South Koreans are being encouraged to take part in their own mock funerals, as the nation turns to shock therapy in the hope of tackling a suicide rate so high it is the fourth most common form of death in the country.
At a recent “mass funeral” in the Seoul, employees of a recruitment company were told to write wills and farewell letters. Many of the participants, dressed in white robes, were moved to tears as they contemplated the pain their deaths would cause their families and friends.
Before climbing into their caskets, they watched inspirational videos of their compatriots, including cancer sufferers and people with disabilities, who had overcome adversity.
In silence, they lay inside the caskets, each clutching their own photograph. After a man dressed in black — representing the Angel of Darkness — closed the lids, they were confined for 10 minutes, supposedly to ponder their simulated departure into the hereafter.
Despite its macabre overtones, the exercise is designed to emphasize the value of living, said Jeong Yong-mun, a former funeral director who pioneered the therapy at the Hyowon Healing Center in Seoul.
When the visibly shaken employees emerged from their coffins, Jeong told them: “You have seen what death feels like, you are alive, and you must fight.”
The recruitment company’s president, Park Chun-woong, said he thought the experiment would strengthen camaraderie among his employees and give them a new perspective on life.
“Our company has always encouraged employees to change their old ways of thinking, but it was hard to bring about any real difference,” Park said. “I thought going inside a coffin would be such a shocking experience it would completely reset their minds for a completely fresh start in their attitudes.”
Among the other visitors to the center are people suffering from stress or contemplating suicide. They include teenagers who are struggling to cope with exam pressure in South Korea’s highly competitive education system, and older people who fear becoming a financial burden on their families.
Tackling the large number of suicides has become a matter of urgency in South Korea, which has the highest rate in the industrialized word.
The nation’s rise to become Asia’s fourth-largest economy has put pressure on people to succeed academically, and then to demonstrate unfailing loyalty to their company, even to the detriment of their mental health.
A quarter of South Korea’s workforce suffers from high levels of stress, the Korean Neuropsychiatric Association said.
A survey released this year by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) found that an average of 29.1 South Koreans per 100,000 took their own lives in 2012, about two-and-a-half times higher than the OECD average.
South Korea has topped the OECD suicide rankings every year since 2003, with the rate peaking in 2009 at 33.8 per 100,000.
Suicide is the top cause of death among people aged between 10 and 39, Statistics Korea said. About 40 people in the nation take their own lives every day.
One of the employees taking part in the recent mock funeral, Cho Yong-tae, emerged from his casket claiming the experience had altered his outlook.
“I realized I should try to live a new kind of life,” he said. “I’ve realized I’ve made lots of mistakes. I hope to be more passionate in all the work I do, and to spend more time with my family.”
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