Jeonju City Closes Memorial Facilities During Chuseok Holiday - Operates Advance Reservation System

Reservation System for Visitors at Hyoja Park Cemetery from the 23rd to October 11th

Strong Recommendation to Close Six Private Memorial Facilities for Five Days, Encouraging Visitor Distribution through Advance Reservations

[Jeonju=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Kim Tae-in] Jeonju City has prepared special quarantine measures for funeral facilities during the Chuseok holiday, including closing columbarium facilities and implementing a reservation system in advance, to prevent the spread of COVID-19 caused by the concentration of visitors paying respects.

The city announced on the 16th that it will close its own indoor columbarium facilities during the five-day Chuseok holiday from the 30th of this month to October 4th and operate them by reservation, while partially closing privately operated indoor facilities.

These special quarantine measures were prepared to prevent the spread of COVID-19 due to the large number of visitors during the Chuseok holiday, following the Ministry of Health and Welfare's guidelines for operating funeral facilities and advice from the city's health and medical advisors.

First, the city will completely close its own indoor facilities, Bongandang and Bonganwon, during the Chuseok holiday period, but will accept reservations for up to 500 visitors per day from the 23rd to the 29th of this month and from the 5th to the 11th of next month. The simultaneous entry will also be limited to 49 people per facility, and the usage time per family will be restricted to 20 minutes. The Jeonju Seunghwawon crematorium will be closed for one day on October 1st.

For the outdoor facility, Hyoja Park Cemetery, a total volume reservation system for mourners will be implemented for two weeks from the 23rd of this month to the 11th of next month. Visits to the park cemetery will be allowed for up to 10 people per family, with a visitation time of 30 minutes, 1,000 people per time slot, and up to 8,000 people per day. At the nine entrances to the park cemetery, quarantine personnel will be stationed to check temperatures and control the number of visitors, and food consumption will be prohibited.

Meanwhile, while the city has recommended closure and advance reservation systems for private columbarium facilities, Moak Memorial Park and Hyoja Memorial Hall will be closed for five days from the 30th of this month to October 4th; Jeonju Memorial Hall and Jaim Memorial Park will be closed for three days from the 30th of this month to October 2nd; and Greenpia Memorial Park will be closed for two days from October 1st to 2nd. The closure date for Geumsangdong Catholic Church’s Haneuljari is under review.

Separately, to disperse mourners, the city will provide an online memorial service through the e-Haneul Funeral Information System website starting from the 21st. Applications will be accepted from the 21st to the 25th, and users can search for the deceased’s name, select photos of the deceased’s resting place (such as the columbarium), and use functions such as setting up a memorial table, offering flowers, and writing memorial messages.

There are a total of 10 funeral facilities in Jeonju, including private facilities, with 49,706 niches. During last year’s Chuseok period, about 80,000 visitors were recorded at these facilities.

Min Sun-sik, Director of Welfare and Environment Bureau of Jeonju City, said, “We will strictly enforce quarantine, disinfection, and social distancing guidelines so that many mourners can visit safely and healthily during the Chuseok holiday.” He added, “Since the COVID-19 situation is very serious, we ask people to refrain from visiting park cemeteries and columbariums and to actively cooperate with advance reservations and compliance with quarantine rules.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.