There has been a great deal of controversy over whether the old City Hall building, which was built during the Japanese colonial period, should be preserved or could be cleared for demolition. But just a few days ago, the Cultural Properties Committee decided that the building should be preserved as a national historical building and was scheduled to make the decision official just a few hours before the city went ahead with its plans and began destroying the building.

Photo by Kim Jin-su/The Hankyoreh.