A 25-year-old funeral director shared his hurtful confession on "Oh Eun-young Stay."
During the broadcast of the MBN entertainment show "Oh Eun-young Stay" on the 21st, the deep inner thoughts of a young man living close to death were explored.
The guest on that day had a unique background, having begun his path as a funeral director at the young age of 25.
His memory of first entering the mortuary is still vivid. "Blood spurted from the corpse's mouth. It was a ruptured abdominal aneurysm. I was so scared that I ran away." But then a phone call came in again. He held onto his trembling heart and turned back to the mortuary. The sight he faced there gave him another emotion.
In particular, he noted, "Children kissed the deceased's face and gently stroked the cheeks. I was so embarrassed. 'I thought this was dirty…' I realized that, to someone, this person was cherished. I wanted to hide in a mouse hole." He shared that he thought, "Someday when my parents pass away, I need to properly learn this work so that I can take care of them attentively," explaining his reason for walking the path of a funeral director.
However, facing death was never easy. He confessed, "I often encounter damaged corpses at the recovery scene. There are times when maggots come out, or if you touch the skin, it separates from the bones. In the case of dismemberment, I have to find and recover each part of the body." It was a reality too overwhelming to bear at such a young age. In fact, more than half of funeral directors experience post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
The greater wound came from people's gaze. He shared, "I've heard derogatory comments like 'the person who cleans corpses' in front of me. At that time, rage surged within me. I secretly thought, 'There will come a day when you too will have to be cared for by my hands.'" He continued, "I understand why people say such things. But as those words pile up, it becomes difficult to reach out first," candidly revealing his psychological state where even a handshake is hard.
Thus, his confession conveyed the weight that those standing on the boundary of life and death have to bear, while also expressing a resolve to maintain dignity within that.
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