Watch: South Korea's wildfire destroys 1,000-year-old Buddhist temple

A thousand-year-old Buddhist temple was reduced to ashes after South Korea’s wildfire engulfed parts of the Cheondeungsan Mountain where the religious site is located.

Videos show the Unramsa Temple ablaze after unprecedented wildfires made worse by wind swept through South Korea, killing at least 24 people, destroying more than 200 structures and forcing 27,000 residents to evacuate.

1000 year old Temple consumed by wildfire

Thousand-year-old Unramsa Temple on Cheondeungsan Mountain South Korea, was completely destroyed by a forest fire yesterday. It quickly spread due to strong winds, burning down both the main building and its outbuildings.

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In a televised address, South Korea’s acting President Han Duck-soo said the wildfires that began last Friday were worse than many previous ones.

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“Damages are snowballing,” Han said. “There are concerns that we’ll have wildfire damages that we’ve never experienced, so we have to concentrate all our capabilities to put out the wildfires in the rest of this week.”

Another Buddhist temple, the Gounsa temple, built in the 7th century, was also destroyed by the wildfires. The temple was engulfed in flames on Tuesday when the wildfires worsened due to strong winds. About 20 of the temple’s 30 buildings and structures were completely burned down, including the two revered structures.

“I went there this morning and found they’ve been reduced to heaps of ashes," said Doryun, a senior monk who lived at the temple for more than three years when he was younger. “I feel really empty. Life is transient.”

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As of Wednesday evening, firefighters were tackling at least four active wildfires, including in the southeastern coastal town of Yeongdeok, which alerted residents of the nearest village to evacuate to an indoor gymnasium.

With inputs from AP