South Korea yesterday unveiled the rebuilt gate of an ancient kingdom — one of its most famous landmarks — in the culmination of a 20-year campaign to restore royal buildings destroyed by Japan.
Gwanghwamun, the front gate of the Gyeongbok Palace in the heart of Seoul, has been restored at a cost of 30 billion won (US$25.3 million) in a project that took four years.
“My heart is flooded with many mixed emotions and filled with profound feelings,” South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said in a speech marking Korea’s liberation from Japanese colonial rule from 1910 to 1945.
“We can now see Gwanghwamun standing tall here once again, restored to its past glory,” he added at a ceremony attended by thousands of people.
Gwanghwamun, which means “the king’s grace lightens the world,” has been fully restored and returned to its original location.
It was the main front gate used by the king for his outings and official parades and has twice been reduced to ashes during its 615-year history, which began with the birth of the Joseon dynasty (1392 to 1910).
The gate and palace were set on fire during Japanese invasions in the 16th century.
They were restored in 1865 but Japan demolished or relocated scores of royal houses and structures to build a Western-style building for its colonial government inside the palace.
The gate was partly destroyed by fire during the 1950-1953 Korean War. South Korea restored it in 1968 using iron bars and concrete.
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