Tony_Balony
Joined: 12 Apr 2007
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 Posted: Sun Oct 21, 2007 3:32 pm Post subject: Business Idea Crematoriums! |
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Korea Short of Crematoriums
By Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter
The number of crematoriums in South Korea does not meet demand, although the number of the cremations now exceeds that of traditional burials.
The shortage is attributable to the NIMBY, or not-in-my-backyard, syndrome, as people shun having the facilities near residential areas, according to Rep. Chang Bok-sim of the United New Democratic Party.
According to a report from the Ministry of Health and Welfare Chang disclosed Sunday, 56.5 percent of those who died in 2006, or 136,854 among a total 242,268, were cremated.
The level of cremations has been increasing, with 49.2 percent in 2004 and 52.6 percent in 2005 largely because the nation is growing short of land for burial and it has become more difficult for bereaved families to take care of tombs that are usually placed on mountains far from their residence.
The preference of cremation over burial was high in cities. ``People in rural areas still prefer burial, as they can easily secure land and such regions have higher numbers of elderly who seek traditional funeral methods,'' Rep. Chang said.
Despite the growing ratio of cremation, however, the number of crematoriums is far below demand.
Nationwide, there were only 47 funeral homes with a crematorium as of last year, with 211 furnaces in total. Bereaved families, especially those in Seoul and nearby metropolitan areas, were forced to use crematoriums in other provinces, due to a high demand for cremation in the regions.
Chang said the ministry has difficulty increasing its number of crematoriums due to protests from residents of the planned sites for the facilities.
Seoul City picked a site in Wonji-dong in southern Seoul for a large-scale crematorium in 2001. But residents there protested the plan, filing a lawsuit. The city government won the suit at the Supreme Court in April, but has not started construction yet.
Hanam Mayor Kim Hwang-sik in Gyeonggi Province has clashed with residents since last October over his plan to build a large crematorium in the city in order to build an inter-city subway with 200 billion won Hanam would receive in compensation.
But residents protested and took legal steps to dismiss Kim, voting for his dismissal. However, the resident vote was ruled invalid last month as it did not satisfy related regulations.
``Besides expanding crematoriums, the government needs to make efforts to change people's recognition of funeral homes so that they will not regard crematoriums as something disadvantageous to their living conditions,'' Chang said.
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