horror story: the red parasol at Jumunjin Beach that comes back every year

okay I was NOT going to post this but here we are.

September 2023. I rented an Airbnb near Jumunjin Beach in Gangneung to get away from Seoul for a bit. Off-season, so the beach was basically empty. Just wind. Just waves. Super peaceful.

I was out walking and taking photos when I spotted it. At the far end of the beach. A red parasol. Still open, fully set up. Which was weird because ALL the other beach umbrellas had been taken down for the season, and the management office confirmed they hadn't installed anything.

And underneath it. Someone was sitting there.

Dark sunglasses. Long hair. White dress. Completely still.

I started walking toward it and I felt it immediately. This cold. Not like wind cold, just. cold. I called out to say hi and got nothing back. Zero reaction. She didn't even move.

Then this middle-aged guy who was passing by GRABBED MY SHOULDER out of nowhere and went:

"Don't. Don't go near that. That parasol only shows up this time every year."

He was dead serious. He told me a woman went missing a few years back. Last place she was seen? Right there, under that parasol. Story goes a wave came and swept her under. They never found her body.

And ever since, same time every year, that parasol shows up. Beach management collects it. Next morning it's back.

I was like okay sure buddy and left.

But that night from my Airbnb window I could see the beach and I looked out and. the parasol was still there. Still lit up in the dark. And someone was still sitting under it.

I did not sleep.

Next morning I went back out. Parasol was gone. But something was left in the sand where it had been.

A single wet strand of hair. And a piece of white fabric, soaked through.

I checked out immediately. Same day.

Later I wrote about it on my blog and someone commented:

"She was there the year before too. And the year before that. Every year, same spot. Like she's waiting for someone."