Gwangju and South Jeolla International Magazine Gwangju and South Jeolla International Magazine
December 2021 #238
December 2021 #238 Songs of the Season
Songs of the Season International Human Rights Training Online: GIC & KOICA
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1 Gwangju & South Jeolla International Magazine
From the Editor
T
he colored leaves that we have so recently been admiring have now been shed by their bare-branched trees and bespeckle the ground below. Nighttime hours of darkness are distinctly lengthening, and shirtsleeve weather is but a fading memory. These are all indicators of the arrival of December, the advancement of winter, and the impending culmination of another year.
December 2021, Issue 238 Published: December 1, 2021 Cover Photo Christmas tree in front of Gwangju City Hall By Gwangju City Official Blog 광주광역시 공식 블로그
https://blog.naver.com/dodreamgj/
THE EDITORIAL TEAM Publisher Editor-in-Chief Managing Editor Chief Copy Editor Layout Editor Photographer Online Editor Content Support
Dr. Shin Gyonggu Dr. David E. Shaffer William Urbanski Isaiah Winters Karina Prananto Kim Hillel Yunkyoung Karina Prananto Melline Galani
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 ©2021 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.
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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As December hosts the holiday season, in this issue, we hope to bring you some Christmas cheer with our feature on some staple songs of the season [“I’m Not a Grinch”]. Our other features this issue are on Gwangju’s human rights education program with KOICA, an interview with Gwangju artist/sculptor Choi Soonim, the unsung heroes who run into the flames as their calling, and an encore on what Jang Bo-go did for Unified Silla [Blast from the Past]. Why do old buildings deep in the Jeolla countryside wear “anticommunisn” and “counterespionage” in huge lettering on their sides? Find out in Lost in Honam. Why do holiday fruit cost an arm and a leg? The answer is in our Opinion column. And this month we have a second Opinion article on Covid confusion. How we eat can not only improve our health but also our environment. Take a look at our two delectable plant-based recipes that are eco-friendly as well as vegan-friendly: bean burgers and falafel. And much, much more! We at the Gwangju News wish you the happiest of holidays as this year comes to a close and a new year opens, bringing with it more brightness, good fortune, and good cheer.
David E. Shaffer Editor-in-Chief Gwangju News Stay Covid smart, stay Covid safe, be Covid protected, and enjoy the Gwangju News.
December 2021
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With the chilling air and the earlier onset of darkness, more time is being spent indoors. We hope that as you recline in your favorite chair, you will keep the Gwangju News close at hand to bring you reading enjoyment. Our magazine staff and writers constantly strive to bring to our readership and our community, articles that are interesting, informative, and insightful.
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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
Another year of life within a pandemic is surely not the most pleasant of experiences to encounter, but the corona gloom has seen a break in the clouds this year, as vaccines have become available and shots have gone into arms. We hope also that our twelve issues of the Gwangju News that we have provided this year have added a ray of light, a bit of brightness, to your 2021.
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Photo of the Month
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
December 2021
CULTURE & ARTS
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By William Urbanski
Walking Trail Apparently, Dong-gu is one of the healthiest areas in all of Korea. With a beautiful and well-used walking trail like this, it is no wonder.
The Author
William Urbanski is the managing editor of the Gwangju News and can eat spicy food. @will_il_gatto
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Contents
ISSUE 238, DECEMBER 2021
NEWS 01. From the Editor 04. Gwangju City News FEATURES 06. I’m Not a Grinch: Odd Songs for Those of Us Who Need a Little More (or Less?) Christmas Cheer 08. 2021 Online Human Rights Education Training Program for Sustainable and Inclusive Communities 12. People in the Arts: Choi Soon-im – Borderless Traveler in the Arts 16. Kudos to the Nation’s Unsung Heroes: Fighters of the Flames 18. Blast from the Past: Jang Bo-go and the Rise and Fall of Unified Silla TRAVEL 20. Lost in Honam: Anticommunism and Counterespionage in the Middle of Nowhere COMMUNITY 24. Opinion: COVID-19 Confusion– The Public Mis-understanding of Science 26. Opinion: Luxury Fruit Can Go Suck a Lemon 28. Environment: Eating Plant-Based – Adaptable Bean Burger Recipe 31. Environment: Eating Plant-Based – Korean-Spiced Falafel Recipe TEACHING & LEARNING 35. Everyday Korean: Episode 48 – "2022년에 뭐 하고 싶어요?” What do you want to do in the year 2022? 36. How to Study Chinese Characters 38. Expat Living: Fun & Free – Creating Multilinguals at the GIC Korean–Chinese Language Exchange
CULTURE & ARTS 02. Photo of the Month 44. Photo Essay: The Mungyeong-saejae Open Set – Feel the Sensation of Historical Korean Dramas 46. Book Review: How Starbucks Saved My Life by Michael Gates Gill 48. Gwangju Writes: Tale of the Mighty Four 50. GFN Radio: Radio Is My Life! 54. Alan and Me: Episode 6 – Irish Potato 56. Crossword Puzzle
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December 2021
52. GFN Radio: Top of The Drop
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
40. Language Teaching: Curriculum-Building for Student Workshops
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Gwangju City News From the Gwangju Metropolitan City website (http://gwangju.go.kr)
MONTHLY NEWS
Two Buildings Selected for Building-Integrated Photovoltaic System Project Gwangju City Hall has made a final selection of two private buildings for the building-integrated solar power distribution pilot project: the Sunkwang Co. Ltd. building in the Pyeongdong Industrial Complex in Gwangsangu and the Yeonsu Bathhouse building in Daein-dong in Dong-gu. City Hall will provide subsidies of up to 100 million won per building.
