Gwangju & South Jeolla International Magazine
Gwangju and South Jeolla International Magazine I September 2020 #223 The Daemullim Project
September 2020 #223
The Daemullim Project Gwangju’s Human Rights Forum
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Gwangju & South Jeolla International Magazine
September 2020, Issue 223 Published: September 1, 2020 Cover Photo
The Daemullim Project (Photo courtesy of Kang “Jennis” Hyeon-suk)
THE EDITORIAL TEAM Publisher Editor-in-Chief Managing Editor Production Editor Layout Editor Photographer Communications Proofreaders
Online Editor Researcher
Dr. Shin Gyonggu Dr. David E. Shaffer William Urbanski Isaiah Winters Melline Galani Kim Hillel Yunkyoung Jeong Jiyeon Timothy Berg, Jonathan Moffett, Joseph Nunez, Di Foster, David Foster,Ynell Mondragon, Tara Kulash, Elisabeth Loeck, Stephen Redeker Melline Galani Yu Yeonwoo
The Gwangju News is the first English monthly magazine for the general public in Korea, first published in 2001. Each monthly issue covers local and regional issues, with a focus on the roles and activities of the international residents and local English-speaking communities.
The Gwangju News is published by Gwangju International Center: Jungang-ro 196-beon-gil 5 (Geumnam-ro 3-ga), Dong-gu, Gwangju 61475, South Korea Tel: (+82)-62-226-2733~34 Fax: (+82)-62-226-2731 Website: www.gwangjunewsgic.com Email: gwangjunews@gic.or.kr GwangjuNews gwangjunews
For volunteering and article submission inquiries, please contact the editor at gwangjunews@gic.or.kr. Special thanks to Gwangju City and all of our sponsors.
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With the arrival of September, we usually think that the intense heat of August is behind us and that we are in for better days. This year, however, the heat of August did not come from the sun but from the coronavirus. Through vigilance, Gwangju COVID cases were kept in the double digits for months, but as people left their guard down, cases soared. Keep yourself and your neighbors safe. Follow the COVID prevention guidelines. Gwangju has been busy fighting the virus with contact tracing and testing, but as well, the city in putting into place policies to mitigate the disease’s effects on the economy and preparing for the post-COVID period. You can read more about this in the Gwangju City News section. The annual World Human Rights Cities Forum is opening again this October. Read about the program, look over the schedule, and find out how you can participate – online or in person. Another of our features this month is the Daemullim Project, a government sponsored program introducing traditional Korean cuisine through experts and master chefs. And if you’re interested in a quiet vacation getaway among the bamboo groves, visit our feature on the Damyang House. This month’s Blast from the Past article reveals how the color red has traditionally instilled fear and been adored. Lost in Gwangju uncovers the link between an abandoned stretch of highway with the May 18 Uprising. And Around Korea turns up some unique hanok houses hidden in Seoul. This month’s issue is strong on personal development. “Pushing Myself ” deals with just that for one Korean adjusting to life in Canada. “Finding the Balance” offers tips on coping with stress. Our book review is on How to Be an Antiracist, and our restaurant review is of “The Mushroom Restaurant.” Read about the challenges facing Filipina English teachers in Korea, read our interview with artist Yonghyun Lim, and read our opinion piece on the clustering of coffee shops in Gwangju. There’s more! Gaze at our street art from around the world in the Photo Essay. Make yourself some Army Stew. Solve our crossword puzzle. Learn how to talk about cellphones in Korean. And plan your next trip to Morocco. Keep safe and enjoy the September issue of the Gwangju News!
David E. Shaffer Editor-in-Chief Gwangju News
September 2020
Registration No. 광주광역시 라. 00145 (ISSN 2093-5315) Registration Date: February 22, 2010 Printed by Join Adcom 조인애드컴 (+82)-62-367-7702
From the Editor
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Copyright © 2020 by the Gwangju International Center. All rights reserved. No part of this publication covered by this copyright may be reproduced in any form or by any means – graphic, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise – without the written consent of the publisher.
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August Flooding in Gwangju
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CONTENTS September 2020
Issue 223
MONTHLY NEWS 04. Gwangju City News 56. Communuty Board FEATURES 06. Food and Thought from the Masters 12. Human Rights in the City of Light 16. The Damyang House BLAST FROM THE PAST 20. The Yin and the Yang of Red TRAVEL 22. Lost in Gwangju: Gwangju’s Highway to Nowhere Links Testaments of 5.18 26. From Abroad: The Dreamland – Morocco 28. Around Korea: Hidden Hanoks GWANGJU ABROAD 34. Pushing Myself COMMUNITY 44. Finding the Balance FOOD & DRINKS 46. Restaurant Review: “The Mushroom Restaurant” 55. Recipe: Budae Jjigae – Army Stew
OPINION 48. Enough with the Coffee Shops Already!
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September 2020
ARTS & CULTURE 02. Photos of the Month 29. Crossword Puzzle 36. Artist Talk in Gwangju – Yonghyun Lim 38. Photo Essay: Art Is a Universal Tool of Human Expression 50. Book Review: How to Be an Antiracist
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EDUCATION 33. Everyday Korean: Episode 33 – 휴대폰 (Cellphones) 51. Language Teaching: The Challenges of Teaching as a Filipina
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Gwangju City News Reprinted with permission from Gwangju Metropolitan City Hall
Gwangju’s Response to COVID-19
Gwangju City News
Gwangju City Goes All Out to Save Small Businesses from COVID-19
Gwangju-Tailored AI – Normalization of a Green New Deal: “Energy Independent Gwangju,” a First for Korea
Gwangju City is carrying out various policies to support and save small business owners who are struggling due to the spread of COVID-19. This support comes in the form of providing low-interest loans through the COVID-19 Special Small Business Guarantee, visiting disinfected facilities to provide guidance, and executing a customized support policy through the “Bitgoeul Small Business Owner” program. Moreover, Gwangju City is presenting supportive projects of all types. These include (a) Supporting Small Business Financing for Victims of COVID-19, (b) SME Structure Improvement Financing Support, (c) Special Guarantee Fund for Neighborhood Businesses, (d) Selecting the Gwangju Win-Win Card for Local Currency, (e) Bitgoeul Small Business Owner Support, (f) Small Loan Support for the Financially Marginalized, (g) Yellow Umbrella Subsidy Incentives, and (h) Support for Reopening of Small Businesses Closed Due to Visits of COVID-19 Cases.
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September 2020
Gwangju City Prepares for “With Corona” Policy by Sectors and Time Period With the realization that a long-term presence of COVID-19 is unavoidable, it has been reported that Gwangju City is developing short-term, mid-term, and long-term response plans for the various sectors in preparation for living “With Corona.” The plans include instituting health regulation alternatives with higher durability in the short-term; and in the midterm, preparing systematic management plans for multi-purpose, medical, and high-rise facilities, as well as compensating for shortcomings in epidemiological investigation for improvements, mainly targeting those over 70. Lastly, for the long-term, the plan includes acceleration of the pace of establishing a municipal medical center for infectious diseases with a 100-billion won allocation, as well as a Honam region infectious disease specialized hospital as part of the Chosun University Medical Center for medical capability expansion to prevent widespread infection such as that of an epidemic.
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Gwangju City Mayor Lee Yong Seob announced the vision of “Global Leading City of the Post-COVID Zero Era” at the Kim Daejung Convention Center and presented the Three-Part New Deal Policy for Gwangju, including an AI-based “Digital New Deal,” the “Net-Zero Green New Deal,” and the “Human New Deal for Safety.” As its main goal, Gwangju aims to achieve 100% energy independence by 2045 by achieving self-sufficiency in electricity required by companies in Gwangju by 2030 with eco-friendly renewable energy, designated “2030 Enterprise RE100”; and then by achieving self-sufficiency in all electricity used in Gwangju by 2035, designated “2035 Gwangju RE100.” Subsequently, as the third and final stage, the plan is to achieve a “Carbon-Neutral Energy-Independent Gwangju” by not receiving any energy power from outside the city from 2045.
Accelerated Artificial Intelligence Company to Gwangju
Nationwide artificial intelligence companies are heading to Gwangju. The creation of one of the world’s top-10 largest data centers and artificial intelligence complexes for business is in the making to form the Gwangju AI business ecosystem. In addition, Autonomous A.G., Albiotech Co., and SAP Korea, Ltd. have decided to actively cooperate in creating the Gwangju artificial intelligence ecosystem. Following this initial move, many other enterprises are expected to be Gwangju-bound
Gwangju City and San Antonio (Texas) Continue Friendship Through Baseball
Gwangju City and its sister city in the U.S., San Antonio, have demonstrated their friendship once again through baseball in July. The video of San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg throwing the ball at the Gwangju Pavilion in Denman Park, donated by Gwangju City in 2010, and Mayor Lee Yong Seob receiving the ball at Gwangju City Hall will be played on the screen at Gwangju Kia Champions Field. The baseball game is expected to be broadcasted across the United States through ESPN.
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Other News “With Corona”: Employing Conference Technology
Cutting-Edge
The 10th World Human Rights Cities Forum, which is planning to present new methods in forum management by employing the most advanced conference technology, has recently been selected in the “Meeting Technology Competition” by the Korea Tourism Organization. Major participants will be introduced using hologram clips, live VTC with worldwide officials will be available using high-tech headsets, and human rights-related experimental VR programs will be presented. This hybrid mode online-offline conference will be hosted at the Kim Daejung Convention Center in Gwangju for four days, October 7–10, 2020.
2020 Online/Offline ACE Fair Opening
Biennale
Due to COVID-19, the September 2020 Gwangju Biennale has been postponed to February 2021. The 13th Gwangju Biennale is dedicated to presenting their high-quality on-location exhibitions with a great number of invited artists active around the world for the 73-day event from February 26 to May 9. Meanwhile, with the postponement of the event, the online journal Rising Mind, the home for art discussions and communication, has been publishing essays on colonialism, gender, May 18th, and diverse women-related academia and research essays published in July, including Ana Prvack’s secondary video work.
Simultaneous Selection by Gwangju Cultural Foundation of “5G Field-Testing Experience Center” and “KT Real Cube”
The Gwangju Cultural Foundation was recently selected as its core facility the Korea Communications Agency’s “5G Field-Testing Experience Center” and the GwangjuJeonnam region’s most recent “KT Real Cube” to deliver new authentic contents demonstrating 5G technology. KT Real Cube’s content also reflects new trends in convergence technology, education, and healthcare as KT’s flagship for new technology. This content will be available on the UNESCO Media Art “Creative City Gwangju” platform.
MONTHLY NEWS
The Asia Content and Entertainment Fair in Gwangju (ACE Fair 2020) will be simultaneously hosted online and offline, adjusting to changes of the world caused by COVID-19. Online business counseling sessions will be available from September 17 to 30, and for domestic exhibition enterprises and international enterprises that have affiliations or branches in Korea, offline (inperson) convention participation will be possible from September 17 to 20 at the Kim Daejung Convention Center in Gwangju. Seller and buyer applications will be available until August 30 for online business meetings and match-ups.
COVID-19 After-Effect: Gwangju Postponed to February 2021
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September 2020
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FEATURE
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▲ Monk Jeong-gwan informs us on how to eat with bowls during our temple-stay.
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September 2020
Food and Thought from the Masters An Experience in Traditional Korean Cuisine Written by Kang “Jennis” Hyeon-suk
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ack in June, I read an interesting article in the news. It was looking for people who were interested in learning about traditional Korean foods from several Korean culinary masters. The project was named Daemullim (대물림), which refers to that which is passed on to one’s posterity. I thought that I was the type of person they were looking for because I love to cook Korean dishes, and I have been thinking about sharing my dishes with others someday. So, I applied, promising not to miss a single class. I was selected and now I am so happy to be one of the participants. I would like to start this article off with a short interview to introduce the person who organized this amazing program, Song Ki-
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hee, a professor in the Department of Cooking Science at Honam University. Jennis Kang: Hello, Professor Song. I appreciate you sparing time to do this interview for the Gwangju News. As a Gwangju resident, I remember you worked as a broadcaster for a long time. Now your new career as a professor of cooking science seems quite different from your previous work. Why did you start this new career at Honam University? Song Ki-hee: Thank you for the opportunity to do this interview. People who knew me as an announcer and reporter are surprised to see me working as a professor
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▲ Choi Young-ja, master of Namdo dishes, with her daughter and student, Eunkyong.
FEATURE
▲ Rice cakes topped with lotus root and kiwi.
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Korea’s present food culture on to future generations. Gwangju and the Jeolla provinces are surrounded by wide seas and broad fields that are abundant in foodstuffs and condiments. So, there are a lot of hidden masters who have their own secret recipes in these areas. As a local university, I think we have the responsibility to find and preserve our traditional food culture. Jennis: I appreciate your efforts in this area. I think it must have been a challenge to organize this program – to find culinary masters of diverse foods and to conduct interviews with the applicants to select participants. Would you tell me what the hardest part was? Song Ki-hee: Yes, to schedule master chefs, who are famous and busy, and to choose only 20 participants from among 50 applicants, was not easy. Most of all, we needed to take precautions against COVID-19. All the participants have their temperature checked before class and each of them must wear masks during the classes. Jennis: Wow, this is quite a highly competitive program. Can you tell what kind of people have been selected to participate in this program – what purposes do they have for participating?
September 2020
Jennis: So, you give lectures to your students about the flow of trends and the strategies of marketing. I guess that this is quite necessary for students who are going to run their own shops and restaurants someday. This year, you launched the Daemullim Project. I think it must not have been easy to get support from the government for consecutive projects. Would you tell us what the merits of your programs are? Song Ki-hee: Yes, thankfully this program is supported by EPIS [Education, Promotion, and Information Services], an agency of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs. This program, as its name suggests, is for passing
▲ Jeho-tang, a medicinal summer beverage.
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in the field of food science. But once, when I worked as the head of the public relations department at Gwangju MBC, I held an exhibition on “The Tastes of the Jeolla Provinces.” We exhibited kimchi at that time, and the president of the MBC broadcasting company fell in love with the taste of local kimchi. After that, I was given an assignment by him to find the diverse tastes of Jeolla. I worked on projects to find local foods and helped local restaurants survive. I felt the owners of the restaurants should learn about service, the flow of trends, and marketing strategy. A study of local foods was also needed. I think the future industries of Jeolla might be its nature and food. That is why I got a PhD in food culture from Kyonggi University to prepare for my second career. Maybe my genes are rooted deep in the field of food.
