True Crime

In May 2000, in South Korea, a young man from what appeared to be an ordinary, middle-class family murdered both of his parents. He was 23, enrolled at one of the country’s top universities, and had never shown signs of violence.As investigators dug deeper, the case shifted from a question of how the crime happened to why. What emerged was a childhood shaped by crushing expectations, constant comparison, and years of physical and emotional abuse.This episode examines the Lee Eun-seok case, the story of a son who was never enough, and the moment he reached his breaking point.Related article: https://www.koreaherald.com/article/10662969CreditsReporting & writing: Yoon Min-sikEditing: Lee Sun-young, Devin WhitingHosts & guests: Devin Whiting, Yoon Min-sikProducer: Song Seung-hyunAudio editing: Noh Seong-minArtwork: Yu Soo-in

For nearly 20 years, one detail defined two notorious murder cases in Seoul’s Sinjeong-dong — a sticker of a cute bunny character called Mashimaro.It shaped public memory, media narratives and online speculation.But police now say it was the wrong clue.This episode reexamines what really happened in Sinjeong-dong in 2005, and how public attention blurred unrelated crimes, a truth only uncovered after the real killer was finally identified in November 2025.Related article: https://www.koreaherald.com/article/10649282CreditsReporting & writing: Song Seung-hyunEditing: Lee Sun-young, Devin WhitingHosts & guests: Devin Whiting, Yoon Min-sikProducer: Song Seung-hyunAudio editing: Noh Seong-minArtwork: Yu Soo-in

In South Korea, one of the most closely watched societies in the world, almost every murder is solved.Almost.Fifteen years ago, in a secure high-rise outside Seoul, a murderer walked away unseen.This episode revisits the 2010 killing of an elderly woman in her spacious 14th-floor apartment home, a case that even pervasive surveillance failed to solve.Related article: https://www.koreaherald.com/article/10638262CreditsReporting & Writing: No Kyung-minEditing: Lee Sun-young, Devin WhitingHosts & Guests: Devin Whiting, Yoon Min-sikProducer: Song Seung-hyunAudio Editing: Noh Seong-minArtwork: Yoo Doo-ho, Yu Soo-in

In the early summer of 2019, a husband joined his wife and several of her friends on a trip to a valley in Gapyeong, South Korea. What should have been a carefree getaway turned deadly when the husband drowned.In this episode, we explore the Gapyeong valley murder case that shocked South Korea in 2020. A story of blind love, a toxic relationship and psychological manipulation by Lee Eun-hae, a woman whose young and delicate appearance concealed her shocking true colors.Related article: https://www.koreaherald.com/article/10620507CreditsReporting & Writing: Yoon Min-sikEditing: Lee Sun-young, Devin WhitingHosts & Guests: Devin Whiting, Yoon Min-sikRecording: Song Seung-hyunAudio Editing: Noh Seong-minArtwork: Yu Soo-in

An abandoned quarry.A man, nailed to a cross.Around Easter 2011, a grotesque death shocked South Korea.Could this be the act of an eccentric cult?As investigators dug deeper into the haunting case, the story unfolded in unexpected ways — the man seems to have meticulously planned his own crucifixion.Related article: https://www.koreaherald.com/article/10598860CreditsReporting, writing: Yoon Min-sikEditing: Lee Sun-young, Kevin SelzerHosts and guests: Devin Whiting, Yoon Min-sikProducer: Song Seung-hyunAudio editing: Noh Seong-minArtwork: Yu Soo-in, Yu Doo-ho

Why do some killers become household names, while others fade into obscurity — despite committing crimes just as horrifying?In this episode, we uncover the chilling story of Kim Dae-doo, South Korea’s first known serial killer. Unlike the infamous figures immortalized in films and crime blogs, Kim’s name barely registers today, even though he brutally murdered 17 people, including a 3-month-old baby, in a span of just under two months.Related article: https://www.koreaherald.com/article/10586936CreditsReporting & Writing: No Kyung-minEditing: Lee Sun-young, Devin WhitingHosts & Guests: Devin Whiting, Yoon Min-sikProducer: Song Seung-hyunAudio Editing: Noh Seong-minArtwork: Yu Doo-ho, Yu Soo-in

On a chilly Wednesday evening in November 2003, 14-year-old Eom Hyun-ah set out on a familiar shortcut home through the quiet outskirts of a village in South Korea. It was a dark, rarely traveled path, but one she had walked many times before. This time, she never returned. What began as a routine walk quickly turned into a haunting mystery that would grip the nation and leave a family desperate for answers.In this episode, we delve into the 2003 kidnapping and murder of Eom Hyun-ah in a village in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province.Related article: https://www.koreaherald.com/article/10567916CreditsReporting & Writing: No Kyung-minEditing: Lee Sun-young, Devin Whiting, Paul KerryHosts & Guests: Devin Whiting, Yoon Min-sikProducer: Song Seung-hyunAudio Editing: Noh Seong-minArtwork: Yu Soo-in

In the early 1990s, five young boys set out on a forest excursion and never came home. Their sudden disappearance sent shockwaves across South Korea. Their faces became impossible to avoid, plastered everywhere from milk cartons to detergent boxes.It was a story that no Korean who lived through that era could escape.In this episode of True Crime, we take you back to March 1991, when five boys mysteriously disappeared at the same time in a small, rural village in South Korea.Related article: https://www.koreaherald.com/article/10553458CreditsReporting, writing: Song Seung-hyunEditing: Lee Sun-young, Devin WhitingHosts and guests: Devin Whiting, Yoon Min-sikAudio editing: Song Seung-hyunArtwork: Yu Soo-in

Have you ever imagined what it would be like to glimpse someone’s final moments, before life slips away? It’s a disturbing thought, but death makes headlines.In 1982, a South Korean photographer was consumed by the desire to witness and capture death. He believed death could be art — a provocative, forbidden form that would make his name known worldwide.Related article: https://www.koreaherald.com/article/10534712CreditsReporting, writing: Song Seung-hyunEditing: Lee Sun-young, Devin WhitingHosts and guests: Devin Whiting, Yoon Min-sikAudio editing: Song Seung-hyunArtwork: Yu Soo-in