Das Namdaemun Gate vor dem Brandanschlag

2008 Namdaemun Feuer

Courtesy

Inside a shelter, Namdaemun’s pagoda is taking shape.

The restoration of National Treasure No. 1, the Namdaemun Gate in central Seoul, is nearing an end.

Friday marked the fourth anniversary of a fire that destroyed the gate, also known as Sungnyemun, that centuries marked the southern entrance and boundary of the walled city of Seoul.

A elderly man with a history of mental illness was convicted of arson in the blaze. Since then, the South Korean government has spent more than $20 million to rebuild the gate.

In a ceremony to mark the return of the gate’s main signboard on Friday, government officials said they are on target to finish the painstaking restoration and reconstruction of Namdaemun by the end of the year.

The gate, built in 1398, had been damaged and restored before. And the wall it once anchored, along with gates like Dongdaemun and Seodaemun, has long since disappeared, though the city has created guidebooks so that adventurous hikers can spend a day walking retracing its perimeter.

But the 2008 fire also dealt a psychic blow to South Korea, with some people and media calling it a smaller-but-still-important version of the shock felt by the U.S. after the 9/11 attacks.

Government officials say the rebuilt gate will have detection systems for fire, heat and other foul play. Security will also be tighter.

According to the Cultural Heritage Administration, which is in charge of restoration, the portion of reconstructed wall at the gate will be finished at the end of June. By the end of October, the wooden pagoda atop the gate will be done.

And at the end of the year, the metal structure covering the gate and other construction materials will be gone.

From the fire on Feb. 10, 2008, it will have taken approximately four years and 11 months to rebuild Namdaemun.