Sungnyemun to reopen May 4

By Lee Kyung-min

• Published Apr 21, 2013 6:46 PM KST
• Updated Apr 21, 2013 6:46 PM KST

By Lee Kyung-min

The number one national treasure Sungnyemun, or South Gate, in downtown Seoul is to come back May 4.

It has been four years and two months since it burnt down.

On Feb. 10 2009, a disgruntled man, Chae Jong-gi, set on fire to the architecture using a bottle of thinner.

He said that he didn’t get enough government compensation for his land, and took it out on Sungnyemun.

The lax security on the treasure at the time was to blame, the police concluded.

He was arrested 23 hours after the crime, and sentenced 10 years in prison.

Architects deemed the reconstruction possible, but not entirely so as major segments had gone up in flames.

The name, Sungnyemun, was written in Chinese on the signboard, and it was damaged while being taken down.

Many experts estimated the process would take more than five years, but the work is being completed earlier than expected, the Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA) said.

The reconstruction will be done by April 30, it added.

The date for a re-opening ceremony at Gwanghwamun Square on Sejong street, and Sungnyemun is May 4 at 2:00 p.m.

To raise awareness towards the preservation of the national treasure and the importance of it, 100 postboxes will be set up near Gwanghwamun Square and Shinhan Bank branches nationwide.

Some 50,000 postcards written up till next month will be sent back to the writers in one year.

“These postboxes of treasure is meant to heal the nationwide sense of loss,” an official from the CHA said.

The event will be held every year, he added.