[2021 Muyeongo Report] The Final Journey of Migrant Workers Who Came Dreaming of the 'Korean Dream'

<4>Becoming a Person Without Kinship

Local Families Also Neglect Due to Economic Reasons
Need to Expand Public Funeral System

At the funeral of Thai worker Sukarom in March this year, caregivers' solidarity group and volunteers are observing a moment of silence before heading to the crematorium. Photo by Dolbomi Solidarity

[Asia Economy Special Coverage Team = Team Leader Koh Hyung-kwang, Reporters Yoo Byung-don, Jung Dong-hoon, Lee Jung-yoon] #Sukarom Citysak (47), a Thai migrant worker, came to Korea carrying the "Korean Dream." In March of this year, he suddenly suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and passed away. The Royal Thai Embassy in Korea received the news of Sukarom's death and informed his bereaved family in Thailand, but due to financial difficulties, they were unable to hold a funeral. Thus, Sukarom became a person with no known relatives. Dolbomi Solidarity, a non-profit organization supporting funerals for unclaimed deceased, was entrusted with the funeral, recruited volunteers, and raised funds to cover the insufficient funeral expenses. Since cremation costs could not be supported, the body had to be transported from the place of death in Gunpo City, Gyeonggi Province, down to Cheonan Memorial Park in Cheonan City for cremation.

#In July last year, there were no family or colleagues attending the funeral of Hwang Mo (53), an ethnic Korean from China. He had come to Korea 10 years ago and lived here until he passed away in late May due to an accident. Although Hwang's siblings lived in Korea, no one was able to take care of the body due to financial difficulties, making it hard to cover hospital bills, storage fees, and funeral costs. The funeral was held only after the body remained in a hospital funeral home's mortuary for 43 days.

Foreign migrant workers are also vulnerable to dying without relatives. Even if they pass away alone in a foreign country, their families often cannot afford to claim the body due to cost issues. This situation is even more challenging amid the global spread of infectious diseases. Due to nationality and visa issues, they often cannot receive proper medical care when ill, and due to limited social networks, they live exposed to "isolated deaths." Local governments generally categorize public funerals for unclaimed deceased into basic livelihood security recipients, general citizens, homeless people (those wandering the streets without a fixed residence), and foreigners. However, when a foreigner dies and a local government is requested to arrange an unclaimed funeral, support such as cremation fees is poor, causing significant difficulties.

It takes a long time to hold funerals for foreign unclaimed deceased. Park Kyung-jo, director of the Korea Funeral Support Center under Dolbomi Solidarity, said, "For foreign unclaimed deceased, we search for family living abroad through embassies and handle paperwork such as death certificates and body release documents, including translation, which can take from as short as two weeks to several months." He added, "There have been cases where bodies were kept in hospital mortuaries for two years." Dozens of volunteers among foreign workers attend the funerals. They participate in all funeral procedures from the encoffining ceremony to the procession and enshrinement. Director Park said, "Interest in the deaths of those pushed into the most vulnerable blind spots of our society is increasing," and "We hope this interest will become an opportunity to expand the public funeral system for unclaimed deceased."

※This article was produced with government advertising fees supported by the Korea Press Foundation.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.