"After 20 Years of Waiting... Why Was the Seo-gu Incheon Time Capsule Incinerated?"

A time capsule containing the wishes of 10,000 residents from Seo-gu, Incheon, which had been preserved for 20 years, was ultimately incinerated without ever seeing the light of day.

A time capsule containing the wishes of residents of Seo-gu, Incheon, which had been stored for 20 years, was incinerated. Seo-gu, Incheon

On August 5, Seo-gu District Office in Incheon announced that it had incinerated the time capsule that was buried at Gajwa Ieum Forest Park in 2005. The time capsule was created to commemorate the completion of the first phase of Gajwa Ieum Forest and contained letters with the wishes and pledges of about 10,000 residents. Seo-gu originally planned to partially open the time capsule during the 2015 District Residents’ Day event and then fully unveil it this year. However, after discovering that rainwater had seeped inside and damaged the letters, the district canceled the plan.

Additionally, Seo-gu learned that naphthalene, which was included in the capsule at the time of burial to prevent moisture and pests, is classified as a hazardous substance. As a result, the capsule was incinerated at a high temperature of 1,200°C.

On July 30, Seo-gu posted a notice on its official website explaining, “The time capsule (letters and naphthalene) was sealed with shrink film inside a concrete box underground and finished with reinforced glass, but over the course of more than 20 years, rainwater seeped in and the naphthalene deteriorated, resulting in damage to the time capsule.” The notice continued, “We learned that naphthalene was classified as a hazardous substance as of December 7, 2022, and therefore disposed of the contaminated time capsule in accordance with designated waste disposal procedures.” Seo-gu stated, “Unpredictable circumstances occurred due to factors such as climate change,” and added, “We deeply apologize for not being able to fully deliver the items containing the sincere wishes of our residents.”

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