank you would have also
had to know you know what I'm

528
00:29:27,720 --> 00:29:29,680
saying?
Like, what's the point of being

529
00:29:29,680 --> 00:29:33,360
spooky scary if nobody knows
that those mounds are burial

530
00:29:33,360 --> 00:29:34,360
mounds?
You see what I'm saying?

531
00:29:34,400 --> 00:29:35,840
Anyway, it does make me wonder
though.

532
00:29:37,080 --> 00:29:40,360
OK, so now we know that people
were buried vertically up and

533
00:29:40,360 --> 00:29:44,680
down in the ground upright.
And then a mound of dirt is

534
00:29:44,680 --> 00:29:47,480
placed on top, shaved into a
perfect little hill.

535
00:29:48,160 --> 00:29:50,560
But I can't find how deep the
graves go because how are you

536
00:29:50,560 --> 00:29:54,360
digging straight down like that?
Just like just just a tiny, you

537
00:29:54,360 --> 00:29:57,320
know what I mean?
Compared to like, listen rock.

538
00:29:57,640 --> 00:30:00,840
Oh my God.
Listen, digging a like a western

539
00:30:00,840 --> 00:30:04,640
grave, say, 6 feet wide, right?
That's hard.

540
00:30:04,840 --> 00:30:07,160
But if you're going to dig, are
you going to dig straight?

541
00:30:07,160 --> 00:30:09,400
Do you see what I mean?
Like a core of the earth.

542
00:30:09,400 --> 00:30:11,960
Are you doing that?
Or I assume you're digging a

543
00:30:11,960 --> 00:30:14,320
whole lot more around it.
And then where do you get the

544
00:30:14,320 --> 00:30:15,480
dirt?
Like where?

545
00:30:15,560 --> 00:30:18,440
Like you're digging for the
mound.

546
00:30:18,440 --> 00:30:19,760
You know what I mean?
Where are you getting all this

547
00:30:19,760 --> 00:30:21,120
dirt?
Where is it coming from?

548
00:30:21,200 --> 00:30:26,680
Where did it go?
Where is where did the burial

549
00:30:26,680 --> 00:30:29,320
mound dirt come from?
Cotton Eyed Joe, I just have so

550
00:30:29,320 --> 00:30:31,920
many more questions about this
process and I can't find any

551
00:30:31,920 --> 00:30:35,200
more information about it.
I have looked, I can't find

552
00:30:35,400 --> 00:30:37,320
anything else.
I don't know why I'm so hung up

553
00:30:37,320 --> 00:30:39,960
on the logistics of grave
digging in ancient Korea, but

554
00:30:39,960 --> 00:30:41,560
here we are.
This is what I'm doing.

555
00:30:41,600 --> 00:30:44,640
This is what I'm doing with my
Saturday night to possibly none

556
00:30:44,640 --> 00:30:47,360
of your surprise, but since I
can't find that answer, we're

557
00:30:47,360 --> 00:30:49,720
going to return to the subject
of geomancy.

558
00:30:49,720 --> 00:30:53,880
Yay, exciting.
So again, reminder, geomancy

559
00:30:53,880 --> 00:30:57,960
specifically in Korea is called
Pung SU Jiri, which effectively

560
00:30:57,960 --> 00:31:03,160
translates to wind, water, Earth
principles theory, not wind,

561
00:31:03,160 --> 00:31:07,520
water, earth, fire Avatar
opening, not like that.

562
00:31:07,720 --> 00:31:10,680
And it is related to Chinese
Feng shui, but it is not the

563
00:31:10,680 --> 00:31:13,200
exact same.
Do not get them confused.

564
00:31:13,480 --> 00:31:16,560
It appears that in the 9th
century, this Buddhist monk from

565
00:31:16,560 --> 00:31:20,960
Korea traveled to China to study
all kinds of esoteric Buddhism

566
00:31:20,960 --> 00:31:23,440
and Taoism.
So there he was exposed to

567
00:31:23,560 --> 00:31:28,080
Taoist mysticism, which sounds
very cool and also kind of like,

568
00:31:28,080 --> 00:31:31,240
I'm like, I'm intimidated as
well at the same time.

