A new treatment for suicidal patients in South Korea involves locking them up in wooden coffins. The fake “death experience apparently helps students appreciate life better after confronting a simulated version of their last moments.

韓國出現自殺傾向患者新療法，躺入木棺思考人生。在直面模擬的“臨終時刻后，假死經歷有助于人們更加珍惜生命。

The rate of suicide in Korea is on the rise, with about 40 people killing themselves every day. Experts believe that the nation’s super-competitive atmosphere is responsible for so many cases of depression and suicide. And according to theSeoul Hyowon Healing Center, the solution to this crisis lies in their ‘death experience’ therapy.

韓國的自殺率不斷上漲，每天都有多達40人自殺。專家認為韓國過于激烈的競爭環境是導致人們抑郁、自殺的罪魁禍首。Seoul Hyowon治療中心稱，他們推出的“死亡體驗療法是消除自殺危機的良方。

Participants at the centre come from all walks of life, including teenagers who struggle with pressure at school, older parents experiencing isolation, and the elderly who are afraid of becoming a financial burden on their families. They all don white robes and get into coffins arranged in rows. Beside each coffin is a small desk with pens and paper. Students sit inside the coffins and listen to a short talk by Jeong Yong-mun, a former funeral worker who is now the head of the healing centre. He explains to them that they should accept their problems as a part of life and try to find joy in the most difficult situations.

治療中心的患者來自社會各界，有糾結于學業壓力的青少年，有被孤立的年老父母，也有害怕成為家庭經濟負擔的老人們。他們身著白袍，進入一排排的棺材中。每個棺材旁都設有一張小桌，桌上放有紙和筆。患者們需要坐在棺材里，聽前喪葬工作人員、現治療中心負責人鄭永門(Jeong Yong-mun)講一段話。這段話中，他勸解患者們應將困難視為生活的一部分，試著苦中作樂。

The students then lie down in the coffin and close their eyes to have a ‘funeral portrait’ taken. Afterwards, they write down their will or compose a farewell letter to their loved ones, and read their last words aloud to the group. When the ‘hour of death’ approaches, they are told that it is now time to ‘go to the other side’. Candles are lit and the ‘Korean Angel of Death’ enters the room. The students lie down in their coffins once more, and the angel closes the lid on each one of them.

而后，患者們需要躺入棺中，合上雙眼，照一張“遺像。之后，寫下遺囑，或是給親人寫一封告別信，并大聲朗讀。當“死亡降臨時，工作人員會告訴他們是時候“去另一邊了。而后點燃蠟燭，韓國的死亡天使就會走進屋來。此時，學生們再次躺入棺中，死亡天使會為每位患者合上雙眼。

They are left alone in the dark for about 10 minutes, during which time they are faced with the idea of ‘nothingness’ in the after-life. They are encouraged to use this time to contemplate on life from an outsider’s perspective. When they finally emerge from their coffins, they claim to feel ‘refreshed’ and ‘liberated’. Jeong Yong-mun enters the room once more to tell them: “You have seen what death feels like, you are alive, and you must fight!

之后，工作人員退出房間，患者們將在黑暗中度過10分鐘，體會死后的“虛無。治療中心鼓勵他們以局外人的角度，用這段時間思考人生。當他們從棺材中出來時，都覺得“煥然一新、“得到了解脫。而后，鄭永門再次進屋，告訴他們：“你們已經體會到了死亡的感覺，但是你們還活著，必須奮斗!

The idea of the experience is to dwell on the ‘collateral damage’ of death and to think about how much pain they might cause their loved ones by choosing to end their lives.

這趟死亡體驗的主旨就是讓患者想想死亡的“附帶傷害，體會一下終結生命時，他們給親人帶來的痛苦。

Coffin therapy is not a new concept – we came across it a few years ago when a coffin maker from Ukraine offered people the chance to get inside some of his comfortable creations. We also heard of a psychotherapy clinic in Shenyang, China, where people with psychological problems were treated with death therapy. Most people who tried it reported feeling very relaxed and positive afterwards.

棺材療法以前就有。幾年前，一位烏克蘭的棺材匠曾允許人們躺入他制作的舒適棺材中，而我們也是那時候才發現的。我們還聽說中國沈陽的一家心理診所也利用死亡療法治療心理疾病。大部分接受治療的患者都表示非常輕松，心情也陽光起來。

Vocabulary

collateral damage: 間接損害，附帶損害

A new treatment for suicidal patients in South Korea involves locking them up in wooden coffins. The fake “death experience apparently helps students appreciate life better after confronting a simulated version of their last moments.