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FEATURE
Song Ki-hee: When we planned to open these classes at Honam University, we thought it would be for young people who want to set up food businesses. The range in the participants’ age, however, is wide – from 20 to 49. Most of them are students, but there are housewives, web designers, cooks, and some of them already have their own stores. This program is not just for passing on present food culture. The participants opening their own shops will surely want to survive in this competitive business world. That is why the Department of Cooking Science at Honam University offers marketing skills along with cooking classes. Jennis: I see. Would you please introduce the culinary masters who are participating in this program? Who are they? What kind of foods do they teach the participants how to make? Song Ki-hee: The participants learn how to make rice cakes, traditional beverages, desserts, and a variety of pickled vegetables from five masters. They are Korea’s most renowned experts on food: Oh Hee-sook, Choi Young-ja, Min Kyung-suk, Park Hye-ran, and Jeonggwan, a Buddhist monk who has become a global star on Netflix’s Chef ’s Table. The participants will also do a temple-stay to get a chance to ask themselves the fundamental questions of why to cook, what to cook, and how to cook with Monk Jeong-gwan. Jennis: Thank you for your time, Professor Song. I cannot wait for the classes to begin!
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September 2020
The Project Begins
After the interview with Professor Song, the series of culinary classes did indeed soon begin. The program began on June 30th and is set to continue running through September 17th. Classes meet every Tuesday and Thursday from 9:30 a.m. to about 5–6:00 p.m. In addition to cooking classes by the master cooks, lectures on marketing are provided by Honam University professors, as well as by lecturers from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs at the university. However, because of all the materials and utensils required, the cooking workshops are being held at the various masters’ kitchens directly. When the time arose, I was ready with pen and notepad in hand to jot down the words of wisdom and tasty tidbits that these culinary masters were about to impart.
Master Jeong-gwan
Early in the program, we were able to meet culinary master and Buddhist monk Jeong-gwan. In her class on “The Mind as a Cook,” she talked about life, nature, and nutrition. The following are some excerpts from Monk Jeong-gwan’s session that I thought to be most notable.
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▲ Song Ki-hee, professor of cooking science at Honam University.
“It has already been more than eight months since we began living with masks on. We’re going through a war without guns. The diseases of nature are of our making, of my making.” “I can tell who I was in the past by looking at who I am in the present, and I can predict who I will be in the future. We humans, who have to breathe with nature, are captive to nature’s laws of survival, but at the same time, we must abide by the laws of life with considerations beyond the laws of the weak and the strong.” “When I was a child, we used to scoop water out of a well and eat rice soaked in water with pickled vegetables. The experience of eating cucumbers and eggplants in the field when I was five or six years old made me who I am today. We used to drink natural water, but as we became Westernized, the ‘natural I’ gradually disappeared” [as processed foods became more of a part of the diet]. “An object called ‘I’ is a single seed. We humans came into this world by borrowing our parents’ bodies, but we are a new seed, a totally different being than our parents or siblings. We are born from nothing and go back to nothing after going through our lives. This is the transcendental self; the ‘I’ comes from nothing, but the ‘I’ creates something. When the ‘I’ comes out of the womb, the ‘I,’ the most precious person in the world, breathes alone without anyone else’s help. They are a substance
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9 created from earth, water, fire, and wind, with the power to realize – a singular substance that can move itself.” “A dish made by the true me is the best dish in the world. The guest is not the king – the king is the one who makes the best foods with the best ingredients. You have to cook with your whole heart to show who you really are.”
Master Park Hye-ran
After meditating on the words of Monk Jeong-gwan, we were treated to a class by Park Hye-ran, the master of the rice cake. From her, I learned that from as far back as recorded history goes, Koreans shared rice cakes with their neighbors for any special event, happy or sad. Among the many types of rice cakes, red-bean rice cake
Master Min Kyung-suk
The next master’s session was devoted to jeho-tang (제호탕, a boiled medicinal beverage) and was led by Min Kyung-suk. Master Min told us that, according to the Dongui-bogam (동의보감, 1613), Korea’s best-known traditional Book of Medicine, jeho-tang cools down the body from the summer heat and reduces thirst. Wishing for good health throughout the hot summer months, the kings of the Joseon Dynasty gave jeho-tang to their subjects along with Dano fans on the holiday of Dano (단오, the 5th day of the 5th lunar month). To make jeho-tang, one must boil the medicinal herbs with water, add honey to the medicinal water, and boil it again until the mixture becomes sticky. The sticky mixture is then stored in a pot and tea is made with it during the summer to combat the heat.
FEATURE
“People say that food is medicine. But when they are sick, they go to the hospital and take medicine. We should not, however, forget the power of natural food. To make food complete, you need to cook in a manner that makes sense. To do that, you need to know the ingredients first. Watching the ingredients grow season by season, you have to decide whether to pick it in the morning or in the evening. You need to taste, feel, and remember each moment.” “Living by the laws of the universe, nature, and human beings, I should constantly reflect on myself. Making food is itself fulfillment.”
(pat-tteok, 팥떡) was the most popular. It is still used today in performing rites to bring good fortune, carrying with it a shamanistic superstition: Spirits of all types fear red. So, to avoid misfortune, people prepared and shared red-bean rice cake. That is also the reason why red beans are not used in preparing the table of foods for rites to the dead. Instead, the rice cakes for these rites are made with white beans, mung beans, or sesame; red foods are avoided in order to invite the spirit of the deceased.
▼ Master Park Hye-ran teaching how to make rice cakes.
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September 2020
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10 To the young man in our group who said the jeho-tang smelled like a medicinal sauna, Master Min replied, “Try it. We humans can remember a food by having it just once in our lifetime. A taste is amazing. It can increase our feelings of joy just as music does. What kind of food will increase your joy?” When the master asked this question, I felt thrilled. I realized that food is also like a tune: It brings joy to those who are attentive. What food comes to mind when someone thinks of you?
Master Choi Young-ja
FEATURE
In early August, our Daemullim Project team had lessons from Choi Young-ja, another master of traditional Jeolla dishes. Her daughter, Eun-kyung, who learned from her mother, also assisted in helping us learn about traditional foods. The master and her daughter teach about hundreds of Namdo (South Jeolla Province’s) foods, especially festive dishes for special events such as weddings, birthdays, and ancestral rites. Our project team learned from Master Choi how to prepare nutritious sticky rice with various nuts and beverages for summer. One of these summer beverages, omija-cha (오미자차), is made from the bright-red omija berry, also known as five-flavor-fruit, or magnolia berry. From this beverage-making experience, I felt that cooks of olden times had romantic fingers.
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September 2020
Temple-Stay in Nature’s Bosom
Thanks to Professor Song’s planning, the project included a one-night temple-stay for the participants in August. The temple-stay was at Monk Jeong-gwan’s Cheonjin Hermitage, one of many hermitages within the huge Baekyang Temple complex in Jangseong County and not far from Gwangju. We had regular classes in the daytime, but staying at the temple itself afforded us a unique experience. Some of the participants prepared snacks for recreation in the evening. In particular, Honam University cooking science majors prepared buchimgae (부침개), a panfried pancake that includes Korean mint leaves, and it tasted amazing! Some of the students had majored in cooking from their high school days, so they were already excellent cooks. During the evening, there was talk about marriages in the married women’s quarters, while giggling was heard from the young ladies’ room. We shared life stories and felt closer to each other.
One young mother said that the temple-stay was her first time to be away from her family since she had gotten married. At first, she felt uncomfortable to be away from her children for the night. But soon she felt calm and could concentrate on herself by doing the meditation at dawn and having Zen food at the temple. When she joined this program, she wanted to get some helpful ideas for opening her own restaurant, but she was able to get much more than that in the end. She said, “It gave me a chance to reflect on myself.” ▼ Practicing meditation at dawn during the temple-stay.
The next day, we woke up early in the morning for meditation, gazing at the mountains through the window. Monk Jeong-gwan told us that walking is another form of meditation. So, we walked around the temple grounds, breathing in the fresh mountain air.
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11 Another young lady who is planning to open a tea place in Naju, a city just south of Gwangju, said that when she learned how to prepare a hearty lunch box from Monk Jeong-gwan, she wanted to present it to her mother, who has always made hearty dishes for her. How nice! As for myself, I felt that good food leads to a good mind.
Yet to Come
▲ After learning about traditional beverages from Master Min Kyungsuk, the participants pose for a photo in her garden.
Photographs by Kang “Jennis” Hyeon-suk and Kim Seon-jeong.
The Author
Kang “Jennis” Hyeon-suk teaches English to young learners because she loves children. She is full of curiosity and energy. She loves to grow greens in her garden and cook with them in her kitchen. She likes reading and writing in English, Japanese, and Korean. And she also likes oil paintings and playing with puppets. Someday you might see her at a puppet show. Email: speer@naver.com
FEATURE
As of this writing, we have not yet learned from Master Oh Hee-sook. She brands herself as a “traditional grand master” of bugak (부각), or crisps made by deep-frying dried vegetables, seaweed, or even fish, and then drying them again. Master Oh has her own crisps manufacturing company and online shopping mall for her products. I am sure that we can learn from her not only how to prepare foods but also about large-scale production, marketing, and sales. I am eagerly looking forward to Master Oh’s classes and what the rest of the Daemullim Project has to offer. Through the Daemullim Project, I am now a person who can make rice cake like my mother. I very much appreciate the masters who have so eagerly revealed their cooking tips and recipes to the next generation. While studying with the masters, I have come to think more broadly about the power of food. Food is not simply consumed as a source of human energy, but is also the embodiment of love and sincerity. It is my hope that many more people will be able to discover and enjoy the sincerity and love that go into the creation of traditional Korean dishes.
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September 2020
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Human Rights in the City of Light WHRCF-10 Is Coming to Town
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September 2020
he World Human Rights Cities Forum (WHRCF), marking its 10th anniversary this year, will be held under the theme of “The Future of Human Rights Cities: Local Memories and Global Sharing” from October 7 to 10 at the Kim Daejung Convention Center in Gwangju. The 10th Forum will be further enriched by the presence of two organizations: the UN OHCHR and UNESCO as co-hosts of the forum for the first time. The 10th WHRCF is paying special attention to the temporal arrangement of the human rights cities with reflection on the history of human rights at the local level being and being shared on the global level. It will assess the present while planning for the future of human rights cities – all within the continuous flow of time from past, to present, to future – as an effective way to enhance the sustainability of human rights cities. Therefore, it will be a place to discuss how we can inherit and incorporate historical memories and legacies of the past into a future human rights city through human rights education as a modern form of remembrance. In the plenary sessions, the mayors of human rights cities will discuss ways to broaden the Human Rights Cities movement and share the human rights policies implemented by local governments to mitigate the COVID-19 crisis as well as to talk about further challenges. In addition to thematic sessions, examining practical tasks to promote human rights for all citizens including the elderly, women, the disabled, and other minority groups; networking sessions; and special sessions will be scheduled to discuss and find solutions for ways to deal with human rights issues and to expand and cooperate within the human rights
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cities network. There will also be a workshop to discuss overall management of the Gwangju International Human Rights Training Center and the Blended Learning Course on Human Right Cities for local governments of the AsiaPacific region. Citizens can also participate in the special events and side events such as the Human Rights Discussion Groups and the Dark Tour via VR (virtual reality). The WHRCF is introducing advanced conference technology, creating the new goal of being a model for “digitect” international conferencing. “Digitect” refers to a new cultural reality allowing face-to-face interaction remotely through cutting-edge digital technology. Although it is difficult for foreign speakers to attend a face-to-face meeting due to the COVID-19 situation, participation by overseas mayors, which was previously difficult, has increased
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13 significantly this year through the application of this digital technology. The WHRCF has also been selected as a promising international conference for growth in the Korea Tourism Organization’s meeting technology competition. Accordingly, it will be able to introduce various technologies such as VR, AI, video conferencing solutions, holograms, and streaming.
Meeting technology is available not only online but also to onsite participants. For the convenience of domestic and foreign participants, the WHRCF is creating a smartphone application to guide participants to the location of the venue and to provide information on the meetings, precautions for participation, and various functions such as networking with speakers and viewing meeting handouts. Participants using the application can receive all the information they need for and during the event without needing to visit the onsite information desk and can check the notices provided by the secretariat in real time. For participants who are hearing or visually impaired, the WHRCF will provide an iPAD equipped with Apple’s “Accessibility Support.”
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The World Human Rights Cities Forum, in marking its 10th anniversary, will be a quality and growing event as a “digitect” international conference without surrendering to the pandemic situation. Supplied by the Gwangju International Center’s International Cooperation Team.
Photographs courtesy of the Gwangju International Center.
September 2020
Because of the pandemic, many international conferences have been canceled or postponed indefinitely. Nevertheless, the 10th WHRCF is doing its best to promote online participation by utilizing meeting technology and
The WHRCF is not focusing on non-face-to-face guidance methods for efficiency, but is using technology so that groups for which information-gathering is challenging can actively participate in the forum. Most of all, it is also building software for the elderly and the disabled, for whom movement is more restricted.
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Hybrid meetings, combing face-to-face meetings with video conferencing, account for 80 percent of all sessions. The speakers can participate in presentations and Q&A sessions via ZOOM with reduced times and reduced burden in comparison to previous onsite forum sessions. For the forum sessions, speakers have been invited from a variety of different fields. Participants can take part in meetings through ZOOM or YouTube streaming without needing to be onsite. “120 Years of the Korean Democratic Journey,” a joint event, will be open to participants through an online VR tour. The Gwangju Dark Tour will be produced and provided with video content for everyone.
establishing quarantine measures to prevent infection of onsite participants so as to successfully and safely host this event.
FEATURE
The opening ceremony and plenary sessions will be streamed through ZOOM and YouTube, and also broadcast on SBS (the Seoul Broadcasting System) the following day. As mayors of human rights cities around the world are expected to participate, simultaneous interpretation in Korean, English, and German will be provided through the ZOOM webinar platform. In particular, the opening ceremony will showcase hightech meeting technologies for the participants by utilizing holograms that connect overseas speakers in real time and synthesized voice through AI.
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FEATURE
The Damyang House
Interview with
Sean Walker Interview by Melline Galani
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
September 2020
Located in a small, traditional Korean countryside village, The Damyang House is a must-see retreat from the summer heat or the winter cold. Started as a small project of two brave and strong-willed individuals, it has now become a well-known, relaxing destination for expats around Korea. The Gwangju News conducted and presents here a short interview with the one responsible for The Damyang House, Sean Walker. — Ed.
