From the Editor

August 2022, Issue 246 Published: August 1, 2022

Cover

Gwangju Mayor Kang Gi-Jung Photo by Kim Hillel Yunkyoung

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. Welcome to August, and the heat of summer! Gwangju, and much of the rest if the Northern Hemisphere, has already experienced consecutive days of mercurial temperatures, but the last of the “dog days” (Malbok, 말복) does not occur until August 15 – the same day that Korea observes Liberation Day (광복절) this year. And the “End of Summer Heat” (Cheoseo, 처서) does not arrive until August 23; so, continue to be careful at work, at rest, and/or on vacation. We also welcome you to the August issue of the Gwangju News. Our devoted and unrelenting staff has again worked its magic through the sultry summer sunshine to produce for our readership another “hot” issue. Being the August issue, we felt obliged to bring to you an august personage: We are doing this with an exclusive interview that we were able to obtain with the newly installed Mayor of Gwangju, Kang Gi-Jung. Turn the pages to our cover feature to see how Mayor Kang has hit the ground running in his mission to prepare Gwangju for a better tomorrow and to learn a little more about his earlier years. If you’re familiar with Gwangju, you are probably familiar with the Chungjang Festival that the city has held for the past 18 years. But this year, it’s going global with the inclusion of the very first Buskers World Cup, slated for this October. Read all about it in our feature with the organizers at the Dong-gu district office.

Our third feature this month is about a man making waves – both literally and figuratively. If you know Andrew Vlasblom, you may already know what I am referring to: This Gwangju resident and composer has finally finalized the instrumental Waves, a composition six years in the making and released as a music video in memory of the Sewol ferry tragedy. Read about the making of the music directly from Andrew and how you can tune in.

This issue’s final feature is by David Dolinger, witness to and recent author of an account of Gwangju’s May 18 (1980) tragedy. In this piece, Dr. Dolinger ponders the lasting effects on his life of those tragic days. There is, of course, much more for you in our 60 pages: Gwangju parking spots, area swimming spots, Deep Ocean music, taking in Busan, touring the DMZ, art in Mt. Mudeung. And Crescent curry, peace linguistics, Korean, Thunderstruck, and the rest of our regular columns. With Gwangju’s daily cases well over 1,000, stay Covid safe, and enjoy the Gwangju News!

David E. Shaffer Editor-in-Chief Gwangju News