[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Park Dong-wook] At around 5:40 PM on the 23rd, a fire broke out at Junggungam, a hermitage within Namjangsa Temple, an ancient temple from the Unified Silla period located in Sangju City, Gyeongbuk, and was extinguished after about six hours.
There were no reported casualties from the fire, but all three auxiliary hermitage buildings were completely destroyed. Since the temple is situated on a mountainside, fire trucks had difficulty accessing the site in the early stages of the fire, and water supply for firefighting was not smooth, making extinguishing efforts challenging.
Namjangsa is a branch temple of Jikjisa Temple in the 8th district of the Jogye Order. It was originally founded in 832 AD (the 7th year of King Heungdeok) during the Unified Silla period and was later relocated to its current site during the Goryeo Dynasty.
The temple houses numerous cultural assets, including Bogwangjeon Hall and the wooden Avalokitesvara painting of Gwaneum Seonwon, designated as Treasure Nos. 922 and 923. It has been reported that no cultural properties were damaged by this fire.
The police and fire authorities are investigating the cause of the fire and the extent of the damage.
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