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Buddhist groups and migrant workers attend “Cheondojae,” a Buddhist memorial service in which mourners pay homage to the dead, at Hwagyesa Temple, which is located in the northern part of Seoul, on October 28.

Cheondojae is carried out as a way to bring peace and eternal rest to those who have died. Yesterday’s ceremony was held in honor of foreign workers who have died as a result of accidents that occurred in the difficult, dirty and dangerous industries in which most of the migrant workers in South Korea are employed. The ceremony was attended by Buddhist priests and migrant workers from Nepal, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and other Southeast Asian countries.

The organizers of the service estimate that approximately 3,000 migrant workers have died in South Korea. At the ceremony, a memorial tablet inscribed with the names of 1,037 people who were able to be identified was placed on the altar.

Photo by Kim Jin-su/The Hankyoreh.