Sunchang County Accelerates Construction of Public Memorial Park Columbarium

Securing 1.27 Billion Won in National and Provincial Funding

Sunchang County in North Jeolla Province is accelerating the construction of a public memorial park columbarium after securing 1.27 billion won in national and provincial funding.

Bird's-eye view of the public memorial park project. Provided by Sunchang County

According to the county on September 30, the newly allocated budget is earmarked for the construction of the columbarium, which will have a total floor area of 1,000 square meters and accommodate approximately 6,000 urns. With 1.05 billion won from the national government and 225 million won from the provincial government, the county is able to reduce its financial burden.

Currently, the county sees more than 430 deaths each year, and the cremation rate exceeds 80 percent. However, public burial facilities such as columbaria and natural burial sites remain insufficient.

As a result, residents and those originally from Sunchang are forced to use costly private columbaria or travel long distances to memorial parks, a situation that has long been identified as a pressing welfare issue for the community.

To address these inconveniences, the county has been promoting the public memorial park construction project in Geumgok-ri, Pungsan-myeon since 2023. The land purchase has been completed, and the county has been steadily carrying out administrative procedures such as county management plan approval, various impact assessments, and detailed design work.

Currently, groundwork and the creation of natural burial sites are underway, and the recent securing of national and provincial funds for the columbarium is expected to provide significant momentum for the overall project. The county plans to invest approximately 9.6 billion won by next year to complete the public memorial park, which will include natural burial sites, a columbarium, a scattering garden, and auxiliary facilities.

Meanwhile, in July, a court dismissed a request for an injunction filed by residents near the project site who raised concerns about the project procedures and environmental impact, stating that it was difficult to recognize the likelihood of irreparable harm and that halting the project could affect public welfare.

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