ABSTRACT
Understanding Culture and Socialization as They Relate to Death Culture and culture-based socialization are always at work in the areas of death, grief, and mourning. Cultures differ, for example, in what is appropriate in the relationships of a dying person with those who are likely to survive him or her. Thus, from Korean culture there is evidence that, while a mother is dying, her children may not speak in her presence as though she is dying (Rosenblatt & Yang, 2004). But even though they may not talk
about her dying, they know she is dying and work to deal with the pending death. In particular, the mother and children work at carrying out intergenerational obligations that would be spread over many years if she were not going to die soon. For example, a dying mother may work to teach a young adult daughter to be a good cook, and adult children may move toward a higher level of achievement and responsibility as a dying gift to their mother and as a token of their respect and obligation.
