Five years after it was reduced to ashes in an arson attack, the newly rebuilt Namdaemun gate in South Korea was unveiled on Monday after a painstaking reconstruction costing millions of dollars.

The cultural jewel in central Seoul will reopen to the public on Saturday, following one of the longest and most expensive restoration projects ever undertaken in South Korea, involving hundreds of highly skilled craftsmen.

"Using traditional methods and materials, we've done our best to restore it to its original state," said Kang Kyung-hwan, head of the government's Heritage Conservation Bureau.