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
December 2021
The Building-Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) system pilot project is promoted by Gwangju City to realize the “2045 Energy Independent City” goal. BIPV is a method that considers the design of the building and integrates photovoltaics with the building, rather than adding solar panels to the building. It is a project that can reduce construction costs by using solar panels as exterior materials for the buildings, as well as reduce electricity costs through electricity generation. The Sunkwang building and the Yeonsu Bathhouse building selected for the pilot project can be remodeled and installed with an 18-kilowatt solar system to beautify the exterior of the buildings and reduce electricity bills through power generation. According to the results of the Energy Policy Support Deliberation Committee, the outer walls of the two buildings face south, with good sunlight, saving about 1.5 million won each per year, compared to their present electricity production, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to the work of 750 pine trees.
Next year, private business operators who plan to build new establishments or remodel existing properties may participate in a building-integrated photovoltaic contest for greenhouse gas reduction and energy independence promoted by Gwangju City Hall. Hwang Yoon-gil, head of the city’s energy industry division, stated, “We will do our best to serve as a driving force for new and renewable energy supply projects that can be continuously promoted with the participation of many citizens.” OVERVIEW OF THE 2022 BUILDING-INTEGRATED SOLAR POWER COMPETITION PROJECT - Official Name: Building-Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) Private Sector Pilot Project - Project Period: Until December 2022 - Project size: Two locations in the 18-kilowatt category - Project cost: 288 million won (two building subsidies of 100 million won each, 88 million self-contribution)
In the past, solar power systems were mostly installed on rooftops because the solar panels were difficult to use otherwise due to opacity, material-specific colors, and low aesthetics, but now solar panels of various sizes and types, such as for roofs, outer walls, and windows, have been developed and put into use.
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Gwangju Trauma Center Links with Truth and Reconciliation Commission
Gwangju Dong-gu (East District) News
The Gwangju Trauma Center announced that it has signed a business agreement for counseling support for victims of state violence with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The signing ceremony was held in Seoul in the presence of Yoon Jin-sang (윤진상), director of the Trauma Center, and Jeong Geun-sik (정근식), chairman of the Truth and Reconciliation Committee. Under the agreement, the two organizations plan to cooperate to provide psychological counseling and rehabilitation services to those who were traumatized by state violence, including applicants and witnesses who participated in the truth-finding processes. The Gwangju Trauma Center, established in 2012, is the first established national traumahealing institution in Korea and provides psychological counseling for victims of national violence, including the May 18 Democratization Movement, and healing and rehabilitation programs to alleviate psychological and physical sequelae (after-effects).
Dong-gu District Initiates “Dong-gu Bookstore Tour”
Kim Jung-min, head of the city’s Peace Foundation Development Division, stated, “Through this agreement, it is possible to provide psychological counseling, healing, and rehabilitation services to those involved in the investigation of the truth. As the bill to establish the National Violence Trauma Healing Center has passed the plenary session, we will now work harder to push ahead with the work.”
The Dong-gu Bookstore Tour map is divided into three recommended courses: the Asia Culture Center and Chungjang-ro area, the Jisan-dong and Dongmyeongdong area, and the Gyerim-dong second-hand bookstore street. The tour aims to provide information on local book cafes, book culture spaces, and operating hours, as well as stamp maps for citizens to freely enjoy the experience.
