Gwangju City Accelerates Expansion of Burial Facilities at Yeongnak Park

Construction of the Third Columbarium by 2027... 45,000 Niches Planned
Natural Burial Ground with 30,000 Plots and Memorial Wall with 3,700 Niches to Be Established This Year

Gwangju City Hall exterior view.

Gwangju City is set to actively pursue the expansion of burial facilities within Yeongnak Park.

According to the city on the 15th, the third phase of the Yeongnak Park expansion project is underway to establish a cremation-oriented and eco-friendly funeral culture.

To this end, the city will construct the third columbarium (total floor area of 6,000㎡, 45,000 niches), a natural burial ground (14,000㎡, 27,000 plots), and a memorial wall (1,700㎡, 3,700 niches) within Yeongnak Park.

The city plans to invest a total project budget of 30.6 billion KRW (22.5 billion KRW from the city budget and 8.1 billion KRW from the national budget), aiming to complete the natural burial ground and memorial wall by the end of this year, and the third columbarium by 2027.

As the natural burial ground is expected to reach capacity this year, the city also plans to add 3,500 additional plots near the forsythia section of Yeongnak Park, in addition to the third phase expansion. For the columbarium, a portion of the ceremonial hall will be converted into a memorial hall to secure 2,900 more niches, with a total of 82,000 new niches planned for expansion.

Kim Younghwa, Director of the Aging Society Policy Division, stated, "Gwangju City is doing its utmost to promptly respond to the growing demand for burial services in line with the shift toward cremation-based funeral culture, ensuring that burial facilities within Yeongnak Park are adequately supplied to citizens."