Namdaemun

[tarigwaemir]

Haste Street on the Feast of St. Saturninus and Companions

Well, in case you haven't heard it on the news yet, 남대문 burned down two days ago. tsutanai linked to a Youtube video showing footage of the event. I heard about it on Sunday but didn't realize that "남대문에 불 났대" (translation: "There was a fire at 남대문") actually meant the structure was almost entirely destroyed.

I'm sure they'll rebuild it, but I feel a little sad that I only got to see the original once, when I made a two-week trip to Korea about two summers ago.* Luckily, I did take a photograph, and if you'll excuse the sentimentality, I wanted to post it again here:



* Cue discussion of this curious need for authenticity in historical monuments. Am reminded of Walter Benjamin's claim of how "mechanical reproduction"--i.e. technological advances and mass media--removes the value of authenticity in a work of art...alas, I don't think that's ever happened for we still do have unconscious preference for the "original" whether it be an artifact preserved intact for centuries or a first edition of a well-known work of literature or a live performance of music. Maybe because we're still stuck in a capitalistic system that has not dethroned the artist/architect/creator?! Will the revolution bring us, at last, a society where reproductions are of equal value, and no one will cry at the burning down of a national treasure since an exact facsimile can always be constructed in its place? Okay, I'll stop being facetious but it's still an interesting question.

In other news, school stories discussion post up at bibliophages. (sub_divided, I'll definitely comment once I can pull two coherent thoughts together.)

I really ought to stop procrastinating on these reports. >_>

Yours &c.

Comments

[clocklike.livejournal.com]

I was so sad when I heard about that. Don't worry, I became all sentimental, too. I've seen it from childhood and I've always associated it with my hometown Seoul, so yeah. :( I was hoping to go see it again, too.

[troisroyaumes]

I suppose I feel I have less "claim" to feeling sentimental about it since to be honest, I've only been to Seoul twice after leaving Korea as an infant. But oddly enough I still do feel sad; I think it's partly because it's so tied up with my mental image of Seoul. It's the first place that comes to mind when I think of Seoul, and I keep remembering the footage of the crowds swarming around there wearing red during the World Cup.

[shoujo22.livejournal.com]

I can understand how you feel. I mean, I'm a Louisiana native. After the hurricane hit N.O. we were basically told that many damaged, historical sites would be rebuilt/restored....but I feel that they will never be the same again. I mean, although some of these structures will be replicated (almost all the say down to the very last detail) the historical value just won't be the same for me. It never will be :(

I don't know. Maybe I'm just being too sentimental myself.

[troisroyaumes]

It's strange...on a rational level, I know that I probably won't even be able to tell the difference between the historical structure and the reconstruction, but emotionally, you're right, it will always feel different. I wonder why we all feel this way...

[rilina-fic.livejournal.com]

The bus I took to and from high school for three years went right by Namdaemun. Seeing those pictures broke my heart.

[troisroyaumes]

Given how shocked I felt at the pictures of the destruction, I can only imagine how much more awful it would seem to someone who has such a close connection to the place. ;_; (I didn't know you went to high school in Korea! Were you born and raised there or did you go back?)

[rilina.livejournal.com]

Were you born and raised there or did you go back?
Neither! I was born and raised mostly in the states. My parents moved back and I moved to (having never even been on a plane before) Seoul when I was in high school. I went to international school there before returning to the states for college.

[troisroyaumes]

Oh, I see, that must have been quite a change! I've known two other people who've also gone back during high school, though both of them stayed there for college and are presumably going to continue living there.