Joseon butterflies and legends: the ghost of Arang

Yeongnamu in the early 20th century / Robert Neff Collection

The legend of Arang is one of the most famous ghost stories in Korea. It is a tale of one-sided love, betrayal, greed. murder and, of course, a butterfly and a ghost.

During the reign of King Myeongjong (1545-67), the magistrate of Miryang, in today's South Gyeongsang, Province, was a widower surnamed Yun who was originally from Seoul and was accompanied by his beautiful 16-year-old daughter. Her name was Dongok, but was often called Arang by her father and the rest of the household. Arang was everything her father could have wished for – she was beautiful, had a warm personality and very intelligent and moral. Everyone doted upon her – including her nanny, who had raised her since her mother’s death.

However, not all who viewed her with appreciative eyes were good. A junior officer or clerk named Baek-ga was infatuated with Arang and determined to have her. He persuaded the nanny – with a large sum of money – to help arrange a clandestine encounter between him and the girl.

One night, when the moon was very bright, the nanny suggested to Arang that they go to a Yeongnamnu, a pavilion, to gaze down upon the beautiful landscape bathed in the light of the moon. The young girl readily agreed.

The pavilion was surrounded by a dense forest of bamboo but Arang was not worried as she was accompanied by her trusted nanny. As she walked up the dark path she sang quietly to herself, relishing the beauty of the night. Suddenly, she was startled when Baek-ga suddenly emerged from the darkness. His eyes twinkled and he smiled at her. She recognized him as being one of her father’s subordinates and then relaxed. However, when he proclaimed his love for her she firmly rejected it, causing his smile to fade and transform into a rabid sneer. Madness reigned in his eyes. Arang turned desperately to her nanny for help but her trusted servant was gone – having quietly left the scene so as not to be a witness of the evil that was to befall her young charge.

Rejected madness compelled Baek-ga to pull the knife from his belt and threaten the girl with violence unless she complied with his demands. He then tried to cut away her clothing so that he could strip her of her chastity, but Arang fought back. Frustrated by her determined resistance, he severely slashed her with his blade, cutting large chunks of flesh from her body before he eventually strangled her and then slit her throat. He hid her corpse deep in the bamboo forest and returned to his office where he quickly washed away the evidence of his crime.

The magistrate soon learned his daughter was missing and sent out search parties in an effort to find her. They all failed. Then scandalous rumors began to circulate – perhaps started by the nanny or Baek-ga – suggesting Arang had fallen in love with an unnamed man and eloped. Not only had the young girl been robbed of life, her reputation had been sullied by two of the people who claimed to love her.

The magistrate, ashamed of the reputed acts of his daughter, resigned his position and moved to Seoul. A new magistrate was appointed, but he was soon found dead in his chambers. Following his death, another magistrate was appointed and he, too, died shortly after assuming his post. He was followed by another and then another and each met a similar fate. None of the men bore any injuries so their causes of death went officially unexplained, but unofficially all knew their deaths were related to Arang’s disappearance.

The Korean court in Seoul soon found itself in a difficult position – no one wanted to be appointed the magistrate of Miryang. Although none of the variations of this tale mention it, it is easy to imagine a little Machiavellian politics might have been used – nominate a rival for the position and if he refuses is removed from court (and possibly his head is also removed) and if he accepts, he loses his life.

There was one man who readily accepted the magistracy – a scholar named Lee Sang-sa. Perhaps he saw it as a stepping stone to a higher position and felt emboldened by his disbelief in the supernatural or maybe he was just brave and determined to solve the mystery, but when he arrived in Miryang, the general population was so convinced that he would be dead by morning that they immediately began preparing for his funeral.

There is some question of where Lee slept that night. Some variations claim he slept in the magistrate’s quarters while another claims it was at Yeongnamnu. I have elected to use the latter location.

Lee chose to spend his first night not at his residence (where the previous magistrates had all died), but in a room in one of the buildings near Yeongnamnu. He was convinced that the answer to the mystery was to be found either in the pavilion or the bamboo forest around it.

As darkness began to fall, he made his room as bright as day with a myriad of candles and seated himself carefully in the center with an old book as his companion. Time passed slowly. It was in the early hours – just after the third watch when the night is the darkest – that a cold breeze began to blow from the bamboo forest. As the minutes passed, the breeze began to blow harder until it became a powerful wind and with it came the sound of a woman weeping bitterly. Suddenly, the door was flung open by the wind which subsequently extinguished all the candles and plunged the room into a deep darkness.

In the doorway appeared the ghastly image of a girl, her clothes torn and disheveled, several knife wounds disfiguring her body, and in her hand was a piece of bloody cloth. She advanced upon the magistrate but he held his ground and demanded an explanation.

She informed him that she was the missing Arang and had come to inform of the injustices she had suffered. She further explained that the earlier magistrates had all perished from fright when she had approached them. She had meant them no harm but they were too weak to help her exact vengeance on her murderer – an official who still held a position in the magistracy. When Lee asked for the murderer’s name, she was unable to provide it, but she told him she would reveal his identity the following morning when the magistracy’s staff were all assembled. Pointing to the bloody cloth in her hand, she said that it would transform into a white butterfly (some variations claim it was yellow moth) and land on her murderer’s head. She stared at Lee for a long time, almost daring him to fail, and then slowly faded.

The following morning, the magistracy’s officials were surprised to find Lee still alive. Lee ordered the staff to report to him one by one. Seated in his chair and holding a small piece of bloody white cloth, he greeted them with a warm smile but piercing eyes. When Baek-ga presented himself Lee was astonished when the piece of cloth transformed into a small white butterfly and then landed upon the official’s head. Arang’s ghost had spoken the truth!

Baek-ga was immediately seized and interrogated. He eventually confessed (undoubtedly aided with a fair amount of torture) the details of his crime and was then subsequently executed, along with the nanny.

Arang’s mutilated corpse was soon discovered. Some versions claim it was in the bamboo forest near Yeongnamu, but one account gives an even scarier account: Arang was found in Yeongnamu’s large courtyard, her body impervious to the passage of time and the elements, and appeared to be unnaturally asleep; only the deep slash across her neck and the sticky blood surrounding the wound belied the peacefulness of the scene.

It is said that Arang’s father was notified of the discovery of his daughter’s corpse and quickly returned to Miryang so that she could be buried. The journey from Seoul to Miryang would have taken a fair amount of time, even in the best of weather, and so I think the other versions of the tale in which she was buried immediately are more believable. From that time on, Arang’s ghost no longer appeared as her vengeance was fulfilled and her chaste reputation returned.

Arang is still honored in an annual festival that occurs on the 16th day of the fourth month (lunar) – for those who are interested, the next one will be on May 23, 2024. And, if you should happen to see a white butterfly that morning, you will have to decide whether it is a good or bad omen.

Robert Neff has authored and co-authored several books, including Letters from Joseon, Korea Through Western Eyes and Brief Encounters.