A terrible heartbreak for the Koreans

Sungyemun in Seoul, the historic monument No 1 destroyed in a night

Translated by H Hahk Kim, MD, Atlanta, GA USA

In less than 5 hours Sunday February 10 at around 8 pm, a terrible arson ravaged the Sungyemun (also called Namdaemun) in the middle of downtown Seoul, what is comparable to the Tower of Eiffel to Koreans. Stunned by such a terrible nightmare, thousands of people brought white chrysanthemums in front of the monument that has become a black monster in such a short time. An unimaginable tragedy has swept the country into a deep despair.

How could this be ? Where were the security guards ? How come the fire fighters could not control the fire and limit the damage to a minimum ? Did they not have enough fire trucks for such a heritage ? What negligence ! The police have arrested the arsonist quite quickly thanks to a taxi driver who saw him climbing down a ladder on the wall. It was an isolated act of a 69 year old man, gripped with a deep frustration, to avenge the indifferent society for his grudge.

The cries of criticisms and arguments have crisscrossed the nation during the Sunday night and the next day. It is indeed a deep wound for the nation in such a sensitive time of power transition and the misfortune of oil spill on the west coast, still fresh to the memory.

It may be necessary to proceed with a rapid reconstruction for the morale of the people. They have a pessimistic attitude ; they see death of a history, not just destruction of a monument that has survived numerous invasions in the past, including the Korean War. It is feared that it may fade away from the cultural heritage after its last breath of history of 600 years. Certainly, we hope the Korean people will proceed with a prompt reconstruction of the building. We humbly suggest that the French Korean Association initiate a movement of solidarity, not only of thoughts but also in material. We propose donation of a euro from each person . More about the gate : Sungyemun is also called the South Gate, classified as the number 1 national treasure. The construction is in the form of a pagoda dating back to the beginning of Yi Dynasty (1392-1910). It is part of five gates of the city wall. The word Sungyemun means Gate of “respect of politeness.”