Star Metro - Workers save Buddha as S. Korea's wildfires raze ancient temple

Hours later much of the temple burned down in one of the deadliest wildfires to hit South Korea -- but the Buddha and the wooden hall it was in survived.

All across the country's southeast, officials are racing to relocate priceless historic artifacts and protect UNESCO-listed sites from the blazes, which have killed 24 people and destroyed thousands of hectares of forest.

In the UNESCO-listed Hahoe village -- a popular tourist site once visited by England's late Queen Elizabeth II -- fire fighters and cultural heritage officials have been spraying water and fire retardants onto the thatched buildings, hoping they would be spared from the flames.

"It is very heartbreaking and painful to see the precious temples that are over a thousand years old being lost," Deung-woon, a 65-year-old monk told AFP.

When 68-year-old monk Joung-ou heard that the Gounsa temple had burned down in wildfires which have killed 24 people so far, he said he felt "so devastated that I couldn't come to my senses."

"It was an extremely painful feeling, and I wondered why something like this could happen," he said.

AFP reporters who returned to the temple after the blaze found the north side of the building razed to charred rubble, with broken tablets scattered on the ground.

The giant Buddha at the centre of the building survived.

A heavy bell that once hung on an ancient wooden structure nearby sat cracked on top of the debris.

"We will do our best to restore the function of the temple," monk Joung-ou vowed.

- 'Inherently vulnerable' -

One issue facing officials is that many of the cultural heritage sites in the area, including the UNESCO-listed Hahoe village are "inherently vulnerable to fires," one expert told AFP.

Hahoe, which dates to the 14th or 15th century, is described by UNESCO as a "representative historic clan village".

The late Queen Elizabeth II visited in 1999 during her four-day visit to South Korea and was honoured with a banquet marking her 73rd birthday -- although the aristocratic village chief refused to allow the queen into his living room, which was for men only.

The village's layout and location -- "sheltered by forested mountains and facing out onto a river and open agricultural fields" is said by UNESCO to "reflect the distinctive aristocratic Confucian culture of the early part of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910)".

But it is precisely this location that makes the site vulnerable, said Lee Sang-hyun, professor of Cultural Heritage Studies at Gyeongkuk National University.

"It is difficult to devise preservation measures when a wildfire breaks out," he said.

"The wildfire poses a significant threat to the preservation of these cultural treasures. The predominant use of wood in these structures makes them even more susceptible to fires," he added.

"This is an unprecedented crisis. I am over 60 years old, but I have never seen a fire of this magnitude before," he said.

- 'Impossible to predict' -

As the flames drew closer to Hahoe, AFP reporters at the scene saw huge chunks of ash floating in the air, as fire trucks sprayed water and fire retardants onto the thatched roof houses and buildings.

Thick wildfire-induced fog and the smell of burning filled the air, with police barring entry to all except fire control officials. The area -- which typically draws more than one million visitors annually -- was eerily deserted.

Nearby Byeongsan Seowon is also a UNESCO site, and a Korea Heritage Service official told AFP that saving the two locations were a top priority for officials.

"It is impossible to predict the current situation due to wind and changes in other conditions, but there is currently no damage to Hahoe Village," they said.

"As a countermeasure, we have used sprinkler trucks to soak the surfaces of the structures there with a lot of water."

Byun Ji-hyun, senior programme specialist at UNESCO, told AFP that "if Hahoe village were to be destroyed by fire, its value as a world heritage site could be significantly compromised.

"That is why everyone is working together to prevent such an event. We believe that such an event will not occur."

In addition to scores of firefighters, the Korea Heritage Service has deployed 750 people to move and urgently care for the ancient treasures, including relocating them, or if not possible trying to equip them to survive the blaze.

So far, the service said at least 15 items considered important national heritage have been damaged and two designated "national treasures" had been completely destroyed.

"We have a number of personnel at the wildfire sites and they will continue to help move and protect national heritages," an official from the Korea Heritage Service told AFP.

Hundreds of items have been moved to safety, including books and other items in the Bongjeongsa Temple in Andong.

The agency has "conducted on-site inspections to assess whether national heritage sites are at risk," it said in a statement.

"Urgent relocation of cultural assets held by temples and other institutions is underway," they said adding that they are "mobilising all available personnel from the Cultural Heritage Administration and its affiliated agencies to respond".

K.Morrison--SMC