Overview

​Solitary death, the loneliest death, why can’t we prevent it? 

​Living alone, dying alone

The number of solitary deaths is increasing every year due to changes in the family structure, with a growing number of one-person households and the level of disconnection among people. According to the first survey published in 2022, the number of solitary deaths increased by an average of 8.8% per year from 2017 to 2021. However, compared to the increasing number of solitary deaths, social awareness is extremely lacking, and no effective countermeasures have been developed. The standard for solitary death is also ambiguous. The current law defines it as “a death discovered only after a certain period of time has elapsed.” Here, “a certain amount of time” is determined by the arbitrary interpretation of bureaucrat in charge of public welfare.

Korean society is facing the challenges of living and dying alone. A Solitary Death is a Social Murder is a book that relates the horrors of the scenes that the author, a serving police officer, has dealt with and also the methods to prevent dying alone that have been devised by the author. In addition, an interview with the author summarizes the current policy and status quo related to solitary death. The author claims that all of us are responsible for this phenomenon, and visited his local community center, ward office, and city hall to publicize the disaster that is solitary death. Let’s face up to this reality with a person who claims to be an ambassador for those who die alone.

How much do we know about solitary death?

This book deals with vivid examples of the solitary death of both the elderly and of the young. It reveals the stark reality of the scene where someone has died alone. Through this, readers will accept the victims of solitary death as separate individuals, not as a collective term that lumps together members of a socially vulnerable class.

In fact, people who die alone are more likely to have social networks than not. Nevertheless, 70% of the bereaved families refuse to claim the body of the deceased for various reasons, such as economic problems. The end of a lonely life becomes a death that no one remembers.

Death comes to everyone equally, but the manner of dying is extremely discriminatory. The author lays bare this reality and claims that everyone has the right to die with dignity, in the way that they want. We should all be able to become the subject of our own death.

The experience-based way to prevent a solitary death 

The author devised his own prevention method using his experience in the field. It involves the rebirth of the family through a pre-death contract and a living community. A pre-death contract is one with the government or an organization entrusted by the government for the support and follow-up procedures desired by the pre-deceased. This includes living, nursing, care, property management, and funeral arrangements. A living community seeks to prevent a solitary life by providing a place where many people can gather or live together.

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