Gwangju News (GN): Thank you for taking the time to do this interview. First, please introduce yourself and tell us about your academic background. Also, please tell us about your first encounters with Gwangju and South Korea. Sean Walker: My name is Sean Walker, and I am an American living in Jeollanam-do for nearly 20 years. Like most, I originally came here to teach, and I have an MA in TESOL. After a year and a half working at a friend’s hagwon in Suncheon, I moved to Gwangju and spent 15 years working at Chonnam National University (CNU). I have since left CNU to pursue opportunities outside of teaching. GN: Was it hard to quit your job, leaving behind the city lifestyle, to move to the countryside? Sean Walker: With yearly contracts, teaching in Korea never felt like a very stable career choice, so I always made sure I had a “Plan B.” I was able to transition out
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of teaching slowly, so it was not difficult; I already had a working business model to focus on and continue to develop as well as other investments and projects. Moving to the countryside was a much more difficult decision. My wife and I have both lived only in cities, and there was a fear that living in the countryside would be isolating. Also, the thought of giving up delivery food was terrifying. Fortunately, access to the city is quick and easy in Korea, and there has never been a shortage of friends wanting to visit us in the countryside. GN: How did you come up with the idea for The Damyang House? Sean Walker: The business model for The Damyang House happened organically over time. Initially, it was just an opportunity to invest in real estate and possibly build a summer home. After the first stages of renovating were finished, we could see that we had accomplished the
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17 “cabin in the woods” feel, and the uniquely private garden surrounded by a bamboo forest made it all perfect for a vacation rental. GN: What were the main hardships you faced when you started this business? Any tips for other local entrepreneurs? Sean Walker: The biggest hardship was the fact that there are not many resources available for buying and renovating an abandoned house. It is not nearly as common as it is back home [in the United States]. Because of that, there was not much support from friends and family, as spending your life savings on an abandoned house in the countryside is not generally considered a wise financial decision. Thankfully, my wife and I are both stubborn and were happy to stumble through the process on our own. If you plan to do anything that is considered “outside the box,” be prepared for an uphill battle, especially in Korea, where fairly ridged lifestyle expectations are the norm.
GN: Who are your target customers and how do you connect with them? What are the main advertising methods you rely on? Sean Walker: Our target customers are mostly Englishspeaking couples and small families/groups that do not necessarily have access to the network of minbak (small pensions) and pensions around Korea. We host a lot of U.S. military families that appreciate the backyard BBQs, campfire, and space for their children and dogs to run around. In the past, we were a lot more creative with marketing and advertising and would sponsor events or host our own events. Now we have active Instagram and Facebook pages with daily updates, but mostly we operate through word-of-mouth and recommendations.
FEATURE
GN: How was the whole process of restoring the old house and the former storage unit? Sean Walker: We have done the renovations at The Damyang House in stages over the last eight years, and have also been involved in other major renovation projects (an apartment in Gwangju and a bar in Seoul), so over time, we have gotten better at it. We always hired
contractors directly and did the design work ourselves, which is much cheaper, but also requires you to deal with 100 percent of the decision-making. This can be challenging if you do not know what the options are in Korea. We spent a lot more money to renovate the guesthouse because we learned the cheapest option is not always the best one!
GN: What makes The Damyang House special compared to other minbak? Are there any special programs included in the rental price or offered as side services?
Jeolla BBQ
The garden
ip
tr ng
i Hik
The pool
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Cyc ling trip
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▲ A fishing trip.
▲ A kayak trip.
Sean Walker: Mostly, we offer a private garden, so you do not have to share your minbak with a dozen other families! Other than that, we are also pet friendly and have a fire pit (firewood included), eight-foot above-ground swimming pool, outdoor theater for movies around a campfire, and a two-person kayak. We also offer transfer services from the bus and train stations and are happy to help organize hiking/cycling trips or recommend restaurants and make reservations for non-Korean speakers. We also organize and cook Jeolla style BBQ (extra fee), organize kayak/ fishing trips and Jeep transport in the neighborhood areas.
GN: The pension can accommodate only three people (or a family with two children at most). Is this not an impediment to increasing the number of clientele? What are the advantages of keeping it a small operation? Sean Walker: The biggest advantage of a smaller operation is that we can continue to live in the countryside and enjoy a much more relaxing lifestyle. However, in the past, we lived in the city and rented both the main house and guesthouse, so we were able to host larger families or groups. We would like to move back to the city and return to this business model in 2021, but expanding our business in the middle of a pandemic is not easy.
▼ Interior view of the guesthouse.
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September 2020
FEATURE
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GN: Since we are in the middle of this COVID-19 pandemic, please tell us how this situation has affected your business. Sean Walker: We strictly follow all the recommended guidelines and protocols, but unfortunately, COVID-19 has forced many cancellations this year. Like most business owners, we are anxiously waiting for the pandemic to end. GN: Are there any other entrepreneurial activities that you are involved in besides The Damyang House? Sean Walker: We also co-own a bar in Itaewon called Blacklist and manage a two-flat rental
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Support the GIC! Be a Member!
Annual Membership Fee General: 40,000 won; Student: 20,000 won; Group: 20,000 won (min. 10 persons). Inquiry: member@gic.or.kr / 062-226-2733
▲ A Jeep trip.
property in America. Next year, we are hoping to open a Naver store with bamboo products made from the bamboo surrounding The Damyang House. We also recently finished a business plan for a restaurant concept we would like to open in America if it is ever safe to return!
Photographs courtesy of Sean Walker.
The Gwangju News has been serving the community since 2001 by delivering news and information to the international communities of Gwangju. Send the Gwangju News to your family and friends back home, and let them know about Gwangju! Annual Subcription Rates • Asia and Australia: 40,000 won (US $40) • Europe: 50,000 won (US $50) • America, Africa: 60,000 won (US $60) Payment can be made through bank transfer, cash, or Paypal.
Melline Galani is a Romanian enthusiast, born and raised in the capital city of Bucharest, who is currently living in Gwangju. She likes new challenges, learning interesting things, and is incurably optimistic. Instagram: @melligalanis
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Bank Transfer: Kwangju Bank (사)광주국제교류센터: 134-107-000999 Paypal: gic@gic.or.kr Inquiry: gwangjunews@gic.or.kr or 062-226-2733
September 2020
The Interviewer
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GN: Thank you, Sean, for sharing with us what The Damyang House is and how it came about. It sounds like a great summer getaway!
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blast the past FOOD from & DRINKS
The Gwangju International Center (GIC) is a nonprofit organization established in 1999 to promote cultural understanding and to build a better community among Koreans and international residents. By being a member, you can help support our mission and make things happen! Join us today and receive exciting benefits! • One-year free subscription and delivery of the Gwangju News magazine. • Free use of the GIC library. • Free interpretation and counseling services from the GIC. • Discounts on programs and events held by the GIC. • Up-to-date information on GIC events through our email newsletter.
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20
Blast from the Past
The Yin and the Yang of Red
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September 2020
blast from the past
On her “Red” Tour, Taylor Swift was quoted as saying, “Red is such an interesting color to correlate with emotion, because it’s on both ends of the spectrum. On one end you have happiness, falling in love, infatuation with someone, passion, all that. On the other end, you’ve got obsession, jealousy, danger, fear, anger, and frustration. All those emotions – spanning from intense love, intense frustration, jealousy, confusion, all of that – in my mind, all those emotions are red.” To many Koreans, present and past, this quote would not strike them as being particularly novel in content, as red has occupied positions on both ends of the spectrum of meaning for millennia on the peninsula. This month’s Blast from the Past deals with giving red presents, taken from the article “Gift-Giving Myths” by Stephen Redeker and Sun Kyung-hwa (Gwangju News, March 2013) and with red things that one would best avoid, from Stephen Redeker’s “The Red Pen” (Gwangju News, February 2013).
Gifts of Red
Gift-giving is common among Koreans for so many occasions, and one common gift has traditionally been a bok-jumeoni (복주머니, a coin purse). Surviving today mainly for ornamental purposes, the color of most bok jumoni is still red. Koreans have preferred red for these pull-string coin purses over other colors, as red represents good fortune. If you intend to give a bok jumoni as a gift (possibly on a holiday such as Chuseok or Seollal to children in one’s extended family), make sure to put some money in it; 1,000 or 10,000 won is sufficient and provides an additional level of good fortune! Another Korea gift-giving custom that involves the color red is the giving of bright-red long underwear (naebok/ naeui, 내복/내의), especially to parents and parentsin-law, on special occasions. There is a long-standing tradition of giving red “long johns” to one’s parents after receiving one’s first paycheck from their very first job. People also do give many other gifts to show appreciation to their parents, but the red long johns gift has a practical explanation. Back in the day, when home heating was not nearly as efficient as it is now, people regularly wore long underwear during the day and at night. Red-colored long underwear were of higher quality and more expensive than the run-of-the-mill, drab-colored undergarments offered at the time and therefore more desirable. Anyone who still observes this custom today would probably buy red boxers, briefs, bras, panties, or similar underwear for their parents. To continue on the red underwear theme, have you ever noticed that during the grand opening of a department
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store, there is lots of red underwear on display? It is believed that buying red underwear at this time will bring good luck not only to the recipient but also to the newly opened business. Here is an idea for all the people with parents out there: The next time you visit a clothing store during their grand opening, buy a set of red undergarments in your parents’ sizes, stash them away until an appropriate event presents itself, and then give the red undies as a gift of appreciation to your parents. Good luck and good fortune for everybody! Giving red undergarments as presents may sound a bit lewd to some, but let us put it in a bit of historical perspective. Think about the paintings of Korean kings that you may have seen. What color are their outer garments? Most often, they are red or gold. Gold is a precious metal that is associated with grandeur, wealth, and prosperity – all appropriate symbolization for a king. And why red? Red was worn for protection – protection against all kinds of misfortune. And who were those who meted out misfortune? Evil spirits, of course. And since it was believed that spirits of all types feared the color red, it made perfect sense to wear red to keep away evil spirits and the misfortune that they might bring. Young children, who were susceptible to so many fatal childhood diseases, were customarily dressed in an article of clothing that was red, especially red socks and red sweaters
The Red Pen
It is a common belief in Korea, admittedly now more common among the older than the younger generation, that if someone’s name is written in red, then bad luck or even death will visit them very soon. There are several reasons why people have believed this. In many Asian countries, red is typically associated with death (just as black is associated with death in Western countries).
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First, blood is red in color; the red ink of a pen resembles blood, and generally the appearance of blood is a sign of pain and death. Secondly, when someone died, their death was often recorded in the family register in red ink. Many of the long, vertical banners carried on bamboo poles in traditional funeral processions contained supplications written on red cloth. The belief was that evil spirits would be warded off upon the sight of the color red. This bloodresembling color was closely associated with death and harm, so no one wanted their names written in red to link them to such misfortune. It would be wise for the newcomer to Korea to be aware of the do’s and don’ts associated with writing with red ink:
2. For the teacher, correcting assignments with a redink pen or pencil is common practice and perfectly acceptable. 3. Be safe. Do not write a student’s, or anyone’s, name in red. 4. Using a red ink pad for a rubber stamp or a traditional red ink pad (inju, 인주) for a name seal (dojang, 도장) is perfectly acceptable.
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September 2020
So, this is the yin and the yang of the color red. On the positive, happy (yang) side, there is the giving of red money purses and clothing to bring good fortune to the recipient of the gift. On the negative, yin side, the writing of one’s name in red was thought to bring harm or even death.
Written by Stephen Redeker and Sun Kyung-hwa. Revised and supplemented by David Shaffer.
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There are several additional Korean practices that led to the ingrained fear of having one’s name written in red. During the time of the kings, records of state executions used red to indicate those executed, or to be executed. Korean shamanism also has a connection to red. There were shamanistic spells of revenge that could be cast upon an individual who had wronged others. The spell included the writing of the name of the individual upon whom the spell was being cast on the ground in animal’s blood (usually chicken or pig blood). It is easy to see how the connection between red blood and red ink, and the writing of one’s name with it, lead to the fear of harm and death in traditional Korea. This dread of red, however, did not apply to traditional red seal ink, inju, because it was not a blood-like liquid: Its texture is more like that of rice cake.
If all this talk of red makes you worried that someone may have cast a spell on you or has written you name in red, go out and buy yourself a paper talisman and paste it above your door, carry it in your wallet, or place it under your pillow. It will keep the evil spirits and misfortune away, as it is written in red. And everyone knows evil spirits fear the color red.
blast from the past
1. It is becoming more and more common for the younger generation to write with red-ink pens, but many of the older generation still shy away from doing so.
▲ Funeral procession banners. (Hanguk-jeolle-yeonsuwon).
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22 Lost in Gwangju 22
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September 2020
▲ A retro road sign along Gwangju’s highway to nowhere.
Gwangju’s Highway to Nowhere Links Testaments of 5.18
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Written and photographed by Isaiah Winters
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I
mpromptu road trips are among my favorite things to do in Korea, and the Honam region rarely disappoints. If only I had the time, it’d be a cinch to produce an additional “Lost in Honam” column every month, as this region is largely overlooked and thus laden with lowhanging fruit. This month’s article will be a sort of Lost in GwangjuHonam hybrid, as I’ve finally made time to visit a provincial haunt linked to 5.18’s more metropolitan flashpoints: Gwangju’s highway to nowhere. I first noticed this highway long ago while on the way to Jangseong from Gwangju but never bothered to check it out until my wife began learning to drive. Finding wideopen spaces for driving practice isn’t always easy in Gwangju, so thinking
it might be a good place for her to get some experience behind the wheel, I decided to head northbound on Highway 25 to see if it was somehow accessible. To my surprise, it was indeed accessible, with no warning signs prohibiting entry – well, sort of. I first walked the empty highway on foot, which was an uncanny experience suggestive of how our world might look post-humanity. The only road sign I encountered was crooked, sun-warped, and written in an older font reminiscent of the 1980s. Adding to the highway’s eeriness, the sign was also terribly inaccurate, saying Gwangju was 30 kilometers away when City Hall was in fact only 15 kilometers away – and in the opposite direction. It was around this time that I spotted a
▼ Security drives off unaware while I snipe photos from the overpass.
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September 2020
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TRAVEL
security car parked on the shoulder ahead, which was my de facto “sign” that visitors might not be welcome. It turns out that the flawed and timeworn road sign I’d seen was actually only about three years old, and its retro font and hanja characters were deliberately designed that way to evoke the look and feel of the past. The reason for such meticulous attention to detail, of course, was to provide a backdrop for the highway scenes in the 2017 film A Taxi Driver. As part of the old Honam Expressway, this abandoned tract of highway was perfect for reproducing the provincial military blockade of Gwangju during 5.18, doubly so as there’s a real military base nearby that likely provided some of the armored vehicles featured in that part of the film.
