Thick smoke and falling ash blanket Hahoe Folk Village in Andong, North Gyeongsang Province as wildfires continue to sweep through southeastern Korea on Wednesday. Yonhap By Park Han-sol As deadly wildfires, driven by dry winds, continue to sweep through Korea's southeast, a string of cultural and natural heritage sites have fallen victim to the raging flames. As of 5 p.m. Wednesday, the Korea Heritage Service (KHS) reported 15 instances of damage to state-managed cultural heritage sites. The service issued a national disaster warning for heritage sites the previous day, designating it as "severe" — the highest level in the country’s four-tier warning system. Among the most heavily damaged structures is the millennium-old Goun Temple in Uiseong County, North Gyeongsang Province. The historic Buddhist temple, originally erected in 681 during the Silla Kingdom (57 BCE – 935 CE), suffered devastating losses. While its relics — paintings, manuscripts and statues — were successfully relocated elsewhere in the province, the monastic complex was reduced to ashes by around 4:50 p.m. Tuesday. Among the destroyed buildings were Yeonsujeon Hall and Gaun-ru Pavilion, both designated as state treasures. Other monuments that sustained fire damage include the scenic Chiljoknyeong Pass on Mount Baegun in Gangwon Province; a 900-year-old ginkgo tree and the Goryeo-era Dubangjae Shrine in Hadong, South Gyeongsang Province; an evergreen forest and a centuries-old fortress in Ulsan; the Joseon-era Mansae Pavilion and the late 18th-century Sanam House in Cheongsong, North Gyeongsang Province, according to the latest tally. A metal dharma bell lies cracked amid the ruins of Goun Temple in Uiseong County, North Gyeongsang Province, Wednesday. Most of the millennium-old Buddhist temple was reduced to ashes after wildfires tore through the area the day before. Yonhap The wildfires are also inching closer to two UNESCO-listed sites in Andong, North Gyeongsang Province: Hahoe Folk Village and Byeongsan Seowon. Hahoe Folk Village, a historic clan village founded in the late years of the 918-1392 Goryeo Dynasty, remains home to the Pungsan Ryu clan, while Byeongsan Seowon is a 17th-century Confucian academy. As of noon Wednesday, thick smoke and falling ash blanketed the area as flames crept within 5.4 kilometers of these cultural landmarks. In response, around 10 wooden signboards from the traditional academy have been transferred to the city’s World Confucian Culture Museum. Workers prepare to evacuate a wooden seated Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva statue from Bongjeong Temple in Andong, North Gyeongsang Province, Wednesday, to prevent further fire damage. Yonhap The KHS, in collaboration with relevant organizations, is continuing efforts to evacuate treasures and relics from at-risk areas to prevent further damage. So far, nearly 670 artifacts in 15 groups originally enshrined in six Buddhist temples across North Gyeongsang Province have been safely relocated. Among them, Buseok Temple’s Goryeo-era printing woodblocks of Buddhist scriptures and an 18th-century hanging scroll painting, both designated as treasures, have been transferred to a city museum. Meanwhile, Bongjeong Temple’s wooden seated Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva statue and a late-Joseon painting of Buddha Amitabha have been moved to the National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage in Gyeongju.
