In the above picture is one of the great gates around the city of Seoul known as Namdaemun, translated as "the Great South Gate". It is a beautiful structure and one of Korea's wonderful national treasures. It is also a place I have been looking forward to seeing while on my tour here. That will not be happening though since Namdaemun became the victim of arson on February 10th and the upper portion of the gate burned down.
It is quite a sad time for the Koreans. I've watched news footage of the fire and you can see the despair on the faces of the people as they watched this precious landmark that had stood as an entrance to their city for 600 years burn.
As you can see the damage was quite extensive. It is sickening to think that someone would intentionally destroy something like this, and yet it happened. If you would like to see more pictures from before and after the fire, and to read more about the history of Namdaemun go to:
2 comments:
My two years in Korea must have left a bigger mark on me than I knew. When I first heard the news, my heart broke. I had to fight back the tears. My thoughts and prayers go out to the Korean people as they mourn the destruction of one of the greatest symbols of their nation's past.
I know exactly what you mean. When I saw the news footage I cried like a baby. It is a sad state of affairs that such wanton destruction happens.
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