<CHAPTER 6>
“Found it. A shining object!”
This time, instead of the bright white light like the vase, a golden radiance was emanating from within.
A completely different color from that eerie black glow.
‘Now the problem is figuring out how to get there.’
No suitable method came to mind.
He had replayed the YouTube video countless times, but couldn’t find a decisive clue.
The YouTuber had likely edited the footage intentionally to avoid revealing the location.
As with all abandoned house exploration content, even derelict buildings were still someone’s private property.
Just because the owner wasn’t managing it didn’t mean anyone could enter.
Trespassing was a criminal offense under home invasion laws, and abandoned houses were no exception.
Thus, among abandoned house YouTubers, not disclosing locations was an unspoken rule.
So far, the only clue he had was a single line spoken at the beginning of the video.
‘We’ll be exploring an abandoned house in the Yeongju, Gyeongsangbuk-do area.’
He replayed the video.
This time at 0.25x speed.
From the scene where the YouTuber exited the car, he examined every frame.
The edges of the screen, the blurry background, anything that flashed past—he scrutinized each one.
‘Found it!’
At 3 minutes and 42 seconds.
The scene where the YouTuber drove toward the location in a rental car.
In the left corner of the screen, something had flashed past in the car’s headlight beam.
He hit pause.
It was obscured by trees, but a blue sign was visible.
Unfortunately, the text was blurred and processed, making it difficult to read. But he had a way.
The Photoshop skills he’d picked up during his corporate life would prove useful now.
He opened Photoshop, captured the blurry video frame, and used adjustment tools to manipulate the brightness and contrast, then applied correction work.
As he did, the entire captured image gained dimensionality, and the outlines of the previously indistinguishable characters began to emerge distinctly.
Finally, he applied a filter to sharpen the image’s pixels.
‘Please, come on!’
As he watched intently, the blurry letters finally became clear enough to identify.
The regrettable part was that the first character was too damaged to make out its form at all.
But the two characters that followed could be read accurately.
‘-am-ri’
He searched for place names ending in ‘-am-ri’ in Yeongju City.
Bongam-ri, Seokam-ri, Unam-ri, Songam-ri…
There wasn’t just one or two.
If he expanded the search to include nearby Bonghwa-gun and Yecheon-gun, there were dozens of locations.
‘Keep looking!’
He continued playing the video.
Then.
At 7 minutes and 15 seconds.
The scene where the YouTuber illuminated the abandoned house’s living room interior.
The flashlight beam swept across wallpaper that looked ready to peel off at any moment.
Then, something stuck to the wall caught his eye.
He paused and captured it.
Checked it again in Photoshop.
It was a calendar.
There was writing at the bottom. ‘Nonghyup Bongam Branch.’
It matched the ‘-am-ri’ he’d seen on the sign earlier.
Jackpot.
He immediately opened Naver Maps and searched for ‘Bongam-ri, Yeongju City.’
Bongam-ri, Munsoo-myeon, Yeongju City.
There were five villages within Bongam-ri alone.
‘Should I go search for it in person?’
But then a method came to mind.
Street View.
He recalled the features of the abandoned house from the video.
A hanok with old roof tiles.
A large tree in the yard.
Since the YouTuber had driven right up to the abandoned house.
That meant a paved road ran in front of it.
The Street View vehicle had likely passed down that road too.
He opened Street View starting from the first village in Bongam-ri.
The first village had no hanok at all.
Passing the second, in the third village there was one tile-roofed house, but it was a clean residence with people living in it.
He moved to the fourth village.
Following the road on the village outskirts, he examined carefully.
A hanok standing alone amid the fields and paddies.
A roof black with moss.
A large tree in the yard.
The main gate had fallen off, and through the gap, the yard was overgrown with weeds.
He adjusted the angle to check the building’s front.
The daecheongmaru floor structure, the curved eaves at the skirt ends, the cracks in the mud walls—all matched the abandoned house from the video.
‘Finally found it.’
He opened his smartphone’s memo app and wrote down the address.
The video had been uploaded five months ago.
His heart grew urgent.
The object might be gone, or the building might have been completely demolished. Before he knew it, dawn was breaking.
Without sleeping, he opened an app, rented a car, and headed toward Yeongju, Gyeongsangbuk-do.
The navigation announced his arrival at the destination.
Habong Village, Bongam-ri.
The exact scenery he’d seen in Street View unfolded before him.
He wanted to go straight to the abandoned house, but he couldn’t.
No matter how neglected, it was someone else’s land.
If he entered recklessly and got reported, it would be troublesome.
Before searching for the village office, he stopped somewhere else.
A large supermarket in Yeongju City—he bought several fruit gift sets, yakgwa, and sikhye. Going empty-handed to visit rural elders was impolite.
He headed to the village office.
Even this early in the morning, several elders were already gathered. As they say, mornings come early in the countryside. They were sitting on the flat platform, sharing conversation.
