On the morning of the 1st, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced that there was no damage to the first-floor storage room in relation to the fire accident at the National Hangeul Museum in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, and that the stored artifacts were moved to the National Museum of Korea as a precautionary measure.
The Ministry stated that after the fire broke out, the artifacts were transferred, and by 11:09 a.m., the relocation of 26 collections comprising 257 items to the National Museum of Korea was completed.
On the morning of the 1st, a fire broke out at the National Hangeul Museum in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, and firefighters are conducting extinguishing operations. Photo by Yonhap News
The Ministry explained that the fire occurred on the stairs between the 3rd and 4th floors of the museum and is presumed to have been caused by sparks generated during the removal of the steel stairs. Additionally, there were no casualties among the workers conducting the demolition. Of the six workers, four evacuated on their own, and two were rescued.
However, the fire department reported that one firefighter was injured during firefighting efforts and was transported to a hospital.
The fire broke out around 8:40 a.m. at the museum, and the fire department announced that the initial extinguishing was completed around 12:31 p.m.
Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Yoon In-chon arrived at the fire scene around 11:30 a.m. and reportedly urged all efforts to be made to extinguish the fire.
The National Hangeul Museum was opened on October 9, 2014, Hangeul Day, with one basement floor and three above-ground floors, to create and widely promote the linguistic and cultural value of Hangeul. Currently closed, the museum has been undergoing "educational space creation and expansion" construction since October last year, marking its 10th anniversary. The National Hangeul Museum is scheduled to reopen on Hangeul Day this year.
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