9 Out of 10 People Prefer Cremation to Burial
By Kim Hyun-cheol
Staff Reporter
Under the prevailing influence of Confucian tradition, cremation has long been regarded as a less respectful way of dealing with the dead. However, a recent survey showed such belief is no longer accepted here as a growing number of people preferring cremation to burial.
Citing the result of an ongoing online poll through its Web portal site Nate.com, SK Group said Thursday that about 92 percent of respondents, or 5,485 people, said they wanted to be cremated when they die, while only 8 percent opted for an interment burial.
The survey, started last week on users of Cyworld, the nation's largest online social network, is ongoing and will continue through the end of January as part of the group's campaign for the promotion of a different funeral culture.
SK has been committed to promoting cremation in the country following the wishes of the deceased former Chairman Choi Jong-hyun, who was cremated in 1998. Earlier this month, the company opened a state-of-the-art crematorium it completed for free at Sejong City.
Located in Eunhasu Park in Yeongi County, South Chungcheong Province, the crematorium is equipped with environment-friendly facilities with a mausoleum that can accommodate the remains of more than 21,000 people.
In another result in the poll, 53 percent of the surveyed Internet users said they were not opposed to the construction of an eco-friendly crematorium in their neighborhoods. In contrast, only 25 percent said they were unconditionally against it.
Cremation sites have been a representative facility here subject to the NIMBY (not in my backyard) effect, which refers to collective opposition to development projects in or nearby residential areas.
Government data confirm such a change in the local funeral culture. The rate of cremation in all funerals nationwide was tallied at 61.9 percent in 2008 and 65 percent last year, according to the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Family Affairs.
The non-burial form of funeral is expected to further grow this year, and is forecast to reach nearly 70 percent.
Cremation took up less than 20 percent of funerals until the early 1990s. In steady growth, however, it outnumbered burials for the first time in 2005, and has been growing over 3 percent annually since then.
Cost pressure for burial and improvements in cremation services are mainly attributable to such a change along with the nuclearization of families, a ministry official said. One of its recent reports showed the costs of burial at 4.5 million won ($3,906), much higher than cremation.
Still, experts point out that Korea has a long way to go before completely accepting cremation, with an apparent gap in preferences between urban and rural regions.
Last year, a total of 93,693 people were buried in graves, covering an area of 4.8 square kilometers ― equal to nearly 57 percent of Yeouido in Seoul.