'Salmokji: Whispering Water' builds on urban legends to weave tale of creeping dread

Soo-in, played by Kim Hye-yoon, heads to the Salmokji reservoir with her team for a road view reshoot and encounters mysterious events there in the horror film “Salmokji: Whispering Water.” [SHOWBOX]

 
A cursed reservoir, a distorted road view image, and a film crew pulled into an unfolding mystery. 
 
These elements set the stage for “Salmokji: Whispering Water,” a Korean horror debut that favors creeping dread over sudden shocks, ahead of its Wednesday release.
 

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The film follows a street view documentation team that travels to Salmokji. a secluded reservoir, after a strange, human-like figure appears in road footage, sparking complaints from local residents. 
 
As producer Su-in, played by Kim Hye-yoon, and her crew arrive to reshoot the footage, they learn that a senior colleague, Gyo-sik, played by Kim Jun-han, had previously visited the site but has since taken leave and gone incommunicado.
 
When filming begins, Gyo-sik suddenly reappears — but something about him feels off.
 

Salmokji, a reservoir in Yesan County, South Chungcheong, was the inspiration behind horror film “Salmokji: Whispering Water.” The image is a screen grab from the movie. [SHOWBOX]

 
Located in Yesan County, South Chungcheong, Salmokji has built a reputation among paranormal enthusiasts as a haunted site. The film draws on local urban legends, placing it in the lineage of director Jung Bum-shik's “Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum” (2018), though it trades that film’s enclosed setting for the exposed, disorienting openness of water.
 
Director Lee Sang-min, 30, makes his feature debut after focusing on horror in short works, including “Hamjinabi” (2023). 
 
“While planning a horror film set around water, I came across the Salmokji legend and began writing the script in earnest," he said to reporters at a cafe in central Seoul on March 26.
 
He added that the concept stood out because “the combination of a water ghost and navigation voice guidance created a form of everyday horror that felt particularly frightening.”
 

Lee Sang-min, director of “Salmokji: Whispering Water″ [SHOWBOX]

 
During location scouting, Lee described the reservoir as a liminal space. “Trees growing out of the water looked eerie, and fog drifted toward the surface as if it were pulling people in,” he said. “I imagined Salmokji as a threshold between life and death and searched for similar locations for filming.”
 
The narrative centers on characters who knowingly approach danger, driven by personal motives such as revenge, guilt and desire. 
 
“I focused on portraying how the water ghost lures people in, and from the characters’ perspective, how their beliefs and judgment collapse as they step into the water,” Lee said.
 
To build tension, the film incorporates tools commonly used by paranormal content creators, including navigation systems, 360-degree cameras, motion detectors and ghost boxes. A stone tower by the reservoir serves as a recurring visual motif, marking a boundary between life and death.
 

Screen grab from horror film “Salmokji: Whispering Water″ [SHOWBOX]

Screen grab from horror film “Salmokji: Whispering Water″ [SHOWBOX]

 
Lee also drew on shamanistic practices for added texture. 
 
“When I consulted shaman Go Chun-ja, who advised on ‘Exhuma’ [2024], she said stacking stone towers near water can attract spirits because of negative energy,” he said. “Details like a rice bowl pierced with a knife placed on the stone tower, straw ropes and the neotgeori, a ritual to guide drowned souls, all draw on shamanistic practices.”
 
Among the standout sequences is a nighttime scene involving skipping stones. What begins as a casual moment escalates into sustained tension as the sound of stones skimming the surface lingers before abruptly cutting to silence — only for something to return. 
 
“I wanted to push the tension to its limit with a level of stillness that almost stops your breath,” Lee said.
 

Screen grab from horror film “Salmokji: Whispering Water″ [SHOWBOX]

 
The shoot itself produced its share of eerie moments. 
 
“It was a place where phone signals were so weak you couldn’t make calls, but we heard a dialing tone near a speaker,” he said. “Some staff members also said they saw a child ghost near the stone tower.”
 
Lee said his goal was to leave audiences unmoored. 
 
“We live in an era where trust and belief have eroded, and perhaps the greatest fear is not knowing who is a ghost or a monster, or where the truth lies,” he said. “I want audiences to feel the same confusion as the characters trapped in Salmokji. I plan to continue making horror films grounded in reality.”


This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY JUNG HYUN-MOK [kim.juyeon2@joongang.co.kr]