Fire near South Korea's Jogye temple contained, treasures spared, officials say
Some three dozen fire trucks were deployed to the complex after clouds of smoke were seen billowing from the building. PHOTO: REUTERS
It was not immediately clear what national treasures were in the building. PHOTO: REUTERS
SEOUL - A fire broke out on June 10 in a building housing some of South Korea's national treasures neighbouring the historic Buddhist Jogye temple in Seoul, but it was later extinguished and there was no damage to the artefacts or injuries, fire officials said.
More than 300 monks and officials from the Jogye order, who were meeting in the building's conference hall, were evacuated safely, Jongno district fire department official Kang Kyung-chul told a briefing.
Some three dozen fire trucks were deployed to the complex after clouds of smoke were seen billowing from the building, which is used by the Jogye order, the largest in the country, and also by a Buddhist museum that houses two national treasures and several cultural heritage artefacts.
It was not immediately clear what national treasures were in the building.
Firefighters were able to prevent the fire in the concrete building from spreading to the temple's main hall, a largely wooden structure.
The cause of the fire was under investigation, Mr Kang said.
Museum officials were preparing to temporarily move some of the items to protect them from soot and smoke damage, a monk and a museum official said at the scene. REUTERS
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
NDR 2025: The case for growing old at home in super-ageing Singapore
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Since senior care infrastructure is already available in many places, the key is to make sure all Singaporeans can access this care. SINGAPORE – At assisted living flats for seniors in Bukit Batok, there is round-the-clock emergency help, basic health checks, social activities, and access to gathering spaces. It's a new housing concept for fast-ageing Singapore, with the first keys given out 10 months ago. Such homes, known as community care apartments (CCAs) – will also feature in Queenstown, Bedok and Geylang. And there will be more, to cater to seniors who want to live independently, but with some help. No matter how quickly these flats are built, though, it's unlikely to adequately meet the needs of our super-ageing nation . One in five Singaporeans is already aged 65 and older. By 2026, it is likely that at least 21 per cent of the population will fall into this category, making us officially super-aged by international standards. In fact, there are already super-aged towns in Singapore, like Toa Payoh where nearly one in four people is a senior. That more options are needed to supplement the CCA scheme, launched in 2021, was clearly articulated by Prime Minister Lawrence Wong in his National Day Rally speech on Aug 17. 'There is a limit to how many new CCAs we can build,' he said. 'Furthermore, many seniors don't want to move out… They prefer to age where they are, and we will need to provide for them as they get older.' His government's solution: Age Well Neighbourhoods . This new scheme will distill the key elements of assisted living flats, such as senior-friendly activity spaces and healthcare services, and bring them closer to homes. Neighbourhoods with more seniors, such as Toa Payoh, will be the first to get this treatment. It's a sensible approach, and not just because there is a limit to how many community care apartments we can build. This way, there is also better use of scarce resources, and in particular land. More community care apartments means less space available on a plot for other types of public housing. This trade-off must be taken seriously, especially in light of a supply crunch, among other factors, that have driven up public housing prices in recent years. The Government has also signalled that it is reviewing the income ceiling for couples applying for Build-To-Order flats, as well as the minimum age for singles purchasing flats. If either is eased, demand will go up. How to manage the growing housing needs of different demographics will become a bigger challenge for policy makers. This is why Age Well Neighbourhoods make sense; since senior care infrastructure is already available in many places. The key is to make sure all Singaporeans can access this care. At Age Well Neighbourhoods, the plan is to make 'physical touchpoints', such as active ageing centres, more accessible to seniors. In Toa Payoh, for example, some seniors have to walk more than 1km to the nearest centre. 'We will identify new sites, to make it more convenient for seniors,' PM Wong said. Healthcare services, such as rehabilitation, will be brought closer to the home, while home-based services – ranging from simple fixes to housekeeping and laundry – will be expanded. The idea is to support seniors where they are, instead of uprooting them in their golden years. There is, however, one crucial difference between assisted living flats and Age Well Neighbourhoods, and that is the number of people involved in providing care. In the Bukit Batok community care apartments – the only ones to be completed so far – a single operator, Vanguard Healthcare, is responsible for providing basic services. This will not be the case in most neighbourhoods. At present, an active ageing centre may be run by a social service agency, while the nearby community health post is staffed by nurses from the public healthcare sector, and yet another organisation offers personal care services at home. Many hands make light work, especially when the needs are pressing. But with so many players involved, it can be difficult for people to navigate the system and get the help they need. Getting this right has to be a priority for the Age Well Neighbourhoods scheme to work. Already, many health posts are conveniently located in active ageing centres. Ideally, these centres will become the go-to spots for everything that seniors need – medical checkups, yes, but also meaningful friendships. In its 60 years of independence, Singapore has faced a number of existential challenges. Being a super-aged society is now one of them – and as before, how the country rises to the challenge will be a test of its grit and ingenuity. Read more: Key announcements from PM Wong's first National Day Rally Watch PM Wong's National Day Rally speech here:
Straits Times
7 hours ago
- Straits Times
Mandarin with Taiwanese characteristics: Taipei leverages language as soft power tool
