July 21, 2008 7:36 pm

When death is a reminder to live

By Anna Fifield

IN Visual Journalism

South Korean workers are being sent on “well-dying” courses to encourage them to assess their priorities in life and as a suicide prevention measure. The country has the highest rate of self-inflicted death in the developed world, with 24.7 cases per 100,000 people. Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motor are among companies that have booked “fake funerals” for their employees.

South Korean companies are sending employees on 'fake funeral' courses to help prevent suicide
Participants sit at candelit desks and are told to write their last will and testament
Attendees are prompted by questions such as: "If you died today, what would you tell your family"?
Many of those in the room become emotional as they read out their wills
Before they are "buried", participants are asked to pose for their funeral portrait
Participants enter a "death experience room" where they choose a coffin and put on a "death robe"
Course members get into their coffins and a flower is laid on each person's chest
Funeral attendants place a lid on the coffin and dirt is thrown on the casket
Participants are left in the closed casket for five minutes and some start to cry in the darkness
Once the lids are opened the resurrected trainees are asked how they felt
The "well-dying craze" has become an integral part of training at Samsung, which has built its own fake funeral centre

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When death is a reminder to live

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