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Hampyeong County Doe, alternatively known as the Dolmeori Beach Doe, was a teenager whose remains were found on Dolmeori beach alongside the remains of an adult woman and an infant. It is suspected their remains were dug up from a grave and used for shamanistic purposes.
Case[]
On the evening of the 22nd of April, 2012, a tourist taking photos atop a flat rock at the Dolmeori Beach in Hampyeong County, South Korea, spotted a white object on the shore of the beach. When the tourist went to investigate, he discovered the skeletal remains of a woman and two children around the low-traffic area near Gaetbawi Rock. Immediately, the Mokpo Maritime Police were dispatched and began investigating the scene, finding more remains belonging to the three decedents and bags thought to have been carrying their remains. An analysis of the bones by the National Forensic Service would discover that the decedents had been deceased for at least 20 to 30 years and previously buried elsewhere. No identification was able to be made with the remains and the service was unable to establish if the decedents were related to each other.
During an investigation into how the remains came to be left at Dolmeori Beach, nearby villagers described seeing a shaman perform a burial at Gaetbawi near the beach. Furthermore, the area was noted to frequently hold shamanistic religious ceremonies. The investigation would escalate to scouring nearby CCTV footage and searching the mountains around the area, though detectives began to note how the case was similar to an incident that occurred in 2010 known as the "Muan Tomb Iron Stake Incident".
The 2010 Muan Tomb Iron Stake Incident[]
In February of 2010, the head of the Daesa village in Muan County would find four, then thirteen stakes driven into his father's grave over a short period of time. In the neighboring Seonsan village, the head of the village was also finding iron stakes driven into the graves of his father and the graves of male family members of living adult men in the village. A police investigation would then follow, with investigators finding about 350 iron stakes driven into 20 tombs in the area. Due to the popularity of the Feng Shui geomancy system in the area, many residents were disturbed, as the method enacted on the tombs was believed to take away luck from the living families and drive them to anger.
A further investigation of the village and management of residents accusing each other of the act would produce no suspects but led detectives to suspect that the perpetrator was likely superstitious or was mentally disturbed. Due to the popularity of shamanistic rituals near Daesan and the coast nearby, it was concluded that the perpetrator was likely a shaman. In addition, the popularity of shamanism in the area made detectives in the Dolmeori Beach case conclude that a shaman had left the remains in the area, though it is not believed that both incidents were caused by the same shaman.
According to authorities, the case will likely be quickly resolved once they are able to identify the woman and the two children.
Sources[]
- NBN News Agency (Korean) POSTMORTEM WARNING
- Sisa News Journal (Korean)