New Memorial Service for Ancestors at the Height of Coronavirus Pandemic

SEOUL, May 20 (Korea Bizwire) — A 33-year-old office worker from the southwestern city of Gwangju who only gave his surname Lee had a unique experience of holding ancestral rites on social media last week.

With photos of a memorial table set up at the house of the eldest son uploaded to the family’s KakaoTalk group chat room, family members then took pictures of themselves bowing.

As the outbreak of the new coronavirus has been dragging on, even ancestral rites are being held online.

“It was my parents’ idea.” said Lee.

“Most of my relatives live in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province and gather only during ancestral rites and holidays, but due to the spread of COVID-19 triggered from Itaewon, we decided not to gather this time but to hold ritual online.”

“It was disappointing not to see others, but it felt different to hold a memorial service together even with photos and KakaoTalk,” he added.

On the Internet, there have been mentions of households that skipped ancestral rites or held online events like this case on social media due to concerns over COVID-19.

A netizen living in Ulsan also shared the story of his mother’s memorial service online at a local cafe.

“I told my sister and her relatives not to come,” the netizen said.

“At 10:30 p.m., I took a picture of the memorial service and sent it to my relatives and sister in real time, and I safely completed my mother’s memorial service,” he said.

Another netizen said, “We had a memorial service on April 1, but we could not attend because we stayed in Daegu. We only received KakaoTalk pictures.”

“It is a shame that we have had a quiet memorial service since the outbreak of new coronavirus,” a housewife said on her blog. “I know how good it is for the whole family to get together face to face.”

Meanwhile, Some Koreans have skipped ancestral rites altogether or did not hold family gatherings due to the spread of coronavirus.

Another individual identified only as Lee, a 33-year-old office worker living in the administrative city of Sejong, had a memorial service earlier this month, but did not go to his home on Jeju Island.

“I would normally go to my parents’ house on Jeju Island to hold a memorial service, but my daughter was 10 months old, so my parents told me not to come,” Lee explained.

“Instead, I placed a phone call to my family and relatives preparing for the memorial service.”

Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)