Jangrae

Jangrae are Korean traditional funeral ceremonies. Traditional Jangrae has been practiced since the book Jujagarae (주자가례:朱子家禮) was introduced from China during the Joseon Dynasty. During this era, rulers wanted to erase the Buddhist ceremonies of the previous dynasty, Goryeo, and replace them with new ones of Confucianism [http://www.kfrc.info/ 한국문화장례원] .

Origins

Jujagarae (주자가례: 朱子家禮) regulated domestic rituals such as weddings, births, funerals and memorial services. Even though it was well-fitted to Chinese culture, it wasn't appropriate in the Joseon society. Leejae (이재: 李栽, 1680~1746) who was a prominent scholar, wrote Saraepeonram (사례편람: 四禮便覽) to supplement Jujagarae(주자가례: 朱子家禮). Because Saraepeonram was easy to follow in real life, every domestic ceremony including Jangrae was performed according to this book.

The procedure of Jangrae

Generally, Jangrae continues for three days and nights. If a person is dead, the body will be laid in a coffin after two days and buried in the third day morning. Before laying the body in a coffin, a person who deal with a body cleans it and puts on the grave clothes made of hemp. In Korea, it is common for an elderly person to prepare grave clothes in sixties. This suggests that Koreans believe that death is not the end but the beginning of another life.

Condolers pay a visit to a bereaved family and a chief mourner expresses his sorrow by Gok, the typical sound of crying.

Usually in the morning of the third day, the bereaved family head for their family burial mountain. They dig the ground, put a coffin in it and build a mound over the grave. It comes to an end with Jaesa, which is a Korean traditional memorial service. The Jangrae ceremony is usually held as a burial instead of cremation. It comes from the Confucian idea that one should not impair the ancestor's bodies but preserve them.

Elements which affect Jangrae

Jangrae has been changing according to the spirit of the age. It was a burial ceremony in the era of Three Kingdoms and changed into a cremation influenced by Buddhism in Goryeo Dynasty.

During the Joseon Dynasty, all rules, principles, and ideologies are affected by Confucianism. Since this era, typical Korean Jangrae procedure has been established as a burial.

Since the 17th century, Catholic and Christianity has been introduced in Korea and has influenced it.

Jangrae is changing. The statistics show that grave yards encroached more than 1% of Korea's territory. Nowadays, many Koreans prefer Jayeonjang ( 자연장: To scatter the bone ashes on a garden, a tree or the water) because it includes the idea that human being, coming from ashes, return to ashes.

References