Funeral Crashers
Seoul, South Korea
April 2008
We weren't paying close attention to what we were doing. We just noticed that a ceremony had started in the Buddhist temple. We wanted to catch a few minutes of what was going on. So we popped in and quickly slid down on the floor and sat with the others. There was a monk who was leading people in prayers which we didn't understand because neither of us spoke any Korean.
But then Heather, my niece, looked around and started making eye signals to me. I didn't understand her so she tried to whisper discreetly to me. I couldn't hear what she was saying. But then I noticed the monk handed a lit candle to the woman sitting beside me. She appeared to be crying. And then I realized what Heather was trying to tell me. We had stepped into a funeral and we were sitting with the bereaved family. That realization was very, very awkward. Now what do we do? As I looked around, it was so obvious that this faux pas was painful for all of us. Without any conversation, we both stood up, bowed in shame and apology to the family and walked out of the temple backwards.