569
00:31:31,440 --> 00:31:34,160
And then he learned all about
the Feng Shui system and brought

570
00:31:34,160 --> 00:31:37,240
that back to Korea.
From there it was intertwined

571
00:31:37,240 --> 00:31:40,760
within Korean Buddhism, and it
is still practiced by monks to

572
00:31:40,760 --> 00:31:42,200
this day.
And then this is from

573
00:31:42,200 --> 00:31:44,600
theculturetrip.com by Memsi
Ladner.

574
00:31:45,040 --> 00:31:48,880
Chinese Feng Shui often focuses
on interior design and furniture

575
00:31:48,880 --> 00:31:51,800
placement to increase the
auspicious and material fortune

576
00:31:51,840 --> 00:31:56,200
and wealth of an individual.
However, Pung Sujidi, on the

577
00:31:56,200 --> 00:31:59,000
other hand, emphasizes A
communal harmony that includes

578
00:31:59,000 --> 00:32:01,960
not just an individual
household, but also the city and

579
00:32:01,960 --> 00:32:04,640
country at large.
In fact, the capital of Seoul

580
00:32:04,640 --> 00:32:07,280
was constructed following Korean
geomancy theory.

581
00:32:07,840 --> 00:32:11,360
Seoul was constructed based on
the calculations of Pung Sujidi

582
00:32:11,360 --> 00:32:14,840
masters who found an auspicious
place between 4 energy rich

583
00:32:14,880 --> 00:32:16,920
mountains.
So this is the same.

584
00:32:16,960 --> 00:32:20,280
This is this.
So this geomancy is what was

585
00:32:20,280 --> 00:32:24,720
applied to finding burial mound
locations for not just, you

586
00:32:24,720 --> 00:32:28,280
know, the working class.
Probably not for the sacrificial

587
00:32:28,280 --> 00:32:29,320
cast.
So I guess you wouldn't have to

588
00:32:29,320 --> 00:32:31,240
worry about it.
I guess that is one good thing

589
00:32:31,680 --> 00:32:33,640
about being in the sacrificial
cast.

590
00:32:33,920 --> 00:32:37,880
You don't need to worry about
using geomancy to find like your

591
00:32:37,880 --> 00:32:41,800
parents perfect burial plot.
It's just you don't need to

592
00:32:41,800 --> 00:32:43,200
worry about it.
How do they pick?

593
00:32:43,480 --> 00:32:45,800
How do they decide?
You know what I mean?

594
00:32:45,800 --> 00:32:49,360
Like how are they deciding who?
Because the whole, you can't

595
00:32:49,360 --> 00:32:51,840
clear the whole cast out or
you're not going to be able to

596
00:32:51,840 --> 00:32:55,200
refresh your cast.
You know what I mean?

597
00:32:55,360 --> 00:32:58,160
I you can't kill all your
sacrificial cast or you're not

598
00:32:58,160 --> 00:33:00,960
going to have any sacrificial
cast left.

599
00:33:00,960 --> 00:33:06,280
You know, you can't have, you
can't have your cake and eat it

600
00:33:06,280 --> 00:33:09,480
too.
So how do they decide which ones

601
00:33:09,480 --> 00:33:12,320
they keep and which ones they
they don't keep?

602
00:33:12,920 --> 00:33:14,760
How do they?
I just have so many more

603
00:33:14,760 --> 00:33:16,080
questions.
We're not going to get into it

604
00:33:16,080 --> 00:33:18,440
right now, but I'm just, that's
stuck with me.

605
00:33:18,840 --> 00:33:21,800
Anyway, they're using geomancy
to find the locations of these

606
00:33:21,920 --> 00:33:23,960
burial plots for their burial
mounds.

