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The CHA will begin the restorative construction of Sungnyemun, a historic gate located in Seoul, Wednesday to mark the second anniversary of the gate’s destruction by the fire. / Korea Times File |
By Chung Ah-young
Staff Reporter
The restorative construction of Sungnyemun, a historic gate located in Seoul and Korea's National Treasure No. 1, will begin Feb. 10, two years after it was destroyed by the fire.
The Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA) said that it has prepared for the repair project through historical research of traditional architecture and safety inspections.
The authorities have designated five masters responsible for the restoration project ― Shin Eung-soo, master carpenter; Hong Chang-won, an artisan of ``dancheong,'' the art of painting traditional architecture; Lee Jae-soon and Lee Ui-sang, stone sculptors; Hang Hyung-joon, an earthenware roof tile maker; and Lee Geun-bok, tile roofing master.
It will take three years to finish reconstructing the gate to its original shape, including walls on both sides of the gate that had been present prior to the Japanese colonial period, with the overall cost of restoration reaching 25 billion won.
The administration will first dismantle the gate tower in a groundbreaking ceremony on Feb. 10 to mark the 2nd anniversary of the gate's destruction by the fire.
The government will recycle the remnants of the materials from the old structures, particularly from the lower stories that survived the fire, along with the new materials.
Restoration work on wood will be conducted with traditional hand tools instead of modern machines.
Concerning the lumber, the government has acquired some 20 large-sized pines from Samcheok, Gangwon Province for its main pillars.
Some 20,000 new tiles are to be produced using traditional methods in order to replicate the originals as the upper parts of the gate were severely damaged by the fire.
Reconstruction of the gate will follow the 182-page blueprint made by the administration in 2006 in case of emergencies affecting cultural heritages made of wood.
Sungnyemun constituted the southern gate of the original walls surrounding Seoul during the Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910).
Before the fire, the gate was the oldest wooden structure standing in Seoul. It was designated as National Treasure No. 1 in 1962. Construction of the gate started in 1395 during the reign of King Taejo, founder of the Joseon Kingdom, and was completed in 1398.
The structure was then rebuilt in 1447 in accordance with the theory of divination, based on topography, and underwent major repairs in 1479. There was major restoration work done from 1961 through 1963 to address the damage sustained during the Korean War (1950-53).
Since then, the gate has undergone several minor repairs, but the basic frames have been sustained. The national treasure was open to the public in March 2006 after a grassy area surrounding it was completed in 2005. However, the gate was burned down by an arsonist in 2008.
chungay@koreatimes.co.kr
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무디스, 스페인·伊·포르투갈 신용등급 강등