“Hello.”
When he greeted them, their gazes focused on him all at once, and the conversation cut off abruptly.
“Who’s that?”
“Whose grandson is he?”
One elder narrowed his eyes and looked Si-woo up and down.
“That bright-looking fellow, is he Sangbong’s grandson from up there?” “No. Sangbong’s grandson went to the army, I heard.”
“Then is he Gangjun’s grandson?” “Gangjun’s grandson has a round face. This young man is handsome and refined.”
“Ah, I’m not from this village. I came from Seoul. I have something to ask.”
He set down the gift sets and bags he was holding.
“What’s this?”
“It’s nothing much. I brought them for you elders to enjoy.”
His respectful attitude and gifts.
The elders’ expressions visibly softened.
“Oh my, why did you buy such things?”
“I just felt awkward coming empty-handed. Is the village head here?”
“That person sitting there is the village head.”
One elder pointed with his chin toward someone sitting at the end of the platform.
The village head appeared to be in his mid-seventies.
“I’m the village head. What brings you here?”
“Hello. There’s an empty house on the outskirts of the village. A hanok with a tile roof and a large tree in the yard.”
The village head’s expression shifted subtly.
“That house? Why are you looking for that house?”
“Ah, well, I passed by and saw it. Even though it’s old, it still looked dignified and impressive. I wanted to take a look inside. Please speak comfortably.”
His heart pricked with guilt at the lie.
He could hardly say he’d come after watching an abandoned house YouTube video.
The village head examined Si-woo for a moment.
“That house is extremely old. I heard it’s over a hundred years. They say it was there even when my father was young.”
“A hundred years?”
“It was repaired several times, but originally it was this village’s wealthiest household. A large house with ten rooms and a separate kitchen building.”
Another elder interjected. “That’s the house old man Kim lived in, the independence fighter family, the independence fighter family.”
“An independence fighter?”
“Yes, they say old man Kim’s grandfather did independence work, went all the way to Manchuria and back.”
The village head nodded.
“So that family had hard times for a while. Their property was all confiscated during the Japanese occupation, and I heard they only managed to recover after liberation.”
“That’s right, that’s right. That gentleman had a good heart too.”
Stories of the past circulated among the elders.
“Why is it empty now?”
The village head sighed.
“The owner, Myeong-gam, passed away about ten years ago. The children all left for the city, and even when they put it up for sale, no one wanted to buy a countryside hanok like this, so they just left it and it became an abandoned house.”
“Occasionally some strange fellows sneak in and take photos and such.”
Another elder spoke with a displeased expression.
“These days there are those types who upload videos to that YouTube thing. Sometimes they come at night with flashlights, wandering around, making noise.”
Si-woo felt an involuntary prick in his conscience. He had come after watching that very video.
“Would it be possible to get permission from the owner to look inside?”
The village head regarded him with suspicious eyes.
“What do you want to do inside?”
“I want to see what an old hanok looks like, take some photos. There’s a painful beauty in such old buildings, isn’t there?”
He couldn’t speak honestly. If he said he’d come to find a shining object, he’d be treated like a strange person.
“Permission to enter? My, there are all sorts of unusual people among young folks these days.” One elder chuckled.
“Indeed, just sneak in, there’s nothing there to take anyway.”
“Wait, let me ask and tell you.”
The village head took out his mobile phone.
“The youngest son of old man Kim who passed ten years ago.”
The call connected.
“Yeongsu, it’s Uncle the village head. Yes. Nothing serious, a young person came from Seoul wanting permission to see your house. Yes? No. Not a strange person. A polite young man.”
There was a brief exchange.
The village head handed the phone to him.
“Speak directly.”
He took the phone.
“Hello. I’m sorry to contact you so suddenly this morning.”
—Ah. Yes. I heard from the village head. I don’t mind you entering, but that house is so old it might be dangerous.
“I’ll be careful. I’ll just look around briefly and come out.”
—Alright. It’s an empty house anyway. But be careful, the floorboards are quite rotted.
“Yes. Thank you so much.”
He ended the call and returned the phone to the village head.
“Yes, go carefully and come back.”
He stood up and bowed.
Returning to his car, he started the engine.
He drove toward the abandoned house.
It was exactly the house he’d seen in Street View.
The roof tiles easily covered with moss, the large tree in the yard, the half-collapsed outbuilding, the main gate completely gone. He parked by the roadside and got out.
The smell of grass and earth brushed his nose.
It was silent.
Apart from birdsong, no sound could be heard.
He entered the yard. Weeds grew knee-high.
There were no signs of anyone having maintained it.
The daecheongmaru floor was visible.
Indeed, parts were rotted here and there, looking as if the floor might give way at any moment.
He stepped carefully.
A creaking sound rang out.
The interior was exactly as he’d seen in the video.