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September 2020
The prop sign, which now sits tilted and sun-cracked among ever rising foliage, obviously wasn’t built to last. In a few more years, its message will likely peel off, by which time the bushes will have swallowed it whole. A minor mystery remains as to how it became tilted in just three years. Some of the more parsimonious explanations are simple root heave, attempted theft, or shoddy construction. Anyway, it’s interesting that the filmmakers would leave it there, almost as a memorial to the film and the rural highway’s significance during the military crackdown of May 1980. Today this stretch of snow-prone highway has been made redundant by the safer Motjae Tunnel connecting Jangseong and Gwangju. What will become of the old pass is anyone’s guess. Another piece of 5.18 history featured in A Taxi Driver – and one with a more certain future – is the
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old Red Cross Hospital downtown. Later renamed Seonam University Hospital, it was the place where certain hospital scenes were shot, and much like the faux-retro road sign, the hospital’s new back gate is another one of the film’s tangible imprints on Honam. Although the hospital was already the centerpiece of a Lost in Gwangju article twenty issues ago (see issue #203), in light of recent changes in its ownership, it seems apropos to include an update in this article. In a substantial victory over private sector bidders, the old Red Cross Hospital was officially acquired by Gwangju City at the end of July for the sum of 8.85 billion won. Before the recent purchase was finalized, there had been serious fears among those seeking to preserve the hospital that the liquidators of Seonam University would sell the property to a private bidder, which would’ve put the hospital’s future in far greater jeopardy1. The recent public acquisition, however, suggests a brighter future for the historical site, which closed in 2014 due to mismanagement and has since been home to squatters. To be fair, whoever has been squatting there seems to be looking after the place, which is largely free of vandalism. On my most recent visit, the only changes I noticed were that the abandoned ambulance out back had been removed and a few new rooms had been made accessible, including the maternity ward, x-ray room, and records room. Otherwise, the place is more or less being respectfully maintained by its unauthorized residents. That they’ll soon be left homeless following the building’s preservation is a rather cheerless inevitability.
There are a few other urban sites linked to 5.18 that are similarly inching towards better preservation. These include the former 505 Security Forces’ headquarters, which will be turned into a historical park starting next year, and the former Armed Forces Gwangju Hospital, which has already been converted into a historical park and is currently receiving additional safety checks1. As these two sites were the subject of my very first Lost in Gwangju article thirty issues ago (issue #193), I’m chuffed to see progress in their preservation. Usually, urban exploring teaches me to get used to disappointing losses of history. Thankfully, there are exceptions.
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Source 1
Gu, G. (2020, August 5). 505보안부대 옛터 등 5·18사적지 4곳 보존사업 어떻게. Newsis. https://newsis.com/view/ ?id=NISX20200805_0001119792
The Author
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Originally from Southern California, Isaiah Winters is a Gwangju-based urban explorer who enjoys writing about the City of Light’s lesser-known quarters. When he’s not roaming the streets and writing about his experiences, he’s usually working or fulfilling his duties as the Gwangju News’ heavily caffeinated chief proofreader. ▲ A view of the maternity ward inside the old Red Cross Hospital. ▼ Outdated x-ray equipment sits in complete darkness inside the old Red Cross Hospital.
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
September 2020
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From Abroad
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Chefchaouen
The Dreamland: Morocco
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
September 2020
Written and photographed by Rida Farah
M
orocco is a country of beauty with a unique landscape. Taking advantage of its northern position on the African continent and its accessibility to the Mediterranean region – in addition to being a part of the Arab world – Morocco has become a host country for Arab and foreign tourists alike. The best months for tourism in Morocco extend from March to May, as this period is characterized by moderate and beautiful weather with occasional light rainfall. Here are some cities worth visiting on your future trip.
B.C. It is one of the most important archaeological sites and famous tourist areas in Rabat. Challah’s main archaeological site includes a large courtyard and ancient baths in addition to the main temple.
Rabat
The Mausoleum of Mohammed V is located next to the famous Hassan Tower in Rabat and includes tombs of the Moroccan monarch and his two sons, King Hassan II and Prince Abdallah.
Rabat is the Moroccan capital and second largest city in the country. It is located on a large plain near the Atlantic Ocean, and in the middle of it flows the Abi Raqraq River. Most of Morocco’s tourist attractions are concentrated in Rabat’s city center, the most important being Hassan II, the Kasbah des Oudayas, and the historic city of Challah. Challah, or Shallah, is a small, ancient town located along the Abi Raqraq River dating from the sixth century
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The Hassan Tower is one of the most famous historical monuments located in the heart of Rabat, with a history spanning nine centuries. The site is surrounded by a large number of symbolic mausoleums, such as those of King Mohammed V and King Hassan II.
The building is a wonderful masterpiece of modern architecture, characterized by its green tiled roof and white walls. Mohammed V’s tomb was built in 1971 and is considered one of the most important features of the Moroccan capital.
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27 Marrakech
Jamaa El-Fna Square dates back to the founding of Marrakech, where it was built during the time of the Almoravid state in the 15th century. Yet, its importance only increased after the construction of the Koutoubia Mosque nearly a century later, with this square as the hub of shopping at that time. Kings used it as a large courtyard to show off their armies and learn about their forces’ preparations before launching battles. Now, it is considered one of the most important tourist spots in Marrakech and a symbol of the city, which prides itself on its vitality and appeal to Arab and foreign tourists.
The Majorelle Garden is located in the Medina of Marrakech. It is named after its builder, the French painter Jacques Majorelle, who began its foundation in 1924. The park has today become one of the most important tourist attractions in Marrakech. There is an Islamic Museum located in the park, which contains famous artefacts dating back thousands of years. You can also see many types of beautiful plants and colorful trees, such as white flowers and flowering trees, which the garden is famous for.
Meknes
Meknes, one of the most important tourist cities in Morocco, built by Moulay Ismail and located in the north, it is characterized by the diversity of its landscape, which includes plains, valleys, and mountains. Many tourists from all over the world visit Meknes to see its ancient places such as Lahdim Square, Bab Al-Mansour, and the Mausoleum of Moulay Ismail. The city of Meknes has a long history that tells of its ramparts, towers, and historic places, preserved in the city’s splendor and monuments. It is truly regarded as a city representative of Islamic Arab civilization and brilliant history. Bab Mansour Laalaj is considered one of the most important monuments for tourism in Meknes. It is a huge gate that overlooks Lahdim Square to the east of the old town of Meknes. It is also the largest gate in the Kasbah. It was founded by Moulay Ismail and was completed after him by his son, Moulay Abd-Allah in 1732 A.D. What
▲ Volubilis, the Roman temple. ▼ The Bab Al-Mansour Laalaj
distinguishes this gate is the magnitude of its detail, its eight-meter-high opening, and its decorations engraved into the mosaic, which also includes colorful porcelain.
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September 2020
One of the most important tourist sites in Meknes is Volubilis, an ancient city dating from the 3rd century B.C. and located 30 kilometers west of the city of Meknes. The city has two structures: the main building and the Roman temple. It also has many archaeological mosaics. The city of Volubilis is characterized by its many natural features such as fertile land, water resources, and natural resources, all of which encouraged the Romans to take special care of it. In 1997, the city of Volubilis was designated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
The Koutoubia Mosque is located in the center of Marrakech, near Jamaa El-Fna Square, and is one of the most important tourist attractions in Morocco. The name of the mosque comes from the name of the nearby library. The mosque was built in 1147 A.D. You can see
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You can see interesting snake-charming shows and stroll through the courtyard for a folk tour, as it is considered the meeting point between the city, the warehouse, and El-Mellah. You can also see performances by storytellers and musicians, including those that feature a rich and unique heritage. There are acrobats, dancers, animal exhibitors, and henna placards, as well as memorabilia from various distinctive heritage industries. Do not miss this square with its romantic and fun nightlife.
the artistry of the mosque on its outside, as it is made up of 17 wings and 11 domes decorated with reliefs and its ornate minaret. The sultans announced through it many of their decisions, and the mosque witnessed many great events in history.
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▲ Chefchaouen Bazar
▼ Volubilis, the Roman temple.
September 2020
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Organization as one of the most important monuments of world heritage.
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▲ Chefchaouen Street
Chefchaouen: The Blue Pearl
The charming town of Chefchaouen is a small town with an area of 4,350 square kilometers in the northeast of Morocco and close to the Mediterranean, which makes it a picturesque town in terms of its nature and beauty. The city contains several old neighborhoods, such as the Kasbah, Suwaiqa, Andalus, and Sabanin. Chefchaouen is also famous for its fountain and its waterhead. Chefchaouen is also a popular shopping destination, as it offers many local handicrafts that are not available anywhere else in Morocco, such as leather and natural silk. Visiting Akchour Waterfall tops the list as the most amazing leisure activity destination in Chefchaouen Akchour, with a waterfall characterized by the beauty of its landscape, the purity of the water, and the splendor of swimming near the falls, whose water comes from the high mountains and pour into Lake Akchour. These cities are considered the most visited cities by foreigners and by locals alike, given the magnificent characteristics that they possess, and the historical civilizations that they reflect.
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The Mausoleum of Mohammed V
The Author
Farah Rida, a Moroccan student at Chonnam National University, is doing his PhD in English language education. Rida is passionate and hardworking, he loves traveling and playing video games.
The Hassan Tower
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CROSSWORD PUZZLE
Look for the answers to this crossword puzzle to appear in October in Gwangju News Online (www.gwangjunewsgic.com)
Created by Jon Dunbar
DOWN 1 Marathoner Yun-bok and NIS director Hoon 2 US e-commerce site 3 Opposite of receive 4 Shinhan’s life insurance business 5 Successor of Koguryo 6 Eisenhower’s nickname 7 Blend
9 ___ Citizen Cultural Center 10 Ghostbusters’ car ___-1
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8 Amidst
11 Bbang Goom ___ bakery 19 Electric fish 21 Colony or army insect
ACROSS
23 Goes with syrup or Story 24 Pat-bingsu main ingredient
1 Indie band ___ Neon (2 words)
33 Actress Thurman
25 Something to pick
5 Goes with Kardashian or Dae-jung
34 Index-following fund
26 Coffee main ingredient
8 Aid
35 Not on WWW
12 US ride-hailing company
29 USFK negotiations
36 Showiness
13 Sax player Kim 14 Meetings, incentives, conferencing, exhibitions
30 Took a chair 38 Korean summer superstition (2 32 North Korea’s ___ March words) 41 Hyangil-am city
35 ___ and outs
27 Painting or sculpture
53 Region
45 Goes with sign or Bunny
28 Samsung SDI tech
54 Distress signal
46 US b-ballers
31 US spy agency
55 Musk
48 Camera film speed
16 Tyrannosaurus or Tillerson 17 Deceased US tourist Warmbier 18 Opera House city 20 South American dance 22 Instrument similar to gayageum
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September 2020
24 US conservative extremist movement
42 Located northwest of Taegu and 36 Plane landing time Pusan 37 Jiri-san ___ Land 46 Goes with film or bete 39 Largest artery 47 Dirty fuel source 40 Book of maps 49 Alleviate a problem 41 “How I Met ___ Mother” 50 Short hit in baseball 43 Prison 51 Country that invaded Korea in 1871 44 Norway capital 52 Grain storage structure
15 KEB ___ Bank
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32 Gorilla or chimpanzee
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TRAVEL
30 Around Korea
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
September 2020
Hidden Hanoks Uncovering History in Korean Houses Written and photographed by Ryan Berkebile
S
eoul has several neighborhoods dedicated to the preservation and celebration of traditional Korean houses called hanok (한옥). Tourists and hanok enthusiasts alike flock to the villages in Bukchon, Seochon, or even Namsangol to photograph or admire the architecture of these elegant houses and businesses. It is simply not a quiet residential zone anymore. Quite a few hanoks have been remodeled, gutting critical structural elements, and reconstructed into hip, minimalist coffee shops or high-end clothing boutiques. Immediately, the jaded part of my mind wants to condemn it all and blame it all on gentrification. Still, upon further reflection, I have softened my stance because of the Hidden Hanok Neighborhood. Seoul’s history is one of rapid expansion
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and change from the day Korea was opened up to outside influence in the late nineteenth century, and its evolution continues to this day. I consider it lucky and a blessing that these buildings made it through the chaos, instability, and violence that marks Korea’s past. There are countless examples of empty, neglected hanoks throughout the country that face demolition in redevelopment zones in the twenty-first century. Looking at past issues of the Gwangju News, you will find that Isaiah Winters has written numerous articles about his explorations of hanoks in the City of Light. I have been lucky enough to tag along on some of these adventures. Most of the hanoks that we have explored date back to
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31 villages today. It is about survival and remaining relevant to contemporary tastes. Other hanoks were tucked behind 1980s-style brick apartments, obscured from casual glances. The hanoks here are not on display like the ones you find in the Bukcheon or Seochon hanok villages. For these reasons, I choose to call this place the “Hidden Hanok Neighborhood.” Keen eyes, patience, and diligence are required when searching this neighborhood for traditional houses. I stumbled upon two late 1930s-era hanoks that I shall pay tribute to here before they meet their demise.
TRAVEL TRAVEL
I christen the first hanok the “Tatami Hanok.” A friend of mine did some digging and discovered the government first registered this house on June 30, 1938. For those who do not know, tatami is a rectangular mat made from straw and used for flooring in traditional Japanese rooms. In Japan, people measure the size of a room by the number of tatami mats in it. A small space, possibly a maid’s quarters at one time, was located above the kitchen. It had three tatami mats on the floor and one and a half mats affixed to the wall for some reason, possibly for padding or insulation. Finding tatami mats in an old Korean home is an incredibly odd and rare situation, yet it was not the first time I had encountered it while exploring. Another colonial-era house in Seoul that I had the luck and pleasure to explore before it got razed had a spacious ten-tatami attic. The second hanok is called the “Great Japan Hanok.” Putting the words “great” and “Japan” next to each other might seem like a risky proposition in these socioeconomic times, but it is an apt description for what makes this house a remarkable find. My reliable friend again discovered that this house was registered in the government ledgers on August 22, 1936. While there was
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not any illuminating evidence inside, the distinguishing characteristics of the Great Japan Hanok are on the roof. The decorated-tile ends of hanok roofs are called mangwa (망와). The adornments on mang-wa vary from house to house. I have seen Korea’s national flower, the
September 2020
Recently, I discovered some older hanoks on a chance visit to a condemned neighborhood in Seoul. While an exploration of an abandoned area is a trip into the unknown, these specific hanoks especially caught me by surprise. It is rare to find vacant hanoks from the Japanese colonial era. A few were hiding in plain sight due to numerous renovations to their facade. The thought dawned on me that people have been modernizing hanoks from the beginning of the age of rapid growth. It is not so different from what is being done in hanok
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the 1960s and 1970s, an era of rapid industrialization and modernization commonly known as the “Miracle on the Han River.” Although deserted and worn down, these hanoks still possess grace and beauty that always shines through with a bit of re-imagination. Sometimes we come across discarded pictures and other memorabilia in a condemned house that enhances the narrative concocted in our minds.
