Monday, February 11, 2008

Fire Destroys Historic Seoul Landmark






" What is the National Treasure No.1 in ROK? "
Do you know the answer?
Yes, Sungyemun - better known as Namdaemun or South Gate -
I still remember the moment that I was so happy to get the correct answer to this question in the history test of elementary school.
Last Sunday, we all had to hear a heartbreaking news from Seoul.
National Treasure No. 1 and Seoul’s historic landmark,
Namdaemun has totally demolished by fire.
It must be an enormous loss not only for Koreans but also for the people all over the world.
Its construction began in the area where Mt. Namsan met the southern castle wall in 1395, after the Chosun dynasty moved the capital to Seoul. It was completed in 1398.
Of course, there were challenging moment for Namdaemun.
The gate was repaired in 1447.
It had survived several wars including the Japanese invasion during the Chosun dynasty in 1592 and the Manchurian invasion of Korea in 1636. There was also large-scale repair work from 1961 to 1963 of damage inflicted during the Korean War. Since then, only minor repairs have been carried out.
The thought that one of the oldest remaining wooden structures in the world is no more made me so sad.

1 comment:

Justin-B형 said...

Oh my God!

This is truly a terrible terrible thing!

What a huge loss!

Really horrible.