Koreans traditionally bury their dead and visit their graves, but due to influences from the West coupled with government promotion of cremation (in order to save space in the densely populated country), South Koreans are looking towards new age ways to commemorate their dead loved ones.

Only a decade ago, six out of 10 Koreans were buried after death but now, only half as many are given to the same practice. Perhaps the aforementioned factors as well as the human compulsion to keep those we love close are making these huge jumps in statistics.

Of those who chose to cremate their dead, about 500 also made the choice to turn the ashes into Buddhist style beads. Bonhyang, a company based in Icheon south of Seoul, have experienced an increase in customers in recent years, and are not alone. Bae Jae-yul, founder and CEO of Bonhyang, says it uses an extremely high temperature to melt the ashes until crystallization sets in, after which the beads can be made in just 90 minutes.

While this technology has been available all over the world since the 1990's, it hasn't really taken off as very few people see it as a natural way to put their loved ones at rest. Many still believe that the most natural thing is to let human bodies go back to nature by way of burial. But the truth of the matter is, with the increasing world population and more countries becoming less attached to tradition, there might be a future in businesses like this. Bae is currently in the process of leasing his technology to other countries such as China, Japan and the Philippines.