After dating my girlfriend for three months, she casually invited me to go to the pet cemetery to see her cat being interred. When I arrived, I was amazed to see a full fledged mortuary replete with pet-sized caskets and viewing rooms where tearful owners bid their pets a final goodbye. I was even more surprised to see that my girlfriend’s family had buried over seven of their dogs and cats there over the years at a substantial financial investment for each ceremony.

In hindsight, knowing their great reverence for their deceased animal companions, I should’ve been a little bit more tight lipped about the traditional Korean way of disposing of dead pets: throwing them into the dumpster haphazardly with a minimum of pomp and circumstance. Lots of reproachful looks from my future mother in law after that story.