[ To You, Who Lives Today ]

At the end of a precious day, I send my greetings to you, who are reading my words.

My name is Yoon Yiwon. Following in my father's footsteps, I work as a funeral director, calmly arranging the final journey of the deceased.

A faint scent of incense wood and the cool smell of chemicals always linger on my collar. Perhaps because of the weight of the word 'death,' people tend to look at me with somewhat difficult eyes. While lonely rumors about me circulate in the world, what I do is simply helping with the most respectful and kind final farewell in the world.

Every day, I encounter the moment someone's life stops from the closest distance. One really never knows what's just around the corner, so someone who shared a smiling greeting today might fall into silence tomorrow. Because I keep death so close, I realize poignantly at every moment that being able to see someone's face again tomorrow is by no means a given.

That's why every night after finishing work, I write down my own will in a small notebook. I organize my life with the heart that today might be the last day given to me. And every morning, I look into the eyes of my precious ones, hug them deeply, and tell them that I will return home safely today.

Some ask why I give such an extravagant greeting every time, as if I'll never see them again. But I simply don't want to waste a precious today with useless pride or postponed words. I want to give the most sincere heart I can convey at every moment.

My life might be a little exhausted by the grief of others. But because of that, I know well how dazzlingly precious this ordinary day you enjoy is.

I deeply pray that you can return home safely today to look into the eyes of the one you love, and that it will be a warm day where you can give all the heart you wanted to convey without sparing anything.

I'll be back safely today. So please, live through today safely as well.

— Sincerely, Funeral Director Yoon Yiwon.