On Thursday, the charred, black remains of South Korea’s Gounsa temple stood out sharply against the rainbow of hues characteristic of the nation’s ancient palaces and Buddhist temples.
This week, South Korea’s worst wildfire ever raged over towns and woods, destroying or injuring irreplaceable cultural treasures and killing at least 26 people. Many of the buildings at the temple complex, which was first constructed by monks in 681, were destroyed by fire.
Deungwoon, the head of the Gounsa temple, told Reuters, “There was a wind stronger than a typhoon, and flames whipped through the air like a tornado, burning the whole area in an instant.”
“The buildings and remains of what Buddhist monks have left over 1,300 years are now all gone.”
