Memento Mori (film)
A horror film about a taboo romance and its haunting aftermath.
Memento Mori (Korean: 여고괴담 두번째 이야기: 메멘토 모리; lit. 'Second Ghost Story in a Girls' High: Memento Mori') is a 1999 South Korean horror film and the second part of the Whispering Corridors series. It follows 1998's Whispering Corridors and is again set in an all-girls high school, but the two movies are not connected otherwise. The film was among the first commercial Korean movies to show lesbian characters, but widespread social attitudes in Korea limited how much it could be seen, especially because the controversial subject matter was aimed at teenage audiences.
The story centers on two high school students, Yoo Shi-eun (Lee Young-jin) and Min Hyo-shin (Park Ye-jin). When they start a romantic relationship, their taboo bond leads other students to push them aside. Unable to handle the social pressure of having a same-sex partner, Shi-eun tries to pull away from Hyo-shin, who becomes increasingly dependent. Hyo-shin sees this as betrayal and rejection, and she kills herself by jumping from the school roof. The film strongly hints that she was pregnant at the time, with the father being literature teacher Mr. Goh—Hyo-shin had told Shi-eun she slept with him.
The plot unfolds out of order, often through the eyes of fellow student Soh Min-ah (Kim Min-sun). Min-ah becomes more and more involved with Shi-eun and Hyo-shin after finding a diary the two girls kept together. The diary gives her disturbing glimpses into their relationship and drags her into a strange series of events at the school. After Hyo-shin dies, supernatural events begin to terrorize the students who condemned the relationship. It later becomes clear that Hyo-shin's spirit is haunting the school through the diary she left behind.
The cast includes Park Ye-jin as Min Hyo-shin, Kim Min-sun as Seo Min-ah, Lee Young-jin as Yoo Shi-eun, Baek Jong-hak as Mr. Goh, Han Min, Kim Jae-in as Yeon-an, Gong Hyo-jin as Ji-won, Oh Min-ae as Nurse, Lee Hye-mi, and Lim Seong-eon.
Memento Mori came out in South Korea on December 24, 1999. In the Philippines, it was released on January 14, 2004. In 2025, South Korean film director Kim Se-in chose the movie for the section 'Our Little History, Please Take Care of Our Future!' at the 30th Busan International Film Festival, noting it as a work that deeply influenced her own creative path.
Quick Facts
- Director
- Kim Tae-yong · Min Kyu-dong
- Producer
- Lee Chun-yeon
- Starring
- Park Ye-jin / Kim Min-sun / Lee Young-jin / Gong Hyo-jin
- Music
- Jo Seong-woo
- Cinematography
- Kim Yun-su
- Editing
- Kim Sang-bum
- Distributor
- Cinema Service
- Released
- 24 December 1999
- Runtime
- 98 minutes
- Country
- South Korea
- Language
- Korean
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The film revolves around the relationship between two high school students, Yoo Shi-eun (Lee Young-jin) and Min Hyo-shin (Park Ye-jin). As the two girls become romantically involved, their taboo relationship causes them to be marginalized by other students. Unable to cope with the social pressures, Shi-eun tries to distance herself from the increasingly dependent Hyo-shin, who reacts poorly, viewing it as betrayal and rejection. Hyo-shin commits suicide by jumping off the school roof; it is heavily implied she was pregnant at the time, the father being literature teacher Mr. Goh (Baek Jong-hak).
The plot unfolds in a nonlinear fashion, often from the perspective of fellow student Soh Min-ah (Kim Min-sun). Min-ah becomes invested in Shi-eun and Hyo-shin after finding a diary kept between the two alienated girls. The diary provides disturbing insights into their relationship and pulls her into a strange chain of events. After Hyo-shin's death, supernatural occurrences terrorize students who condemned the relationship, and it is revealed that Hyo-shin's spirit is malevolently haunting the school through remnants left in the diary.
Reader's Guide
Memento Mori holds significance as one of the first Korean commercial films to depict lesbian characters, yet its impact was limited by prevailing Korean attitudes, especially given its targeting of a teen audience. The film uses horror elements—such as telepathy and possession—to create distance between the audience's reality and the fantasy, according to Kim Pil Ho and C. Colin Singer. Andrew Grossman and Jooran Lee described the queer characters as heroes centered in the story, with ghostly terror directed at homophobic characters, contrasting with other movies that depicted queer people as inherently ghostly. Choi Jinhee noted that the context of highly interdependent, exclusive female friendships in South Korea's gender-segregated school system makes the jump from homosocial to queer relationships plausible to audiences. However, Kim and Singer argued this may soften LGBT themes by framing such relationships as a 'rite of passage.' In 2025, the film was selected by director Kim Se-in for the 'Our Little History, Please Take Care of Our Future!' section at the 30th Busan International Film Festival, recognized as a work that profoundly influenced her creative journey.
Did You Know?
- The film was released in South Korea on December 24, 1999.
- It is the second installment of the Whispering Corridors film series.
- The film's nonlinear plot is often told from the perspective of student Soh Min-ah.
- In 2025, it was selected by director Kim Se-in for the Busan International Film Festival.
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