Janghwa Hongryeon jeon

Janghwa Hongryeon jeon, meaning “The Story of Janghwa and Hongryeon,” is a folktale from Korea’s Joseon period. It tells of two sisters who suffer at the hands of a cruel stepmother, are killed, and later return as ghosts to clear their names.

A man named Muryong had a wife who dreamed an angel gave her a beautiful flower. Ten months later, she gave birth to a daughter they named Janghwa (“Rose Flower”). Two years after that, another daughter arrived, named Hongryeon (“Red Lotus”). When Hongryeon was five, their mother died. Their father soon remarried to continue his family line. The new stepmother was ugly and vicious. She hid her hatred for the girls until she bore three sons in a row, which gave her power. Then she abused the sisters in every way possible, but Janghwa and Hongryeon never told their father.

When Janghwa came of age and became engaged, their father told his second wife to help plan a wedding. The stepmother grew furious, unwilling to spend “her family’s money” or “her sons’ future fortune” on Janghwa. She devised a dirty scheme. One night, while Janghwa slept, the stepmother herself placed a dead, skinned rat in Janghwa’s bed. Early the next morning, she brought Father to the room, claiming she’d had a bad dream about her stepdaughter. When she pulled back the covers, what looked like a bloody miscarriage shocked everyone. The stepmother accused Janghwa of unchaste behavior—of having a child out of wedlock. Father believed her. Janghwa, not knowing what to do, fled to a small pond in the nearby woods. The stepmother ordered her eldest son to follow and push her in. As Janghwa drowned, the son returned home, and the stepmother got what she wanted—Janghwa’s death. She turned her anger on Hongryeon, abusing her more than ever. Unable to bear the loss of her sister and the mistreatment, Hongryeon soon followed Janghwa; her body was found in the same pond. After that, whenever a new mayor came to the village, he was found dead a day after arriving. Strange rumors spread, but no one knew why.

A brave young man became the next mayor. Aware of his predecessors’ fates, he was unafraid. That night, as he sat in his room, his candle blew out and gruesome noises filled the air. The door opened, revealing no one at first, then two young female ghosts.