The horror film Spring Garden (Original title: Neulbomgadeun, 2025) draws inspiration from a real haunted location in South Korea. The story weaves together the fates of two individuals, connected through a man named Chang-soo. When Chang-soo unexpectedly takes his own life without leaving a note, those around him are left in shock. However, before his death, he had renovated an old house as a gift for his wife, Soo-hee, and the property remains in her name.
After his passing, Soo-hee moves into the house, only to encounter eerie and inexplicable occurrences. It soon becomes clear that a restless spirit lingers within the walls, desperately trying to communicate with her. As Soo-hee follows a trail of cryptic clues hidden throughout the house, she gradually unearths the chilling truth behind the haunting of Spring Garden.
This article contains spoilers.
Spring Garden (Neulbomgadeun, 2025) Plot Summary & Movie Synopsis:
The film opens with four young adults—Yeong-sik, Moon-hee, Eun-joo, and Jin-rae—entering the Spring Garden house, searching for a girl. In the garden, Yeong-sik takes selfies and notices a girl in the background. However, when Yeong-sik looks back, no one is there. Furthermore, the girl captured in the picture also disappears. Inside the house, Eun-joo hears noises in the nursery. Outside, Yeong-sik is on the swing, playing like a child. From the window, Eun-joo notices a shadow figure that begins to materialize into an apparition. Suddenly, Eun-joo’s hair flies up. When Eun-joo turns around, it is Moon-hee teasing Eun-joo.
In the house’s darkroom, Jin-rae notices some photographs. As Moon-hee and Eun-joo join Jin-rae, they observe that there are four flashlights instead of three. A disfigured face materializes, scaring the group. Elsewhere, Soo-hee is half asleep, calling out to her husband, Chang-soo. When Soo-hee does not find Chang-soo next to her, she looks up and sees that he has killed himself. During Chang-soo’s funeral, Detective Nam visits Soo-hee with the news that Chang-soo indeed killed himself. However, both Soo-hee and Detective Nam find it odd that Chang-soo has not left a note.
Why does Soo-hee go back to the Spring Garden house?
A commotion erupts outside the funeral hall as the two families engage in a fierce fight. During the chaos, someone pushes Soo-hee. Enraged, Soo-hee demands that everyone cease fighting, but she suddenly starts bleeding. At the hospital, the doctor delivers the devastating news that they could not save the child. The following day, Attorney Park Ah-hyung informs Soo-hee that Chang-soo has the Spring Garden house in her name. While working, an employee captures a peculiar photograph showing Chang-soo in one of the house’s windows. What is particularly strange is that the image is captured after Chang-soo’s death.
At the Spring Garden house, an exorcist, In-gyeom, attempts to contact a spirit within the home. As In-gyeom leaves, he notices Soo-hee arriving with her sister, Hye-ran. Exploring the house, Soo-hee discovers that Chang-soo had remodeled it according to her preferences, even naming the garden “Spring Garden” as she had once mentioned. While looking around, Soo-hee catches sight of a shadow moving up the stairs in a mirror’s reflection. Curious, Soo-hee follows it and finds the nursery. Outside, Hye-ran plays on the swing. From the crib, blood drips onto the floor. After seeing the house, Soo-hee and Hye-ran leave. However, as they drive away, Soo-hee spots a man who resembles Chang-soo standing on the top floor. Overcome with curiosity, Soo-hee rushes back inside and confronts the mysterious figure.
What happens to Ji-won in Spring Garden house?
When the man turns halfway, something pushes Soo-hee, knocking her out. The next day, Soo-hee visits a psychiatrist who says experiencing hallucinations is common when under stress. Although the psychiatrist attributes it to stress, Soo-hee is certain she saw Chang-soo in the house. Elsewhere, a girl is tied up and fed. However, as the girl eats, she begins to vomit. Since the house is in Soo-hee’s name, and Chang-soo remodeled it for her, Soo-hee moves into the house immediately.
That night, Soo-hee invites Hye-ran’s family over for dinner. While cracking eggs, she sees a dead chick inside the bowl, which scares her. The family arrives, but the food Soo-hee has made is inedible, so they order takeout. Hye-ran has two children, Dong-Hyeon and Ji-won. As there is a swing outside, Ji-won and Dong-Hyeon go outside and play. Suddenly, Ji-won sees someone in the bushes, and as she goes closer, something pulls her inside. Hearing Ji-won’s scream, Hye-ran rushes out and sees a crying Ji-won. Ji-won tells the family that Chang-soo pulled her and told her he wanted to be free. On the way home, Hye-ran notices fingerprints on Ji-won’s hand. Additionally, Dong-Hyeon tells Hye-ran that Ji-won didn’t see Chang-soo, but an older girl.
What does Soo-hee find in the house?
The next day, Hye-ran sees that the marks on Ji-won’s hand are gone, and the kids pretend they haven’t seen Chang-soo or the older girl. While working, Soo-hee’s laptop malfunctions and a video of a baby in a womb begins playing. Suddenly, blood splashes on Soo-hee’s face. Startled, Soo-hee wakes up. As soon as she wakes, she sees blood dripping from the ceiling, so she goes to the nursery but finds nothing. Once again, Soo-hee sees Chang-soo, and this time, he contorts her body with his fingers. As Soo-hee falls, ants begin crawling all over her. Again, it’s a nightmare, and Soo-hee wakes up drenched in sweat.