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www.gwangjunewsgic.com
September 2020
TRAVEL
32 Around Korea
mugunghwa (무궁화), and the symbol of sovereignty, the dragon, on the mang-wa of other hanoks. I pay more attention now to mang-wa after discovering the unique tiles of the Great Japan Hanok. Two Hinomaru Japanese flags crisscross each other, while underneath, the hanja (한자, Chinese characters) reads “大日本” (Great Japan). I did a double-take when I came across the first of many of these tiles, which was dangerous, as I had to stand on skinny ledges to get a better look at them. Unfortunately, the future of these buildings does not look so bright. The Tatami and Great Japan Hanoks have two strikes against them. First, they have the bad luck of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Second, both houses and their discarded heirlooms represent a shameful time in Korean history. The tatami mats and Great Japan tiles are symbols of shame to some people who want to see these rare artifacts destroyed rather than showcased. My hope is that a preservationist will step up and find a way at the last possible moment to save these historically significant items, or even the houses themselves. It would be truly disappointing to see these buildings that have survived Japanese colonial rule, the Korean War, and a series of military dictatorships disappear in such an anticlimactic way. The Author
When Ryan Berkebile is not taking pictures of abandoned neighborhoods, he likes to write blog posts for his website, Long Distance Runner. You can see what he has been up to at longdistancerunner.org and on Instagram: @l0ngdistancerunner and @naturaryan1600
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33
Everyday Korean Episode 33 휴대폰(Cellphones) By Harsh Kumar Mishra
Grammar ~ 에 따라: This grammar point is used with nouns
~ 까지: This is used with nouns and other particles and expresses the limit of the word it’s attached to. It also means “until.” Ex: 서류는 9월 7일까지 제출해 주세요. Please submit the documents by September 7th.
Vocabulary 선불폰 후불폰 통신사 대리점 선택하다 비슷비슷하다 요금제 혜택 약정 기간 가입하다 통신비
prepaid phone postpaid phone phone carrier authorized dealer to select/choose to be similar (phone) plan benefits contract period to sign-up / join phone bill
단말기 이동통신 무선 유선 할부 일시불 위약금 해지
cellphone mobile network operator wireless wire monthly installment plan single payment cancelation charge to cancel
정민:
제 선불폰을 후불로 바꾸고 싶은데 어디서 하나요? [Jae seon-bul-pon-eul hu-bul-lo ba-kku-go ship-eun-de eo-di-seo ha-na-yo?] I want to change my prepaid phone to postpaid. Where do I do it?
통신사 대리점에 가서 가입할 수 있어.
[Tong-shin-sa dae-ri-jeom-e ga-seo ga-ip-hal su isseo.] Jeongmin: You can sign up by going to a cellphone carrier store.
데지: Daisy:
정민:
어떤 통신사가 제일 좋아요? [Eo-tteon tong-shin-sa-ga je-il jo-a-yo?] Which carrier do you think is best?
다 비슷비슷해. 선택한 요금제에 따라 혜택이 조금씩 달라.
[Da bi-seut-bi-seut-hae. Seon-taek-han yo-geum-je-e tta-ra hye- taek-i jo-geum-ssik dal-la.] Jeongmin: They’re all kind of similar. The benefits vary slightly depending on the plan you choose.
데지:
그래요? 스마트폰과 같이 가입할 때 요금 할인을 많이 해줘요? [Geu-rae-yo? S-ma-teu-pon-gwa ga-chi ga-ip-hal ttae yo-geum har-in- eul ma-ni hae-jwo-yo? ]
Daisy: Really? Do you get much of a discount when signing up for a smartphone?
정민:
맞아. 통신비 약정 할인을 25%까지 해줘. [Ma-ja. Tong-shin-bi yak-jeong har-in-eul -ishib-o peo-sen-teu-kka- ji hae-jwo.]
Jeongmin: Right. They give up to a 25% discount on communication costs with contract phones.
데지:
좋네요. 약정 기간은 2년이에요? [Jon-ne-yo. Yak-jeong gi-ga-neun i-nyeon-i-e-yo?]
Daisy:
That’s nice. Is the contract period two years?
정민:
선택할 수 있어. 1년도 있고, 3년도 있어. [Seon-taek-hal su is-seo. Il-nyeon-do ik-ko, sam-nyeon-do is-seo.]
Jeongmin: You can choose. There are also one-year and three-year contracts.
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September 2020
TOPIK GUIDE (topikguide.com) is the most comprehensive website devoted to the TOPIK exam. It has been helping Korean language learners pass the TOPIK (Test of Proficiency in Korean) for more than eight years. On our website, you can get all the TOPIK updates, grammar and vocabulary material, and study tips. You can also visit our TOPIK Guide YouTube channel.
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Cellphone-Related Vocabulary
Daisy:
EDUCATION
and shows that the result in the second clause is dependent on the first clause. Ex: 통신사에 따라 요금제가 달라요. The plan differs depending on the carrier.
데지:
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34
Gwangju Abroad
Pushing Myself Adjusting to Canada
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
September 2020
GWANGJU ABROAD
Written and photographed by Kim Dohyung
I
still remember the time in October 2016 when I arrived at Toronto Pearson International Airport. I had two main goals to achieve during my stay in Toronto. One of them was to study what I wanted to learn about, which was aircraft, and the other was to learn how to adapt to a new environment. I was so excited thinking about all the fun I would have in Toronto, but at the same time, I doubtfully asked myself if I would be able to accomplish my goals alone. I was smiling on the outside, but inside I was full of anxiety. Living in a different country was harder than I had expected. Since I was a newcomer and knew nobody in Toronto, I had to begin to settle in all by myself. Starting from getting a place to stay and opening a bank account, nothing was easy for me. Moreover, my English was not good enough to feel comfortable when talking to Canadians, which made my situation even worse. Therefore, I had to ask people I knew for help to solve problems that were never a problem before, but slowly, things came together and problems got solved. In addition, I was having a hard time emotionally due to being apart from my family and friends. At the beginning of my stay, my life was full of loneliness and homesickness caused by the fact that I could not see those close to me. It was the first time that staying alone in a strange environment made me feel vulnerable. However, I tried to overcome these feelings that weakened my will to study, and I tried not to forget the goals I wanted to achieve for my future. I focused more on school activities like group study and working out. Eventually, I managed to make good friends and had great times that made unforgettable memories. I encountered new problems in a new environment, but I pushed myself to get by and enjoyed the moment.
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35
There was a time when I wanted to get a part-time job. If I had been in Korea, I would have gotten one easily, but in Toronto, it is difficult for people like me who did not have any working experience in Canada to get a job. I first applied online but didn’t receive any response for a month. So, I decided to stop sitting on my chair and go out to face the world. I just walked into all the stores or restaurants in my neighborhood and handed them my resume in person. Although some shops were not hiring, I just entered, introduced myself, and left my resume on the counter. Fortunately, my strategy worked, and I was hired at a milk tea shop called “Gongcha.” I made so many good friends and had so many memorable times working at Gongcha. If I had just stayed at home and continued to apply online, just as I had done in Korea, I would not have gotten a job. Pushing myself to initiate action gave me better results. GWANGJU ABROAD
Looking back on 2016, I changed a lot in that I now worry less and take more initiative. Thanks to all the problems that I confronted after arriving in Toronto, I learned that the best way to overcome obstacles is to face them and tackle them by pushing myself, not avoiding them. No matter how difficult the situation is or how big an obstacle may be, don’t forget to keep pushing until it is overcome! The Author
Kim Dohyung is a passionate aircraft technician who loves music and exercising. He is also interested in cultural differences and global issues. Instagram: @davyyyyyyy_ www.gwangjunewsgic.com
September 2020
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36
Artist Talk in Gwangju:
Yonghyun Lim Interview by Aekyeong Lee
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
September 2020
ARTS & CULTURE
The artist in his studio.
A
former film and TV producer turned artist, Yonghyun Lim navigates a world dominated by media and information through media art. When he saw the media broadcast’s vague and subjective information to the public and then how viewers carelessly absorbed and reproduced it, he started doubting the authenticity of news that media and the public shared. This impression of media led him to the UK to become a media artist after completing a master’s in fine arts at the Chelsea College of Art and Design. The main theme of his art is “ambivalence and ambiguity of media” caused by users who reproduce information either on purpose or without critical thinking. In the process of duplication and transformation of information, the data eventually becomes falsified and distorted. The dubious information reproduced by its users can tarnish a targeted person or brainwash the public. “There are no clear boundaries between a victim and an offender in media. Anyone can be both at the same time,” Lim says1. Let’s hear more from him through this interview with me that Lim happily agreed to. Aekyeong Lee (AL): You say that the viewers of media misrepresent and twist information while reproducing it for various reasons, such as for purposes of entertainment or incitement. People spread twisted information without awareness, don’t they? What other factors fuel this tendency? Yonghyun Lim: Yes, you’re right. Lack of public awareness and passive resistance are two of the main reasons for this tendency. In addition, the public constantly desires information that satisfies its needs and tastes, which creates gossip, rumors, exaggerations, and fake news. AL: What can you do, as an artist adopting media into your art, to prevent the mass media and misinformation from deceiving the public? In your previous interview
2020�9��(September).indd 36
with the Gwangju Museum of Art (GMA), you said you were calling public attention to the double-faced characteristic of media. However, I reckon we need more than just a warning at this stage to make a real change, don’t we? Yonghyun Lim: Self-awareness has a more powerful impact on our behavior. Stronger attempts to change the public’s attitude could become oppressive and restrictive, which will eventually cause side effects – discontent, outrage, and so on. For this reason, I keep questioning and warning the viewers to help them realize the problem at their own pace. AL: Do you believe we can ever solve the problem of misinformation? Yonghyun Lim: No. There are always going to be issues related to media as long as we’re exposed to it. I don’t expect the problems to be solved. I just try to help the public stay aware and cautious when they receive any information from the media. AL: My favorite work of yours is “Who Is You” (2018). In this work, you ask the audience which body figure is authentic among the three: one of the two on the screen or the real-life one. The figures in this work seem to represent different identities of the viewer. I think this work warns us that media can distort us as much as it can information, which results in identity crises. I believe you also experience this by living in a society dominated by media. So, I want to turn the tables and ask who the real you is. Yonghyun Lim: I, in real life, am the authentic one. I hope people find themselves to be authentic in real life. This is because the images in media easily conceal our authenticity. For example, your Instagram feed cannot represent the true you. It only shows a small piece of you through selected images.
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37 Who Is You (2018)
to be projected on the wall of the old Jeollanam-do Provincial Office at the ACC during the Gwangju Media Art Festival this October. You can also come to Damyang and see my live façade show at the Haedong Art and Culture Platform this December.
Delight (2018)
Shot (2020)
AL: Finally, yet still importantly, could you describe the art of Gwangju as a local media artist to our readers? Yonghyun Lim: Gwangju is one of the best cities for artists, especially those who use media for their work. This is not only because Gwangju has been designated a city of media art by UNESCO but also because there are lots of supportive organizations and programs for artists in this city. The support from organizations provides local artists with more and better opportunities for selfdevelopment. Regarding art in Gwangju, it has a unique characteristic in its form. There seem to be more artists who use lights than video or kinetic techniques.
ARTS & CULTURE
AL: I’ve learned that some of your artwork is displayed in the current exhibition at the Hajungwoong Art Museum, a branch of the GMA. Could you explain to us the exhibition and your works there? Is there any difference or change from your previous works? Yonghyun Lim: Every year, the GMA features four young artists from around Korea for an annual exhibition. I’m one of the selected artists for this year. My works displayed in this exhibition, which is entitled “Light 20202,” convey the same messages as usual, but I tried new styles and forms this time. For example, “Shot (2020)” is an interactive piece of art that requires the audience’s physical contact to be activated, unlike most of my previous works.
AL: Might that be because Gwangju is the “City of Light?” Yonghyun Lim: Maybe. However, I hope you remember Gwangju is the “City of Art” as well. Footnotes 1
2
AL: Despite this difficult time, do you have any news about upcoming exhibitions or new projects? Yonghyun Lim: I’m thinking of focusing on projection mapping3 more because it’s the most suitable technique for the theme of my work. My “media façade” is going
2020�9��(September).indd 37
The Interviewer
Aekyeong Lee is a manager of the International Residency and a curatorial assistant at the Gwangju Museum of Art. After earning an MA in art museum and gallery studies in the U.K., she wanted to start a dialogue about art in her hometown of Gwangju with those who have diverse backgrounds. With a great interest in hearing from different perspectives, she has begun this dialogue by interviewing local artists and art enthusiasts.
September 2020
AL: Everyone in every field is suffering from COVID-19. How badly has the pandemic affected you? Yonghyun Lim: As you might know, most exhibitions have been canceled or postponed. So have my exhibitions and projects in China. Although I’ve been holding exhibitions at private art galleries in Korea, it’s been difficult to invite and welcome visitors because of the social distancing regulations.
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
3
Gwangju Museum of Art. (2020). 2020년 광주시립미술관 임용현 작가 [Interview]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=jpeW34NhnUE The latest works of his are on display at the exhibition, “Light 2020,” in Hajungwoong Art Museum from August 22 to November 29. For his previous works, please visit his website: http://08anaki4.wixsite. com/jackie Projection mapping is a form of media art that projects and masks the surface of 3D or 2D objects.
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38 Photo Essay 38 Montreal
Gwangju
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
September 2020
New Orleans
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39
I
have been fortunate to travel extensively throughout North America, Europe, and Asia, capturing public works of art in each city I have visited. The collection of photographs featured here speaks to the power of art and its ability to engage us, stir our hearts, provoke our minds, and foster understanding. Some of the pieces I photographed were commissioned and/or sanctioned by a local municipality; others were done independent of bureaucracy, but as a compelled act of communication. Either way, each artist’s expression of their vision not only captured my attention but comforted and inspired me. There can be profound connections in art. Public art, in particular, is special because it is a vital aspect of public space, open communication, access, and community and, I believe, foundational to healthy, democratic, and compassionate cities.