韓國出現自殺傾向患者新療法，躺入木棺思考人生。在直面模擬的“臨終時刻后，假死經歷有助于人們更加珍惜生命。

The rate of suicide in Korea is on the rise, with about 40 people killing themselves every day. Experts believe that the nation’s super-competitive atmosphere is responsible for so many cases of depression and suicide. And according to theSeoul Hyowon Healing Center, the solution to this crisis lies in their ‘death experience’ therapy.

韓國的自殺率不斷上漲，每天都有多達40人自殺。專家認為韓國過于激烈的競爭環境是導致人們抑郁、自殺的罪魁禍首。Seoul Hyowon治療中心稱，他們推出的“死亡體驗療法是消除自殺危機的良方。

Participants at the centre come from all walks of life, including teenagers who struggle with pressure at school, older parents experiencing isolation, and the elderly who are afraid of becoming a financial burden on their families. They all don white robes and get into coffins arranged in rows. Beside each coffin is a small desk with pens and paper. Students sit inside the coffins and listen to a short talk by Jeong Yong-mun, a former funeral worker who is now the head of the healing centre. He explains to them that they should accept their problems as a part of life and try to find joy in the most difficult situations.

治療中心的患者來自社會各界，有糾結于學業壓力的青少年，有被孤立的年老父母，也有害怕成為家庭經濟負擔的老人們。他們身著白袍，進入一排排的棺材中。每個棺材旁都設有一張小桌，桌上放有紙和筆。患者們需要坐在棺材里，聽前喪葬工作人員、現治療中心負責人鄭永門(Jeong Yong-mun)講一段話。這段話中，他勸解患者們應將困難視為生活的一部分，試著苦中作樂。

The students then lie down in the coffin and close their eyes to have a ‘funeral portrait’ taken. Afterwards, they write down their will or compose a farewell letter to their loved ones, and read their last words aloud to the group. When the ‘hour of death’ approaches, they are told that it is now time to ‘go to the other side’. Candles are lit and the ‘Korean Angel of Death’ enters the room. The students lie down in their coffins once more, and the angel closes the lid on each one of them.

而后，患者們需要躺入棺中，合上雙眼，照一張“遺像。之后，寫下遺囑，或是給親人寫一封告別信，并大聲朗讀。當“死亡降臨時，工作人員會告訴他們是時候“去另一邊了。而后點燃蠟燭，韓國的死亡天使就會走進屋來。此時，學生們再次躺入棺中，死亡天使會為每位患者合上雙眼。

They are left alone in the dark for about 10 minutes, during which time they are faced with the idea of ‘nothingness’ in the after-life. They are encouraged to use this time to contemplate on life from an outsider’s perspective. When they finally emerge from their coffins, they claim to feel ‘refreshed’ and ‘liberated’. Jeong Yong-mun enters the room once more to tell them: “You have seen what death feels like, you are alive, and you must fight!

之后，工作人員退出房間，患者們將在黑暗中度過10分鐘，體會死后的“虛無。治療中心鼓勵他們以局外人的角度，用這段時間思考人生。當他們從棺材中出來時，都覺得“煥然一新、“得到了解脫。而后，鄭永門再次進屋，告訴他們：“你們已經體會到了死亡的感覺，但是你們還活著，必須奮斗!

The idea of the experience is to dwell on the ‘collateral damage’ of death and to think about how much pain they might cause their loved ones by choosing to end their lives.

這趟死亡體驗的主旨就是讓患者想想死亡的“附帶傷害，體會一下終結生命時，他們給親人帶來的痛苦。

Coffin therapy is not a new concept – we came across it a few years ago when a coffin maker from Ukraine offered people the chance to get inside some of his comfortable creations. We also heard of a psychotherapy clinic in Shenyang, China, where people with psychological problems were treated with death therapy. Most people who tried it reported feeling very relaxed and positive afterwards.

棺材療法以前就有。幾年前，一位烏克蘭的棺材匠曾允許人們躺入他制作的舒適棺材中，而我們也是那時候才發現的。我們還聽說中國沈陽的一家心理診所也利用死亡療法治療心理疾病。大部分接受治療的患者都表示非常輕松，心情也陽光起來。

Vocabulary

collateral damage: 間接損害，附帶損害