Translated from Korean, Namdaemun means “Great Southern Gate“. It is one of the historical city gates in South Korea’s capital city Seoul. In 1395 the gate and the rest of the city fortifications were erected by Taejo, who was the king at that time. However, the fortifications were not built for warding off hostile forces but simply to prevent tigers from entering the city.
 
Since December 20th 1962 the gate has been South Korea’s No. 1 national treasure. Therefore, the dismay was all the greater when during the night of February 10th to 11th 2008 it was almost completely destroyed due to an attack. Currently it is being restored for approx. 21 million dollars and should be reopened in May 2013.