The Reality of Solitary Death: A Story Too Close to Home
The reality of solitary death, a story that was much closer than imagined.
Professor Kim Soo-young of the Department of Social Welfare at Seoul National University shared a heartbreaking story on ‘You Quiz on the Block,’ leaving everyone deeply moved.
Professor Kim stated, “Even single-person households with high income and education levels are not immune to the risk of isolation,” and confessed a shocking experience that made her realize this firsthand.
The protagonist of the ‘solitary death of a private tutor in Daechi-dong’ that was reported in the media was her own cousin.
“The person in the article was my cousin”… A truth hard to believe.
Professor Kim Soo-young said that she encountered a news article while on sabbatical in a foreign country in 2023, continuing her research on single-person households.
She recalled, “After seeing the article about the solitary death of a private tutor in Daechi-dong, I thought that my research direction, ‘even highly educated people can be isolated,’ was correct.”
However, she said that it was not until she returned to Korea in 2024 that she learned that the protagonist of the article was her cousin.
“That friend was bright and took good care of her health. Because she worked as a freelancer, she didn't have any fixed work colleagues, and there was no one to take care of her. Her family was far away, so she was discovered too late.”
Her voice was filled with sadness and regret.
“I shared it with my students as research material”… Blaming herself for not knowing at the time.
Professor Kim revealed that she shared the article with her students as research material at the time.
“I didn't know it was my cousin back then. I looked at it with a dry eye, saying, ‘Look, the direction we researched is correct.’ It's too cruel to think about it now.”
She confessed that she didn't know this fact until November 2024, and that she still finds it difficult to accept the reality.
“I still haven't been able to go to the charnel house. Because I feel like if I go, I'll have to really acknowledge my younger sibling's death.”
“I imagine my sibling left alone in that room”… A heartbreaking recollection.
Professor Kim couldn't hide her tears throughout the interview.
“Every day, in my imagination, I go to the room where that friend was alone. I sometimes look at my sibling lying face down, and sometimes I sit next to them.”
She blamed herself, saying, “If I hadn't gone abroad at that time, my sibling wouldn't have been neglected for so long. It wouldn't have been in the news…”
Her heartfelt confession went beyond the sadness of one family and made us think again about the problem of ‘isolation of single-person households’ that our society is facing.
The loneliness of ‘single-person households’ is everyone's problem.
Professor Kim's story reminds us that ‘solitary death’ is not just a story of a specific class.
It is a reality that anyone can be isolated in the breakdown of relationships, regardless of social success, education, or economic power.
Her story left a clear message even in sadness.
“I hope that we can become a society that asks about each other's well-being so that people don't become distant from the world just because they are alone.”
That one word sounds like a much-needed resonance in this era.
Source :https://blog.naver.com/plug_and_play_life/224058528612
No comments yet.