Torn wallpaper, dust-covered floors. Old furniture piled in corners.
And—
‘Found it.’
A golden light was shining from atop the wardrobe.
Exactly the same position as in the video.
His heart began to beat faster.
He climbed onto the folding chair he’d brought in advance.
Reached out his hand.
But nothing was there to grasp.
Looking carefully at the light, it wasn’t above the wardrobe at all.
It was seeping out from inside the ceiling.
He fumbled about, touching the ceiling. Then something caught against his hand.
‘Is this it?’
He pushed upward with the palm of his hand.
With a creaking sound, the wooden ceiling panel opened. Dust poured down and he squeezed his eyes shut. In that moment, something fell.
Something was visible at his feet.
A bundle wrapped carefully in hanji paper.
Old but in good condition.
Perhaps because it was wrapped in multiple layers of hanji paper, it had been preserved without moisture damage or insect damage.
He carefully untied the bound string.
Various things were inside.
What caught his eye first was the Taegeukgi.
It seemed to be handmade.
The fabric had yellowed with age, and the needlework was uneven.
But the Taegeuk symbol was clear.
Beneath it was something like an old ledger.
The cover was damaged, making the writing difficult to read.
He opened it.
Strange unknown symbols were visible.
What is this?
At that moment, a window appeared before his eyes.
[Appraisal Complete]
[A ledger recorded using a cipher system employed by independence fighters to evade Japanese surveillance]
[If deciphered, lists of military fund donors and amounts, as well as fund usage, are expected to be confirmed]
[At the time, independence movement funds were raised through donations from compatriots at home and abroad, and if discovered, both donors and their families could be arrested and tortured, thus they were strictly encrypted and managed.]
[Existing military fund ledgers are extremely rare, as most were confiscated by the Japanese or burned to destroy evidence.]
[If the cipher is broken, previously unknown identities of independence fighters may be revealed]
[Estimated Value: Priceless]
“Good heavens!”
Si-woo had never imagined such a thing would be here.
What was astonishing was that this wasn’t all.
Beneath the ledger were several letters.
Writing mixing Hanmun and Hangul.
Brush-written calligraphy.
His eyes stopped at one point.
The name written at the end of the letter.
‘Yi Yuksa’
Ding.
【Appraisal Complete】
[Yi Yuksa handwritten letter and unpublished poem]
[Yi Yuksa (李陸史, 1904-1944). Birth name Yi Won-rok. An independence fighter and poet from Andong, Gyeongsangbuk-do.]
[Derived his pen name ‘Yuksa’ (六四, “Six-Four”) from his prisoner number 264 at Daegu Penitentiary]
[Devoted himself to the independence movement while traveling to and from China, arrested in 1943 and martyred at a Beijing prison in 1944.]
[Only about 40 of his poems are known to exist today; the discovery of unpublished works holds major significance for Korean literary history.]
[His handwritten letters are almost nonexistent among extant materials, making the discovery itself extremely rare.]
[Estimated Value: Priceless]
He read the letter’s contents.
“…These days I write poems at night. I hope to read them with you, teacher, on the day freedom comes to this land. I enclose several pieces; may they be a companion in your loneliness.”
Below that, a poem was written.
His heart trembled.
Carefully rewrapping it in hanji paper, he took out the next letter.
This time, it was in different handwriting.
Stronger, bolder characters.
【Appraisal Complete】
[Kim Gu (金九, 1876-1949). Pen name Baekbeom (白凡, “Ordinary White”).]
[President of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea, the central figure of the independence movement who became a national leader.]
[Organized the Korean Patriotic Corps and directed the heroic deeds of Lee Bong-chang and Yun Bong-gil.]
[His book ‘Baekbeom Ilji’ (Journal of Baekbeom) is evaluated as a precious record of modern Korean history.]
[Worked for the establishment of a unified government after liberation, but was assassinated at Gyeonggyojang in 1949.]
[His handwritten letters exist in extremely limited quantities.]
[Most documents were lost during the Provisional Government’s relocation or confiscated by the Japanese.]
[This letter is a thank-you note for military fund support, a precious historical material proving communication between the Provisional Government and domestic independence fighters.]
[Can serve as important material for researching the Provisional Government’s financial situation and the flow of independence movement funds.]
[Estimated Value: Minimum 100 million won]
Si-woo read through the letter’s contents.
“…I have safely received the funds you sent. I cannot express how grateful I am for your intentions in these difficult times. The Provisional Government will use this money to keep the flame of independence alive.”
“…They say the darker the night, the closer the dawn. Please endure together until the day of our country’s liberation. Wishing you good health, and let us meet again on the soil of a free homeland. Kim Gu”
Finally, he took out what had been lying at the bottom.
Several old black-and-white photographs.
Multiple people standing together.
All with determined expressions.
There was writing on the back.
‘1932, Shanghai Provisional Government,’
