Firefighters extinguish a fire on the roof of the National Hangeul Museum in Seoul, Saturday. Yonhap

The National Hangeul Museum will relocate its entire collection of around 89,000 artifacts to the nearby National Museum of Korea, following a severe fire that engulfed the building's third and fourth floors on Saturday.

“We are in discussion to move all 80,000 artifacts stored in the first-floor storage room to the National Museum of Korea,” an official of the museum said Sunday. The museum houses and manages around 89,000 items related to Hangeul, the Korean alphabet created in 1443 under the guidance of King Sejong of the 1392-1910 Joseon Dynasty.

On Saturday, a fire broke out on the third floor of the four-story museum building, resulting in the complete destruction of both the third and fourth floors. According to the authorities, the fire was extinguished after seven hours. Apart from one firefighter injured during the firefighting operation, there were no additional casualties or damage to cultural heritage items.

National Hangeul Museum officials move artifacts out of the museum after a fire, Saturday. Yonhap

After the fire was extinguished, the museum moved 257 key items including nine National Treasures such as “Worinseokbo,” a Buddhist book published by King Sejo of Joseon in the mid-15th century, and Eochalcheop, a collection of Korean letters from King Jeongjo, to the National Museum of Korea and the National Folk Museum of Korea.

The relocation process for the entire collection is expected to take around a month. “We plan to move the artifacts early next week. On Tuesday, we will conduct a forensic examination of the fire scene with fire authorities,” the official said.

Visitors take a look at manuscripts of Hangeul, or the Korean alphabet, at the National Hangeul Museum in central Seoul, Oct. 9, 2022. Yonhap

The museum opened on Oct. 9, 2014, to spread information about the history and principles of the creation of Hangeul, explore its various uses and promote its literary and cultural value.

However, the fire significantly impacted the museum's reopening, which was slated for October. The museum had been undergoing extensive renovations across all four floors since October. The museum expects it will be difficult to meet the October reopening date due to the fire.