[Bread-Baking Typewriter] Toward a Society That Respects the 'End of Life'

I Want to Die Peacefully

“Room Next Door,” which won the Golden Lion at last year’s Venice International Film Festival, is a film that depicts the process of one person facing death. The protagonist, Masa, asks her friend Ingrid to be by her side at the moment of her death, preparing a cozy house in a scenic mountain village and a pill for euthanasia. The way she chooses to end her life is by meeting her end at the time and place she desires. Although she is at a stage where chemotherapy could be attempted, Masa says she has already “accepted death.”

After watching this film, questions such as “Can I face death fully?” and “What moment should I choose as my last?” arise. The death Masa chooses is different from the death we commonly encounter around us. It seems to require sufficient financial resources in old age and great courage. The book that raises this discussion in earnest, I Want to Die Peacefully, co-authored by a late-life care researcher and a hospice doctor, conveys the message that discussions about dignified death are necessary in Korean society as well. Can we truly face death at the moment and in the way we desire?

The authors have long studied hospice wards, the main spaces where end-of-life care takes place in Korean society. Hospice palliative care is a service that provides physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual care to patients expected to die within months and their families. In Korea, only certain patients, such as those with terminal cancer, chronic lung disease, liver cirrhosis, or AIDS, can access hospice care. Despite these limitations, the authors suggest directions that our society’s “end-of-life care” should aim for through the characteristics of hospice care.

When asked to “imagine the moment of death,” most people picture someone lying in bed motionless, staring at the ceiling. However, the authors say that in hospice care, death is seen not as a simple moment but as another process of life. Hospice respects the narrative of the patient’s life and provides a space that can feel like an extension of life continuing at home rather than in a hospital. The authors emphasize that just as our lives differ, the forms of end-of-life should also be diverse.

Unlike nursing hospitals or general hospitals, hospice medical staff and volunteers perform caregiving functions that go beyond simple treatment for patients. While hospitals aim to treat and cure diseases, hospice focuses on alleviating symptoms and helping patients enjoy a comfortable life even at the end stage. In this process, they also explain various symptoms of the end of life and the acceptance process of dying to families and caregivers, providing psychological support.

The authors define hospice as “a place where people are treated as human beings through care.” Medical staff and volunteers pay close attention to the patient’s life narrative and approach delicately so that patients facing the end of life can be respected as individuals until the very end. Within this support, patients can finally experience peace and stability.

Now, our society must confront uncomfortable and narrow perceptions of death. Beyond ethical debates on euthanasia, mature discussions on the right to decide about death must take place. An environment should be created where individuals can decide when to set the end of their life and how to accept it. Ultimately, everyone grows old and will face death someday.

I Want to Die Peacefully | Written by Song Byung-gi and Kim Ho-sung | Psyche’s Forest | 408 pages | 22,000 KRW

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