Namdaemun Gate

Next to Namdaemun Market is Namdaemun Gate. It was the main gate for entrance into Seoul a long time ago. It was built in 1398 and rebuilt in 1448. It has been designated a National Treasure of Korea. There are at least two of these that I know of. The other one is Dongdaemun Gate. On my visit to Namdaemun Market, I spent a little while checking out the gate. The picture above is what the gate looks like from a distance.


As I was crossing the street to get a closer look, some men were reenacting some changing of the guard ceremony. The ceremony seemed to be about the guys in brown passing a wooden medallion. Maybe it signifies the key to the gate...?




Inside the gate were a blue and a green dragon painted on the ceiling.

Namdaemun Market

Here is one of the gates into the Namdaemun Market (남대문 시장). This market is near City Hall in Seoul. I went to this market 17 years ago with my mother and brother. It was interesting going back. I don't have a lot of memories of the first visit, but the place did seem familiar to me.

This is the kind of market where products are piled on top of products or displayed on crammed wall spaces. I saw a lot of junk, but I'm sure there are some great deals waiting to be discovered. I only spent 45 minutes or so exploring the area, so not enough time to take it all in.

There are a series of building that are connect by these walkways. Each building has 4 floors of shopping. Most of what I saw inside was household dishwares and stuff like that. One floor housed a florist shop that smelled wonderful. It was inside the buildings that I used a little of the Korean language to ask where the bathroom was located.

From one of the walkways, I took this photo of a military surplus style clothing vendor. When I get some time to go back, I'll take a closer look at what they are selling.

Here, I've pointed the camera in the other direction. This is one of the intersections of the market. You can see someone has utilized the space right in the middle for selling products.

I noticed that some shops where closing around 4pm and others were just setting up for the evening shoppers. Another thing I'd like to do is spend some time at this market after dark. I think I'll wait until I've learned a little bit more Korean before I do that.

National Treasure #1 Burns

A sad thing happened in Seoul, Korea recently when Namdaemun Gate burned down as a result of arson. The arsonist was a homeless man who apparently set the fire on purpose. From what I've gathered in news reports, several homeless people had taken refuge in the gate's top floor at night for many months. Despite security gaurds being employed at the gate, the homeless were not prevented from breaking in.


Here is the gate as it was prior to the fire.

This gate was a place where, everyday, ceremonies were conducted. I was able to see one of them when I was touring the Namdaemun Market area.

The gate is positioned inside a large turnabout where thousands of people see it daily by driving or walking by it. I think it will be rebuilt in the same location, but it will never be the same.

One cameraman took photos of the crowds that gathered to see their National Treasure #1 burn down.