Monday, January 21, 2013

South Koreans face lonely deaths as Confucian traditions fade

South Koreans face lonely deaths as Confucian traditions fade

Kong does kitchen work in a space that consists of a toilet, bathroom and kitchenette in her tiny rented apartment in Seocho-gu in SeoulSEOUL (Reuters) - When South Korean widow Yoon Sook-hee, 62, died after a bout of pneumonia in mid-January, she joined a growing number of old people in this Asian country who die alone and was cremated only thanks to the charity of people who never knew her. Once a country where filial duty and a strong Confucian tradition saw parents revered, modern day South Korea, with a population of 50 million, has grown economically richer, but family ties have fragmented. Nowadays 1.2 million elderly South Koreans, just over 20 percent of the elderly population, live - and increasingly die - alone. ...



Source: news.yahoo.com

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