South Korea News Uncovers Evidence Of Country's Dark Past Through Morbid Discovery

by E. K. Encina / May 17, 2017 10:59 AM EDT
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Recent South Korea news reveals evidence of an ancient dark practice that was thought to have only existed in fairytales or rumors. Folklore that tells sinister and dark stories are often passed on to instill fear to children, to discourage them from misbehaving.

However, South Korea news about these folklore are surfacing and it seems that some of these fairytales aren't mere stories after all but actual fact. According to ST, the discovery of two human remains buried under the walls of a castle proves to be an instance of the dark ritual known as a human sacrifice.

The centuries-old skeletal remains were discovered under the royal palace compound called Wolseong palace, otherwise known as Moon Castle. The South Korea news source described the archaeological evidence as confirmation that the folklore is true.

The folklore being referred to is the one regarding the practice of human sacrifice as an act to please the gods. Kings practiced this morbid ritual in hopes that the gods would grant their structures longevity.

According to Archaeology, a spokeswoman for the National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage at the historical Gyeongju city explained the historical relevance of the discovery. "This is the first archaeological evidence that folklore about humans being sacrificed for the foundations of buildings, dams, and walls were true stories.", spokeswoman Choi Moon-Jung added.

Furthermore, this South Korea news also revealed another reason behind the macabre practice. Human sacrifice was also done to ensure that the servants would continue serving their king even in the afterlife. Senior researcher Park Yoon Jung revealed that there were no signs of resistance coming from the recently discovered buried victims.

This indicates that the victims could be willful participants in the sacrifice, such as the scenario where servants give their lives to their king. Another theory would be that the victims were either unconscious during the burial or that they might have already been dead before the ritual started. Regardless, researchers will continue to run DNA tests and further examine the characteristics of the unearthed human remains.

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