Rest in protest: How funeral wreaths became Korea's weapon of dissent

Rows of funeral wreaths lined the pavement outside Paichai High School in Gangdong District, eastern Seoul — tall stands of white chrysanthemums on wire frames, the thing you see often in Korean funeral halls meant to mourn the dead. 

But nobody was mourning the death of anyone. Instead, they were mourning the school. 

"In mourning for the closure of Paichai High School," the writing on one of the wreath ribbons said. Others called for the school's baseball team to be banned from entering matches for three years. 

But the same wreaths have also appeared outside the office of the K-pop agency HYBE, as well as in front of the Supreme Court, party offices and lawmakers' office buildings. 

The move represents a distinct way of protesting in Korea: using funeral wreaths as a public weapon. Built to honor the dead, the white chrysanthemum wreaths — or geunjo hwahwan — now appear not just in the funeral hall but outside game studios, entertainment agencies, courthouses and government offices for anyone wanting to get their point across. 

Why are there funeral wreaths outside a high school?

The funeral wreaths outside the Paichai High School were there to protest against the school's baseball team. Some players chanted "Let's go, let's go, let's go to Starbucks” during a first-round match against Gwangju Jeil High School during the 81st Blue Dragon Flag National High School Baseball Championship held at Mokdong Baseball Stadium in Yangcheon District, western Seoul, on June 29. 

The chant appeared to have been inspired by Starbucks Korea's "Tank Day" promotion controversy from May 18 this year. The promotion faced condemnation from the public, as it was seen as making fun of the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement, which was brutally suppressed in 1980 by the military regime. 

Students singing the chant against the students from Gwangju, therefore, was read as them mocking the city and its history.  

By Thursday, there were wreaths sent from all across the country and left outside the school gate. At the same time, more colorful wreaths in red and pink colors came in, with messages supporting the baseball team — likely sent by far-right supporters. 

What exactly is a geunjo hwahwan? 

A geunjo hwahwan is a Korean funeral wreath: a tall vertical stand of white chrysanthemums on a frame, delivered to a funeral hall to honor the dead and console the bereaved. Usually, each funeral wreath carries two ribbons, with one ribbon paying respect to the dead and the other that has the sender's name or the organization or company's name written on it.

Often in a Korean funeral, rows and rows of geunjo hwahwan are visible outside the funeral rooms, with wreaths working as a visible tally of the family standing: the more wreaths you get, the higher you're perceived to be.

A similar thing applies when they are used as a form of protest. Funeral flowers sent outside a company headquarters therefore signify that something is up, that something has died: whether that be the company's reputation, fairness or decency. A picket sign protest says the sender is angry, while a funeral wreath says the target is as good as dead. 

When did flowers become a form of protest? 

It's been almost 20 years since the first instance of funeral wreaths as a demonstration of dissent. The earliest case documented in Korean media dates to 2006, when residents of Ochang, now a part of Cheongju, North Chungcheong, set up wreaths outside the county office to oppose the development of a lakeside in the region. 

The practice never caught on until 2021, when people couldn't gather physically to protest due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and were forced to think creatively to protest. Media mentions of "funeral wreath protest" rose 16-fold in 2021 compared to the previous year. 

K-pop agencies, game publishers, politicians and even the Supreme Court have received such wreaths over the past years. 

Notably, K-pop agency SM Entertainment received hundreds of wreaths outside its headquarters in eastern Seoul in 2024, when the company announced that they were returning Seunghan — who had previously paused his activities after intimate photos of him with someone whom people alleged to be his girlfriend surfaced — to boy band Riize. This resulted in SM Entertainment apologizing and canceling the decision, with the member eventually leaving the boy band completely. 

Game publisher Nexon also received funeral wreaths reading "We mourn the death of labor law," part of a dispute over an artist pushed out amid an online harassment campaign, in 2023. Students at Dongduk Women's University planted wreaths on campus in late 2024 to protest a plan to admit men. Wreaths have stood outside the Supreme Court and the President's residence in central Seoul following the impeachment of former President Yoon Suk Yeol. Supporters of Yoon sent colorful flowers asking Yoon to cheer up, while funeral wreaths condemning the impeachment of Yoon also stood.

Where does it cross a line?

Wreath flowers meant to condemn a living individual as opposed to companies and institutions bring a different, darker vibe,  as they can be seen as people wishing for the death of someone. 

"Isn't it too much to send funeral wreaths? Are they wishing [the students] to die?" a far-right user wrote on Threads. 

BY CHO YONG-JUN [[email protected]]