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox – How do you say 'MRT' in Mandarin? In this particular Chinese language class, the correct answer is 'jieyun' – a Taiwan-specific term – and not 'ditie', which is used in mainland China. Reading comprehension exercises here can be about Taiwan's night markets, with references to stinky tofu and bubble tea; and writing is done in traditional Chinese characters instead of the simplified characters preferred across the Taiwan Strait. Finally, students might be prompted to practise saying where they are from with the following phrase: 'Wo shi tai wan ren, ni ne?' – I am Taiwanese, how about you? The scenes described above provide a snapshot of what lessons are like at a Taiwan Centre For Mandarin Learning (TCML) – the Taiwan government-funded overseas learning centres which, as they admit, offer Mandarin education with 'Taiwanese characteristics'. Since their introduction in 2021, Taiwan's Overseas Community Affairs Council has set up 88 centres across Europe and the United States, in major cities such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, London and Paris, as part of Taiwan's efforts to use Mandarin to promote cultural diplomacy. These centres are typically established within existing language schools or community associations, which receive Taiwan government funding and resources to cover operating expenses. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore I want to divorce my husband and be a single mother: More victims speaking up on emotional abuse Asia Dozens injured after magnitude 6.0 quake strikes Sulawesi, Indonesia, official says Singapore Buying hope: Inside S'pore's love affair with the lottery Singapore She won big in Genting, but getting $240k winnings back to Singapore was dicey World Trump drops Ukraine ceasefire demand after Putin summit Singapore Motorcyclist dies after multi-vehicle collision on TPE An estimated NT$541 million (S$23.1 million) so far has been spent to fund the programme. The programme is set to significantly extend its reach: In 2026, new centres will be established in Australia, Canada, Japan and New Zealand. Dr Elaine Chung, a Chinese studies lecturer at Cardiff University in the UK, told The Straits Times that it was unsurprising Taipei had selected those countries to set up language centres. 'These nations share democratic norms and are likely seen by the Taiwanese government as providing a favourable context for cultivating long-term international goodwill and political support amid intensifying cross-strait tensions,' she said. Taiwan faces the constant threat of invasion by China, which views the island as its territory and has in recent years ramped up its military and diplomatic pressures against it to assert its sovereignty claims. In a July speech addressing TCML's expansion plans, Taiwanese Deputy Foreign Minister Chen Ming-chi said that Mandarin education served as one of the island's most effective diplomatic tools. 'Mandarin language exchanges have brought Taiwan to the world and the world to Taiwan,' he added. If the TCMLs sound like Taiwanese counterparts to China's dwindling government-funded Confucius Institutes (CIs), that is because they were designed to be that way. Founded in 2004, CIs are language and culture education centres embedded in overseas universities and colleges, whose stated purpose is to promote Chinese language and culture. But as tensions between Washington and Beijing intensified in recent years, concerns have grown over the alleged use of CIs as tools for Chinese propaganda and espionage in American educational institutions. Critics have accused CIs of censoring discussions on issues sensitive to the Communist Party of China, such as the Cultural Revolution and alleged human rights abuses in Tibet. From a peak of roughly 100 CIs in the US in 2018, fewer than five remain operating in the country, according to a 2023 report by the US Government Accountability Office. A similar wariness about the rise of China's influence in parts of Europe has also led to rapid closures of some CIs in countries such as Sweden, Spain and Germany. Taiwan saw a chance to fill the void, teaching adult students its version of Mandarin – along with its democratic values – as Beijing's threats against the island have become increasingly aggressive. In 2021, Taipei launched the TCML programme and marketed it as an alternative source of Mandarin instruction that was open and democratic. Besides the programme, Taiwan also runs a long-running scholarship programme offered to international students, including from Singapore, to travel to Taiwan to study Mandarin. Another scheme involves sending Mandarin language teachers from Taiwan to teach in US universities. Dr Chung said: 'Taiwan's active promotion of Mandarin reflects its ambition to mobilise the language as a cultural resource that projects value-based soft power, emphasising its democratic and liberal identity as distinct from China on the international stage.' At London's Hua Hsia Chinese School – a TCML centre – some 70 students have signed up to master basic Mandarin while picking up factoids about Taipei 101 and how to identify cities and counties on a Taiwan map. Many students have some kind of connection to Taiwan, either by marriage or business ties. Ms Katja Ting, who runs the school, said she felt heartened by the show of interest in the course, despite the significant challenge in learning to read traditional Chinese characters versus simplified script. 'One of our students said that it has always been his dream to learn traditional characters because he thinks they're more beautiful,' she told ST in a video call. 'Our Japanese students also prefer it because the same characters are used in their Kanji writing system.' Experts noted, however, that the promotion of traditional Chinese script as a unique feature of Taiwan could also be its drawback. 'The education system in most countries teaches Modern Standard Chinese as it is spoken and written in China, which is 'putonghua' with simplified characters,' said Dr Jeffrey Gil, who has researched extensively on the topic. 'That means that TCMLs are teaching a kind of Chinese that most students haven't studied and which doesn't match their prior learning experiences,' said the lecturer from Australia's Flinders University. 'This raises questions about if and how TCMLs can connect with and contribute to existing Chinese language education programmes abroad,' he told ST. Dr Chung noted that despite the political controversy surrounding CIs, international students see the appeal of learning a version of Mandarin that is usable in China due to perceived academic or career advantages in the long run. After conducting interviews with 30 university students in the UK majoring in Chinese studies, she found that even as students were critical of China's political system, many preferred to learn the version of Mandarin as written and spoken in China. 'While Taiwan works to brand its Mandarin education as a progressive, liberal alternative, it struggles against the gravitational pull of China's global economic and political dominance,' she said. For Ms Ting, who heads the TCML centre in London, Taiwan's Mandarin education strategy should be seen as offering students an additional choice. 'That's better than thinking of it as a competition with China. Students will want to learn Taiwan's version of Mandarin for specific reasons, and it's good that they have this option,' she said.