607
00:33:24,280 --> 00:33:26,440
But because we're going down
this little geomancy rabbit

608
00:33:26,440 --> 00:33:31,040
hole, yay, how fun.
Here's something else from the

609
00:33:31,040 --> 00:33:35,240
Korea Jungom Daily written by
Leem Songhe during Japan's

610
00:33:35,240 --> 00:33:39,160
colonization of Korea from 1910
to 1945.

611
00:33:39,440 --> 00:33:43,080
Less fun then, you know, because
I just said how fun this is not

612
00:33:43,280 --> 00:33:47,080
this is not very fun.
It is said that Poongsujiri was

613
00:33:47,080 --> 00:33:50,240
not welcomed by the Japanese
during the colonial period.

614
00:33:50,600 --> 00:33:54,600
One Korean urban legend says
that the Japanese hammered iron

615
00:33:54,600 --> 00:33:58,280
rods across Korea's mountain
ranges at different locations in

616
00:33:58,280 --> 00:34:03,480
an attempt to cut off the flow
of geomancy energy, which is

617
00:34:03,480 --> 00:34:06,400
diabolical.
You know, like continuing with

618
00:34:06,400 --> 00:34:09,120
this article, the iron rods were
indeed hammered into the

619
00:34:09,120 --> 00:34:12,280
mountain by the Japanese during
the colonization, but some news

620
00:34:12,280 --> 00:34:14,880
articles claim that they were
just used to mark a trail in the

621
00:34:14,880 --> 00:34:17,280
mountains in 1920s.
They're like, we're just, we

622
00:34:17,280 --> 00:34:20,800
did, we didn't know we did.
We're just babies.

623
00:34:21,760 --> 00:34:24,760
We didn't mean to do that.
Interesting.

624
00:34:24,920 --> 00:34:28,000
OK, Japan.
Regardless, the truth didn't

625
00:34:28,000 --> 00:34:29,880
much matter to Koreans back in
the day.

626
00:34:30,320 --> 00:34:34,040
In 1995, during the Kim Yong Sam
administration, the president

627
00:34:34,040 --> 00:34:36,760
said that the government would
lead and support Koreans trying

628
00:34:36,760 --> 00:34:40,239
to find and remove all of the
iron rods to mark the 50th

629
00:34:40,239 --> 00:34:42,080
anniversary of Koreans
independence.

630
00:34:42,480 --> 00:34:44,760
I love that.
I love that so much.

631
00:34:44,840 --> 00:34:49,800
This urban legend forms the
backbone for the 2024 film Eggs

632
00:34:49,800 --> 00:34:53,040
Huma, which I had never heard of
before, but now I really want to

633
00:34:53,040 --> 00:34:54,199
watch.
And I think you should want to

634
00:34:54,199 --> 00:34:56,159
watch it too, especially after
listening to this episode.

635
00:34:56,520 --> 00:34:59,320
This is so interesting.
Here's the movie description

636
00:34:59,320 --> 00:35:02,040
that I just looked up for you.
On the behest of a wealthy

637
00:35:02,040 --> 00:35:03,320
family.
Oh sorry, hold on.

638
00:35:04,800 --> 00:35:08,560
On the behest of a wealthy
family, a shaman and her

639
00:35:08,560 --> 00:35:12,920
associates undertake the
relocation of an ancestral grave

640
00:35:13,080 --> 00:35:15,160
to resolve a curse.
Setting.

641
00:35:15,160 --> 00:35:18,560
Off eerie portents coming this
summer.

642
00:35:18,880 --> 00:35:20,960
In a world like that's going to
be good.

643
00:35:20,960 --> 00:35:22,280
I'm going to have to watch it.
I don't know how.

644
00:35:22,280 --> 00:35:23,800
I don't know where it's
available.

645
00:35:24,920 --> 00:35:26,120
I don't know.
I'm going to get my hands on it,

646
00:35:26,120 --> 00:35:27,800
but I think I need to watch it.
OK.

