Korean “Red Mask” school rumor

Record summary

Late twentieth-century Korean school folklore included stories of a masked or disfigured woman appearing to children, sometimes framed as a dangerous stranger or ghost. The “Red Mask” label is associated with variants circulating before and alongside later Korean urban-legend compilations. It offers a comparison with Japan’s Kuchisake-onna while raising questions about cross-border motif migration and local adaptation. The exact first publication, wording, and regional spread are uncertain, so this lead should be pursued through Korean-language folklore and newspaper databases rather than unsourced online lists.