Seoul National Cemetery
Hyeonchung gate
Details
Established	1956
Location	Dongjak-dong, Dongjak-gu, Seoul, South Korea 37°29′56″N 126°58′20″E / 37.49889°N 126.97222°E / 37.49889; 126.97222
Country	South Korea
Korean name
Hangul	국립서울현충원
Hanja	國立서울顯忠院
Revised Romanization	Guklib Seoul Hyeonchungwon
McCune–Reischauer	Kungnip Sŏul Hyŏnch'ungwŏn

The Seoul National Cemetery (Korean: 국립서울현충원) is located in Dongjak-dong, Dongjak District, Seoul, South Korea. The cemetery is reserved for Korean veterans, including those who died in the Korean independence movement, Korean War, and Vietnam War.^[1] Four South Korean presidents are buried in the cemetery.

The Seoul National Cemetery is near Dongjak Station on Seoul Subway Line 4 or Seoul Subway Line 9. Except for some special days, the Seoul National Cemetery usually allows access to the public.

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
  • Lee Hee-ho - wife of President Kim Dae-jung - buried 2019
• Kim Young-sam – 7th President of South Korea – buried 2015^[2]

Incidents and controversy

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.^[3][4]

In August 2005, controversy was stirred by the visit of a North Korean delegation to the cemetery. The delegation was led by Kim Ki-Nam, and numbered 182 officials. 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.^[5]

On his death on August 18, 2009, former President of South Korea Kim Dae-jung was buried in at the National Cemetery, instead of in Daejeon National Cemetery, the initially planned burial site.^[6]