The Unesco-listed Hahoe Folk Village in South Korea has been evacuated and a 1,300-year-old Buddhist temple burned to the ground after wildfires tore through southern parts of the country this week.
A major Buddhist landmark, the seventh-century Gounsa temple in Uiseong County, was among hundreds of buildings destroyed, with only its ceremonial bell left somewhat intact. Some of the artefacts that were housed in the temple were able to be relocated to other temples as the fires approached, including a seated stone Buddha designated a national treasure by the government.
At least 28 people have died in the fires, which are now South Korea’s worst ever natural fire disaster. The country’s disaster and safety division chief, Lee Han-kyung, said: “This wildfire has once again exposed the harsh reality of a climate crisis unlike anything we’ve experienced before.”
Last year was South Korea’s—and the world’s—hottest on record. Average temperatures in the country were 14.5C in 2024, two degrees higher than the preceding 30-year average of 12.5C. This has dried out much of the southern regions, making them susceptible to wildfire.
Alison Tickell, the founder and CEO of Julie’s Bicycle, a charity that mobilises the arts to tackle the climate crisis, said this was another example of the threat posed to cultural heritage from global heating. “It is terrible to see the devastating fires in South Korea," she tells The Art Newspaper.
“After a year of record-breaking heat, these fires are ravaging the heritage of local and Buddhist communities. Our heritage connects us all with our ancestors, our responsibility to our future, and what it means to belong to a bigger whole. Witnessing the burning of irreplaceable and precious places is another clarion call to act now to protect our shared heritage.”
The Hahoe Folk Village is currently deserted after its 200 residents were evacuated on Wednesday morning. The village, which was founded in the 14th and 15th centuries, is one of the best preserved settlements from the Joseon dynasty (1392-1910), including multiple examples of period architecture. Based on the principles of pungsu, a Korean form of feng shui, it is built in the shape of a lotus flower.
Listed by Unesco in 2010, the village attracts more than a million visitors a year. Also under threat is the nearby Byeongsan Seowon, a Joseon-era Confucian academy which is also a World Heritage Site.
South Korea’s meteorological agency has forecast less than 5mm of rain for the affected areas in the coming days, leading to authorities mobilising more than 9,000 people and 120 helicopters to battle the fires.