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Analysis of Media Advertisements of Funeral Services Companies

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Funeral Rites in Contemporary Korea

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Abstract

The funeral industry is a business sector that essentially involves a sangjo firm’s provision of funeral services to its customers for a financial return. Profit-making out of the emotionally charged service makes the industry somewhat different from other business sectors. A degree of competition between the firms stimulates the continuing development of the industry to provide customers with better services. The competition in itself is not considered problematic, but the level of heated competition is. The competition necessarily involves advertising products to persuade customers to choose a particular product over another. How a sangjo firm goes about promoting its products reflects the given socio-cultural context, technologies used in the sangjo industry, and the given cultural traditions that are embedded in the industry.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    https://namu.wiki/w/%EA%B0%80%EC%8A%B5%EA%B8%B0%20%EC%82%B4%EA%B7%A0%EC%A0%9C%20%EC%82%AC%EB%A7%9D%EC%82%AC%EA%B1%B4. Accessed 17/12/2017; Hankyoreh Sinmun. 29 May 2015. ‘옥시싹싹, 침묵의 살인자는 입을 닫았다 (Oxy Ssakssak, the silent killer is silent)’, http://www.hani.co.kr/arti/society/society_general/693504.html. Accessed 19/5/2018.

  2. 2.

    Han (2016: 43) noted three of them: (1) Choi Chang-Seob and Mun Yeong-Suk. 1992. ‘광고비평에 관한 이론적, 방법론적 접근 (Critique of advertising: theoretical and methodological approaches)’, 광고연구 (Journal of Advertising), Vol 15 (Summer issue): 205–225. (2) Choi Byeong-Rok. 1993. ‘우리나라 광고규제의 개선방안 (Recommendations to revise the regulations on advertisements)’, 광고연구 (Journal of Advertising), Vol 19 (Summer issue): 151–174. (3) Han Eun-Kyoung and Ryu Eun-Ah, ‘기업의 사회적 책임활동이 구매의도에 미치는 영향에 관한 연구 (A study of the business sector’s social responsibility and its impact on the customers’ intension to purchase the products)’, 광고연구 (Journal of Advertising), Vol 60 (Winter issue): 155–177.

  3. 3.

    For example, there are positivism, structuralism and functionalism on one hand, and interpretivism, postmodernism, and poststructuralism on the other.

  4. 4.

    These were the advertisements that led me to question much about the funeral rite in Korea and what it said about Korean society in particular and human society in general. These advertisements were the subjects of analysis of Han (2016).

  5. 5.

    http://www.ftc.go.kr/news/policy/competePrint.jsp?news_div_cd=2&news_no=456.

  6. 6.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZcxSO3oIHA

  7. 7.

    상조가이드 (Funeral Guide 2017), ‘상조의 모든것을 한눈에, 상조가이드 (Everything about sangjo at a glance)’, 17 August 2017, http://sangjoguide.com/funeral_company_advance.php?&tab=1&keyword=&sort=d_4&page=&page=1. Accessed 15 December 2017. According to this information provided by the Fair Trade Commission as at 17 August 2017, 170 of them are listed with reference to the start date of business, the capacity to pay their customers at the time of the company’s fall, debt/asset ratio, total assets, and preservation rate of the collected premiums.

  8. 8.

    http://www.index.go.kr/potal/main/EachDtlPageDetail.do?idx_cd=1576. Accessed Jan. 15, 2016.

  9. 9.

    http://bumo-sarang.com/bbs/bbsView.php?id=15&page=1&code=bbs_press&type=8&stype=1_8_2.

  10. 10.

    This has been observed in the Chinese-Australian community (Han et al. 2018).

  11. 11.

    http://kimcj119.tistory.com/m/post/96. Accessed March 4, 2016.

  12. 12.

    상조가이드 (Cited from Fair Trade Commission 2017, 공정거래위원회). ‘허위·과장광고를 행한 10개 상조업체 제재 (False and exaggerated advertisements: 10 firms breaching the rules)’, 7 September 2009, http://www.ftc.go.kr/news/policy/competePrint.jsp?news_div_cd=2&news_no=456. Accessed 19/12/2017.

  13. 13.

    이안상조 Real-TV 로그인세상속으로 (Ian Sangjo advertisement), 16 November 2011, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZcxSO3oIHA. Accessed 24/12/2017.

  14. 14.

