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Containing the fire god and fighting fires in Joseon

Korean palaces have always been very popular tourist sites and in the late 19th century Gwanghwamun was especially popular with photographers. According to Horace Allen, the palace was prone to fires - not only because of the large number of wooden buildings and fire sources but also because of supernatural influences. Fiery malevolence radiated from Namsan (South Mountain) but was contained by the Cheonggyecheon stream and the Han River. The “baneful influence of the fire-god” was diverted from its approach through the “South Gate by building a pond in front of it which [was] kept filled with water” - which, according to Allen, was the thing it abhorred the most. And, to protect the palace from the fire elements of Mount Gwanak, “the two immense stone animals [the fire-eating haetae] were erected in the street in front of the Palace Gate with their fierce angry faces pointed toward the south - the quarter from which the fire was supposed to come.” ....

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