From the Editor

April 2022, Issue 242 Published: April 1, 2022

Cover

Monument to a legendary Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko in front of buildings damaged in a recent Russian shelling in the Kyiv region of Ukraine (March 2). Photo courtesy of the Ukrainian State Emergency Service/ Eyepress News via AFP

THE EDITORIAL TEAM

Publisher Dr. Shin Gyonggu Editor-in-Chief Dr. David E. Shaffer Managing Editor William Urbanski Chief Copy Editor Isaiah Winters Layout Editor Karina Prananto Photographer Kim Hillel Yunkyoung Online Editor Karina Prananto

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.

Copyright ©2022 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.

The Gwangju News is published by the 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 gwangju_news Registration No. 광주광역시 라. 00145 (ISSN 2093-5315) Registration Date: February 22, 2010 Printed by Jieum 지음 (+82)-62-672-2566

For volunteering and article submission inquiries, please contact the editor at gwangjunews@gic.or.kr. It’s April! No foolin’! The first of this month (Manu-jeol, in Korean), is not this year a time for the tricks and pranks and gaiety that usually accompany the day – not with the horrid nightmare that has unfolded in Ukraine. Back when we started planning for the April issue, before the invasion began, nothing Ukrainian was on our minds for inclusion in this issue. But things changed quickly.

With the harshness of the assault on Ukraine, we knew that the Gwangju News had to do something, but what, and so little time to do it. We put our thinking caps on and remembered that one of our earlier writers had an uncle living in Ukraine. We contacted her, she contacted him, and the result is our cover story from an on-the-scene perspective – impactful in so many ways.

Our cover for this issue captures the unthinkable destruction that has befallen the civilian population of Ukraine. The photo depicts the remains of residential buildings hit in an attack on the town of Borodyanka, north of Kyiv. You may be wondering who the battered bust is of. He was the 19th century Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko, who, by the way, penned the poetry on our back cover – words as meaningful today as they were when they were written.

Another extraordinary feature in this issue is a peek into North Korea and its English education through an analysis of their revised secondary school textbooks under their present head of state. Also in this issue is an interview with documentary filmmaker Roberto Santaguida, who is in town preparing an exhibit for the Asia Culture Center and has conducted a workshop at the GIC.

This month, we take you on a tour of some of Korea’s great indoor skateparks. And we give you a tour around some of the fabulous sights to visit in Belguim. But warning: Don’t read this month’s Lost in Honam article – it’s about Geogeum-do.

Language Teaching this issue details what is arguably the best English language teaching event in the nation: the Korea TESOL International Conference, coming this month. To find out what “Don’t take me for an airplane ride” actually means in Korean, check out Everyday Korean.

There is so much more: eating vegan, the latest music, the whole Culture and Arts section. Check it out.

As always, stay Covid smart, stay Covid safe, be Covid protected, and enjoy the Gwangju News. And… “Glory to Ukraine!”

David E. Shaffer Editor-in-Chief Gwangju News