December 2021
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DONG-GU BOOKSTORE TOUR DETAILS Tour Period: November–December 2021 Recommended Courses Course 1: Asia Cultural Center and Chungjang-ro area Course 2: Jisan-dong and Dongmyeong-dong Bookstore Street Course 3: Old Bookstore Street in Gyerim-dong Participation Benefits: Those who get five stamps on a book map distributed at participating locations for the Dong-gu Bookstore Tour (19 locations), will receive souvenirs, which will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis (i.e., up to 300 people by the end of December). Inquiries: Dong-gu Humanities Urban Policy Division (062) 608-2173
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
Translated by Melline Galani.
The Dong-gu district is supporting small local bookstores by operating a stamp tour, called the “Dong-gu Bookstore Tour,” to introduce local bookstores, book cafes, and book culture spaces (20 locations in total) in order to revitalize local bookstores.
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I’m Not a Grinch Odd Songs for Those of Us Who Need a Little More (or Less?) Christmas Cheer
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
December 2021
FEATURE
By Madeline Miller
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I
am not a grinch; I am just not a festive person. While living in Korea, I typically made a point to go home for Christmas every year, so I was never the one really “responsible” for Christmas. But, thanks to COVID-19, 2020 was my first Christmas away from home. It turned out to be the most festive one I had ever had, though my Uzbek (and Muslim) boyfriend had never celebrated the holiday before. While I still missed my family, I think my heart may have grown two sizes, like it or not. Buying decorations, having an open house with friends, and exchanging gifts with him with his child-like excitement were actually far better than I had expected. One important component of the grinch “teaching Christmas” last year was the music. Not particularly enjoying carols myself, I had a hard time finding some to share with my boyfriend that did not sound either too sappy, overplayed, or rape-y – ones that I “approve” of, if you will. Our original playlist, at his request, contained the classics “Jingle Bell Rock” by Bobby Helms, Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas is You,” and Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.” He had already heard these songs, thanks to the movie Home Alone, so he was able to sing along pretty quickly. But this was a short list and certainly got very old very quickly. You can only listen to the same three songs so many times before going crazy. So, I took things into my own hands and started pulling up songs that, for me, a Christmas newb, and him, a non-native English speaker, were a bit more challenging to both understand and sing along to, but that provided a much-needed
reprieve from our “short list.” Faster beat, more culturally entrenched, and containing tongue-twisters for pronunciation all made them more challenging for him and more entertaining for me to let him guess what certain lyrics were. As a true Californian, I never resonated well with any songs that focus on “white Christmas” or “snowy ground.” Even “chestnuts roasting on an open fire” has little draw for me, since we only have a fire in the fireplace maybe a few times a year, if that. Instead, Dominic Balli’s “Christmas in Cali” hits home. The native Californian starts off by teasing those who have to suffer “the snow fairy,” and insists that he would rather be “where it’s 79” (degrees Fahrenheit) and “where all we got is sun and sand.” My boyfriend certainly turned up his nose at these lyrics; his conception of Christmas has been that Home Alone standard. Large, boisterous family with lots of food and snow up to your elbows are prerequisites for Santa dropping down the chimney in his mind. Granted, Northern California is a different ball game, but here in the suburbs of Los Angeles, the daytime temperature rarely touches the 50s, even in the “depths” of what we pretend is winter. When I was a kid, we would drive a few hours into the San Bernardino mountains to have a “snow day,” but I had never really lived the struggle of grey slush in the gutter splashing up to smother you with each passing car until the winter of 2015, when I moved to Gwangju. As we approach Christmas 2021, now that I am back in my hometown, I am already missing the crispness of fall and feeling a bit
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7 confused when I get dressed in the morning, not needing these layers and layers of warmth. Just a T-shirt will do, apparently. As Balli says, “I know it’s frosty there, and the streets are white… You’ve got your fur coats on,” but for me, I will take my “Christmas in Cali this year.”
