Cardinal's graceful death inspires 'well-dying' campaign in South Korea

By Shin Hae-in
SEOUL, Feb. 25 (Yonhap) -- Just a few steps from Seoul's Myeongdong Cathedral,
where hundreds of thousands gathered to bid farewell to the late Cardinal Stephen
Kim Sou-hwan last week, there was another long line of people responding to the
spiritual leader's last words to "love and forgive."
They were waiting to sign up for organ donation.
"I had always wanted to donate my organs after death, but didn't get around to
signing up for ages," said 42-year-old Im Mi-ryung, a mother of three. "The death
of Cardinal Kim reminded me that I can't choose the timing of my death and I have
to be prepared."
Im is among some 1,000 people who signed up as organ donors since Cardinal Kim
died on Feb. 16 at the age of 86.
The late cardinal -- respected by Catholics and non-Catholics alike for his
courageous criticism of a succession of South Korean dictators and his tireless
support for democracy -- displayed a last act of selflessness by donating his
eyes to two patients. He had pledged to donate his organs as early as 1990,
desiring to "give everything and leave with nothing," according to the
Archdiocese of Seoul.
"I was reminded of the importance of dying well from the cardinal's beautiful
ending to life," said college student Jeong Jae-young, who had been among the
thousands paying their last respects to the cardinal last week. "There are still
many more years to go until I die, but I realized how dying well is just as
important as living well."
The number of pledged organ donors increased by nearly six-fold following the
cardinal's death, with more than 100 people signing up everyday, according to the
Korean Organ Donor Program.
Such a surge is a rare phenomenon in South Korea, where less than one out of
every 10 people donate their organs, while more than 18,000 patients are waiting
for transplants. In Spain, 34 percent of the population are registered as
voluntary organ donors, while the number stands at 22 percent in the U.S. and 20
percent in France.
The cardinal's death is also drawing attention to the issue of dying with dignity
and euthanasia, which remain illegal in South Korea.
Into his last moments, the late cardinal is said to have insisted on not using
medical devices to prolong his life. Doctors, who acquiesced to Kim's wishes,
have now fallen under a shadow as some say they were complicit in the cardinal's
death.
A legal battle is currently under way between Seoul's Severance Hospital and the
family of a 77-year-old patient who have requested the hospital turn off life
support. A Seoul district court ordered the hospital to turn off the equipment
last year, citing the low likelihood of the patient's recovery, but the hospital
disagreed and announced Tuesday it would take the case to the Supreme Court.
"I think it is time we allow people the choice of dying with dignity," said
office worker Kim Dong-youn. "Medical devices will continue to improve, but what
does it mean to extend life when one has to lie in a hospital bed the whole
time?"
Countries including the Netherlands, Switzerland and Belgium legally protect the
patient's right to die with dignity, while the issue still under heated debate in
the United States, England, France and Japan.
An increased number of people are also taking keen interest in so-called "death
preparation programs," in which they experience lying in coffins and writing
their will.
"Even younger people in their 20s and 30s are taking interest in the program,"
said Cha Young-mi, an official at the Archdiocese of Seoul's "Well-dying
Program." "Cardinal Kim had prepared for his death long before it came and more
people are hoping to follow in his steps."
"It means a lot to take a moment and think about death beforehand. It can change
the way one lives the rest of his or her life," she added.
Countries such Japan include lessons on the meaning of death in school
curriculums, said Hong Yang-hee, chief of the Gathering of Life and Death, a
private organization that assists long-term patients.
"It is time we take a moment to properly educate people from a young age about
the meaning of death as well as the importance of frugal funerals," she said.
As per his last wishes to keep his funeral "quiet and simple," Cardinal Kim was
laid in a plain cedar coffin, holding only a rosary in his hand when he was
buried. All flower wreaths were turned back.
hayney@yna.co.kr
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