Seeking ways to better appreciate life, the latest fad in South Korea is to go through one’s own mock funeral service.
In a macabre event, dozens of people dressed in gold-trimmed white death robes sit silently at a desk beside their casket. In the dimly lit room, adorned only with candles and chrysanthemums, they painfully compose their last testaments.
When finished, they proceed to lay themselves down in their narrow coffins. Gloomy workers nail their caskets tightly shut and there they lie there for 15 minutes – 900 billion very slow nanoseconds – in utter darkness and silence, except for a soft melancholy dirge.
Near death experiences can indeed make one feel exceptionally alive. For me, I think I’ll stick to jumping out of planes – it’s a similar super-sized alive experience, but without the claustrophobia!
Photo credit: Jean Chung for The New York Times