In the nursery, Soo-hee finds a pregnancy test. To confirm, Soo-hee checks her belongings and finds her pregnancy test. Suddenly, a crack appears on Soo-hee’s photo hanging on the wall. A photo falls out from behind the frame, revealing a young girl student. Recognizing the uniform, Soo-hee meets a professor from the school to get information about the girl, but the man refuses to reveal confidential information. Meanwhile, In-gyeom visits the house, places something in the ground, and buries it while Hye-ran tries to stop him. Before leaving, In-gyeom asks Hye-ran to ensure no one lives in the house. Additionally, In-gyeom gives Hye-ran his contact information and says that once the spirit enters a body, it’s like living as a zombie.
What does Soo-hee find out from Eun-joo?
In a café, Soo-hee meets Detective Nam to find out more about the girl. The girl’s name is Hyun-joo, and Detective Nam is also looking for her. When Nam steps out to take a call, Soo-hee notices a picture of Hyun-joo with a group of students, so Soo-hee sneakily takes pictures of it. Later, Soo-hee finds Moon-hee and Yeong-sik and starts asking about Hyun-joo. As they ride home, Moon-hee and Yeong-sik get into an accident and die instantly. At night, Soo-hee meets Jin-rae in an abandoned place and asks about Chang-soo. However, Jin-rae does not know who Chang-soo is, but Jin-rae says he has not seen Hyun-joo for a long time. Since it is raining, Soo-hee gives her yellow umbrella to Jin-rae. When Jin-rae gets home, he experiences bizarre things. Suddenly, Jin-rae sees a woman and jumps from a height in fear.
The umbrella flies down the building and pierces through Jin-rae’s throat. When Soo-hee gets home, she is angry with In-gyeom. After Soo-hee opens the pack she sees a few strands of woman’s hair among other things. This infuriates Soo-hee, who calls In-gyeom. Now, In-gyeom tells Soo-hee that the spirit is inside her and she should not leave the house. Seeing all these deaths, Detective Nam suspects Soo-hee’s involvement and follows her around the next day. This time, Soo-hee finds Eun-joo’s location. The tied-up girl is none other than Eun-joo. Through Eun-joo, Soo-hee learns that the other students took Hyun-joo into their group, calling her family. The real reason they did this was to make Hyun-joo a sex worker and make money.
Why had Ji-won lied to Hye-ran?
When Hyun-joo tries to escape, Jin-rae and others beat her. Unfortunately, Hyun-joo continues sleeping with men while the rest steal money from them. Somehow, Hyun-joo escapes and goes to the Spring Garden house. Angry, Soo-hee grabs a bottle and attacks Eun-joo. Just in time, Nam enters and arrests Soo-hee. On the way, Soo-hee insists she wasn’t the one who killed the kids. At home, Ji-won enters a door while Hye-ran is busy. While Soo-hee is with Nam, Hye-ran calls, saying Ji-won is missing. Frantic, Soo-hee starts steering the wheel wildly, causing a vehicle to ram into Nam’s car. It seems In-gyeom is the one who tied up Eun-joo.
In the basement of the house, Hye-ran finds Ji-won sleeping. Finally, Ji-won reveals she saw Chang-soo with an older girl. Ji-won didn’t tell the truth earlier because the girl promised to let Ji-won live with her but threatened to kill Hye-ran and her husband if Ji-won revealed anything. As soon as Ji-won confesses, something possesses Hye-ran, making her yell at Ji-won. It appears to be a hallucination. When Soo-hee returns home, poltergeist activity begins, with objects flying in all directions. Something hits Hye-ran’s head, knocking her down. Hearing humming, Soo-hee runs to the basement, begging the spirit not to take Ji-won. Once again, Soo-hee’s body contorts, and a drop of blood falls into her eye. Now, Soo-hee can finally see why the spirit is tormenting them.
Spring Garden (Neulbomgadeun, 2025) Movie Ending Explained:
The spirit haunting the house is none other than Hyun-joo. Tired of her life, Hyun-joo attempts to kill herself, but Chang-soo spots her and brings her to the Spring Garden house. After recovering, Hyun-joo confides in Chang-soo, who listens sympathetically. As time passes, they grow attracted to each other, and Chang-soo cheats on Soo-hee with Hyun-joo. One day, Hyun-joo reveals to Chang-soo that she is pregnant and wants to live with him in the house with their baby. However, Chang-soo refuses to believe her and insists that the house is for his real family. Desperate to prove her pregnancy, Hyun-joo cuts her stomach, leading to a violent struggle between them.
Outside, In-gyeom pours blood all over the house and stabs something placed in the blood with a sharp knife. As soon as this happens, Ji-won is freed from possession, and Soo-hee regains her senses. However, swarms of insects begin to appear. In-gyeom enters the basement and attempts to stab Hyun-joo’s spirit, but when he is called “Father,” In-gyeom hesitates, losing focus. Seizing the moment, Hyun-joo’s spirit kills In-gyeom and possesses Hye-ran.
Realizing the danger, Soo-hee grabs Ji-won and rushes outside, noticing that the spirit is unable to cross the blood-soaked boundary. Finally, Soo-hee understands Hyun-joo’s pain and promises to be her family. When Soo-hee embraces Hye-ran (and indirectly, Hyun-joo), Hyun-joo’s spirit calms down. When the detectives arrive, they see the insects swarming around and find Soo-hee with Hye-ran. In the final scene, Soo-hee continues living in the house and is now pregnant. She notices a troubled girl outside and invites her in.
In the post-credits, it is revealed that Spring Garden is based on a real location—a former restaurant that closed due to mysterious deaths. Since then, it has been regarded as one of South Korea’s most haunted houses. While Hyun-joo initially sought revenge on the children who abused her, she also longed for a family. Dying alone and tormented, she finally found peace when Soo-hee promised to be her family. However, it seems that Soo-hee herself has now become ghost-like, taking in tormented girls, avenging them, and building a family alongside Hyun-joo.