647
00:35:28,000 --> 00:35:30,480
OK.
Exiting that rabbit hole, coming

648
00:35:30,480 --> 00:35:33,520
back around.
So I was wondering, how common

649
00:35:33,520 --> 00:35:38,440
are burial mountains in 2026?
Like, when did they stop being a

650
00:35:38,440 --> 00:35:40,800
thing?
OK, listen to this because it it

651
00:35:40,800 --> 00:35:45,120
feels like South Korea's not
very big, you know, So Arlington

652
00:35:45,120 --> 00:35:49,120
National Cemetery, yes, in the
United States.

653
00:35:49,280 --> 00:35:53,600
Just hear hear me out.
Arlington National Cemetery is

654
00:35:53,600 --> 00:35:56,400
projected to run out of burial
plots by 2041.

655
00:35:57,600 --> 00:36:01,240
That's really not that far.
Away urban cemeteries in the US

656
00:36:01,240 --> 00:36:04,920
are increasingly out of room and
they're not selling new plots

657
00:36:05,240 --> 00:36:08,680
and in the United Kingdom it's
estimated that possibly half of

658
00:36:08,680 --> 00:36:13,040
their cemeteries could be full
by the year 2033.

659
00:36:13,240 --> 00:36:16,760
So countries are kind of running
out of places to put bodies, to

660
00:36:16,760 --> 00:36:19,480
bury them, and they're not even,
listen, you're not even using

661
00:36:19,480 --> 00:36:22,640
burial mounds in Arlington
National Cemetery or in the

662
00:36:22,640 --> 00:36:25,600
United Kingdom, at least not
now.

663
00:36:25,680 --> 00:36:29,560
And did you know South Korea is
roughly the size of the state of

664
00:36:29,560 --> 00:36:33,360
Indiana?
Indiana's population was 6.97

665
00:36:33,360 --> 00:36:37,680
million in 2025.
South Korea's population in the

666
00:36:37,680 --> 00:36:44,320
same size, in the same amount of
space is roughly 51.1 million in

667
00:36:44,320 --> 00:36:47,440
2026.
That's basically 7,000,000

668
00:36:47,440 --> 00:36:50,920
versus 51 million.
South Korea's population is over

669
00:36:50,920 --> 00:36:55,040
7 times as big as Indiana's and
it's on the same tiny little

670
00:36:55,040 --> 00:36:57,680
plot of land, which tells me
that South Korea has definitely

671
00:36:57,680 --> 00:37:00,640
run out of room for traditional
burials for their burial mound

672
00:37:00,640 --> 00:37:02,640
burials.
So let's go back to that Jeongju

673
00:37:02,640 --> 00:37:04,240
news article that I mentioned
earlier.

674
00:37:04,240 --> 00:37:07,240
Here we go.
According to geomancy, a blessed

675
00:37:07,240 --> 00:37:10,320
site for burial is required to
guarantee good fortune and

676
00:37:10,320 --> 00:37:12,400
happiness for the offspring of
the deceased.

677
00:37:12,720 --> 00:37:15,160
But such sites have now been
exhausted.

678
00:37:16,000 --> 00:37:18,680
It's presently even difficult to
find an ordinary spot for a

679
00:37:18,680 --> 00:37:21,920
grave site.
This shortage of burial grounds

680
00:37:21,920 --> 00:37:24,600
has forced the government and
social organizations to look

681
00:37:24,600 --> 00:37:29,320
towards another mode of burial.
Cremation statistics show that

682
00:37:29,320 --> 00:37:34,280
the cremation ratio, which is
fun to say cremation ratio, the

683
00:37:34,280 --> 00:37:38,120
crematio, you might say, is
increasing annually.

684
00:37:38,320 --> 00:37:43,960
It was 13.7% in 1980 and 82.7%
in 2016.

