In a country where burial is still the common method of laying out the dead, a South Korean has developed a new technology to transform the ashes of the deceased into decorative ceramic beads.
Instead of strewing the loved one's ashes over water or in the air, families can take the beads home with them or wherever they want."The beads have no smell, they don't perish and they shine beautifully. You can keep them at home, temples or funeral houses," said Kim Sang-guk, 44, who developed the beads after six years of research.
In Korea, it would be unthinkable to bring the ashes of the deceased home in an urn and put them on the mantlepiece.
"I figured that many people feel reluctant to choose cremation for fear that they will feel separated from their deceased families if they strew the ashes," Kim told Reuters in a telephone interview.
The burnt remains are heated to 2,000 degrees Centigrade and the drops of lava-like liquid are shaped into little balls. The color of the beads, with no artificial substance added, vary from jade to sky blue, he said.
Kim was motivated to develop the method by a movement in the Hanul Cultural Center, an organization committed to social services, including reforming funeral customs.
Land for new cemeteries in a mountainous country with a nearly 5,000-year-old history is getting increasingly scarce and expensive.
But the ancient Confucian culture teaches Koreans to take good care of their ancestors' graves.