The April 16 episode of SBS's "Tails of Tales" spotlighted “The People Who Seek Gold,” following treasure hunters chasing the legend of Yamashita's Gold.
In June 2018, in Gongju, South Chungcheong Province, a group commissioned a risky dig, claiming 2,400 tons of gold―worth an estimated 600 trillion won―were buried underground. The target: Yamashita's Gold.
According to the tale, during the war, the emperor ordered priceless treasures seized and shipped to Japan, with General Yamashita overseeing the operation.
The story goes that he seized over 6,000 tons of gold. As it was being moved by ship, Japan’s defeat led to the stash being hidden deep in Korean soil―what people now call Yamashita's Gold.
Because digs on state-owned land allow discoverers to keep a 60% stake if gold is found, so-called treasure hunters jumped into the search.
Their chosen “El Dorado” in Korea: Busan.
One hunter, Mr. Shin, said his father―who he claimed once worked as Yamashita’s interpreter―told him Yamashita's Gold was buried in Busan, which sent him on the quest.
Meanwhile, Park Su-woong, a former barber to President Park Chung-hee, said he accidentally obtained a treasure map pointing to Munhyeon-dong in Nam District, Busan.
He claimed that during the Japanese occupation, the Imperial Japanese Army built a torpedo base there with an internal torpedo factory, where they allegedly buried 450 tons of gold bars, 36 gold Buddha statues, and Chinese coins.
Park said he personally tracked down the local land register for Munhyeon-dong and argued it proved his case: the Government-General of Korea purchased the land one month before Japan’s surrender.
He poured his entire fortune into excavation. But after more than a decade of digging, he never found the gold.
Another participant, Mr. Jeong, said he’d signed a secret agreement on the dig with Richard, described as a key U.S. security figure and former CIA. He recruited investors with the promise of profit-sharing if they struck gold.
In year two, Jeong claimed they’d found a passage leading to the torpedo factory. He said he discovered numerous sandbags in waterlogged tunnels and insisted they were filled with gold bars.
As proof, he pointed to bags allegedly stamped in Chinese characters with Itochu, a Japanese trading company established in 1858 that procured military supplies―evidence, he argued, that the bags dated to the occupation era.
But the bags actually held salt and piles of stones. And instead of Chinese characters, one bag was marked in Korean with the name “Oh Seong-sik.”
It turned out those stones were ones Park had dug up earlier and reburied. The large underground void wasn’t a torpedo factory at all―it was a tunnel Park had excavated during his dig.
Months before those bags were found, a detailed survey led the American contact to conclude there was no treasure; he even signed a waiver to withdraw. Jeong knew this but kept it from investors and pushed ahead.
Jeong was eventually convicted of fraud and sentenced to three years in prison. Investors lost hundreds of millions of won.
Even after, Jeong spread conspiracy theories and rumors, insisting gold was buried in Munhyeon-dong. He said he’d secured approval from the Ministry of National Defense and raised more funds for another dig―but again, no gold was found.
In the end, no one found Yamashita's Gold. It remained an urban legend.
Park Su-woong devoted his life to the hunt, holding onto his belief in the gold until the end―an outcome that left viewers with a heavy heart.
Letting go is hard when discovering that something you believed in for so long may never have existed. It can feel like your entire life is being denied.
The episode’s final message: the real treasure isn’t gold bars―it’s the precious things and people by your side. And it’s on you to make them your treasure. Happiness isn’t far away; it’s right here, close to home.
(SBS Entertainment News | Kim Hyo-jung)
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