685
00:37:43,960 --> 00:37:46,000
So it's got to be like in the
90s now.

686
00:37:46,160 --> 00:37:48,880
Cremated remains are generally
traded in one of three ways in

687
00:37:48,880 --> 00:37:53,960
Korea, stored in a columbarium,
which we'll get to, and turred

688
00:37:53,960 --> 00:37:56,600
in a tree burial or buried in a
natural burial.

689
00:37:56,600 --> 00:37:59,640
And I'm going to tell you right
now the the tree burial and the

690
00:37:59,640 --> 00:38:02,240
natural barrier burial are
basically the exact same thing,

691
00:38:02,240 --> 00:38:05,240
except one involves a tree and
one involves like flowering

692
00:38:05,240 --> 00:38:06,960
shrubbery.
That's the quote.

693
00:38:07,080 --> 00:38:09,000
So now we're going to look at a
Columbia, OH, wait.

694
00:38:09,160 --> 00:38:11,800
But the interesting thing about
the tree burial and the natural

695
00:38:11,800 --> 00:38:16,360
burial is that they put the
remains in an unbaked clay pot.

696
00:38:16,360 --> 00:38:19,680
It can't be baked because that
way when you're burying it under

697
00:38:19,680 --> 00:38:23,520
the tree or under the flowering
shrubbery, everything dissolves

698
00:38:23,520 --> 00:38:26,080
into the earth and so then the
plants can have access to the

699
00:38:26,080 --> 00:38:30,160
ashes within.
OK so now a columbarium is a

700
00:38:30,160 --> 00:38:33,800
word I had never heard of, but
it is apparently apparently a

701
00:38:33,800 --> 00:38:36,400
repository where cremated
remains are stored.

702
00:38:36,960 --> 00:38:40,040
The remains are placed in a
small ceramic or wooden pot that

703
00:38:40,040 --> 00:38:43,800
is stored in a niche within a
structure of multi tiered

704
00:38:43,800 --> 00:38:47,400
compartments so that one
building may contain thousands

705
00:38:47,400 --> 00:38:50,840
of pots, thus making huge burial
grounds unnecessary.

706
00:38:51,400 --> 00:38:54,600
It's crazy because that's
actually the exact opposite of

707
00:38:54,600 --> 00:38:57,480
what burial mounds were to
ancient Korea.

708
00:38:57,520 --> 00:39:03,280
First of all, subterranean.
Secondly, a beautiful hill is

709
00:39:03,280 --> 00:39:06,760
put on top.
Beautiful sloping hill, very

710
00:39:06,760 --> 00:39:09,720
beautiful to look at.
You got to make sure it's like

711
00:39:10,000 --> 00:39:14,760
next to the right kind of trees
and water and that the sun is

712
00:39:14,880 --> 00:39:18,120
doing the right stuff, you know,
to look, there's a lot that goes

713
00:39:18,120 --> 00:39:21,440
into this and it's like a really
beautiful location that gets

714
00:39:21,440 --> 00:39:23,520
picked.
And now this is basically just

715
00:39:23,520 --> 00:39:29,040
like an apartment complex, a
depressing apartment complex for

716
00:39:29,040 --> 00:39:33,040
urns, effectively, which is kind
of depressing, right?

717
00:39:33,320 --> 00:39:37,400
Like, like, right, isn't it a
little depressing, but it's

718
00:39:37,400 --> 00:39:41,000
convenient.
And, you know, modern humans, we

719
00:39:41,000 --> 00:39:43,840
go nuts for convenience.
OK, we're almost done.

720
00:39:43,960 --> 00:39:47,400
But is the rest of the episode
anything about Korean culture?

721
00:39:47,880 --> 00:39:51,200
No, Whoops.
Because I went down this crazy

722
00:39:51,200 --> 00:39:52,720
rabbit hole.
Here we go.

723
00:39:52,960 --> 00:39:55,640
Have you ever heard of flameless
cremation?

