Mourning a Cultural Monument





This past Monday a tragic thing happened in Seoul, South Korea. . . . One of the historical monuments that has been standing for over 600 years in Seoul was destroyed in an arson fire. Now all that remains of this structure is the stone base. This structure, pictured here, is called Namdaemun (or Sungnyemun)- The Great South Gate. While it has gone through renovations in the past years, there were pieces of that structure that dated back to the original construction of it over 600 years ago. For a while it was not open to the public to walk through, but just recently had been opened. And I had an opportunity to walk through the gates and admire the paintings on the ceiling.




Many Koreans are in grief over the burning of this piece of our culture, as am I. In fact, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that most Koreans are mourning the loss of this cultural monument. Rebuilding it will take years and cost millions of dollars.... The more terrible thing was that it wasn't an accidental fire, electrical or weather-related, that destroyed this structure. Apparently a disgruntled 69/70 year old man confessed to setting it on fire. The horrible thing was that he has been arrested previously for arson as well. The whole situation brings to light the measly protection of our historical structures despite the fact that they are some of the easiest structures to set on fire due to their age and the substance from which they have been constructed (wood).

All in all, it is sad to think that the next time I'm in Seoul, I will be walking through this area and find that this will not be there as it has been in the past - reminding me of our Korean history and culture. . . .

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