Abstract
This study was performed to investigate Seoul undergraduate students' thoughts on funeral rites and sacrificial rituals as well as ritual foods. A total of 542 students offered answers that the importance of sacrificial rituals was connected to filial piety for the ancestor, the customs descended from the past, and the belief that descendents received fortunes. The students didn't know the funeral rites process, but acknowledged they needed to know funeral rites, and would perform their parents' sacrificial rituals. We also found that students whose hometowns were Gangwondo and Jejudo were familiar with sacrificial rituals foods as well as their preparation and cooking. Also, the older the students, the better they knew the funeral rites process, sacrificial rituals and ritual foods. There were great differences in sacrificial rituals according to parent and student religions. Buddhists knew the most about funeral rites and sacrificial rituals, followed by Roman Catholics and agnostics. Protestant Christians were not interested in sacrificial rituals. The funeral rites process and the handing down of sacrificial ritual foods had significant differences based on sibling number. The more brothers and sisters in a family, the more committed they were to performing their parents' sacrificial rituals and the higher their interest in sacrificial ritual foods.