Bangkok
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
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September 2020
Memphis
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40
ARTS & CULTURE
Copenhagen
Berlin Jeju
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
September 2020
Stockholm
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The Photographer
Cristina Murano’s work is in the areas of education, equity, public governance, and sport, with a focus on youth, women, and 2SLGBTQ+ people. She is originally from Toronto, Canada. Instagram: @profondoluce Twitter: @ cristinamurano
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41
Waikiki
Manila
ARTS & CULTURE
Seoul
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
September 2020
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42
Jeong Beom-sik’s Ghost Movies Whisperings and Topology of Anxiety
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
September 2020
& CULTURE ARTSARTS & CULTURE
Written by Régis Olry
Figure 1. Gonjiam Psychiatric Hospital.
K
orean director and writer Jeong Beom-sik’s filmography is quite diversified, including the action thriller The Man from Nowhere (Ajeossi, 아저씨), the historical saga Forbidden Dream (Cheonmun: Haneul-e Mutneunda, 천문: 하늘에 묻는다), the comedy Working Girl (Weokinggeol, 워킹걸), the short movie The Escape (Tal-chul, 탈출), which is a segment of the 2013 omnibus film Horror Stories 2 (Mooseowon Iyagi 2, 무서운 이야기 2). But two of his masterpieces will today hold our attention: 2007’s Epitaph (Gidam, 기담) on the one hand, and 2018’s Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum (Gonjiam, 곤지암) on the other. Both movies have two interesting common features: They take place in a hospital and make us hear (and see) scary, whispering ghosts. Epitaph takes place in Ansaeng Hospital (Figure 2) in the early 1940s, while Korea was still under Japanese rule. After a car crash, the young Asako (played by Ko Jooyeon) is sent to this hospital, but her mother, Park Ji-a, unfortunately did not survive. She becomes a ghost, comes back to the hospital to whisper to her frightened daughter that she was not responsible for causing the accident and that she should stop feeling guilty (Figure 3). Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum belongs to the so-called found-footage movies1. It is set in the now-demolished Gonjiam Psychiatric Hospital (actually named Namyang Psychiatric Hospital; see Figure 1), the story of which “reads like a textbook plot or a horror film2.” A group of six youngsters decides to do a live broadcast of this supposedly haunted spot by night, but it is not long before scary supernatural phenomena occur. While running away from the abandoned building, two girls from the team, Ji-hyun (Park Ji-hyun) and Charlotte (Moon Ye-
2020�9��(September).indd 42
won), get lost in the forest surrounding it. Suddenly, Jihyun starts whispering loud, incomprehensible words, possessed by a ghost of the asylum (Figure 4). Obviously, Ji-hyun’s and Asako’s mothers’ whisperings are very similar, to the point of seeing them as director Jeong Beom-sik’s mark.
Whisperings
In 2019, Canadian researcher Sandra Huber raised a very interesting question: “What do the dead have to say and how do we listen3?” In Korean (and actually Northeast Asian) folklore, ghosts may come forward for many reasons: to express reproach, to ask friends and relatives for more explanations, to confess Figure 2. Ansaeng Hospital. a secret never disclosed when alive, or at worst, to get even with someone. The latter can be found in the legend of the young virgin named Arang: “I am the spirit of Arang lingering in this world because my revenge is not yet accomplished4.” But how do ghosts manage to communicate with the living? They may appear in dreams, write letters or even poems5, use electromagnetic fields (see Yoo Sundong’s 2019 0.0MHz), or other technological media, but according to Konaka Chiaki’s theory6, Japanese ghosts should not speak. In his interesting study of Asian ghost movies, David Kalat recognizes this as a feature of Korean ghosts as well when he writes that Choi Ik-hwan’s
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43 Figure 3. The ghost mother whispering to her frightened daughter, Asako.
Hospital in Singapore16 (the setting of Andrew Lau’s 2010 movie Haunted Changi). But the most frightening hospitals are, of course, the abandoned psychiatric asylums, which combine disrepair, death, and madness. Hence the success of Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum. Footnotes Ancuta, Katarzyna. (2015). Lost and found: The found footage phenomenon and Southeast Asian supernatural horror film. Plaridel, 12(2), 149–177. 2 Yoon, Min-sik. (2018, March 21). Navigating the dark corners of a haunted asylum. “Gonjiam: Haunted asylum” is typical foundfootage horror film, but tells a legitimately scary story. The Korean Herald. 3 Huber, Sandra. (2019). Villains, ghosts, and roses, or, how to speak with the dead? Open Cultural Studies, 3, 15–25. 4 Faurot, Jeannette. (1995). Asian-Pacific folktales and legends (p. 174). Touchstone. 5 Marchand, Sandrine. (2017). Poèmes de femmes, poèmes de revenants sous la dynastie Qing (1644–1911). In Fantômes dans l’Extrême-Orient d’hier et d’aujourd’hui. Vol. 1. Presses de l’Inalco. http://books.openedition.org/presseinalco/1720 6 du Mesnildot, Stéphane. (2011). Fantômes du cinéma japonais (pp. 56–58). Rouge Profond. 7 Kalat, David. (2007). J-horror: The definitive guide to The Ring, The Grudge, and beyond (p. 211). Vertical. 8 Murphy, Fiona. (2018). The whisperings of ghosts: Loss, longing, and the return in stolen generations stories. The Australian Journal of Anthropology, 29(3), 332–347. 9 Knee, Adam. (2007). The transnational whisperings of contemporary Asian horror. Journal of Communications Art (Thailand), 25(4). 10 Hwang, Yun-mi. (2013) Heritage of horrors: Reclaiming the female ghost in Shadows in the Palace. In A. Peirse & D. Martin (Eds.), Korean horror cinema (p. 83). Edinburgh University Press. 11 In this paper, we will not draw on the Lacanian distinction between anxiety and fear. 12 Hwang, Yun-mi. (2013). Op. cit., p. 76. 13 Pohl, Lucas. (2020). Object-disoriented geographies: The Ghost Tower of Bangkok and the topology of anxiety. Cultural Geographies, 27, 71–74. 14 Baptandier, Brigitte (Ed.). (2001). De la malemort en quelques pays d’Asie. Karthala. 15 Formoso, Bernard. (1998). Bad death and malevolent spirits among the Tai peoples. Anthropos, 93, 3–17. 16 Zakaria, Falzah. (2019, November). Old Changi Hospital. Singapore Infopedia. 1
Topology of Anxiety11
Many ghost movies “rely heavily on the background setting to advance the horror narrative12.” Even though the leading role of Thai director Sopon Sukdapisit’s 2017 movie The Promise should have been the young girl who committed suicide, it is actually played by the building where this drama took place, the famous, impressive, and supposedly haunted Bangkok Unique Sathorn Tower13. But among all types of buildings acknowledged as haunted spots, hospitals are without a doubt lying first. Why?
Figure 4. Park Ji-hyun’s scary whispering.
Régis Olry, M.D. (France), is professor of anatomy at the University of Quebec at Trois-Rivieres (Canada). In the early 1990s, he worked in Germany with Gunther von Hagens, the inventor of plastination and the BodyWorld exhibitions. He currently studies the concept of Asian ghosts in collaboration with his wife who is a painter (see www.gedupont.com).
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September 2020
The Author
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
Of course, hospitals are places of birth and recovery. But they also inspire people with fear: fear of a bad diagnosis, fear of suffering, fear of losing one’s mind, and finally, the fear of the so-called “malemort14” or “bad death15”, a universal concept in Asian folklore. Now, as untimely death is the best way to become a ghost, it is then not a surprise to hear that many hospitals are haunted, especially if they are about to close under strange circumstances (see Kong Su-chang’s 2006 series Coma, 코마), or if they have been abandoned for a long time, such as with the Old Changi
ARTS & CULTURE
2005 Voice (Yeogoedam 4: Moksori, 여고괴담 4: 목소리) “establishes a repeating pattern that seems certain to produce an unending cycle of voiceless ghosts7.” This may explain why, whether it is to scare or to call for help, ghosts can express themselves only by whispering8,9. And if director Park Ki-hyung’s 1998 metaphor that corridors are supposed to whisper (Whispering Corridors, Yeogogoedam, 여고괴담), it may be caused, like in Shadows in the Palace (Gungnyeo, 궁녀), by ghosts that “prowl inside the wall10.”
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44
Expat Living
Finding the Balance
Stressors and Countermeasures for the Expat Teacher Written and photographed by Katy Clements
COMMUNITY
T
eaching English in Korea is a popular outlet for adventurous people looking for a new experience. The epic mountain ranges, cuisine, and culture make South Korea one of the most sought-after destinations. Many teachers, though, are swayed by the prospect of earning a good salary, housing, and flight reimbursement. As of 2017, it was reported that more than 12,000 people in Korea held an E2 visa, with the majority being from the United States. Though that number is staggering, many teachers find themselves struggling in their first couple of years. Many leave Asia after their first contract is up, and some even leave mid-contract, forcing their schools to either close the position or find a replacement.
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
September 2020
When I first began teaching, I had just turned thirty and had never even been on an airplane, let alone
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abroad. I had assumed that there would be a few stressors like the language barrier and time change, but I was unaware of the many hidden pressures there would be. Looking back on my misadventures working in an academy, I have compiled a list of a few hidden stressors that you could possibly encounter and ways to help you manage.
When I stepped back and examined my actions, I saw that it was because
1. Do Not Panic
In one of the academies I taught at, I was never informed of anything beforehand. Occasionally, new children would appear in my class without warning, or my class would be led by another teacher, throwing my syllabus off schedule. In the beginning, I was annoyed, confused, and overwrought with worry brought on by the suddenness of it all. After a year or so, I learned that this is usually the case in South Korea. I have learned to lighten my schedule and depend on my coworkers to teach more. I have also learned to have hidden pictures, UNO cards, and silly songs prepared in advance. Learning to roll with the punches took a lot of pressure off my shoulders, and made me a more fun and lighthearted teacher.
2. Trust Yourself and Be Consistent
It can be tempting to break habits you develop in class, but do not do it. If you usually start your class by reading aloud, then you should always do so. Children rely on consistency, and if they do not have structure, they become unmanageable. In my first years as a teacher, I had numerous students with behavior problems. The stress caused by this became so overwhelming that I wanted to quit.
I was not consistent with rules, routine, and rewards. I began to be more consistent and the children began to know what would happen if they acted a certain way. It was a lifesaver!
3. Do Not Live to Work
I think a lot of people who come to South Korea to jazz up their resume or to only save money lose
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45 perspective. I was so laser-focused on my endgame that for the first few years, I did not experience much. My academy had me working nonstop, which I allowed, and I found myself becoming depressed. That changed when I made up my mind and decided to make a life for myself, whether permanent or temporary, here. I started to decorate my home, I dated, and I tried new things. I found
Though I realize that some schools are not ideal and their managers callous, most academies and public school principals are not looking for a flakey fly-by-night teacher. There are genuine institutions looking for someone to help their business grow. If you belittle your position, it does not help your confidence or selfesteem. Instead, try and realize how important you are. Even if you are in
6. Relieve Your Everyday Stress
COMMUNITY
not getting praise. This began to irritate me. I became jumpy and a perfectionist. In the West, we generally rely on positive feedback to assure us that we are heading in the right direction. I have learned throughout my career that that is not how it works here. Directors and principals believe that a good employee can be trusted and, apart from training occasionally, can be left to their own devices. You do not need to worry about having someone look over your shoulder. I have learned to relax and enjoy the peace! This goes without saying, but you need to be proactive in relieving your everyday stress. Whether it is maintaining a healthy diet, exercising, taking medicine or vitamins, socializing, or journaling, you need to be practicing self-care. Part of being a good teacher is being good to yourself. If we let our bodies fall apart, then our minds will not be too far behind.
I hear often that teaching in South Korea is not legit, but I disagree.
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5. No Feedback Is Not Bad
When I first began working, I was paranoid. I felt that I was an awful teacher and that was why I was
The author
Katy Clements is a criminology major from Memphis, Tennessee. She lives in Mokpo with her husband and has worked in South Korea for years.
September 2020
4. You Are Important
a less than ideal job at the moment, do your best and work your way to a better school. Have faith in your abilities, take your job seriously, and do your part. It will work wonders for your well-being.
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
that my spirits began to rise, and I wanted to stay in the city I loved with the friends I had made. I married my husband and we settled down. Living here permanently may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but live for more than just your endgame.
These are just a few tips I have picked up during my tenure. I enjoy my job and life tremendously, but it was not until I adopted these outlooks that I began to fight my anxieties. Stress is real and burdensome. I hope these mantras help you as they have helped me.
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FOOD & DRINKS
46 Restaurant RestaurantReview Review
“The Mushroom Restaurant” Written and photographed by Pia Jensen
A www.gwangjunewsgic.com
September 2020
fter living in Gwangju for almost three years, I know how rarely you come across a restaurant that has been around for more than 20 years, in the same location, and with the same owners. But I know of such a wonderful place. About one year ago, a dear Korean friend of mine introduced me to what has since become one of my absolute favorite restaurants. Tucked away on the far side of Mudeung Mountain this place is the perfect spot for a good lunch or an evening or weekend drive. Being nonKorean, we didn’t know the right name of the restaurant, so in our world, we simply call it “the Mushroom Restaurant.” However, the correct name is actually Noeulnodeul (노을노들, short for 노을짙은노들강변, sunset cast on the riverside). The restaurant has a really pretty, old-fashioned look and interior, with comfy seating and both smaller and larger rooms, depending on your mood. The focal point in the main room is the wood burner, which is used for heating in the wintertime and, of course, the small pond with bridge included. One of the things that makes us come back time after time is the tranquility and atmosphere,
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with soft music playing and the interesting interior. Of course, we would not return if the food were not good as well, but we really like its mix of European and Korean cuisine. All meals start with a bowl of delicious bean soup, followed by a small salad. Our children often choose to eat one of the Italian-inspired dishes, like the Cheese Oven Spaghetti or the Carbonara. The menu, which conveniently is in English as well as Korean, offers a selection of rice dishes, including vegetarian versions like Kimchi Fried Rice or Rice with Mushrooms. You’ll also find rice mixed with seafood, like Spicy Octopus and Shrimp Fried Rice. The price range is around 13,000 won. You can enjoy tenderloin, pepper steak, or beef rib steak, where the price range is higher, starting at 28,000 won. We have tried a lot of the other dishes from the menu, but our favorite is probably the set menu for two that offers a selection of fish cutlet, lobster, beef steak, and beef cutlet
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47 served with salad and rice. The price for this set menu is 58,000 won, but worth every won. In COVID-19 times, where we could all use some TLC (tender loving care), you might choose the Special Course for Lover’s; I’m sure it’s delicious. The meal is finished off with a choice of coffee or a scoop of ice cream as “service.”
▲ Set menu: Four Seasons for two.
