If you live in Korea you probably already know that Sungnyemun (Namdaemun) Gate was burned down. The police have recently caught the man who started the fire. He claims to have started the fire as a protest over a land dispute. You can see more over at the Marmot's Hole or Zen Kimchi. Almost every Korean blogger has wrote about this and I didn't want to be left out. I really can't believe that someone would burn down Korea's number one national treasure. I guess this would be the same as someone destroying the Statue of Liberty or demolishing MT Rushmore, or burning down the White House. I am hoping that he was drunk and full of rage, but it sounds like it was planned out and he brought the right equipment to do the job. (Image borrowed from Yonhap News Via the Marmot) It appears that this was not his first time to try and burn a cultural landmark. I hope they throw the book at him this time!
I added a photo that I took in 2005 when I first got to Korea. This is what it looked like before the fire. My photo really doesn't do it justice. Check out some of the links above for some better shots of the gate pre and post fire.
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