Cultural Heritage Administration Under Fire Again

It turned out that firefighters had dug burnt wooden ashes with an excavator to extinguish fire completely, as they were trying to contain the blaze on Sungnyemun, Korea’s national treasure No. 1.

The Cultural Heritage Administration, which collected the remains of the gate, has sent some of the wreck to the garbage disposal plant, drawing criticism for destroying materials which might be needed for restoration.

According to fire authorities, a backhoe of the Jungbu fire station entered the site through the northern gate to excavate the remains at 2 a.m. on Feb.11, around the time the roof of the gate completely collapsed.

Cultural Heritage Administration official Kim Seong-do rushed to the fire department headquarters immediately after a citizen inquired, “Is there nothing wrong with a backhoe digging up the ashes of the gate?” around 3:30 a.m. The work was stopped in 10 minutes.

Fire officials explained that they had to remove the wood covering the ashes for complete extinguishment and that they did so carefully, even though they did not consult the Cultural Heritage Administration beforehand.

Three days after the outbreak of fire, the administration took out some of the wreck to the garbage disposal treatment center in Seoul.

An administration official said, “We sorted out the remaining materials unworthy for restoration and sent them to the garbage dump for workers to do their job more easily.”

It is said, however, that relatively well-preserved materials such as roof tiles with distinct traditional patterns were included among the items sent to the garbage dump.

Professor Kim Bong-ryeol of the Korean National University of Arts said, “Handling the remaining of the cultural heritage should be carried out carefully according to the manuals. Preserving the site and checking the location of the wreck should come before taking out the remains to outside.”

The Cultural Heritage Administration stopped sending out the materials Thursday morning, when it came under criticism.

An official said, “We had decided to take them out after enough consultation with the Cultural Properties Committee`s subcommittee for architecture and historical sites on Feb. 12. It seems that there was a misunderstanding because we did not announce the plan to the press in advance.”

kplee@donga.com neo@donga.com