Restoration of destroyed ancient gate to begin in earnest, two years after destruction

By Kim Nam-hee
SEOUL, Feb. 8 (Yonhap) -- Work to rebuild an ancient gate in Seoul, one of South
Korea's most beloved cultural assets and best-known landmarks, is to begin in
earnest on Wednesday, two years after its destruction by an arson attack.
The Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea has wrapped up preparatory work for
the reconstruction of Sungnyemun, one of the country's oldest wooden structures
and its National Treasure No. 1.
A 71-year-old man torched the gate, more popularly known as Namdaemun, in
February 2008 in protest over a land dispute.
The two-tiered, colorful wooden structure atop a stone base was built in 1398 as
the southern gate of the walls that surrounded the capital city during the Joseon
Dynasty (1392-1910).
The gate, standing at the center of a large intersection surrounded by
skyscrapers on one side and the crowded Namdaemun traditional market on the
other, was a historic icon for locals and a must-see attraction for tourists.
The Cultural Heritage Administration collected burnt wood and fragments of roof
tiles from the structure right after the blaze and took safety measures to keep
it from further collapsing. The agency also performed a safety inspection of the
large stone-wall foundation and carried out a study of the traditional method of
making roof tiles.
The work of repairing wooden components will be followed by tiling of the roof
and multicolored paintwork on the structure.
The restoration project is to be completed by December 2012.
Meanwhile, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Sunday that it has set up
a 24-hour security system for major cultural properties in the city since the
arson attack on the gate.
According to the city government, it has spent 10.4 billion won (US$8.9 million)
to assign 113 security guards to 23 major architectural cultural assets to
conduct rounds of inspection of the facilities in three shifts under a 24-hour
surveillance system.
"We've put comprehensive safety measures for wooden cultural assets into practice
to prevent such a disaster from ever taking place again. We will establish closer
cooperation systems with the relevant government agencies including fire stations
and boost our capacity to cope with disasters," said Lee Chung-sea, director of
Cultural Assets Division.
kimnh@yna.co.kr
(END)