The location in Damyang County, just east of Gwangju, offers a nice scenic drive at the base of Mudeung Mountain or along the river and Gwangju Lake when coming from the Damyang side. It is quite easy to access by car, but bus lines 187 and 225 stop nearby as well. The restaurant’s location in the beautiful countryside makes it a perfect place to start or finish a hike. I highly recommend this place for the food, the people, the peace, and the location. Go try it out.
FOOD & DRINKS
▲ Eel set menu.
The lovely couple that has been running the restaurant for more than 20 years makes you feel so welcome and special. On weekends, you might be lucky to be served by their son, who helps out on occasion. He is fluent in English, or should I say “American,” as he has an obvious accent after studying in the States. No matter who serves you, English is fine for placing your orders.
▲ Milano Pork Cutlet.
▲ Crayfish Cutlet.
노을노들 (노을짙은노들강변)
▲ Cheese Oven Spaghetti.
Address: 1144 Gasa-munhak-ro, Nam-myeon, Damyang-gun, Jeollanam-do 전라남도 담양군 남면 가사문학로 1144 Operating Hours: 10:00 a.m. – 12:30 a.m., daily. Phone: 061-383-1145
Website: https://noeulnodeul.business.site/
Pia Jensen is from Denmark and has lived in Gwangju since December 2017. She enjoys taking trips around Gwangju and Korea. Two of Pia’s children attend Kwangju Foreign School, so she spends some of her time helping out with KFS activities also.
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September 2020
The Author
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
Noeulnodeul (Noeul-jiteun-nodeul-gangbyeon)
8/26/2020 4:37:22 PM
48 Opinion
Enough with the Coffee Shops Already! Coffee Shop Overkill Reaches Epidemic Levels in Bongseon-dong OPINION
Written by William Urbanski
D
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
September 2020
o you like a nice warm cup of coffee? Yes? Me, too. Do you need one after every fifty meters you walk? If so, then you should come to Bongseondong where on a single five-hundred-meter stretch of road there are no less than ten coffee shops. This is not including a certain side street where there are four coffee shops back-to-back-to-back-to-back. I think I speak for all of humanity when I say enough is enough of these coffee shops already. The coffee shops in question are definitely not rinkydink operations. They are full-fledged, fancy-dancy establishments with seating for at least fifty people each. Every single one of these will not hesitate to serve you up artisan coffee in a fancy cup alongside a tiny slice of diabetes-inducing cake that you can eat while vegging out on a comfy chair with your eyes glued to your smartphone and occasionally schmoozing with your bestie. All issues about price, health, and lifestyle options aside, what really grinds my gears about this endless proliferation of coffee shops is that each and every one is a lazy excuse for a business idea, pure and simple. As well, instead of innovating, all they do is straight-up copy and paste the same old idea, flooding neighborhoods with generic, unnecessary businesses.
and streamlined research (i.e., Google) reveals that not only is clustering of businesses nothing new and the subject of at least one well-known economic model, but there are compelling historical, social, and even religious precedents that say putting similar businesses that close together is just plain wrong.
It is easy (and fun) to gripe about streets getting congested with these businesses, but further reflection
The New York Times reported an incident from a few years ago that can only be described as the definitive
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A Tale of Two Pizza Places
8/26/2020 4:37:22 PM
49
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This is all well and good and the economic logic seems feasible to me, but if we can take a break from theory and move back into the real world, we can see a bigger problem. When businesses encroach on each other, they do it to steal customers or prevent their competitors from “winning” and not to better serve the customer. The result of this is ten chicken restaurants on the same block.
Coffee Culture
The Nash Equilibrium comes about from businesses competing with each other. Where businesses finally settle is based more on stopping their competitors from gaining a competitive advantage rather than what is good for the customer. In the case of Bongseon-dong,
September 2020
Admittedly, similar businesses clustering together is nothing particularly new, but the first time it really stood out to me was on a visit to the magnificent Nami Island in Gyeonggi Province. There are two ways to reach Nami Island: by amazing zipline and by ferry, both located at the harbor area, making it more or less a bottleneck with one road in and out. The harbor area is flush with all
Because I just could not let this whole thing go, I did some research on the matter (i.e., watched some YouTube videos) and came across a TED Talk video that explained business clustering pretty well. It used the example of two ice cream vendors on a beach. Assuming equal numbers of customers enter onto each part of the beach, the best place to place the ice cream carts would be equal distances from the middle. Now, if one day a vendor came early and positioned himself closer the middle, he would attract a disproportionate number of customers. What vendor number two has to do in this case is move his cart to get more customers. There is a little more to it than this, but the long story short is that this jockeying for position will continue until the vendors reach a point of stasis in the middle of the beach where they will, in theory, attract the same amount of customers. This location, in which each vendor cannot improve his position by moving his cart, is known as the Nash Equilibrium (Nash was the Nobel Prize-winning economist and mathematician who was the subject of the fantastic movie A Beautiful Mind, starring the bad person Russell Crowe).
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
Business Clustering
the usual businesses, such as convenience stores, and it even has some games and a bungee jump tower with a dubious safety record. This whole area is pretty compact (roughly a kilometer long) and what really stands out is the ridiculous number of takgalbi (marinated and grilled chicken) restaurants in the area. I kid you not, there have got to be ten almost-identical restaurants in the same place, all with similar menus and seating areas. When I asked my wife why they needed so many chicken joints in the same place, she said the area was well known for takgalbi, so everyone nationwide was aware that if they ever had a hankering for some roasted bird, they knew where to get it. Simply put, the area was known as a chicken hub (I cannot believe I just wrote those words). I will admit that there is a certain logic to this, but it still strikes me as businesses telling the customers what they want instead of the other way around.
OPINION
display of businesscopycat-syndrome. In a Jewish neighborhood of Manhattan, a pizza shop (let us call it “Pizza Shop B”) opened directly across the street from an established pizza restaurant that had been there for years (“Pizza Shop A”). Pizza Shop B basically copied A’s recipes, had much lower prices and was even alleged to be encouraging customers in line to come across the street. Now, even though B was within its legal rights to open and operate the business, it was clear as day what it was doing: trying to steal A’s customers. Pizza Shop A appealed to a rabbinical court, citing certain Jewish religious texts that prohibited unfair competition by a new and nearby business. Long story short, the tribunal issued a ruling, in Hebrew, and sided with A saying that the new pizza shop violated rules laid out in Jewish scripture. Whatever your views are on extralegal religious tribunals, what should be striking about this example is that there are clear historical and religious norms that prohibit replicating a business’s concept and appearance and then opening up across the street.
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50
OPINION
the result is a dense concentration of similar businesses where the choices to the customer could be summed up as “Would you like coffee, coffee, or coffee?” Maybe one shop has a slightly more comfortable chair or a more appealing atmosphere, but the shops are all pretty much the same, which is why more shops does not really equal more choice and certainly does not benefit the customer or the ordinary citizen much at all, especially when the street is super-saturated with java peddlers. If anything, it just contributes to a feeling of congestion and blandness. The Nash Equilibrium can be contrasted with the Socially Optimal Solution, where businesses are evenly spaced out so that they are easily reachable by customers. But, attaining a Socially Optimal Solution requires cooperation and you know, nobody wants that. There are those who say Korea has developed a “coffee culture,” but I would disagree for the simple reason that corporations stamping the cityscape with identical, cookie-cutter establishments that choke out innovative and unique establishments is not “culture.” It is a sign that communities are not being laid out with citizens’ best interests in mind.
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
September 2020
The Economic Narrative
Even those who are not religious or superstitious follow some sort of narrative, and one of the strongest underlying narratives worldwide is that by following economic reasoning, and letting businesses compete freely, all people can enjoy better and more prosperous lives. Economics is a handy-dandy tool for explaining how and why money changes hands, but it is based fundamentally on the ideas that limitless growth is essential, more is better, and growth helps everyone by making the “pie” bigger. When something grows without limits, it is generally referred to as “cancer,” and reoccurring global events should make it clear that it is those on top, the already wealthy, who benefit disproportionally from economic growth. This idea that businesses work best when they are allowed to operate freely is also complete poppycock. In The Great Delusion, Steven Stoll explains how, when economics first started being developed in earnest, they were modeled heavily on the existing fields of mathematics and physics. The Irish economist John Cairns (1825–1875) claimed that “political economy (i.e., economics) plainly belongs to the same class of sciences with mechanics, astronomy, optics, chemistry, electricity, and in general, all those physical sciences which have reached the inductive stage.” Amasa Walker even asserted in The Science of Wealth (1866) that “so far as political economy, as a science, is physical, depending on the forces and agencies of nature, it is above legislation.” That is to say, the first economists believed that they were
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uncovering “universal truths” that could be studied and applied to practical problems, much in the same way that Newton and Leibniz developed calculus to address the problem of people generally enjoying their lives. While these attitudes towards the immutable nature of economics have persisted, early economists erred in their assessments. As Stoll astutely points out, “Economists seized upon physics without understanding the full implication of the categories they clumsily translated into human action.” Economics and physics are fundamentally different because the former describes a distinctly human phenomenon (the economic system) and the latter was parsed out by rigorous scientific methods, and exists independent of human thought or emotion. Otherwise put, early economics simply threw their big fancy theories (hypotheses, really) onto the existing conceptual template that had been established by physicists, because, hey, why not? In the same way that the right to govern, which was once unquestionably thought to be the divine right of kings, morphed into the democratic systems that large parts of the world enjoy today, we should remember that the economic system is not something dependent on fate or determined the stars, but something that is subject to change.
In Conclusion
Like an onion, the foul vegetable that I hate, the phenomenon of too many coffee shops in my neighborhood has many layers. By considering the social, economic, and historical foundations on which these stores are based, we can more clearly understand the fractured thought process that goes into opening these shops. The people who at this very moment are, no doubt, scheming to open the next java joint in Bongseondong would do well to heed the advice of the French adage “Trop, c’est comme pas assez” (Too much is like not enough).
The Author
William Urbanski is the managing editor of the Gwangju News has an MA in international relations and cultural diplomacy. He is married to a wonderful Korean woman, always pays cash, and keeps all his receipts. Instagram: @will_il_gatto
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Language Teaching 51
The Challenges of Teaching as a Filipina Compiled by Dr. David E. Shaffer Filipino English teachers in Korea occupy a somewhat unique position. Although English is the primary medium of instruction from elementary school through university in the Philippines, and even though English is one of the two official languages of the nation, the Philippines is not among the seven countries that South Korea recognizes as “native English-speaking countries.” Although many Filipinos are eloquent English speakers, this distinction serves to create an undue bias against Filipino English speakers without regard to English proficiency. From the accounts of numerous Filipina English teachers in Gwangju appearing in last month’s Language Teaching article (“The Joys of Teaching as a Filipina”), we saw that there are a multitude of joys that Filipina teachers reap from teaching English. However, those were not their full accounts. What appears below is the other side of the coin, related by the same Filipina teachers who expressed their love of teaching in last month’s article. This is the rest of their stories.
“Emma” has lived in Korea for 25 years and has been teaching English for the past two decades. She teaches elementary students at two academies in two districts of Gwangju. In our last issue, she talked about the joys that she gets from teaching and that “God gives us different gifts; I just have to use mine and do the best I can in teaching my students.” Here is the rest of her account.
One of the Struggles
One of the struggles I encountered with the children was their quarrelling with each other. At first, I didn’t notice because I thought they were just talking, that is, until one
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Malyn Perez Rosales Kim is an after-school English teacher in Gwangju at Juwol and Shinam Elementary Schools. Before coming to Korea, she taught elementary school in the Philippines. She has been living in Korea for nearly eleven years and has been teaching for eight of them. Last issue, she told us that she knows that God has a plan for her and that she “loves teaching kids.” Here is the rest of her account. The first months after my arrival seemed to be the saddest of my life, as Korea was absolutely different from my life in the Philippines. Life here is so fast, with a focus on merely working and money. Some part of me wanted to magically return to my homeland. After more than a year had passed, an opportunity came: a project from the Office of Education offering immigrant women a twomonth study program leading to teaching their culture at elementary schools here in Gwangju. I was able to be a part of this program and to share with young students the culture of my country. From this great start, I was able to gain confidence and the will to pursue a teaching career
September 2020
Mary Joy Escobal is a missionary volunteer at the Gwangju Dream Seventh Day Adventist Multicultural Church located in Gwangsan District. She has been living and working in Gwangju for almost two years. She teaches English through the Bible to young learners and a Bible class to adult Filipinos. She previously talked about the difficulty of learning English and the “really great joy for me to teach children.” Here is the rest of her account.
Thorns in a Bed of Roses
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To be honest, one of the difficulties I have with the students is managing them, particularly my sixthgraders. Maybe it’s because of my stature or my overly friendly personality. It takes a lot of prayer and patience to have a successful class with them, but I think teaching is difficult only if you aren’t equipped with the right skills and don’t like to be with a bunch of kids. Fortunately, I don’t have any major problems with the administration at either of my schools, except that both of my bosses hide my Filipino identity from the students’ parents, which is quite burdensome to me.
of them burst out in anger and I didn’t know how to stop them. One student went home crying, and the other is no longer participating in our class. I felt so hopeless at the time, but I just prayed for guidance on how to deal with the situation. God answered my prayers. He directed me to talk to our pastor, so I told him what had happened. The pastor talked to the students’ parents as well, and the next class, the students met again. It now seems as though nothing had happened between them; they’re on good terms, helping each other in some of the class activities that we have.
EDUCATION
It Takes a Lot of Prayer
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52 in Korea. I worked in an English academy for a year, but since it required late-night teaching and was quite competitive, I applied for an after-school English teaching position. Applying for the position was not easy. I had to ask my spouse to help me with the paperwork, and after passing the first screening, I needed to pass an interview and conduct a demonstration class. Being hired as an after-school teacher does not mean that there are no thorns in the bed of roses. In my first year of teaching, with my rudimentary Korean skills, I found it hard to chat with my co-workers, understand meeting agendas, and submit reports. In addition, some of the students were afraid of their foreign teacher, and communication through phone calls or messages with my students’ parents regarding their child’s behavior in class is still problematic.
