The South Korean Who Ate 26 People

You Young Cho rose to infamy as one of South Korea's most notorious serial killers between 2003 and 2004. During this period, he instilled fear in the city, while the national press hungered for answers and the police refused to acknowledge the existence of a serial killer. Cho's weapon of choice was a homemade hammer, which he used to carry out a blood-soaked reign of terror before eventually being brought to justice in a case filled with shocking twists and turns. However, Cho's journey into becoming a cold-hearted killer was preceded by a disturbing rap sheet and a history of prison time. Let's delve into the unhinged world of this Korean man, who became known as the Raincoat Killer.

In 2004, in South Korea, the owner of several massage parlors in Seoul noticed a suspicious pattern. Some of the girls working for him seemed to be going missing. Since these girls led isolated lives as working girls, their absence went unnoticed by family and friends. This also made them easier targets. Eventually, the alarm was raised when the massage parlor owner received a call from someone requesting the services of one of his girls. What made this call alarming was that it came from the phone of one of the missing girls. An operation was set up by the police to trick the caller into meeting a girl, and Cho fell into their trap. He was swiftly taken into custody. Initially, the police thought it was a case of kidnapping and human trafficking, but it soon unraveled into the uncovering of one of the most horrific killing sprees ever committed. Shockingly, during questioning, Cho confessed to taking the lives of over 20 people, most of whom were either prostitutes or elderly and wealthy victims. He even led the police to the burial sites of the bodies.

What could lead someone to commit such heinous acts against others? The answer lies in Cho's troubled childhood, which set off a series of events that ultimately led him down the path of murder. Born into poverty in 1970 in Gochang, Cho faced a difficult early life. He was mocked by other kids at school due to his family's lower-class status. This constant humiliation, along with his victims' wealth, fueled his hatred towards those who were better off than him. Furthermore, Cho and his siblings were abandoned by their mother early in life. Left at their grandmother's home, they were later moved to their father's home with their new stepmother. Unfortunately, this new family dynamic was far from happy, as their stepmother was violent towards them. Tragedy struck again when Cho's father passed away in a traffic accident in 1985, devastating Cho and the family.

Despite the challenges, Cho saw an opportunity to turn his life around. He aimed to escape poverty by working hard and succeeding in life. However, after being rejected by art school, he faced yet another setback. In 1988, he settled for a technical school, where he discovered a fast way to make money: a life of crime. Cho's criminal activities began with petty theft, but he quickly escalated to more serious crimes like stealing cars. By the age of 18, he was caught stealing from a wealthy neighbor, leading to his imprisonment in a juvenile detention center. This pattern continued, with Cho being caught multiple times for theft and other crimes. In 2000, he was found guilty of assaulting a 15-year-old girl, resulting in another prison sentence.

Throughout all of this, Cho's wife stood by his side, raising their son while he continued to engage in criminal activities. However, she finally filed for divorce in 2003, citing abuse and alcohol-related problems. Upon his release, Cho embarked on a new path of depravity that would shock the world and instill fear.