Phantom Passenger in Korea

Phantom passengers are some of the most common ghostly manifestations found around the world.  Commonly known as the "vanishing hitchhiker," there are numerous variations of this tale.

In most cases, the accounts involve a young girl spotted on the side of the road.  Frequently, the drivers are lone males who believe the girl is in distress or lost and they offer her a ride home.  In many accounts, the woman vanishes once she is inside the car.
In some versions, they arrive at the destination before the girl disappears.

The most famous version in the United States is no doubt Chicago's "Resurrection Mary."
Tales of this famous Chicago ghost can be traced back to the 1930s when encounters were first reported.  It's commonly believed that a young girl was killed in the area after being at a party.  Since she never made it home, her ghost is still wandering the roads, trying to find her way back.

Other vanishing passenger tales can be traced back to the late 1800s and come from a wide variety of countries and cultures.
Recently, I came across an account of a female phantom who took a cab back home.  This particular tale took place in Korea in 1941.  The story was related by one, Haruo Aoki and was told by a woman referred to as Miss Oeda.
The location of the incident was the city of Kunsan, Chon-ra-puk-to, Korea.

"About midnight a taxi driver of Guntaku Cab Company in Kunsan received a telephone call from the municipal crematory asking for a cab.  He picked up a young lady of twenty or so in front of the crematory and was told to drive to the hardware store of a Mr. Shimo.  When the cab arrived at Mr. Shimo's place on Meiji Street, the girl told the driver she did not have the fare and asked him to wait until she could go into the house to get it.  Because Mr. Shimo had kept a store at the same location for years and was a respected citizen, the driver waited outside without any misgivings.  The girl, however, did not reappear.  Finally, the driver became impatient and knocked at the closed door.  After repeated attempts to arouse somebody in the house, sleepy-looking Mrs. Shimo showed up and asked the driver what he wanted.  She seemed to know nothing about the girl's ride.  However, after the driver had described the young lady, Mrs. Shimo showed him a picture of her daughter on the wall.  The daughter had died a few days before and her body had been sent to the same crematory.  The driver recognized her immediately and became fatally ill."