Yeomjaengi Yoo-ssi [Cheongju]

About this show

# Synopsis Yu comes from a family of *yeom* practitioners — those who perform the traditional Korean ritual of washing and dressing the dead for burial. It may be considered a lowly trade, but it has been the family's livelihood for generations. Still, it was never something Yu wanted to pass on to his children. When the audience arrives at his workplace, Yu opens up about his life — sharing thoughts on living, dying, and the world around him. He recalls some of Korea's most heartbreaking tragedies: the collapse of the Seongsu Bridge, the Goliat Tower labor sit-in, the pleasure boat sinking. But there are lighter memories too. After all, death is the one thing none of us can escape, and through these many stories, a wide tapestry of human life unfolds. Meanwhile, another undertaker represents a very different approach — one driven entirely by capitalism. Keeping pace with the times, he offers to stand in as chief mourner, and even hires out fake funeral guests. Which way is right? That's for the audience to decide. Not wanting his son to inherit the trade, Yu sends the boy away to find his own path — despite the son's wishes to stay. Time passes. The son never comes back. The ritual Yu performs with the audience tonight is his last. With quiet devotion, thread by thread, he prepares the deceased for their final farewell. But as he finishes, grief rises and overtakes him. What weighs so heavily on a man who has cared for countless souls? He says it simply: *"Everyone dies. But if you're only buried in the ground — and not in the hearts of those left behind — that's when you truly disappear."*

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These promotional images from the organizer are in Korean, shared here for visual reference.