[KoreaUrbanLegend] The Ghost and the 17 Consecutive Wins of Ssangbangwool
The Ghost and the 17 Consecutive Wins of Ssangbangwool
In the summer of 1996, Jeonju was a city that witnessed an unbelievable transformation in the world of Korean baseball. Ssangbangwool Raiders, a team long known for its struggles, suddenly found themselves at the top of their game. The team's rise began with the appointment of manager Kim Sung-keun, along with the full support of their parent company. However, even the most passionate fans could never have predicted what was about to unfold in the city's beloved stadium—Jeonju General Sports Complex.
It all began with a mysterious presence in Jeonju’s most prestigious hotel: the Coa Hotel.
The Ghost of Coa Hotel
Coa Hotel, once the tallest and most luxurious building in Jeonju, was where all visiting teams stayed when they played at the Jeonju ballpark. However, strange rumors had begun to spread in the early '90s. In 1992, two OB Bears players, Kim Hyung-seok and Kim Sang-ho, reported seeing a strange woman sitting silently on a bed in one of the hotel rooms. Though many dismissed it as a drunken hallucination, the rumors began to grow.
In 1994, a new report emerged: OB Bears player Park Hyun-young claimed he woke up in the night to find a man in a black suit standing right next to his bed. Terrified, he fled to a nearby room, and the shaking of his bed seemed to confirm something supernatural. The incident only fueled the rumors that Coa Hotel was haunted.
And then, it happened.
The 17-Game Streak and the Ghost’s Influence
In August 1996, the modern-day nightmare for every baseball team playing in Jeonju began. The ghostly presence in the Coa Hotel, it seemed, had something to do with Ssangbangwool's rise. On August 14, the team began their legendary streak with a doubleheader win over Hyundai Unicorns. Their success was uncanny—every game, every opponent, no matter how formidable, fell to them. Hyundai, who had stayed in the Coa Hotel, was swept by Ssangbangwool in a three-game series. The ghost, some claimed, was helping the team.
The eerie connection between Ssangbangwool’s 17-game winning streak and the hotel's spectral reputation spread like wildfire. Hyundai’s players, fearful of the haunted hotel, refused to stay there during the 1996 playoffs and instead relocated to another city. The delay in arriving at the stadium proved disastrous—Hyundai lost both games to Ssangbangwool, who went on to continue their remarkable home winning streak until April 13, 1997.
Rumors claimed that the ghost was linked to the tragic deaths of a man and a woman who had taken their own lives in the hotel. Was the ghost of Coa Hotel now using its powers to help Ssangbangwool? Whether it was sheer talent, luck, or something beyond human comprehension, Ssangbangwool’s victory streak became a legendary tale that would live on for decades.
The End of the Streak and the Fall of Ssangbangwool
But the streak could not last forever. After the 17th consecutive win, Ssangbangwool’s luck began to fade. In 1997, the team faced the financial crisis of the IMF, and their owner’s bankruptcy caused the team to disband in 2000. Jeonju, once the proud home of Ssangbangwool, lost its professional baseball team.
Coa Hotel also began its slow decline, eventually closing its doors in 2011 due to financial troubles. It stood abandoned until 2013, when it was taken over by a new owner, only to remain empty and forgotten.
And so, the ghost that had once been linked to Ssangbangwool’s unlikely victories faded into obscurity, but the stories lived on, whispered in hushed tones among fans. Whether the ghost ever truly existed or was simply a legend passed down through the years, one thing was certain: Ssangbangwool’s 17-game streak and the eerie mystery of Coa Hotel had forever marked the history of Korean baseball.
