Gyeongbuk Province Sees 14% Surge in 'Funeral Cremation Rate' Over 5 Years... Uljin County Memorial Park Opens in First Half

Pohang, Gimcheon, Yeongju, Uiseong Funeral Facility Projects Secure 4.7 Billion KRW in National Funding... Gyeongbuk Province "Promotes Internal Stabilization"

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Dong-wook] Gyeongsangbuk-do announced on the 10th that it will invest 7 billion KRW (an increase of 3.8 billion KRW compared to the previous year) in the improvement projects of four funeral facilities (Gimcheon, Pohang, Uiseong, Yeongju) this year to promote eco-friendly funeral culture.

In Gyeongbuk, 37 cremators are installed and operated across 11 cremation facilities (2 in Pohang, and one each in Gyeongju, Gimcheon, Andong, Gumi, Yeongju, Sangju, Mungyeong, Uiseong, and Ulleung).

Additionally, with the opening of the Uljin County Memorial Park in the first half of this year, three more cremators (2 operational, 1 standby) will be added. Also, by the end of the year, the Gimcheon City Memorial Park equipped with four cremators will open.

The cremation rate in the province rose sharply by 14.2% over five years, from 66.6% in 2014 (national average 79.2%) to 80.8% in 2019 (national average 88.4%).

Gyeongbuk Province is actively reinforcing cremation facilities to meet this increasing demand.

To alleviate the inconvenience of residents using cremation facilities in the northeastern region of Gyeongbuk (Uljin, Bonghwa, Yeongyang, Yeongdeok areas), the Uljin County Memorial Park will open in the first half of this year after seven years of construction. Covering a total area of 183,327㎡, the Uljin County Memorial Park, with a project cost of 22.8 billion KRW, is equipped with three state-of-the-art cremators, a columbarium (7,000 niches), and natural burial grounds (15,000 plots).

By the end of the year, the Gimcheon City Memorial Park will be established in San 5, Sinam-ri, Bongsan-myeon, Gimcheon City. Covering 99,200㎡, this site will have a project cost of 45.4 billion KRW and will include cremation facilities (4 cremators), a columbarium (20,000 niches), and natural burial grounds (10,000 plots).

Park Se-eun, Director of the Senior Welfare Division of Gyeongbuk Province, stated, "Although cremation facilities are perceived as undesirable, we will do our best to ensure that residents do not experience inconvenience when using crematoriums by continuously replacing, supplementing, and managing air purification facilities every 3 to 5 years."