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
September 2020
EDUCATION
“They Have a Weird Accent”
Princess Joy F. Cedeño teaches at an English academy in the Suwan area of Gwangju where she teaches elementary and middle school students. She also does private tutorials with elementary and middle school students and housewives. Joy has been living in Korea for nine years and has been teaching for the past eight. In last month’s issue, she talked about joining different groups to improve her teaching skills and how glad she is to see how Koreans are now changing their perspectives toward Filipino teachers. Here is the rest of her account. “They have a weird accent.” “They don’t speak that well.” These are some of the things that I hear from Koreans, but then they seem shocked once I open my mouth and speak because I don’t sound like their stereotypical Filipina. Many Koreans have told me that I have an American accent. I don’t really know how to feel about hearing this. For me, learning a second language is not about having a perfect native-like accent. I believe that accent isn’t a measure of intelligence or character, so it shouldn’t be used as a measure of our identities. However, it hasn’t always been easy for me as a teacher. As a Filipina new to English teaching, I experienced a lot of rejection due to my nationality because most English academies here prefer to hire native English speakers. It was really difficult competing with teachers from major English-speaking countries like the US, the UK, and Canada because academies here prefer to have English teachers who have white skin, blue eyes, blonde hair, and of course, a “good” accent. At first, I didn’t really care about my accent, but because of the rejections, I decided to try to change how I spoke in order to fit the mold. I guess it worked, as employers now seem to like my accent and some academy directors have even asked me to hide my nationality and pretend to be Canadian or American.
2020�9��(September).indd 52
This I didn’t like to do because I felt insulted and thought it was too unfair. I asked them why they wanted me to do this, and their response was that Korean mothers would like for their children to have native Englishspeaking teachers. I was devastated and wanted to give up on teaching, but there were people who believed in me – those who believed in my capabilities to excel in this field. Therefore, I decided to work even harder to enhance myself so that I could prove to them that we Filipinos can also be excellent teachers. I know that there are many Filipino teachers who are extremely responsible and hardworking. We just need a chance and acceptance. I know that we can also rock the world. I also believe that my nationality isn’t a hindrance to reaching my goals.
“Where Are You From?”
Sherryl Sambo has lived in Korea for 12 years and has been teaching EFL for seven. She teaches elementary and middle school students at an English academy in the Suwan district of Gwangju and tutors businessmen and government officials. In the last issue, Sherryl shared how she realized that she felt compelled to do master’s and doctorate study in order to compete in the English field. “I believe that we should invest in ourselves and know our worth,” she told us. Sherryl is the president of the Filipino English teacher’s group in Gwangju. Here is the rest of her account. As a foreigner in South Korea, I thought teaching English would be a career path. I soon realized that there’s more to teaching than meets the eye. I felt the need to further my education for several reasons. Besides increasing my foundation in teaching, I felt it would help me become more competitive in the intensely competitive English teaching market in Gwangju. It is very common to see online job advertisements for “native speakers only,” which I have always felt bad about since I believe that qualifications for a teaching position should be based more on the applicant’s competencies than on their nationality or skin color. I can recall several incidents in applying for big academy positions like this one: The director and I were having a great phone conversation; I could tell that he really liked me. Then he asked the golden question: Where are you from? I told him that I was originally from the Philippines but had been living in Korea for 11 years now and had Korean citizenship. After hearing that, he said that he was surprised that I was from the Philippines because I had a “good accent.” His voice changed, and he said that he would give me a call. And as expected, he never did. If he had not asked where I was from and had relied on my qualifications instead, there was a good chance that he would have hired me. But because of my heritage, I was not given a chance for a personal interview and demonstration class. Before I landed my current job, my current boss told me she had already
8/26/2020 4:37:23 PM
53 interviewed two “white teachers,” but decided to call me and give me a chance because my credentials looked interesting and because she had studied and worked in the Philippines for a couple of years. She also knew that educated Filipino teachers can teach well. I got the job, but at first my boss wanted to give me a lower salary than my native-speaker co-teacher. However, I stood my ground and insisted that my stronger qualifications deserved higher compensation. She finally agreed. There I now teach elementary and middle school students and facilitate comprehension, reading, and TOEFL classes.
I Wanted to Give Up
After five years of teaching, I became involved as a human rights volunteer. Needing to supplement my source of income, I applied to different schools, but they wouldn’t hire a full-time Filipina teacher, only offering me a position for “after-school studies.” I felt very sad and discriminated against, so I enrolled in a one-year TESOL course at Chonnam University. Afterwards, I had the opportunity to teach in a summer camp. The native speakers were given two classes a day, but I was given only one because I was a Filipina, making me feel as sad and as disappointed as before.
In Conclusion
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GWANGJU-JEONNAM KOTESOL UPCOMING EVENTS Check the chapter’s webpages and Facebook group periodically for updates on chapter events and online activities. For full event details: Website: http://koreatesol.org/gwangju Facebook: Gwangju-Jeonnam KOTESOL The Editor
David Shaffer, as vice-president of the Gwangju-Jeonnam Chapter of KOTESOL, invites you to participate in the teacher development workshops and their regular meetings (in-person and online). He also invites you to visit “Gwangju Filipino English Teachers (GFET)” on Facebook. Dr. Shaffer has been a resident of Gwangju and professor at Chosun University for many years. He is a past president of KOTESOL and is currently the chairman of the board at the Gwangju International Center as well as editor-in-chief of the Gwangju News.
September 2020
We have seen how these Filipina English teachers so wholeheartedly enjoy teaching and enjoy working with young learners. However, we have also seen that this “does not mean that there are no thorns in the bed of roses.” Too much emphasis is placed on ingrained stereotypes rather than on a person’s merits. Rather than looking for a blonde-haired, blue-eyed North American with a bachelor’s degree, employers should be looking at prospective teachers’ educational background, teaching skills, and language proficiency.
These faulty stereotypes need to be buried, and Englishteacher selections need to be based on educational background, teaching skills, and language ability (in both English and Korean) rather than on nationality, residence, and physical features. If this were more often the case, we would have more Filipinos happily teaching English in Korea, we would have an increase in high-quality English teachers in Korea, and we would have an upgrade in the quality of English being taught and learned in Korea. This is the rest of the story.
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This sort of thing provided me with a lot of stress. I wanted to give up, but how could I – my whole family were educators. Fortunately, I have regained my confidence in teaching and now teach speaking skills to Korean women at the Buk-gu District Youth Center. I have taught at the Youth Center for eight years now and have “peace and security” – I have found respect and recognition as an educator.
Another stereotype that needs to be shattered is that all North Americans are native English speakers (or even that all North Americans speak English!) Many may be surprised to know that 20 percent of U.S. residents speak a language other than English at home. Possibly even more surprising is the fact that English is the mother tongue of only 58 percent of Canadians. EDUCATION
Sabel Lee has been living in Gwangju for 21 years. She has been an English educator since 2001 and is also a mother and married to a Korean. She was a high school teacher in the Philippines before coming to Korea. Sabel has taught at English academies and English camps. She presently works with multicultural children out of the Buk-gu District Youth Center, which she enjoys very much. Here is the rest of her account.
“But Filipinos have an accent” might come the retort. Yes, but everyone has an accent, whether English is their mother tongue or a second language that they might have learned. Some native English-speaker accents are more difficult to understand than any Filipino’s English accent that I have encountered. In this rapidly diversifying world, where the number of non-native English speakers already far exceeds the number of native speakers of English, it is advantageous for the language learner to be familiar with a variety of English accents, as the likelihood of being in situations where English is needed to communicate with a non-native speaker will continue to increase.
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54 Book Review
HOW TO BE AN ANTIRACIST
By Ibram X. Kendi
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
September 2020
ARTS & CULTURE
Reviewed by Kristy Dolson “I used to be racist most of the time,” Ibram X. Kendi writes in the introduction of his latest bestseller. “I am changing.” Both a sweeping international history of racism and an intimate personal history of one man’s growth away from racist ideas, How to Be an Antiracist is a phenomenal read. After the murder of George Floyd earlier this year, the Black Lives Matter movement gained massive international support. Books by Black authors, both fiction and non-fiction, flooded bestseller lists as people began undertaking the work of educating themselves on the history of police brutality and racist cycles. How to Be an Antiracist is about peeling back the layers of internalized racism in the lived experiences of one Black American in order to build a more sturdy foundation of intersectional antiracism. As a step-by-step guide towards antiracism interwoven with a chronological memoir, he begins by outlining his parents’ entry into the Black power movement of the 1970s. These values and beliefs dueled with the dominant White consciousness that he encountered in school to shape his own views on race and racism. He traces the development of those internalized racist beliefs before pointing out the key individuals and interactions that helped him to eventually identify and dismantle them. In the end, he compares racism to cancer and explains how, like cancer, there is a clear treatment for racist policies. Eliminating these policies and voting out racist policymakers will make the body politic of America healthier and longer-lived. “Ideas often dance a cappella,” Kendi later writes in his chapter on gender. Reflecting on his parents’ silence towards gay and lesbian lives, this chapter highlights how silence causes harm for all groups pushed to the margins of society. I felt a huge shift when, as an undergraduate encountering feminism and queerness for the first time in his role models, Kendi recognized an ignorance in himself and went out of his way to learn more. He offers himself as a model for how others can move towards their own intersectional antiracist support by owning up to his ignorance and erroneous views. How to Be an Antiracist is exceptionally well organized. Kendi begins with an introduction that highlights a formative event on his journey towards antiracism before setting out on that journey proper. Chapter one outlines
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why definitions are necessary to clarify our views and goals. These definitions anchor the remainder of the book. Most chapters begin by juxtaposing the definition for a racist approach against the definition for an antiracist approach to the topic of that chapter. With 18 chapters ranging from “Power” to “Sexuality,” this book scaffolds the reader towards practical and functional antiracism as it seeks to dismantle 500 years of racist policies. “Changing minds is not a movement,” Kendi writes as his narrative catches up to the present day. When this hypocrisy was pointed out by audiences of his lectures, he founded the Center for Antiracist Research. He now works full time towards changing policies. As part of that work, he wrote this book to provide readers with a stepladder towards antiracist action and the creation of a more equitable and just society. Published in 2019, this book meets the needs of the current political and social climate of North America. BLM movements around the world have gathered increased strength and support in the wake of the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. An outraged population has finally mobilized against racist policies and policymakers. It feels like real progress is being made. But power never gives itself up easily. Only time will tell what today’s actions will yield. How to Be an Antiracist is a must-read. Share it with your friends, family, and colleagues. At times difficult to digest, the overall tone and message is hopeful. As Kendi states, “Our identities are not fixed.” We can be racist one minute and antiracist the next. But it is in the best interest of ourselves and our planet to strive towards antiracism at every opportunity. This book will show you how. Reading and learning is an important step on my road to active antiracism. However, I won’t stop here. I will amplify historically marginalized voices. I will donate my time and money to support organizations fighting for antiracist policy change. I will do the work needed to bring a more equitable society into being for future generations. It is my hope that many others will join me on the unlit road of antiracism.
The Reviewer
Kristy Dolson lived in South Korea for five years before taking a year off to travel, read, and spend time with her family in Canada and Australia. She holds a Bachelor of Education and has now returned to Gwangju, where she splits her time between teaching at the new Jeollanamdo International Education Institute and reading as much as she can.
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Korean Recipe
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Budae Jjigae: Army Stew
Written by Joe Wabe
T
his year, Koreans celebrated the 70th anniversary of the Korean War, a tragic event and turning point in the history of this country. On June 25, 1950, the north invaded the south, sparking a war that killed millions. In the end, the war lasted almost three years and concluded with the signing of an armistice that split the peninsula in two. The influence of the American army stationed in key locations in the south has left a formidable imprint on the lives of locals living around those army bases – influences that later expanded throughout the peninsula and have become part of the culture. Among these influences that have helped shape contemporary Korea are the English language and Western-style food.
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4 cups of beef bone stock ½ loaf of tofu, thinly sliced 4 shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced ½ cup chopped kimchi 1 cup of thinly sliced rice cake sticks 3 hot dog-style sausages (franks), thinly sliced ½ can of Spam, thinly sliced ½ green onion stalk, diagonally sliced 1 pack of instant ramen noodles 1 slice of cheese 1 cup of bean sprouts ½ a sweet red pepper chopped ¼ can of baked beans (optional)
Sauce • • • • •
1 tablespoon of gochujang (red chili paste) 1 tablespoon of red chili flakes 1 tablespoon of soy sauce 1 tablespoon of minced garlic ½ tablespoon of sugar
Preparation
In a shallow cooking pot, arrange all the ingredients except for the cheese, green onions, and noodles. Pour in the stock and add the sauce in the center. Boil at medium heat for about seven minutes. Add the noodles, cheese, and green onion and continue to boil at a medium heat for about four more minutes. Serve with white rice.
The Author
Joe Wabe is a Gwangju expat, who has been contributing to the GIC and the Gwangju News for more than 10 years with his work in photography and writing.
September 2020
The availability of ingredients like bacon, Vienna sausages, American cheese, baked beans, and even macaroni contributed to the birth of this popular dish. Budae jjigae restaurants are now found all over South Korea, but it’s well known that Uijeongbu City is where it all started, as well as the place where one can find the finest army stew. If you haven’t tried it yet, this is a good chance to experience this tasty fusion dish.
• • • • • • • • • • • • •
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One of these post-war dishes that became well known, and then later became extremely popular, is budae jjigae (부대찌개, army stew [literally, “army base stew”). After the locals began making use of the surplus food available on the army bases, traditional Korean cuisine became more creative and allowed dishes like this to flourish.
Ingredients (Serves 4)
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Community Board Have something you want to share with the community? The Community Board provides a space for the community to announce activities and special events. Please contact gwangjunews@gic.or.kr for more information.
Gwangju Teens Project
GIC Ecology Club
The GIC Ecology Club is a community project related to helping the environment while making a positive difference for Gwangju and beyond. Memebers meet regulary for cleaning up beaches and streams. Facebook: GIC Ecology Club
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
September 2020
For all teenagers (12–25 years old), workshops about changes, purpose, and power of the adolescent brain! A little bit of neuroscience and a lot of the practical skills to benefit your brains, your emotional state, and your relationships with yourself and others. Free, twice a month, in English.
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8/26/2020 4:37:27 PM
KONA English Center
KONA Storybook Center The KONA English Center (KEC) is an educational center for English reading and culture exchanges. The KEC will guide any family and their children to develop a love for reading and to explore foreign cultures.
KONA English Center 코나영어센터 KONA Storybook Center 영어독서교육연구소 UNESCO KONA Volunteers 유네스코 코나 자원봉사단
The KONA Storybook Center (KSC) is a non-profit organization that helps disadvantaged children to learn English independently through storybooks and storymaps with UNESCO KONA Volunteers (UKV).
Programs: 1. 영어독서멘토링 (Mentoring in English Reading) 2. 영어로 배우는 과학 (Science in English) 3. 영어로 배우는 위인전 (Biography in English) 4. 코나비전특강 (KONA Vision Talk) 5. 외국인과 함께하는 문화교실 (UNESCO CCAP)
Tel: 062-434-9887 광주광역시 서구 상일로 37 37 Sangil-ro, Seo-gu, Gwangju
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