South Korean weird custom: Turning ashes into beads

Times are changing, and the customs and rituals of human existence are evolving at a large scale. South Korea is completely transforming the way people are remembered after their death by following a weird custom of turning ashes into beads.

From normal birth processes to the weird death rituals of human society, one may witness the uniqueness of their practices.

Notably, many people in South Korea opt to condense the remains of the dead person into gem-like bubbles in multiple colours, and they showcase them at their homes.

The beads come in a variety of colours ranging from “Shiny blue-green, pink or black.” The people follow this weird custom to keep their deceased loved ones close by and honour their memory while still upholding the law.

This tradition of turning ashes into beads or bubbles is getting quite popular in the country. Instead of a pot or any other utensil, people love to have all the ashes returned in a more aesthetically fascinating bubble form.

Many companies based in Seoul take the ashes of a dead person, clear and refine them into a fine powder and then warm them to ultra-high temperature. This whole process reduces the ashes to a molten state, and then they solidify the ashes into crystals.

It is to be noted that the ashes of one body produce up to 5 cups of bubbles on average. Further, the process takes around 90 minutes and costs about US$ 1,200.

Interestingly, some churches in South Korea are also using this new method now. They lease the machines where they turn all the ashes into bubbles and remember the dead.

It is worth mentioning that this practice can be disturbing for some people, but there are many other methods in the world where death rituals are more unusual than others.

Additionally, the death beads market is very famous in South Korea, and death beads businesses have tried launching in the United States (US). Unfortunately, the idea did not gain the same popularity and was largely unsuccessful.