The passing of a family member is a time of great grief and distress. Families are usually unprepared for the funeral, making them easy prey for overcharging by funeral directors.
It is common knowledge that catering businesses overcharge for the meals served at wakes, as do florists who sell three-tiered floral wreaths that are sent by acquaintances to be displayed prominently at the entrance to the funeral hall. The expensive hemp burial garments that are ostensibly Korean often turn out to be much cheaper Chinese imports.
Yet, faced with having to make funeral arrangements within hours of the death of a loved one, family members are forced to make snap decisions. While the funeral halls do offer a number of options, the sales people almost always steer the families into purchasing the more expensive choices on the list and the families, not having the wherewithal to make proper calculations and wanting to keep up appearances, frequently settle for what has been recommended.
The average bill for the funeral service of persons who died last year stood at 12.08 million won, according to figures released by a state-run research institute. For those whose wakes were held at major university hospitals in Seoul, the cost was over 25 million won.
The police last week indicted 1,114 people, arresting two of them, following a 10-month crackdown on irregularities at funeral service businesses. The indicted persons altogether reaped 99.4 billion won in illegal profits, according to the police.
It turns out that the consumers were bearing the costs of the rebates exchanged among various businesses involved in the funeral rites. Florists, caterers, and burial garment sellers paid funeral halls or funeral service firms 20 to 50 percent of the sales in rebate. Funeral halls, in turn, paid funeral service firms anywhere from 100,000 won to 500,000 won for each funeral they brought in.
Burial garment sellers sold cheaper Chinese imports or synthetic clothes, while florists recycled flowers used to decorate altars. Florists also paid funeral halls 5,000 to 10,000 won per used wreath, recycling the flowers and selling them at 30 percent cheaper than the going rate.
Wasteful and extravagant funeral practices, regularly encouraged by funeral service providers, exploit the families of the deceased at their most vulnerable time. Paying more than 12 million won for a funeral means spending beyond one’s means in many cases.
Korean society should dismiss the taboo against talking about death ― after all, death is inevitable ― and people should be encouraged to discuss funeral arrangements ahead of time, preparing a written directive for the families to follow. Such arrangements will go a long way toward preventing wasteful practices that are maintained to demonstrate filial piety and keep up appearances.