    장의차 (Hearse), 8 December 2018, https://namu.moe/w/%EC%9E%A5%EC%9D%98%EC%B0%A8. Accessed 23/12/2017; 가마 (Litter), 21 December 2017, https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/ 가마. Accessed 23/12/2017; 진천 농다리  (JinCheon bridge), 6 June 2013, http://www.k-heritage.tv/brd/board/275/L/CATEGORY/327/menu/253?brdCodeField=CATEGORY&brdCodeValue=327&bbIdx=4371&brdType=R. Accessed 23/12/2017.

  15. 15.

    I have noted this in Chap. 1.

  16. 16.

    상조가이드 (Cited from Fair Trade Commission 2017), ‘상조의 모든것을 한눈에, 상조가이드 (Everything about sangjo at a glance)’, 17 August 2017, http://sangjoguide.com/funeral_company_advance.php?&tab=1&keyword=&sort=d_4&page=&page=1. Accessed 15 December 2017.

  17. 17.

    매일마케팅신문 (Maeil Marketing Newspaper), ‘한국상조공제조합 “조은이웃 상조회원에 보상금 지급” (Korea Mutual Aid Cooperative Association pays compensation to Joeun Sangjo customers)’, 3 March 2015, http://www.maeilmarketing.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=1638. Accessed 20/12/2017.

  18. 18.

    크리에이티브 (Creative Advertisement Info Centre). ‘Daeum Segye Sangjo advertisement’, 8 July 2008, http://www.ad.co.kr/ad/tv/show.do?ukey=64927. Accessed 21/12/2017.

  19. 19.

    (Daeum Segye Sangjo information on compensation through Woori Bank, no deadline), 7 July 2015, http://blog.daum.net/_blog/BlogTypeView.do?blogid=0AFs7&articleno=17832663&categoryId=959112&regdt=20150707140736. Accessed 21/12/2017.

  20. 20.

    프리드라이프, ‘프리드 대왕 3호’ 안마의자 (Preed Life, ‘Preed the Great King Number 3’ and the Massage Chair, 31 March 2017,

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cItp4HbocC4. Accessed 21/12/2017.

  21. 21.

    상조장례뉴스. ‘프리드 135만원 안마의자는 공짜인가? (Preed massage chair $1350, is it really free?)’, 25 April 2014, ‘http://www.sjnews.co.kr/bbs/wagle/15183’. Accessed 21/12/2017.

  22. 22.

    이뉴스투데이 (eNews Today). ‘프리드라이프, ‘상조 가입시 안마의자 공짜’ 허위광고에 소비자만 피해’, 28 November, http://www.enewstoday.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=649143, 21/12/2017.

  23. 23.

    데일리포스트 (Daily Post). ‘프리드라이프, 아들회사 안마의자 끼워 팔다 ‘뭇매’, https://www.thedailypost.kr/news/49571. Accessed 21/12/2017.

  24. 24.

    ‘보람상조 인포머셜영상 (Boram Sangjo Informercial Clip)’, 17 March 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adBWwPPW0BY. Accessed 22/12/2017.

  25. 25.

    경향신문. ‘피해 나몰라’ 상조회사 배째라에 소비자 ‘뿔났다’ (Customers are angry about the sangjo companies’ ‘couldn’t care less’ attitude), 17 October 2017, http://m.khan.co.kr/view.html?med_id=khan&artid=200810141140042&code=940706#csidx69cce7f6828b0d9b4e0bf99fe62495f. Accessed 22/12/2017.

  26. 26.

    AU경제 (AreYou Economic News), 상조보증공제조합, 상조회사 표시ㆍ과장광고 세미나 개최 (Seminar on Sangjo Co-op Associations, sangjo information and false advertisement)’, 23 August 2017, http://www.areyou.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=27567. Accessed 22/12/2017; 시사경제뉴스 (Current Economic News), ‘상조 표시 과장광고 세미나 개최 (Seminar on sangjo information and false advertisement)’, 7 September 2017, http://www.sisaenews.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=143. Accessed 22/12/2017.

  27. 27.

    상조장례뉴스. ‘상조분야 허위•과장 광고 감시요원 활동中 (Watchdogs in action in search of false advertisement of sangjo services)’, 31 July 2017, http://www.sjnews1.anyfree.co.kr/news_gisa/gisa_view.htm?gisa_category=01010000&gisa_idx=46911. Accessed 22/12/2017.

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  1. School of Media, Film and Journalism, Monash University, Caulfield East, VIC, Australia

    Gil-Soo Han

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Han, GS. (2019). Analysis of Media Advertisements of Funeral Services Companies. In: Funeral Rites in Contemporary Korea. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-7852-2_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-7852-2_5

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