Straits Times
8 hours ago
- Straits Times
More than $850K raised for Singapore Children's Society in annual walk
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox SINGAPORE - The Singapore Children's Society raised more than $850,000 from its annual fundraiser walk and family day, which drew 4,200 people to the National Stadium on Aug 17. The event this year , called Walk for Our Children, was organised to spur young families to get active and to educate parents to help their teenage children strengthen their emotional well-being and resilience. Throughout the 2km route along the stadium and Geylang River, placards and boards provided information on how to help young people , using a framework for developmental relationships. The framework comprises five elements: expressing care to young people, supporting them, stretching their growth, giving young people a say in matters, and expanding their worldview and connections. Since 2022, the society's four youth centres have been working with teenagers using this framework . 'In day-to-day interactions, the centre's staff will utilise the developmental relationships approach to challenge growth by pushing the youths to do better in their academics or personal interests, hold them accountable for their actions, and guide them on reflecting on their mistakes,' said Mr Taufiq Salehoodin, assistant director and head of youth centre The Fort @ Children's Society in Radin Mas. Mastering developmental relationships have been linked to improved academic performance, better emotional regulation and stronger interpersonal skills, said the society in its biannual report published in March. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore I want to divorce my husband and be a single mother: More victims speaking up on emotional abuse World Trump drops Ukraine ceasefire demand after Putin summit Singapore Buying hope: Inside S'pore's love affair with the lottery Singapore She won big in Genting, but getting $240k winnings back to Singapore was dicey Life These cats may have disabilities, but they are resilient and capable of being affectionate Singapore PM Wong's National Day Rally speech to begin at 6.45pm on Aug 17 Singapore Motorcyclist dies after multi-vehicle collision on TPE Opinion Confessions of a born-again Singaporean Of the five elements, teenagers struggled most with the 'challenge growth' pillar which involves stretching their limits and helping the students deal with mistakes and setbacks, a recent survey by the four youth centres found. Health Minister Ong Ye Kung attended the Aug 17 event, which also included a 5km run and carnival activities. Minister for Health Ong Ye Kung flagging off the Walk For Our Children 2025 at the Singapore Sports Hub Aug 17, 2025. The Straits Times Proceeds raised through ticket sales, donations and sponsorships will go towards supporting the programmes and services run by the Singapore Children's Society. Apart from Radin Mas, the other three youth centres are located in Toa Payoh, Jurong and Chai Chee. These centres are not just for at-risk youths but any teen looking for a space after school where they can spend time, added Mr Taufiq. The four centres, of which the oldest in Toa Payoh is 25 years old, have different ways of engaging youth. For example, students at Mr Taufiq's centre are usually busy with leading community programmes and running a podcast, while the centre at Chai Chee helps students through digital platforms and games. Mr Tian Enqi, 36, his wife and their two toddlers were among the 4,200 people who attended the fund-raising event. 'The event and leisurely walk was fun for the kids, who are of the right age to join and play,' said the senior manufacturing manager. The Singapore Children's Society event was part of Singapore Pools' SG60 weekend event – called Weekend with A Heart – which featured futsal and e-sports matches, alongside other family activities. In a charity football match on Aug 16, several MPs and ministers played against past national footballers including Fandi Ahmad, Baihakki Khaizan and Jeremy Chiang. The politicians in the parliamentary team included Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth David Neo, Acting Transport Minister Jeffrey Siow, Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh, and Minister of State for Education and Digital Development and Information Jasmin Lau.
