'I Know Death': Perceptions and Attitudes Towards Death Among Middle-Aged Adults With Intellectual Disabilities in South Korea.

Only 21 people took part, all in South Korea, and the authors say the findings cannot be treated as one shared cultural picture or moved to other settings without care. Everyone had lost a parent, but the time since that loss ranged from 1 to 30 years, which may have changed how they remembered it. Religious belief shaped many of the accounts, and the study did not record how much participants spoke with family or staff, or what they had previously been taught about death. Participants' level of intellectual disability was not systematically analysed, although it may have shaped what they said. Recruitment was through disability organisations and their websites, so people already connected to services were more likely to hear about the study, and those who were isolated or without internet access were not reached. People who were comfortable talking about bereavement were more likely to volunteer, so the accounts may over-represent those who found it easier to discuss. The interviewers were researchers, and participants may have given answers they thought were wanted, especially about an emotional subject.

Funded by the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea and the National Research Foundation of Korea in 2022. The authors declare no conflicts of interest. The interviews come from a larger study whose earlier publication covered the same participants' bereavement experiences more broadly; this analysis of their views on death is new.

Do not read the calm acceptance of death as a good outcome. Several of the people who said they were ready to die were exhausted by years of caregiving and hardship, and the authors warn this may reflect vulnerability or emotional fatigue rather than genuine acceptance, so it needs careful assessment rather than being taken at face value.