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Title
Funeral rites in contemporary Korea : the business of death / Gil-Soo Han.
ISBN
9789811378522 (electronic book)
9811378525 (electronic book)
9789811378515
Published
Singapore : Springer Nature, [2019]
Copyright
©2019
Language
English
Description
1 online resource.
Call Number
GT3286.K6
Dewey Decimal Classification
393.9
Summary
This book explores 21st century Korean society on the basis of its dramatically transforming and rapidly expanding commercial funeral industry. With insights into contemporary Confucianism, shamanism and filial piety, as well as modernisation, urbanisation, the division of labour and the digitalisation of consumption, it is the first study of its kind to offer a sophisticated, integrated sociological analysis of how the commodification of death intersects with capitalism, popular culture and everyday life in contemporary Korea. Through innovative analyses of funeral advertising and journalism, screen and literary representations of funerals, online media, consumer accounts of using funeral services and other sources, it offers a complex picture of the widespread effects of economic development, urbanisation and modernisation in South Korean society over the past quarter century. In the aftermath of the Korean "economic miracle" novel ways of paying respect to deceased kin have emerged; using Max Weber's concept of "pariah capitalism", Gil-Soo Han shows how the heightened obsession with and boom in the commodification of death in Korea reflects radical transformations in both capital and culture.
Note
Includes index.
Access Note
Access limited to authorized users.
Source of Description
Online resource; title from PDF title page (viewed May 30, 2019).
Introduction
Theoretical perspectives and research methods
Economic, social and familial shifts in contemporary Korea
Analysis of a play and five films of funeral services
Analysis of media advertisements of funderal services companies
The rise, fraud, and fall of the death-care industry: topics and concerns by investigative journalists
The concerns from grassroots: customers' experiences of the funeral sangjo industry
Burial, crematoria, and columbaria: social status and wealth in the afterlife
Concluding remarks.