“Americans try not to bring politics or religion into dinner conversation, and that we have to bite our tongue around family members at times; otherwise, this song may become an unfortunate reality.” Again, a remnant of being a Californian, the next song the boyfriend and I landed on was “Feliz Navidad.” Neither of us speaking Spanish nor being Christian, it is an odd agreement, but we usually listen to a lot of international music anyways, from Sharukh Khan’s “Chamak Challo” to “Cheri Cheri Lady” by Modern Talking, so the blend of languages is not a problem. The lyrics of “Feliz Navidad” are simple and repetitive, the mood is fun, it is easy to dance to, and it is a Christmas song to its core. You cannot go wrong with the very direct “I wanna wish you a merry Christmas, from the bottom of my heart.” Do not knock it till you try it. We put up our stockings (the largest pair of socks we could find in the house – I did not want to buy the kind I could not wear later… Save the planet, right?) and listened to this. Very festive for a grinch.
boyfriend was appalled that this could happen: “Aren’t holidays supposed to be happy? Why would this be such a common thing that they’d sing about? Why would you celebrate this?” I explained that, generally, Americans try not to bring politics or religion into dinner conversation, and that we have to bite our tongue around family members at times; otherwise, this song may become an unfortunate reality. That said, the realism of it appealed to me. With the daunting fact that this may become his reality, thinking of marrying into a totally different religion and culture, he eventually ceded to my choice for our Christmas playlist. The tempo – and urgency – definitely brings out the “productive, clean the house” vibe, so it helped whip the house into shape for the three guests COVID-19 restrictions would allow at one time (we may or may not have snuck an extra in). All in all, my boyfriend’s first Christmas, and my first one away from home, was memorable. Songs hold a certain power over emotion and memory, and these songs will always be associated with my first real white Christmas. Now I am not sure I would ever choose “Christmas in Cali” over “Jingle Bell Rock,” but my boyfriend’s excitement over holiday cheer made my all-too-small heart grow just a little last year.
The Author
After living in Gwangju for six years, Maddy Miller has recently repatriated to the U.S. in an attempt to “be an adult,” whatever that means. She loves books, learning languages, and good coffee. Christmas, somewhat less so. @majmiller123
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
Lastly, the Ramones’ “Merry Christmas (I Don’t Want to Fight Tonight)” made the cut. Late one night, I had to find some songs that would not drive me up the wall and make my insides crawl. After deep-diving through YouTube and translating the lyrics for him, my
Maddy's Song Recommendations
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Joey Ramones’ “Merry Christmas (I Don’t Want to Fight Tonight)”
December 2021
Dominic Balli’s “Christmas in Cali” “Feliz Navidad”
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A Human Rights Education Program By Jana Milosavljevic
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
December 2021
FEATURE
2021 Online Human Rights Education Training Program for Sustainable and Inclusive Communities
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▲ Online lecture on Gender Equality as one of the Human Rights Issues by lecturer Olga Bezbozhna, Senior Programme Officer of the Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law. ◀ Facing page: Saying final goodbyes at the online closing ceremony on November 3.
G
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Korea’s historical circumstances that sprung from the May 18 Democratic Movement in Gwangju provided a milestone for Korean democracy and influenced the enhancement of democracy across other Asian countries as well. Carrying on the legacy that was conceived in May 1980, the Human Rights City of Gwangju is actively carrying out its role in protecting and promoting human rights in many different ways, one of which is the aforementioned Human Rights Education Center, which opened last year following an initiative from Gwangju City’s mayor, and reflecting on the UN High Commissioner’s willingness to cooperate on human rights education and training, as stated in the UN’s General Assembly Human Rights Council 2012 Report of the Advisory Committee.1 Consequently, emphasizing the importance of human rights education for local government officials, Gwangju City, together with the GIC, proposed this human rights educational training program to KOICA with the aim of spreading the experience of Gwangju as a human rights city and sharing its values in developing sustainable and inclusive communities. For this specific project, the GIC partnered with the Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law (RWI), United Cities and Local
December 2021
KOICA operates under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and aims to fight global poverty and support sustainable socio-economic development in developing countries. Through the sharing of development experiences and know-how with its partner countries, Korea at the same time is strengthening friendly relations with those countries. The KOICA Fellowship Program (CIAT) is one such example. CIAT
stands for “Capacity Improvement and Advancement for Tomorrow,” meaning developing an individual’s capacity for a better future, and moreover the advancement of the recipient country’s organizations and policies. Or put simply, reflecting its acronym that sounds like “seed” (ssiat) in Korean, CIAT hopes to spread seeds of hope across partner countries.
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
wangju Metropolitan City, represented through the Gwangju International Center (GIC), is participating in the KOICA (Korea International Cooperation Agency) Global Fellowship Program by running a human resources development training program entitled “Human Rights Education Training Program for Sustainable and Inclusive Communities.” As one of the projects of the Gwangju International Human Rights Education Center, the training program opened for the first time this year and was successfully conducted online with trainees from Kenya from October 25 to November 3.
