The Silence of Room 5: "Even Family Refused"?He Passed Away Alone as If He Never Existed [2025 Unclaimed Death Report ④]

Reportage on the Public Funeral of Unclaimed Deceased Kwon
Found Alone in Apartment... Family Refuses to Claim Remains
From Cremation to Scattering of Ashes... The Final Farewell

On the morning of the 5th of last month, the funeral hall at Wonju Medical Center in Gangwon Province was bustling with bereaved family members and mourners. However, Room 5, the smallest mourning room, had a markedly different atmosphere. Here, the late Mr. Kwon’s altar was set up without even a portrait. No mourners came to pay their respects. The lights in the restaurant next to the mourning room were also turned off.

The reporter lit the first incense in the empty ceremonial burner and paid respects to Mr. Kwon. After waiting for 30 minutes on a chair in front of the altar, three members of a local volunteer group arrived to pay their respects. Kim Donghee, head of the Bonjour Wonju Volunteer Group, said, “Whenever there is an unclaimed death or a solitary death in Wonju or even in Gyeonggi Province, we attend public funerals, pay respects, and visit the deceased’s home to organize their belongings as part of our volunteer work.”

On the morning of the 5th of last month, the funeral parlor room 5 at Wonju Medical Center in Wonju, Gangwon Province, was set up as the mourning place for Mr. Kwon. Photo by Choi Youngchan

After the volunteers finished paying their respects and left, silence returned to Room 5. Aside from deliveries of rice cakes or condolence wreaths to other rooms, not a single person passed by the front of the altar. At public funerals for unclaimed deceased in Wonju, religious organizations usually conduct the funeral rites, but due to the busy end-of-year schedule, even this did not take place.

Mr. Kwon was found deceased in an apartment in Wonju on September 18, after a neighbor reported a foul odor. Considering that there had been no water usage since the 2nd of the same month, it is estimated that Mr. Kwon was discovered 16 days after his death. However, there were no family members to recover his body and hold a funeral. The police handed over Mr. Kwon’s body to Wonju City, and as an unclaimed deceased, he received a public funeral.

On the 6th of last month, Jang Jangsoo (59), the director of the funeral service company, and a funeral hall official briefly observed a moment of silence before transferring the unclaimed deceased, Kwon, to the crematorium. Photo by Seungwook Park

Mr. Kwon was not entirely without family. The police and Wonju City contacted his relatives several times, but they either refused or avoided taking custody of his body. During his life, Mr. Kwon suffered from severe intellectual disabilities and lived alone. He was a recipient of basic livelihood support. The altar was maintained for a day so that acquaintances or family could visit, but no one came.

When the reporter returned to the funeral hall at around 10:30 a.m. the next day, the hearse carrying the deceased was ready to depart for the crematorium. After a brief moment of silence, funeral hall staff and Jang Jangsoo (59), the director of the funeral service company who drove the hearse, headed to Wonju Memorial Park. Upon arrival, Mr. Jang handled the paperwork for the cremation. He took the autopsy certificate out of his pocket and personally filled out the consent form for information collection and the Yutaek Hill report at the reception desk.

On the 6th of last month, the ashes of Kwon, a person who died without family, were scattered at Yutaek Hill. Photo by Seungwook Park

Afterward, the reporter and Mr. Jang carried the deceased together. Mr. Jang said, “Usually, family members accompany the deceased, but for unclaimed individuals like Mr. Kwon, there are no relatives, so only the crematorium staff and I can carry the body.” After the transfer, Mr. Jang left, and the cremation proceeded for about two hours.

The family waiting room provided by the crematorium was left empty with its door open. When the cremation was finished, a memorial park staff member, wearing gloves, collected Mr. Kwon’s urn and headed to Yutaek Hill. The staff member quietly scattered the ashes, then gathered the empty urn and hanji paper in one place. In this way, Mr. Kwon departed quietly and alone.