who was the monk who set himself on fire
Thích Quảng Đức Thích Quảng Đức (Vietnamese: [tʰǐc kʷâːŋ ɗɨ̌k] ( listen); 1897—11 June 1963, born Lâm Văn Túc), was a Vietnamese Mahayana Buddhist monk who burned himself to death at a busy Saigon road intersection on 11 June 1963.[1] Quảng Đức was protesting the persecution of Buddhists by the South Vietnamese government led by Ngô Đình Diệm. Photographs of his self-immolation were circulated widely across the world and brought attention to the policies of the Diệm government. John F. Kennedy said in reference to a photograph of Đức on fire, "No news picture in history has generated so much emotion around the world as that one."[2] Malcolm Browne won a Pulitzer Prize for his photograph of the monk's death.[3][4]
2008 Namdaemun fire Later investigations revealed that the fire was indeed an act of arson. A 69-year-old man, identified as Chae Jong-gi (Hangul: 채종기; Hanja: 蔡宗基), was taken into police custody on February 12, on the suspicion that it was he who started the fire. Chae confessed to the crime 30 minutes after his arrest.[5][6][7] According to police reports, Chae arrived at Namdaemun around 8:35 p.m. carrying an aluminum ladder, three 1.5-liter bottles of paint thinner, and two cigarette lighters. With the ladder, he climbed the western wall of the gate, entered the gate, and walked up to the second floor. There, he started the fire by sprinkling the floor with paint thinner and lighting it.[8] Chae stated that he had started the fire because he was upset about not having been paid in full for land he had sold to developers.[6] Chae had also been charged with setting fire to the Changgyeong Palace complex in Seoul in 2006.[9][10]