Namdaemun

The Namdaemun ( Kor.: " great south gate "; official name: Sungnyemun: " Gate of the venerable custom" ) is one of two remaining historic gates in the South Korean capital Seoul.

History

The Namdaemun was the largest wooden building in Seoul and was originally built in 1395 by King Taejo. In 1447 it was completely rebuilt during the reign of King Sejong.

The then built city wall was originally built to protect the city from tigers. The gates were opened and closed every day. To signal this, a loud bell was rung. The wall, which was demolished in 1907, today is only partly on hills in the north and south of the city.

During the Korean War it was heavily damaged, but repaired in 1962. On 20 December 1962, was declared a National Treasure No. 1.

Destruction and re-opening

In the night of 10 to 11 February 2008, it was almost completely destroyed by a fire caused by arson. Yet on February 11, police arrested a South Korean who confessed to having set fire to the roof of the gate. The top Kulturbehörde South Korea estimates the cost of reconstruction and the restoration of the gate at around 21 million U.S. dollars. The project would take three years to complete. The reconstruction is facilitated by the detailed documentation that was created at the last renovation in 1961-63. On May 4, 2013 Namdaemun was reopened in the presence of the President of South Korea.

South Gate of Seoul in a computer game

A structure of the door is also found in the Korean MMORPG KAL Online again, where after the destruction of the gate a reconstruction event starts. Players must collect fractions of the gate after they leave the " Reconstructer ". If a certain number issued, so the wall is repaired piece by piece. For this event even a part of a virtual city had to be redesigned so that the gate in the first place could find its place.