724
00:39:56,280 --> 00:40:00,480
Or perhaps water cremation,
aquamation, or biocremation?

725
00:40:00,480 --> 00:40:02,680
They're all the same thing I
think.

726
00:40:02,720 --> 00:40:05,640
Actually, though having read
about it and it's horrifying.

727
00:40:05,840 --> 00:40:09,200
I think it should be called
Instant Potmation.

728
00:40:09,240 --> 00:40:12,640
From Wikipedia.
The process is based on alkaline

729
00:40:12,640 --> 00:40:14,800
hydrolysis.
The body is placed in a pressure

730
00:40:14,800 --> 00:40:17,840
vessel which is then filled with
a mixture of water and potassium

731
00:40:17,840 --> 00:40:23,200
hydroxide and heated to a
temperature of around 320°F at

732
00:40:23,200 --> 00:40:25,600
an elevated pressure which
precludes boiling.

733
00:40:25,600 --> 00:40:27,800
I don't know why that's
relevant, but it seems like it

734
00:40:27,800 --> 00:40:30,320
is.
The body is efficiently broken

735
00:40:30,320 --> 00:40:33,120
down into its chemical
components, completely

736
00:40:33,120 --> 00:40:36,200
disintegrating its DNA, a
process which takes

737
00:40:36,200 --> 00:40:39,760
approximately 4 to 6 hours.
Oh, is that all now?

738
00:40:39,760 --> 00:40:46,400
Potassium hydroxide is Lye Lye.
And yes, this appears to

739
00:40:46,400 --> 00:40:51,280
basically be saponification AKA
soap making.

740
00:40:52,040 --> 00:40:55,320
Soap making?
Someone called Tyler Durden.

741
00:40:56,360 --> 00:41:00,520
OK, I'm not calling this water
cremation or, or flameless

742
00:41:00,800 --> 00:41:05,960
cremation.
That's no, no water cremation

743
00:41:05,960 --> 00:41:09,320
sounds gentle.
This is the opposite of gentle.

744
00:41:09,840 --> 00:41:12,760
OK, so it's either instant
potification, no instant

745
00:41:12,760 --> 00:41:17,600
potmation or, hear me out, human
soap Mason.

746
00:41:18,160 --> 00:41:21,360
Maybe we just say soap Mason.
Maybe I'm being a little

747
00:41:21,360 --> 00:41:23,720
dramatic.
Maybe they don't use it to make

748
00:41:23,720 --> 00:41:26,680
soap, but how would we know?
How would we know?

749
00:41:26,680 --> 00:41:28,880
Of course they would tell us.
They're not using it to mix up.

750
00:41:28,880 --> 00:41:32,080
OK, Wikipedia continues.
The result of flameless

751
00:41:32,080 --> 00:41:36,440
cremation is a quantity of
green, brown tinted liquid.

752
00:41:36,440 --> 00:41:38,120
That's you.
That's your body.

753
00:41:38,120 --> 00:41:40,400
That's not my body.
I'm not going to be doing this.

754
00:41:40,960 --> 00:41:43,040
That's you.
The result of flameless

755
00:41:43,040 --> 00:41:47,480
cremation is a quantity of green
brown tinted liquid containing

756
00:41:47,480 --> 00:41:51,680
amino acids, peptides, sugars
and salts and soft porous white

757
00:41:51,680 --> 00:41:56,120
bone remains.
Ah yes, that are easily crushed

758
00:41:56,120 --> 00:41:58,560
in the hand.
Although a cremulator is more

759
00:41:58,560 --> 00:42:01,440
commonly used.
Cremulator sounds like a

760
00:42:01,440 --> 00:42:05,200
completely made-up word.
Anyway, this the ash quote UN

761
00:42:05,200 --> 00:42:06,360
quote because, you know, there's
no fire.

762
00:42:06,680 --> 00:42:10,240
So the ash of the bones can then
be returned to the next of kin

763
00:42:10,520 --> 00:42:12,200
of the deceased and then the
liquid.

