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| ▲ Firefighters work to contain a fire that broke out at the National Hangeul Museum in central Seoul on Feb. 1, 2025. (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ Officials at the National Hangeul Museum in central Seoul move artifacts on Feb. 1, 2025, after a fire broke out on the third and fourth floors of the building. (Yonhap) |
museum-fire recovery
Museum to relocate remaining artifacts after weekend fire
SEOUL, Feb. 2 (Yonhap) -- Artifacts at the National Hangeul Museum in central Seoul will be temporarily relocated to other state-run museums, officials said Sunday, following a weekend fire that affected the third and fourth floors of the building.
On Saturday, a fire broke out at the museum that had been closed to the public for expansion work. The blaze was completely extinguished after about seven hours, leaving one firefighter injured, while the artifacts remained intact.
"The artifacts currently stored on the first floor of the museum will be relocated to the National Museum of Korea and the National Folk Museum of Korea," a museum official told Yonhap News Agency by phone, adding the museum will draw up plans for the relocation next week.
Some 89,000 artifacts related to the Korean writing system, known as Hangeul, are stored at the museum, with the relocation process expected to take roughly a month.
The official said the fire and subsequent recovery efforts are likely to delay the museum's reopening to the public, which was initially scheduled for October.
An investigation to determine the exact cause of the fire is under way, with officials suspecting that sparks from steel-cutting work at the construction site may have started the blaze. An on-site inspection will take place Tuesday.
Established in 2014, the museum is dedicated to promoting the linguistic and cultural significance of Hangeul.
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