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Investigation for How Koreans Construct the Concept of Dying Well

The subject of dying well has attracted much attention, but to date there have been few papers that have examined what this actually means and what components must be present to qualify as dying well. The present study investigates how Koreans envision dying well, how this is affected by demographic factors, and how their ideas correlate with factors related to quality of life. A total of 1, 000 survey participants were recruited nationwide by means of a stratified random sampling method for each region, gender, and age group. Based on previous studies conducted on the perception of dying well or a “good death, ” we came up with six main themes of that we further classified into 20 subthemes. We constructed a dying well assessment tool using a total of 57 items and used these to conduct a survey through Gallup Korea. The items covered matters such as death preparation, religious and spiritual factors, physical symptoms, medical treatment, social relationships, and death environment. The quality-of-life (QOL) index and the perception of dying well were highly correlated regardless of the theme, with a high QOL generally correlated with a high score for dying well. For Koreans, the general perception of dying well is most strongly associated with death preparation, such as the making provisions for the costs associated with dying and making funeral arrangements. The next-most important component is the acceptance of death and psychological dignity such as spirituality. From a demographic point of view, individual health and stress conditions had some significant correlations with subthemes of dying well. Other factors did not show significant correlation. Surprisingly, it was found that age did not change Koreans’ perceptions of what it means to die well. Discussions about death and dying well are increasingly relevant in aging populations, but it does not appear in various forms at the individual level in reality. Future studies will need to develop measurement tools around more sensitive issues of death or investigate the developmental aspects of thinking through longitudinal research.