Andong Dam. Gyeongbuk Province website

The Mummified Body in Andong Dam, Conspiracy Theories, and the Shadow of Human Psychology

Table of Contents

1. The Mummified Body in Andong Dam, Conspiracy Theories, and the Shadow of Human Psychology

2. The 10th Anniversary of the Sewol Ferry Disaster: When Memory Transforms from a Right to Power

3. The Institutionalization of May 18th Memorials: Is State-Defined Truth True Truth?

In mid-May 2025, a body was discovered at a depth of 30 meters in the muddy bottom of the Andong Dam in Gyeongbuk Province. DNA identification confirmed it was Mr. A, the vice-principal of Y Middle School in Andong, who went missing near the dam in August 2010. The body was mummified, with parts of the head and limbs missing. Based on the National Forensic Service's findings, the police concluded the case, stating, "There are no indications of foul play."

However, the case did not end there. A former rescue team leader who participated in the recovery operation testified to hearing auditory hallucinations, saying, "Hey, take me with you." Some media outlets quoted this statement directly, and on social media, superstitious interpretations such as "the deceased themselves guided the discovery" spread instantaneously. YouTube channels linked this body to political events, claiming, "The truth that the administration had been hiding has been revealed."

One narrative, in particular, has become strongly entrenched online: the connection to former US Ambassador-at-Large for Global Criminal Justice, Morse Tan. Some online communities and YouTube content claimed that this body was discovered after Morse Tan mentioned human rights abuses and hidden truths in South Korea.

However, the facts are the opposite. Mr. A's body was recovered on May 15th, Morse Tan attended a press conference for the KCPAC International Election Monitoring Group on May 27th, and his substantive remarks regarding election irregularities began after his arrival in Korea on July 15th. Despite this, an inverted causal narrative of "Morse Tan's remarks → body discovery" was disseminated online as if it were fact.

This is a prime example of cognitive bias, specifically illusory correlation, as described in forensic psychology. Illusory correlation is a human psychological phenomenon where two unrelated events, when occurring close in time, are mistakenly perceived as cause and effect. This error often occurs when the sequence between the body's discovery and Tan's remarks is confused, or when people attempt to create a cognitively meaningful link.

Forensically, this case is evaluated as a typical example of mummification. The 30-meter depth of Andong Dam maintains a water temperature of around 6 degrees Celsius year-round and is covered by a thick layer of anaerobic mud. This environment inhibits decomposition and promotes the solidification of fatty tissues into a wax-like substance, leading to mummification. The body can remain submerged for extended periods without gas formation or buoyancy, exhibiting a pattern where the torso is preserved while limbs are lost.

The phenomenon of scientifically explainable deaths being overlaid with superstitious imagination and conspiracy theories is not uncommon. Experts explain that such reactions also stem from humanity's desire for interpretation. Death is silent and offers no explanation. People want to fill that void with stories. Sometimes religion, sometimes politics, and sometimes YouTube algorithms provide these narratives.

The problem is that these stories become a means of obscuring the truth. While "auditory hallucinations" can be a subjective experience of the rescuer, reporting them as the cause of the body's recovery is contrary to fact. The framing that connects Morse Tan's remarks and the body's discovery by altering their temporal sequence is closer to a product of the desire for emotional connection than to fact-based criticism or allegations. The suffering of the bereaved family is disregarded, and death is consumed once again.

What the mummified body speaks is silence. Yet, people have built illusions, suspicions, and beliefs upon that silence. Thus, the death of a human has become content for YouTube, a tool for online communities, and fodder for political disputes. Death is no longer consumed as a "quiet departure" but as a "signal to be interpreted."

We are currently living in an era where death is read through emotion rather than science, and judged by imagination rather than evidence. The deceased's time is filled with the language of conspiracy theorists, and the family's silence is drowned out by the clamor for clicks. This is all the more dangerous because it is packaged in the name of truth.

Speaking about death may be the responsibility of the media. However, being vigilant against the desire to interpret death must also be the media's last conscience.

Now, we are left with one question to face:

What is death? And to what extent do we have the right to speak of that death?

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