I went by to see Namdaemun Gate this weekend..

and the city had already erected a wall around the fire destroyed gate.. which was sad.. because it would have been nice if they had left at least the front open for a couple of weeks or no glass in the insert.. so that people could come by and pay their respects. There was a rope that kept you back by about 20 feet and police on duty.

A shrine of sorts had been erected, people left traditional offerings as one would do for a death in Korea... you could also leave messages on a large piece of paper that was on display. I did leave a message expressing my sadness about the terrible event that had happened and how I always enjoyed seeing the beautiful gate when I'd go to the market or I'd see the gate while I was in a taxi. Of course, mine was the only message in English- but, I'm sure that other 'foreigners' had stopped by before my visit and more will stop by in the future.

There was a large black and white photo of the way that the Namdaemun Gate used to look like.. beyond sad.

The seventy year old Korean man who set it afire has been arrested and he did confess to the crime. Apparently, he felt that he hadn't been given enough money in a land dispute of some sort.

The gate sits in an island of land in the middle of many busy streets that pass in several directions around and past the gate.