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Found out the hard way why you don't talk about funeral prices in Japan
I was planning a trip to Kyoto last fall and asked my Japanese coworker about average funeral costs over there, just out of curiosity. She got super quiet and told me it's really bad luck to discuss money around death stuff in their culture. Has anyone else run into a taboo that caught you totally off guard like that?
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elliot_miller223d ago
My buddy's family is Korean and he told me a similar thing when I joked about life insurance at his grandfather's funeral. Apparently in a lot of East Asian cultures you just don't talk numbers or money near death, it's like inviting more bad fortune. I'd say just apologize to your coworker and explain you genuinely didn't know, bring her some small snack or something as a peace offering, that usually works to smooth things over. Also for future reference, if you're curious about funeral costs anywhere, just Google it after you get home and don't bring it up with locals until they bring it up first.
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