The UN crematorium

Very little is known about this makeshift crematorium, located a few kilometres south of the DMZ in the town of Yeoncheon.

The only official information available says that it was built in 1952, using stones collected from the surrounding area, in order to cremate the fallen United Nations Force’s soldiers during the Korean War, and that it continued to operate until right after the armistice in 1953.

How many bodies were cremated here? And which ones? Who carried out this grim task? What happened to the ashes?

So many unanswered questions, more than 70 years later.

In 2008, the site was designated as a ‘National Registered Cultural Heritage’ by the South Korean government, giving it official protection. It is reached by a dirt road in the middle of nowhere and seems to be very rarely visited. But when I discovered this place by chance during the winter of 2024-2025, a bouquet of wilted flowers was sitting in the fireplace.