How long must we grieve?

Helpful or not, cultural norms shape the timeline of grief after interpersonal loss.

Following the unspeakably tragic Jeju Air crash that claimed 179 lives on December 29, 2024, the South Korean government promptly declared a national period of mourning. One week of intentional grieving will take place as a nation, the acting president of South Korea announced.

Scheduled TV shows were cancelled. Professional athletes carried out tributes during competitions. Celebrities and other public figures refrained from social media activity, and those that slipped up received swift public condemnation.

Are seven days enough?

Here is a more personal example, again from the Korean context. My mother passed away last month. Her funeral—admittedly, a very traditionally Korean one—lasted three nights and four days. The ceremony was filled with rituals and terminologies, some of which, to this day, I have trouble accurately naming and describing.

Four days. Are four days sufficient? Do the three long nights somehow help?

And another rhetorical question: Where do we come up with these numbers that dictate what is called for, in terms of the progression of........

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