Seoul National Cemetery

History

When established by presidential decree of Syngman Rhee in 1956, Seoul National Cemetery was the country's only national cemetery. As the cemetery reached capacity in the early 1970s, Daejeon National Cemetery was established in 1976. Both cemeteries were originally overseen by the Ministry of Defence until 2006, when the Daejeon National Cemetery was transferred to the Ministry of Patriots' and Veterans' Affairs (South Korea).

Notable people buried

• Syngman Rhee – first President of South Korea – buried 1965
  • Franziska Donner – wife of President Rhee – buried 1992
• Park Chung Hee – third President of South Korea – buried 1979
  • Yuk Young-soo – wife of President Park – buried 1974
• Kim Dae-jung – 8th President of South Korea – buried 2009. On his death, he was buried at the National Cemetery, instead of in Daejeon National Cemetery, the initially planned burial site.
  • Lee Hee-ho - wife of President Kim Dae-jung - buried 2019
• Kim Young-sam – 7th President of South Korea – buried 2015

North Korean controversies

On June 22, 1970, three North Korean agents broke into the cemetery and planted a bomb. One agent was killed when the bomb was accidentally detonated.

In August 2005, a visit by a North Korean delegation to the cemetery caused some anger in South Korea. The delegation, which had 182 officials, was led by Kim Ki-Nam. The visit not only sparked outrage among those opposed to warmer relations with the North, but also raised fears that a future delegation from the South might be expected to pay their respects to Kim Il-sung in Pyongyang.

References

References

1. "K2WebWizard".
2. "서울현충원 국가원수 묘역 빈자리 없어".
3. Kim Tong-hyung. (26 November 2015). "S. Koreans mourn ex-President Kim in state funeral". [[Associated Press]].
4. "武裝(무장)공비 2~3명 國立(국립)묘지 爆破(폭파)기도".
5. (June 23, 1970). "A Korean Red Agent Dies in Seoul Blast". [[The New York Times]].
6. (14 August 2005). "N.Korean National Cemetery Visit Sparks Concern". [[The Chosun Ilbo]].