764
00:42:12,200 --> 00:42:14,040
If you're curious, what are they
doing with that liquid?

765
00:42:14,320 --> 00:42:16,680
Oh, and then what are they doing
with that liquid?

766
00:42:16,880 --> 00:42:19,280
Are they making soap?
Here's what they claim.

767
00:42:19,320 --> 00:42:24,400
Allegedly the liquid is disposed
of either through the sanitary

768
00:42:24,400 --> 00:42:30,840
sewer system, which I think is
just like the toilet.

769
00:42:31,440 --> 00:42:33,760
I'm not saying they're dumping
him into the toilet, I'm just

770
00:42:33,760 --> 00:42:35,880
saying I feel like, isn't that
the same thing?

771
00:42:35,920 --> 00:42:37,120
Hold on.
OK, Google.

772
00:42:37,280 --> 00:42:39,440
What is the sanitary sewer
system?

773
00:42:40,000 --> 00:42:42,680
I found this on the Oh, girl,
you're so loud.

774
00:42:43,560 --> 00:42:45,600
OK, I just checked.
Yeah, it's just the normal sewer

775
00:42:45,600 --> 00:42:48,080
system.
Or they dispose of it through

776
00:42:48,080 --> 00:42:50,200
some other method.
Vague.

777
00:42:50,360 --> 00:42:54,080
Interestingly vague.
Including use in a garden or

778
00:42:54,080 --> 00:42:58,480
green space or soap.
That was the last part was me

779
00:42:58,480 --> 00:43:01,280
that was not in Wikipedia, but I
don't think that's too far of a

780
00:43:01,280 --> 00:43:03,880
stretch.
But while I've got you down this

781
00:43:03,880 --> 00:43:07,680
horrifying rabbit hole, I have
to mention this little factoid

782
00:43:07,680 --> 00:43:10,960
that I found since it deals with
a fellow Madam and also

783
00:43:11,320 --> 00:43:14,640
saponification.
Saponification which is again

784
00:43:14,800 --> 00:43:19,120
the creation of soap using Lye
and a fat saponification can

785
00:43:19,120 --> 00:43:24,160
occur in oil paintings over time
what causing visible damage and

786
00:43:24,320 --> 00:43:27,320
deformation.
Oil paints are composed of

787
00:43:27,320 --> 00:43:30,920
pigment molecules suspended in
an oil binding medium.

788
00:43:31,360 --> 00:43:35,360
Heavy metal salts are often used
as pigment molecules, such as in

789
00:43:35,360 --> 00:43:38,520
lead white, red lead, and zinc
white.

790
00:43:38,800 --> 00:43:42,520
I was going to make a yellow
lead better joke but I actually

791
00:43:42,800 --> 00:43:45,840
hate that song.
If I never had to hear that song

792
00:43:45,840 --> 00:43:48,680
again, Oh my God, I would be so
happy.

793
00:43:49,200 --> 00:43:53,040
But if those heavy salts react
with free fatty acids in the

794
00:43:53,040 --> 00:43:57,240
oil, medium metal soaps may form
in a paint layer that can then

795
00:43:57,240 --> 00:44:00,040
migrate outward to the
painting's surface.

796
00:44:00,280 --> 00:44:02,600
So it's like when it says
migrate to that, it just means

797
00:44:02,600 --> 00:44:04,680
like come to the top right of
the paint.

798
00:44:05,120 --> 00:44:09,000
So it's like escaping the paint
in John Singer Sargent's famous

799
00:44:09,320 --> 00:44:14,560
portrait of Madam X, who I am
clearly related to.

