{"id":4335,"date":"2019-09-24T12:35:27","date_gmt":"2019-09-24T03:35:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.01.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/?p=4335"},"modified":"2022-01-24T15:33:50","modified_gmt":"2022-01-24T06:33:50","slug":"chuseok-traditions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/2019\/09\/society-economy\/chuseok-traditions\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cPlease, Bury Me Somehow\u201d: Forced Cremations Frighten Elders, Threaten Chuseok Traditions"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A mountain in Musan County, North Hamkyung Province. Since 1996, the number of newly erected tombs in North Korea has been increasing. This can even be observed from the Chinese side of the border. Photographed from China in August, 1997, by ISHIMARU Jiro.<\/p><\/div>\n

Back in early April, the North Korean authorities placed an indefinite ban on burials, forcing residents to relocate existing tombs and to cremate the remains of relatives.With the deadline for relocating graves set for June 15, the authorities told residents that any remaining tombs, aside from those deep in the mountains, would be demolished to make room for farmland. In mid-June, with the deadline fast approaching, residents rushed to exhume the tombs and bring their ancestors\u2019 remains to crematoriums.<\/p>\n

As the North Korean authorities impose the practice of cremation in the name of securing farmland and restoring forests, the country\u2019s funeral culture and tradition of ancestral rites is being forced to change. A reporting partner living in Ryanggang Province, speaking with ASIAPRESS on September 9, said, \u201cThe sight of food laid out for Chuseok will become a thing of the past.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cremations are performed at crematoriums operated by city or county \u2018building management offices\u2019. In Ryanggang Province, the fee for cremations is 300 RMB (about 50,000 South Korean won). In addition, ashes can be stored at the building management office\u2019s mortuary for a fee of roughly 5,500 won a year. However, many residents elect to cast the ashes into rivers or from the top of mountains. Notably, it is forbidden to cast ashes into the Yalu River.
\nNext page : \u201cSome people pile stones along the waterfront to mark the site as a place for mourning...\"<\/strong>
\nThe reporting partner elaborated, \u201cSome people pile stones along the waterfront to mark the site as a place for mourning. But many people have lost their family and ancestral tombs, so there are fewer people paying respects to the dead. At Chuseok, relatives gathered and prepared food and drinks to pay respect to their ancestors but they had no place to do so- the tombs are gone.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the reporting partner, many people still feel resistant to cremations. Young people are concerned that people will lose affection for their deceased relatives once tombs are removed for cremations. In addition, many elderly people are afraid of cremation.<\/p>\n

The reporting partner explained, \u201cSince the old days, criminals were the ones who got cremated. Cremations were seen as dying twice. Ancestors were buried in order to put their spirits to rest. People believe it\u2019s not good for the living either, as the souls are left to wander after cremation. The elderly wish for their families to bury them somehow, even if they have to go deep into the mountains to do so.\u201d<\/p>\n

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