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10 Governments (UCLG), and the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to deliver 10 days of online training, human rights activities, and workshops prepared for a total of 12 officials from the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) and the Judiciary through a wide variety of online lectures by renowned lecturers from the abovementioned institutions.
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
December 2021
The main goal of the program was set to elevate the human rights administration in Kenya through the process of creating and realizing a solid action plan. The “action plan” is a specific plan created by trainees that aims to provide alternatives and solutions to the issues and problems trainees themselves identified at the beginning of the program. The trainees worked together in small groups to establish their action plans through a number of online Action Plan Workshops, where they were guided by experts in the field. Apart from the lectures and workshops, online “Human Rights Activities,” such as a discussion on Han Kang’s novel Human Acts and a screening of the movie May 18, were also organized to engage trainees in understanding the past and present of Gwangju through various media.
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At the closing ceremony, several trainees shared with the GIC their thoughts and impressions about the training program. Mr. Ali Mohamud Adan, senior human rights officer from the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights said that he believes he has gained a lot of knowledge on human rights issues outside of Kenya and Africa. He also noted that hearing about various case studies and best practices from all around the world inspired him to, going forward, try to implement some of them in his day-to-day work. From top: ◀ The curriculum of the 2021 Online Human Rights Education Training Program for Sustainable and Inclusive Communities. ◀ Online lecture “Overview of UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs)” by Therese Bjork, Human Rights Officer from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. ◀ One of six Action Plan Workshops with trainees and the facilitators.
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11 Ms. Judicaster Nthambi Nthuku, principal magistrate from the Judiciary, also mentioned that she has acquired a lot of knowledge on human rights thanks to the program. Specifically, she clarified that she has developed an interest in looking at county governments’2 integrated development plans to see what they are doing to enforce and implement human rights in Kenya. Her colleague, a senior principal magistrate in the Judiciary, Ms. Mildred Natecho Munyekenye, also added that the program has been an eye-opening experience when it comes to issues connected to human rights, and mentioned that she herself feels more obliged to protect human rights in her daily work. She also expressed gaining a new interest in Gwangju as a human rights city. Mr. Samson Oduor Omondi, senior human rights officer from the KNCHR, shared that the course was a good opportunity to look at the struggles that nations, cities, and individuals have been through when building a human rights city culture. He expressed that the program was a very good opportunity to blend theory and practice. Finally, a number of trainees also pointed out to what extent their perceptions and ideas about Gwangju and South Korea in general have changed as a result of the program through comments such as, “At first, I thought it was a country full of issues like testing of missiles, but now I know they have a human rights city, which I wish to visit in the near future,” and “Their struggle for democracy and human rights has made me see them as a people that can lead in changing the world.”
Footnotes 1 http://www.whrcf.org/bbs/board.php?bo_table=GeneralData_ eng&wr_id=2&sca=Human+Rights+Archive 2 Local governments are referred to as “county governments” in Kenya.
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The Author
Jana was born and raised in Serbia. She currently lives and works in Gwangju as one of the GIC coordinators. She loves exploring new places, learning about new cultures, and meeting new people. If you are up for a chat, she can talk to you in Serbian, English, Korean, Japanese, or German. @janemiya
December 2021
Websites http://www.koica.go.kr/koica_en/3441/subview.do (KOICA CIAT) http://www.inhec.org/index_e.php (Human Rights Education Center) https://rwi.lu.se/ (RWI) https://www.uclg.org/ (UCLG) https://www.ohchr.org/ (OHCHR)
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
The trainees’ action plan initiatives are expected to be followed up on during the next year, and the best action plan will have the opportunity to receive further support from KOICA, while the Human Rights Education Training Program for Sustainable and Inclusive Communities will be expecting new trainees from Kenya in the year 2022.
