Taiwanese woman wins hearts in Buri Ram by making dead bodies look lifelike
The story of a Taiwanese mortuary cosmetologist offering free services to locals in Buri Ram has taken Thai social media by storm.
Buri Ram native Yingphan Wongwai, 48, said the relatives of a man who committed suicide by hanging decided to hold a closed casket funeral as the deceased’s body was unpresentable and already decomposing.
However, they were surprised when a beautiful Taiwanese woman stepped forward and offered to work on the body for free.
Chou Yi Hua, 33, who also goes by the name Emma, told The Nation that she has been working as a mortuary cosmetologist in Taiwan for four years now.
She said that she was inspired to learn the art of making dead bodies look as natural and lifelike as possible after morticians in Taiwan had done a terrible job on her father’s body.
Emma said she had come across the Facebook page of a funeral home in Thailand and contacted them to offer free services. She also offered free lessons on the art of mortuary cosmetology. She said she had realised that the job was not very popular in Thailand as most people find working on dead bodies loathsome. Before coming to Thailand, Emma also learned some Thai, so she could communicate with locals.
She said this is her second visit to Thailand, during which she has already worked on some 50 bodies for free. Emma added that during each visit, she spends around 10 days living with locals and offering free services to mortuaries nearby before returning to her job in Taiwan.