800
00:44:15,400 --> 00:44:19,920
It's a beautiful portrait of
this beautiful woman in this

801
00:44:20,200 --> 00:44:23,160
beautiful black dress.
Anyway, in John Singer Sargent's

802
00:44:23,160 --> 00:44:26,520
famous portrait of Madam X, for
example, the lumps only appear

803
00:44:26,520 --> 00:44:29,880
on the blackest areas, which may
be because of the artists use of

804
00:44:29,880 --> 00:44:33,000
more medium in those areas to
compensate for the tendency of

805
00:44:33,000 --> 00:44:35,360
black pigments to soak it up.
Isn't that interesting?

806
00:44:35,360 --> 00:44:39,040
Oil paints?
Oil paintings can accidentally

807
00:44:39,040 --> 00:44:42,320
create soap on their surface.
What now?

808
00:44:42,320 --> 00:44:44,640
I don't know how I got so far
away from the Korean burial

809
00:44:44,640 --> 00:44:48,000
methods that we started this
episode with, but I'm also not.

810
00:44:48,000 --> 00:44:52,600
Surprised, but what do you?
Think were there ghosts haunting

811
00:44:52,600 --> 00:44:55,200
those burial mounds?
Were those footsteps that

812
00:44:55,200 --> 00:45:00,320
Anonymous heard a sign of spirit
activity or were some of the

813
00:45:00,320 --> 00:45:04,480
Marines pranking other Marines?
Do we think the GPS actually

814
00:45:04,480 --> 00:45:06,920
glitched or do we think it was
electromagnetic?

815
00:45:07,120 --> 00:45:09,480
Something something?
Also, while I'm asking you

816
00:45:09,480 --> 00:45:12,880
questions, do you think South
Korea will switch to flameless

817
00:45:12,880 --> 00:45:14,840
cremation and start making human
soap?

818
00:45:15,240 --> 00:45:21,200
And one final question, do you?
Yes, you do.

819
00:45:21,200 --> 00:45:25,000
You have a true strange story
that you'd like to hear read on

820
00:45:25,000 --> 00:45:27,680
the show.
I'm going to need you to e-mail

821
00:45:27,680 --> 00:45:28,760
that to me.
I'm going to need you to stop

822
00:45:28,760 --> 00:45:33,160
what you're doing right now.
Immediately type it up, Type E,

823
00:45:33,160 --> 00:45:36,360
type E, type E, type up your
story and e-mail it to

824
00:45:37,800 --> 00:45:42,960
madamstrangeways@gmail.com.
And I can't wait to read it

825
00:45:54,650 --> 00:45:57,210
remember.
That you can feel afraid and not

826
00:45:57,210 --> 00:46:00,210
be in danger.
You're safe here with me.

827
00:46:01,600 --> 00:46:05,000
Probably thank you for.
Joining me for more true strange

828
00:46:05,000 --> 00:46:08,720
stories of the unexplained.
I'm running A1 Madam Show here,

829
00:46:08,720 --> 00:46:12,160
so please do me a strange solid
and follow the podcast.

830
00:46:12,240 --> 00:46:16,040
Leave me a rating on Apple or
Spotify, and maybe even join the

831
00:46:16,040 --> 00:46:20,560
Patreon at patreon.com/madam
Strange Ways for bonus content.

832
00:46:20,680 --> 00:46:23,520
Madam Strange Ways is produced
and narrated by me.

833
00:46:23,520 --> 00:46:26,560
Madam Strange Ways theme music
is by

834
00:46:26,560 --> 00:46:31,760
marina.ryan@marinamakes.co.
Cover art is by Andrea Chisel

835
00:46:31,760 --> 00:46:34,560
Roldan at Cult of Teddy on
Instagram.

836
00:46:35,360 --> 00:46:37,360
Every.
Strange Story is shared with the

837
00:46:37,360 --> 00:46:41,160
permission of the author.
You can submit your own true

838
00:46:41,160 --> 00:46:44,560
Strange Story to
madamstrangeways@gmail.com.

839
00:46:45,120 --> 00:46:48,600
See you soon, she said
ominously.

840
00:47:06,850 --> 00:47:09,170
Down click.