Reuters AlertNet Full site
Homepage | Newsdesk | NGO Latest | Crisis briefings | Country profiles | MediaWatch | Jobs | Alerting | Login

NEWSDESK

Seoul's iconic ancient city gate destroyed by fire
11 Feb 2008 00:49:41 GMT
 Source: Reuters
SEOUL, Feb 11 (Reuters) - A 600-year-old gate in central Seoul listed as South Korea's number one national treasure has been destroyed by a likely arsonist, police said.

Namdaemun, or "Great South Gate", was engulfed in flames late on Sunday, they said.

Police said they were searching for a man who is suspected of breaking into the stone and wooden structure and starting the fire.

"From what we can see, except for the pillars on the first floor, the gate has been completely burnt down," said a fire official.

The wooden pavilion on top of the gate's stone base was reduced to a smouldering hulk by the fire.

The gate was constructed in 1398 and served as the main southern entrance for Seoul when it became Korea's capital more than 600 years ago and was a walled city, the Cultural Heritage Administration said.

The structure, also called Sungnyemun or "Gate of Exalted Ceremonies", has been rebuilt several times, with the most recent renovation taking place from 1961-1963, it said. (Reporting by Jessica Kim and Rhee So-eui, Writing by Jon Herskovitz, Editing by Yoo Choonsik and Sonya Hepinstall)


AlertNet news is provided by
Email this article       Send comments

NGO latest

•  NRC Launches Asian emergency roster
NRC - Norway

•  Protective action: Incorporating civilian protection into humanitarian reponse
HPG - UK

MORE >>

Latest news

•  Seoul's iconic ancient city gate destroyed by fire

•  Six-party talks at critical, challenging point -US

•  World's big polluters note change in US climate stance

•  US sees positive mood shift at Hawaii climate talks

•  PRESS DIGEST - South Korean newspapers - Jan 31

MORE >>

AlertNet news is provided by

Related articles

Breaking stories
Seoul's iconic ancient city gate destroyed by fire (1 minute ago)

Six-party talks at critical, challenging point -US (1 minute ago)

AlertNet insight
Climate change and conflicts: Is there a link at all? (1 minute ago)

Aid agency news feed
NRC Launches Asian emergency roster (1 minute ago)

Blogs
Bali climate change talks: 'The long, arduous road' to nowhere? (1 minute ago)

Maps
Typhoon Wipha (1 minute ago)


Country information

Facts & figures
Korea (South)

Del.icio.us Del.icio.us  |   Digg Digg  |   NewsVine NewsVine  |   Reddit Reddit   
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-01-08T062646Z_01_SEO108_RTRIDSP_2_KOREA-NORTH_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/SEO108.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-01-08T041635Z_01_SEO106_RTRIDSP_2_KOREA-NORTH_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/SEO106.htm

An anti-North Korea activist sprays paint onto a North Korean national flag during a rally denouncing North Korea's nuclear issues in Seoul January 8, 2008. North Korea's failure to meet a ...


More pictures | Galleries
Disclaimers |  Copyright |  Privacy |  Contact Us |  Feedback |  About Us |  RSS XML

Last updated:Mon Feb 11 00:47:29 2008