“Well-dying course” in South Korea includes test run in a coffin

[unreal.livejournal.com]

A woman, donning a traditional yellow hemp robe, lies down in a coffin during a "well-dying? course in Seoul

At age 62, Ha Yu-soo had begun to feel his mortality, wondering about the timing of death's soft tap on the shoulder. But why wait, he thought. Maybe he could take a test run.

Ha donned a traditional yellow hemp robe, lay down inside a casket and felt at peace -- until the somber, dark-suited attendants placed a lid on the coffin. Then Ha realized his worst fear: the eternal darkness had finally come.

"How grateful I was that this was a fake funeral, not real," he said with a sigh of relief.


"There's but one step from life to death but the difference is huge," Ha, a fire protection system inspector, told Reuters.

Ha joined around 70 other people on a "well-dying" course, run by a local district office in the northeast of Seoul. The course's motto: "Don't take life for granted."

Baek Sung-ok, an ovarian cancer patient who opted out of chemotherapy several years ago, said the experience of being in a coffin made her feel more appreciative of those around her.

"I will abandon greed to relate to my husband and love my daughters more," she said, rising from the casket.

Another activity is penning farewell letters.

"Even if I no longer exist here, please get along with your siblings and be more selfless," Kim Young-sook wrote to her four children.

MEANING FOR LIFE

Kang Kyung-ah, the seminar's instructor, said this literal near-death experience could have meaning for those from all walks of life, whether they be the elderly or young.

Suicide is a big issue in South Korea. Among the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development member countries, South Korea is ranked among the highest in the suicide ranks, with the rate rising sharply after the Asian financial crisis hit in 1997 -- and still climbing.

Online suicide pacts, the suicide of K-pop celebrities and even the suicide of a former president show the negative side of rapid economic development and a highly competitive atmosphere.

"The top cause of death for people in their 20s, 30s and 40s is suicide. These people are the working age group ... (the seminar) can change the meaning of one's life and give a chance to know oneself," said Kang, a nursing professor at Sahmyook University.

While some see the mock funeral as a way to reflect on life and prepare for death, many skeptics question whether death simulation can prevent suicide and blame some entrepreneurs for using this as a commercial event.

"Slipping into the casket is to practice dying which can happen unexpectedly at any age, but the coffin experience alone is not enough," said Oh Jin-tak, a philosophy professor at Hallym University and head of the Hallym University Suicide Prevention Center.

But Kang says participants in the well-dying course don't suffer from depression.

"Rather than preparing for death, the program makes them think about life," Kang said, adding participants come away wanting to lead fuller lives.

As the death rehearsal ends, the grim mood is over. Participants are glad to be back from the dead and start to clap and sing a song called "Happy."

"Even if someone tries this for fun, it definitely tells you something ... about death," Ha says.

Source: reuters

Comments

[drfaith101.livejournal.com]

What

[pistolkrystle.livejournal.com]

is your gif Victoria?

[drfaith101.livejournal.com]

yup

[naj-mahal.livejournal.com]

Why?????

[juhli.livejournal.com]

o.0 ?

[baka-tenshi.livejournal.com]

well this is interesting.

[lexafalu.livejournal.com]

I saw this years ago. I think it might has been a segment on the dealing with death episode of National Geographic's Taboo. The segment never mentioned SK's high suicide, so I didn't correlate the two until much later. I had wondered if they were still doing it. Thanks for the post!

[831panda831.livejournal.com]

hmmm .___.

[bgurl1210.livejournal.com]

(http://tinypic.com?ref=w9ie5w)

I understand what they are trying to do here but it's still kind of mind-boggling that for people to understand the "meaning of life" they have to create a course like that.

[shineesbright.livejournal.com]

I think counselling and anti-depressants should be the first option, I can't see how this is a deterrent to people who may want to commit suicide considering they want to end their life in the first place... IDK, if it is actually beneficial to people, why not.

[atarashiiyoake.livejournal.com]

IA.

When someone is suicidal, then the factors causing that need to be treated. It's not enough to just shock them away from an actual possible suicide. It won't make them feel any better.

[jeugd1.livejournal.com]

This is going to sound weird but I have been to a Well-dying course before
It was fucking intense, too damn scary

[sugarlatte.livejournal.com]

I remember the One Day boys doing this. Freaked me the fuck out at the time.

[t-domination.livejournal.com]

i remember this on hot blood men... i was like 'wtf are they doing?!!' the entire time

[epona.livejournal.com]

fucking depressing.

[sugarlatte.livejournal.com]

[mediumpurple.livejournal.com]

o_____0???whut

[buccal.livejournal.com]

You said everything I wanted to say.

A person once told me, "Everybody thinks they're invincible, that they're not going to die anytime soon. Especially young people. But that is not true. You can die at any given moment."

Even though this well-dying course is an effective form of therapy, I think it's important that suicidal people follow up with other counseling sessions with a psychiatrist.

[6rystalis.livejournal.com]

Perhaps fear is the greatest medicine of all.

[thewarpedmelody.livejournal.com]

Steve Jobs said this before "Death is the best invention Life had ever invented, it clears the old and make way for the new"

[she-shies-away.livejournal.com]

I absolutely love the fact that a professor of philosophy is the head of a suicide prevention centre. (I'm not sure if that sounds sarcastic, but I'm totally sincere.)

[she-shies-away.livejournal.com]

You guessed right! I feel very predictable right now.

[kanintallrik.livejournal.com]

why wouldn't he be?

[she-shies-away.livejournal.com]

I guess I'm just used to psychologists and psychiatrists and people in those fields heading up suicide prevention centres, and I've never come across a philosopher or philosophy professor who does the same. Because I have been suicidal before and philosophy has helped me, I think it's really, really neat to see that combination.

[ababobaby.livejournal.com]

omg

[4fleur-deliz.livejournal.com]

I've seen a documentary about this! @_@
It's a kinda "shocking therapy"...:x

[atarashiiyoake.livejournal.com]

When someone is suicidal, then the factors causing that need to be treated. It's not enough to just shock them away from an actual possible suicide. It won't make them feel any better, they simply won't be as 'tempted' to end their lives any more. But the underlying factors will remain. You might only be shock those out of a few people, but it won't work for the majority.

A high suicide rate is a problem within society and needs to be treated as such, so it can be prevented in the future.

It's nice to see that they're taking the taboo of death and everything, but don't freaking use it to deal with the high suicide rate.

[yaangg.livejournal.com]

I don't think Korea is trying to use this as a foolproof or absolute method to treat suicidal people. I think that this is just one of the things they feel could help suicidal people. I'm pretty sure that suicidal people still get proper therapy and treatment or medication.

More than treatment, I think this course is something that helps people put things in perspective and makes them realise things about death. This course doesn't claim to help or treat suicidal people entirely, so I don't understand why skeptics think that the course is trying to promote itself as something that will help lower suicide rates.

I think as mentioned at the end of the article, most of the people who attend this course are not suicidal/depressed. I don't see this as Korea's method of dealing with high suicide rate.

I think this is a very interesting course that could be beneficial to people who don't treasure their lives, their present and the people around them. This could really teach people to cherish what they have while they have it and not just their lives, but everything else as well.

[nyappy-meli.livejournal.com]

It's a good therapy tbh