Sejong City Temporarily Closes 'Eunhasu Park and Public Cemetery' During Lunar New Year Holiday

Exterior view of the Eunhasu Park Funeral Culture Center building located in Sejong City. Photo by Asia Economy DB

[Asia Economy (Sejong) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] Sejong City announced on the 27th that it will temporarily close the columbarium, funeral hall, natural burial site, and public cemetery within Eunhasu Park during the Lunar New Year holiday period.

Eunhasu Park and the public cemetery are visited by around 30,000 mourners each year during the holiday period. To prevent the spread of COVID-19, the city has determined that it is inevitable to reduce the operation of Eunhasu Park and related facilities during this year's holiday period.

Accordingly, the city will close the facilities from February 11 to 14, and instead implement a temporary "one-day columbarium visitor total reservation system" during the period from January 29 to February 25, excluding the Lunar New Year holiday.

The number of reservations for the columbarium is limited to 25 groups per hour and 800 people per day. Bringing in ritual food and consuming food indoors are strictly prohibited.

Advance reservations can be made from 4 p.m. on the 27th through the Eunhasu Park website, and those who make reservations can visit the columbarium on the designated date between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.

In addition, the city operates an online non-face-to-face memorial and grave visiting service linked with the Ministry of Health and Welfare's "e-Haneul Funeral Information System."

The non-face-to-face service allows online offerings of flowers and writing memorial messages, and upon prior request, provides photos of the deceased enshrined in the columbarium.

However, the crematorium within Eunhasu Park will operate normally on all days except for the Lunar New Year day, February 12.

Lee Chun-hee, Mayor of Sejong City, said, "To block the chain of local COVID-19 infections, Eunhasu Park and the public cemetery will be completely closed during the Lunar New Year holiday. We ask citizens to actively use the online memorial and grave visiting system and, if unavoidable, to visit with the minimum number of people through advance reservations."