Tradition: Korean Mythology
Alternative Names: Song Gaksi, Cheonyeo Gwisin, Cheonyeogwisin, Cheonyeo gwisin (처녀귀신), Malmyeong, Cheonyeo, Song Gaksi (송각시), Song Gaksi Ghost
Category: Ghost
The Myth
Song Gaksi, also known as Cheonyeo Gwisin, is one of the most famous ghosts in Korean folklore. She is the spirit of a young woman who died before marriage, often after being abandoned by her lover or suffering the grief of an unfulfilled romance. In some accounts, she takes her own life after being rejected. The name Cheonyeo Gwisin literally means “virgin ghost,” reflecting the belief that a woman who dies unmarried may become a restless spirit burdened by the life and marriage she never experienced. Song Gaksi is a type of wongwi, a Korean vengeful spirit associated with resentment and an untimely or unjust death.
Song Gaksi is commonly depicted as a young woman with long, disheveled black hair, dressed in a white traditional Korean funeral garment. Her face is pale, with dark circles beneath her eyes and bloody streaks running from the corners of her mouth. Some depictions show traces of blood or present her as an almost indistinguishable human figure. She is often associated with abandoned buildings, hospitals, schools, bathhouses, cemeteries, and dark roads or forests. According to tradition, she may appear during the darkest hours of the night, from midnight until dawn, and is believed to bring illness or misfortune. Her presence may be accompanied by a sudden change in temperature or wind direction, and she can appear in dreams as well as in waking life.
Stories of Song Gaksi appear in Korean folklore, including tales associated with the historical figures Sin Rip and Aran. In one account, Sin Rip saves a young woman from ghosts near the Munyeong-jae mountain pass. She asks to accompany him, but he refuses, and she takes her own life shortly before his eyes. Later, when Sin Rip faces danger during a military campaign, her ghost appears to him in a dream and advises him to go to Thangmyondae. He follows her advice but is ultimately killed. Another tale tells of a newly appointed mayor of Miryang who dies at the hands of a ghost on his first night in office. When the ghost appears to a brave new official, it explains its grievance, allowing the official to identify and punish the criminal responsible. In this story, revealing the truth behind the ghost’s suffering brings peace to her soul.
Sources
“Son Gaksi.” New Bestiary (Bestiary.us). https://www.bestiary.us/son-gaksi