Choi Hwa-jung recalls mother's funeral: 'She wore a white silk gown instead of a shroud'

Actress Choi Hwa-jung reflected on the final moments of her late mother, sharing a unique funeral arrangement and her thoughts on the "quality of death."

On the 13th, a video featuring Choi and Hong Jin-kyung was released on the YouTube channel "Hello, I'm Choi Hwa-jung." During the video, the two shared honest conversations about death, discussing their personal views on funerals and final moments.

When asked what she would like to wear when being laid to rest, Choi replied, "A cotton dress."

She then recalled her late mother's funeral. "My mother didn't wear a traditional burial shroud; she wore a white silk nightgown. She requested that," Choi said, adding, "It was all decorated with flowers."

She had prepared the final outfit exactly as her mother had desired.

Recalling the moment she faced her mother's final appearance, Choi said, "When I saw her then, she looked so small. I always thought of my mother as being so big."

The memory of her mother, who had been a monumental figure to her for many years, lying there in a small and fragile state at the final moment, clearly left a deep impression.

Hong Jin-kyung also remembered Choi's mother. "Your mother was so wonderful. I saw her several times," she recalled. "I used to go to her house and eat delicious food."

The conversation naturally transitioned into a discussion about funeral culture.

"Funeral culture needs to change a lot," Choi stated. "Just as we consider the quality of life, we should also consider the quality of death." She suggested that people should consider not only how long they live, but also how they wish to meet their final moments and how those left behind will remember them.

She continued calmly, "I am now right before it. How wonderful would it be if I could die while laughing healthily?"

Her words reveal a desire to accept death not merely as a tragic event, but as the final stage of life, maintaining her dignity in her own way until that moment.

The anecdote of dressing her mother in a silk gown instead of a traditional shroud shows that for Choi, a funeral is not just a ritual, but a process of respecting a person's tastes and dignity until the very end. Rather than a grand funeral, letting the deceased depart exactly as they wished, Choi's story reflects how the way we prepare for death is ultimately connected to our attitude toward life.