Namdaemun, or "Great South Gate"..fire, in Seoul February 11

Namdaemun, officially called Sungnyemun, or "Great South Gate", which was destroyed by fire in Seoul is seen February 12, 2008. South Korean police said on Tuesday they arrested a pensioner who confessed to burning down the 600-year-old gate designated as the country's number one national treasure because he was angry about a compensation payment.

A worker fences Namdaemun, officially called Sungnyemun, or "Great South Gate", which was destroyed by fire in Seoul February 12, 2008. South Korean police said on Tuesday they arrested a pensioner who confessed to burning down the 600-year-old gate designated as the country's number one national treasure because he was angry about a compensation payment.

Floral tributes sit in front of Namdaemun, or "Great South Gate", which was destroyed by fire, in Seoul February 11, 2008. The 600-year-old gate in central Seoul, listed as South Korea's number one national treasure and the country's landmark symbol, has been destroyed, possibly by an arsonist, police said on Monday. The gate, whose history is drummed into South Korean school children from an early age, is a huge loss to ordinary citizens, many of whom gathered to look in horror at a national icon reduced to ashes.


Police and fire authorities examine the cause of the fire which destroyed South Korea's No. 1 national treasure Namdaemun Gate in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2008. The fire broke out Sunday night and burned down the wooden structure at the top of the Namdaemun Gate, which once formed part of a wall that encircled the South Korean capital.