Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum

Several friends run a popular horror web series and decide to broadcast a night tour of Gonjiam asylum. Their plan is simple: capture atmosphere, provoke reactions, ride fear for clicks. Led by Ha-jun and his crew Ji-hyun Ah-yeon, they push into the decaying complex, setting up cameras as the building breathes with creaks and shadows. As the hours pass, equipment malfunctions and odd noises escalate into something personal, forcing the crew to confront not only legends but their own limits. What begins as a routine scare gradually reveals a troubling truth about the place and how fear travels online. The ensemble performances keep the pace tense and the focus on character dynamics. The team hopes the night ends with answers.

Released in 2018 and directed by Jung Bum-shik, Gonjiam draws on a concept by Park Sang-min. The film blends found footage style with a horror web series premise, offering a tight, claustrophobic Korean fright.

The movie grossed about $21,041,950 worldwide, signaling solid reception beyond domestic borders and underscoring the appeal of tense, single location horror in modern Korean cinema.

Its use of a live stream format and a haunted asylum setting resonated with audiences, contributing to a wave of Korean horror that blends digital culture with traditional scares. The film helped popularize found-footage tropes in local genre cinema and inspired discussions about online ethics in dangerous stunts.

Critics praised the film for its taut pacing and performances by Wi Ha-jun, Park Ji-hyun, and Oh Ah-yeon, though some noted predictable setups. Thematically it probes the voyeuristic lure of live streaming, fear contagion, and the cost of chasing online fame.