[EDITORIALS]Build more crematoriums

Last year, cremation was used after more than over 50 percent of all funerals. To promote cremation, the government decided to encourage ecologically friendly funerals, such as scattering or burying ashes around a tree, flowers and grass. This is good news at a time when land approximately the size of Yeouido is used up for graves every year.
If the trend continues, the cremation rate will climb to more than 70 percent by 2010.
However, a shortage of crematoriums around Seoul could slow that trend.
For the last 25 years, the cremation rate has tripled while the number of crematoriums remained the same, because residents refused to accept the facility built in their region.
Advanced crematory technology has created crematoriums that do not produce pollution, noise and smell, and the public must be continually reminded of that fact in order to solve the problem.
In other developed countries, many crematoriums are located in the cities. Another solution is to lower the cremation charge for residents near where the crematorium is located.