luinfalathiel
Lorien
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hrf46pX7U031c818NO-1doBn1bmwD8UNSLP80
Namdaemun Gate (South Gate) is Cultural Treasure #1 in Korea and one of the most iconic sights (and sites) in Seoul. It burned down overnight in a five-hour blaze. It was the oldest wooden structure in Korea, where most original wooden structures (and many stone) were destroyed by the Japanese when they colonized the country.
Even to me as a Westerner, it was very sad to watch this historic building go up in flames. Koreans were crying as they watched. It feels as though someone has died.
Especially troubling is that apparently a government office responsible for the preservation of antiquities wouldn't let firefighters go in to the place where the blaze supposedly started - for fear of damaging the building!!!! So all they could do when it began was wet the building down. Sadly, it blazed up out of control and that was that.
There were no injuries, no fatalities, except for the loss of a huge piece of Korea's history.
Namdaemun Gate (South Gate) is Cultural Treasure #1 in Korea and one of the most iconic sights (and sites) in Seoul. It burned down overnight in a five-hour blaze. It was the oldest wooden structure in Korea, where most original wooden structures (and many stone) were destroyed by the Japanese when they colonized the country.
Even to me as a Westerner, it was very sad to watch this historic building go up in flames. Koreans were crying as they watched. It feels as though someone has died.
Especially troubling is that apparently a government office responsible for the preservation of antiquities wouldn't let firefighters go in to the place where the blaze supposedly started - for fear of damaging the building!!!! So all they could do when it began was wet the building down. Sadly, it blazed up out of control and that was that.
There were no injuries, no fatalities, except for the loss of a huge piece of Korea's history.
