Homecoming Rituals: Weaving Multicultural Funeral Narratives

Abstract

Using the personal experience of “homecoming” funerary journey from the U.S. to Korea the author of this article probes the cultural construction of familial bond in Korean and biblical (Genesis) funeral narratives. He highlights the cultural differences between American and Korean funeral traditions—(1) dying at hospital vs. dying at home, (2) embalming vs. sup/yom (washing/binding of the corpse), (3) metal casket vs. wooden coffin, (4) committal vs. banhon (returning of the spirit)—to explore the religious and practical implications of the multicultural grieving process for pastoral care and grief ministry in which death is conceived as returning to the familial, cultural, and spiritual homes.