Overview of Does South Korea Have a New Serial Killer? (Jeju Island Murders) - H3 After Dark #96
This episode’s main story was a deep dive into a wave of deaths and disappearances on Jeju Island, a major tourist destination off the coast of South Korea. The hosts explored why social media is speculating about a serial killer, but the more grounded explanation may be a mix of police incompetence, misfiled missing-person reports, and South Korea’s broader issues around suicide and institutional distrust. The rest of the show was classic After Dark chaos: jokes, viral clips, weird internet finds, and recurring bits about the show’s own crew.
Jeju Island Deaths: What Happened
The basic timeline
- Four bodies were found within a few days of one another on Jeju Island.
- The cases were all tied to people who had previously been reported missing.
- A separate 20-year-old man was later found dead after going fishing, but that case appeared unrelated.
The main case: Jang Mi-ran
- Jang Mi-ran, 37, vanished on May 12 after leaving her lodging.
- Her body was found 104 days later at a palm farm in Jeju.
- She was found with personal items still on her body, including accessories and a phone.
- Police noted possible signs of asphyxiation/strangulation, but decomposition made certainty difficult.
- Her family disputed the idea that she would have taken her own life there, though her boyfriend said she had been struggling with depression.
The other bodies
- A man in his 60s who had been missing for 51 days.
- A man in his 70s found in coastal waters.
- Another man in his 60s found in a valley.
- The hosts emphasized that the details for these victims are still murky and that the deaths may not all be connected.
The Police Officer at the Center of the Case
Why Officer Boo became a target of suspicion
- A Jeju police officer named Boo was assigned to missing-person cases.
- Families accused him of being involved after he:
- Closed Jang Mi-ran’s case 2.5 hours after she was reported missing.
- Entered false information into the system.
- Deleted relevant records from the missing-person profile list.
- Logged her as dead in a traffic accident before properly investigating.
His explanation
- Boo claimed he was overloaded with work and treated the case casually because most missing adults are eventually found.
- He said he closed the case early to avoid more paperwork and pressure from the handoff.
Why this matters
- South Korean police are already under scrutiny, and this case intensified distrust.
- The government had recently shifted more investigative power to police, which made the apparent mishandling even more alarming.
- Authorities reportedly began re-examining other cases Boo had handled, and investigators had already found additional prematurely closed and falsified records.
Main Takeaways
- The episode leans toward police negligence/incompetence as the most likely explanation, not a confirmed serial-killer case.
- That said, the combination of:
- multiple dead bodies,
- missing-person cases,
- public fear,
- and an officer falsifying records made the situation look extremely suspicious.
- The hosts noted that Jeju Island’s reputation as a tourist paradise is now being shadowed by paranoia and online speculation.
Other Topics and Bits
Recurring show-business / internet topics
- Schedule updates for a future episode with Hutch to discuss elections and online activism.
- Discussion of a Smosh controversy involving a comedian saying a slur on a podcast.
- A whole tangent about how different lesbian dating content feels on podcasts and TV compared with mainstream U.S. dating shows.
Viral clip / internet-gag segment
- A long run of clips from QVC / home shopping channels, including:
- a wig demo where the host accidentally says it looks like the model got a blowjob at the salon,
- a tricycle demo gone wrong,
- a falling ladder demo,
- a TV-shattering demo,
- and a few other live-broadcast mishaps.
- The hosts loved how these shows stay live, take phone calls, and regularly spiral into absurdity.
Other random highlights
- A weird clip of a streamer turning her chest movement into a game controller.
- A funny Gravitron video featuring someone standing unnaturally still while the ride spins.
- Several jokes about body types, “man boobs,” and the hosts’ own internet algorithms.
- A bizarre tangent into my little pony jar fandom and other deeply online content.
- A funny line about a kid saying they were stopping Terraria videos for four days because “everything has gone to shit.”
Final Thought
The Jeju Island segment was the core of the episode: a grim, unresolved set of disappearances and deaths made worse by apparent police misconduct. But the show’s tone stayed very After Dark—mixing true-crime speculation with jokes, viral clips, and the kind of chaotic side conversations that make the episode feel like a full hangout rather than a strict news breakdown.