KJCKorea
Journal Central

This study analyzes the manifestation of horror mysteries as they appeared in TV reenactment programs in the late 1990s in South Korea. It aims to identify the specific traits of horror mysteries embraced by the public at the time, and to examine how the anxieties of 1990s Korean society were reflected in popular culture. The 1990s was a period dominated by a fin-de-siècle sensibility, anticipating the new millennium. Within this atmosphere, ‘mystery’ rather than ‘detective fiction’, appeared frequently in popular culture, often combined with ‘horror’, creating a unique cultural phenomenon. This trend was particularly evident in reenactment programs, a subgenre of reality TV, which solidified the format of the ‘horror mystery’. Prime examples include MBC <Into the Story> and SBS <Saturday Mystery Theater>. These horror mysteries centered on individuals’ everyday experiences, highlighting ‘extraordinary encounters’ or ‘unforgettable experiences’. The two programs, while dealing with supernatural phenomena and entities, avoided the traditional horror narrative structure that sought to reveal the truth of the event or provide a moral lesson. Instead, they emphasized authenticity through techniques such as reenactments, interviews, and on-site investigations, maximizing viewers’ emotional immersion with amplified grotesqueness. This reveals a distinctive cultural approach in 1990s Korean society for handling irrational and inexplicable phenomena, while simultaneously demonstrating how subjective experiences and emotions could be signified and circulated within an increasingly individualized society.

1990s, horror mystery, horror story, <into the story>, reenactment programs, <saturday mystery theater>, urban legend