▲ Bellavita / CEO Kang Hee-gab

Korean send decorated flowers to funerals and weddings. The flowers often show off how high they stand and much they cost. Lots of young people who think giving the flowers is unpractical and outdated feel uncomfortable facing the flower wall. Of course, it is a waste of money.

A number of companies have introduced the alternatives such as rice wreath but the flare of the new gift was burned shortly after. 

However, the try is ongoing as flowers are needed anyway to show condolences or congrats to the beloved. So the introduced was the photo wreath by Bellavita, the new challenger of the meaningful try. Kang Hee-gab, the CEO of Bellavita, happened to pay a respect at a funeral and saw that around 2,000 stand wreaths were distractedly lined up. He doubted whether they really represent the sender’s condolence or they are just for the ceremony only. He felt something more decent and presentable are needed. And it was the start of the photo wreath. 

The idea was simple: to swap flowers with photos. You send a choice of your photo to be sent to the events and Bellavita makes it into a frame and send on behalf. Or you can ask Bellavita to use an appropriate photo if you do not have one. The photo can be anything. It could be a photo you took with the deceased or a photo you want to put a meaning for the deceased. If the senders are many, the funeral, or a wedding, can turn into an instant gallery, says Kang. Kang is the honorary ambassador of the Seungil Hope Foundation for Lou Gehrig patients. As a photographer himself, he climbs mountains to take sunrise in an effort to show message of hope to the patients. He also runs a photo club ‘Hope Sunrise’ to raise a fund to build a center for Lou Gehrig patients.