The Seoul National Cemetery (Hangul: 국립서울현충원) is located in Dongjak-dong, Dongjak-gu, Seoul, South Korea. When established by presidential decree of Syngman Rhee in 1956, it 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 had been overseen by the Ministry of Defence (South Korea) until 2005 but in 2006 the Daejeon National Cemetery was transferred to the Ministry of Patriots’ and Veterans’ Affairs (South Korea).
The cemetery is reserved for Korean veterans, including those who died in the Korean independence movement, Korean War, and Vietnam War.
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.
The late president Kim Dae-Jung was interred there on Aug 23, 2009.
The Seoul National Cemetery is near Dongjak Station on Seoul Subway Line 4 or Seoul Subway Line 9. Except for some special days, normally, the Seoul National Cemetery allows access to the public.