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                    Here I introduce few Korean Culture in my Story and their Funeral Customs. I read about these in this particular website - The WorknPlay (http://www.worknplay.co.kr/index.php/mod/article/act/showArticle/art_no/193/an-introduction-to-korean-funerals-customs) .
                 
                     The funeral ceremony and death anniversary of ancestors is of the utmost importance in Korea. At Korean funerals both the funeral ceremony followed by the wake is combined to happen at the same time.


The Funeral Procession

Korean funerals last for between three and seven days, with three days being the most commonly held these days. Afterwards, the family is supposed to remain in mourning for three years. In ancient times, a widowed wife would build a small hut near the burial and live there for the three years to follow. Now that tradition is not practiced, but the funeral anniversary of four generations back is still remembered and respected.



Guests of the funeral are not formally invited. When someone dies, guests are informed through family members, friends or acquaintances. It is expected that a guest will make time to visit the funeral whenever he/she has the chance. Although the guest will usually inform the family when he/she plans on arriving, guests are free to come and go as they please. The family remains at the funeral home for the entire length of the funeral.



Funerals are held in a jang-rae-shik-jang /장례식장 which are buildings with many funeral rooms. Jang-rae-shik-jangs are either next to hospitals or attached to them. Because of this, funeral preparations can begin right away- funerals start on the same day as the death or if the death happens during the night, it begins early the next morning. In the majority of cases, families are aware of the impending death and are able to get proceedings underway almost immediately.



A room in the jang-rae-shik-jang is rented out by the family, who tell friends, relatives, business associates and others that someone has died. Funerals can be huge, often with hundreds of people in attendance over the course of the three to seven days. Many people who attend do not even know the deceased person, but rather are in some way acquainted with a family member.



The men in the immediate family usually stay there for the whole three days. They often sleep at the funeral home too. The men are also there to greet every visitor who comes to pay respects to the deceased. Greeting is in the form of a bow, which is then reciprocated by the guests.



Following the greeting to the family, guests are taken to the memorial for the person who died. Caskets are not open, and the body itself is not on display. A picture of the deceased is set on a table and some special foods are placed in front of the picture. Guests perform jeol /절, a large bow. The person places his knees and hands on the floor and then bows forward. This is done twice in front of the memorial. Visitors must then burn incense and do a small bow (not on the ground) once to the family.



Note

Men perform jeol as described above, but women do not. They either do not bow at all or bow in another way where they sit down cross legged and then bow forward over their legs.
Christians do not bow at Korean funeral ceremonies but they do attend the funeral even if the deceased person was not a Christian.


Once the meeting and greeting of family and guests is over, the guests are taken to a dining area, where they sit at traditional low tables and share a meal and drinks. Here they will share stories and honor the memory of the person who has died.



Characteristics of Korean Funerals



Clothes

Guests are expected to wear black or dark plain clothes. Bright clothes – especially red – are thought to be in bad taste.



The mourning family, who stays there for the duration of the three days, will traditionally wear dark or black clothes. Women do not wear any jewelry or make-up. They also wear a traditional Korean garment called a hanbok /한복. While hanbok comes in various colors, but only black or white ones are worn at funerals. Males in the family wear an arm band and a special hat made from burlap. This allows the male family members to be easily identified as relatives of the deceased.



Meal

In the jang-rae-shik-jang there is usually a dining area where guests will eat and drink together. Drinking beer and soju /소주 is common at funerals and the mood is not always completely sullen. Groups try to remember the deceased in a way to celebrate his/her life rather than as an extremely sad occasion. There are no traditional foods for funerals, specifically, so the meal on offer can vary. There may be yookgaejang/육개장, a spicy soup with beef, ddok/떡, Korean rice cakes or favorite menu items of the deceased.



Guests

As funerals are held over a number of days, many people visit the Jang-rae-shik-jang at various times. It is customary that people that have some association with the mourning family attend. Often people will attend funerals of those they have never met. For example, if a company worker’s parent passes away, the entire staff will be expected to pay a visit to the deceased, even if the funeral is held in another city from the location of the office. If it is impossible for the whole staff to visit, a representative from the office will attend on the whole company’s behalf. When you consider that each family member knows many people, you realize that a great number of visitors are present over the course of the funeral.



Some non-Koreans can feel uncomfortable in such situations, as they are unsure of what is expected of them. The mood of such occasions will usually be somber, though not as somber as you may think. To be safe it’s best to be quiet and gracious. Koreans are very understanding of foreigners who might not completely understand the customs. They will make allowances for this.



Tip: If you know someone has died, try to attend the funeral. Wear dark colors and pay your respects to the family.



Donation

As with weddings, it is an expected custom that each attendee makes a donation for the funeral. This is an ancient Korean tradition in place to help share the burden of the cost of the funeral. With Koreans attending so many weddings and funerals, this is certainly a practical idea. There will be a red box called a bu-jo-ham /부조함. Guests place their donation in that box. Money should always be in a white envelope and people usually mark their name on the envelope. The purpose of this is so the family of the deceased can then make a note of who has donated what and can then return the same amount in case of a death in the other family. Guests who do not know the deceased will usually give about 30,000KRW, while it is customary for friends of the family to give more. Of course, people can make much larger donations than this if they choose.



After the Funeral

On the final day of the funeral, there usually aren’t as many guests. A small, final ceremony takes place with just the immediate family and then the body can be transported, either to a crematorium or to a gravesite. In the past it was more popular to bury the body, but recently, especially in the cities, cremation is increasingly favored. There were 172,000 cremations in 2010 according to The Ministry of Health and Welfare. This accounts for 67% of the total deaths. The large cities (Seoul, Busan and Incheon) recorded the highest number, while more rural areas recorded rising, but still low numbers. A primary reason for this is lack of actual space for burials. Other reasons include the fact that tending to graves is time consuming and costly.

AUTHOR'S NOTE :

I hope you guys somehow get to know korean customs . Actually from my point of view - I see so many similarities with Indian culture. Even in mourn and donation through envelope stating name of the individual who is willing to donate money (மொய் - Moi ).

Thank you guys. I Purple you all.
with love your HaJiWi...