Fire at Gyeongbuk Hakrimsa Temple Extinguished in 2 Hours... Daewoongjeon Hall Completely Burned Down

A fire broke out at Hakrimsa Temple in Gyeongbuk and was extinguished after about two hours.

Hakrimsa Temple in Uiseong, Gyeongbuk [Photo by Academy of Korean Studies]

On the 20th at around 3:12 PM, a fire occurred at the Daeungjeon Hall of Hakrimsa Temple in Jeomgok-myeon, Uiseong-gun, Gyeongbuk. The Daeungjeon Hall, which is 29㎡ (9 pyeong) in size, was completely burned down. Fortunately, there were no casualties.

The fire department deployed 15 fire trucks and firefighting helicopters, and the fire was fully extinguished at around 5:26 PM, 2 hours and 14 minutes after it started. Police and fire authorities are investigating the exact cause of the fire.

Hakrimsa Temple is affiliated with the Korean Buddhist Taego Order and was founded in 1945. In 1986, a five-story stone pagoda was erected, and the Daeungjeon Hall was destroyed by fire in 2008 and rebuilt the same year. The newly rebuilt Daeungjeon Hall was burned down after 16 years.