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12 People in the Arts
FEATURE
Choi Soon-im
Borderless Traveler in the Arts By Kang Jennis Hyun-suk
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
December 2021
H
ave you heard of the Montmartre hill of Gwangju? This is where about 20 artists’ studios and several art galleries are located in a small neighborhood in Yangnim-dong. Some people call this Yangnim locale the Montmartre of Gwangju. Walking up this hill in Yangnim-dong, you might see a cat stretching its back on a fence. The cat’s name is Yangyang, and it is made of terracotta. There is a small café near Yangyang, and in front of the café, there are a couple of statues. The small girl statue is crouching under some raindrops, and the large cat statue is sitting slightly away from her, stretching his big paw over the girl’s head to protect her from the falling raindrops. They look like cartoon characters that have jumped out of their screen. It was fun to see these two statues, and they made me wonder who created these striking works of art. I opened the café door and walked in. The inside looked more like a small exhibition hall than a café. The artist was not at the café, as she was at an exhibition that she was holding in another city. I could not meet her that day, but I enjoyed admiring her fantastic works over a cup of coffee. On the wall, there were drawings, ink paintings, oil paintings, watercolor paintings, and acrylic
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works. Below them were three-dimensional terracotta and ceramic artworks appearing as if they had jumped out from the drawings on the wall. I was surprised that this variety of artworks was made by a single artist. This single artist was Choi Soon-im, and soon after my first café visit, I was able to meet her at her gallery-cafe that serves as a window into artistic empathy, conveying warmth to all who visit this cozy café in the Yangnim art village. She was happy to sit for this interview. Jennis: Thank you for making time for this interview. Actually, I saw your artworks in the art polygon on the sacred tree hill in Yangnim-dong. I remember the drawing of a woman on the torn page of a book. And there was a red star-like object shining on her chest. Choi Soon-im: Oh, you came to the exhibition. The title of the book was The Old Man and the Sea. I took the book with me when I went to the hospital to have breast cancer surgery. I pondered on the old man fulfilling his calling as a fisherman, though all that he returned with for all his effort was the huge marlin’s skeleton. Maybe I thought I needed the courage of the old man fighting the marlin all alone on a lonely sea. In the hospital, I tore a page out
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▲ Artist Lee Min
13 of the book and drew myself with no hair because of the chemotherapy. Jennis: The red on the chest looked like a shining star to me. I think artists’ pain or difficulties bring maturity to their hearts. How did you get into the field of art? Choi Soon-im: I spent my childhood in Yangnim-dong. I went to elementary and middle school in Yangnimdong, and I spent my Sundays at a church in Yangnimdong that was built by missionaries. At church, I made backgrounds for the Christmas plays every year. Having loved drawing and making artistic things since childhood, I naturally majored in art in college. Jennis: Your works are fantastic and fairytale-like, so I am sure that children would like your works, too. Where do you think the inspiration for your works originated from? Choi Soon-im: I love children. I liked spending time with them at Sunday school in church. I majored in art, but I thought what I really wanted to do was be with little kids. So, I asked my professor to write a recommendation for me to work at a kindergarten. I think my works come from the innocence of the children that I have met over the years. Jennis: Wow, the drive to decide and implement what you wanted to do even before graduating from college is amazing. I think it is very rare for someone who majored in art to teach kids in kindergarten. How was your experience as a kindergarten teacher? Choi Soon-im: At first, I taught only six-year-olds, but kids from different age groups also wanted to take my art classes, so I held after-school classes. As time passed, I opened my own art academy for kids, and I used almost
everything I learned in college to teach the children in my various art classes. It gave me a lot of joy; I loved to teach the six-year-olds’ class, as they were not yet trapped into a standard way of thinking. Jennis: I heard that playing with clay helps develop muscles in the hands and neural networks in the brain. It seems that you were so busy with teaching that you must not have had time for your own creative activities after graduating from college. When did you start creating your own artworks? Choi Soon-im: Actually, I have never been away from having clay in my hands. Since I was in college, I have been working in my own space on the balcony of my apartment. I studied more about diverse art techniques to teach children, and I was touched by the children’s sparkling ideas. However, as I was in my late 30s, I felt that I had no serious works as an artist. I wanted to hold an exhibition to confirm that I was still devoted to the arts. So, I had my first individual exhibition ten years ago. Jennis: Was it after that exhibition that you decided to go to graduate school? Choi Soon-im: Since 2010, I have been working with my own kiln and personally doing research on how the soil changes in the kiln with various glazes. Some people like my artworks, but others have different opinions. Some said that my works were childish, but I asked myself, “Why do I like and make these works that some might think seem childish?” I wanted to have an objective view of my works, so I decided to go to graduate school. I studied the meaning of childhood innocence. The more I read and studied, the more I realized that childhood innocence is a deep concept. The philosopher Nietzsche also comforted me with his words that we should try
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December 2021 2021 December
A Traveler on Planet Cactus, by Choi Soon-im.
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14 to be a pure, childlike person. Fu r t h e r m o r e , by doing art, I began to prove my existence as an artist, and this helped me overcome the difficulties in my life.
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December 2021
Jennis: I heard you had an exhibition in Japan. How did that come about? Choi Soonim: When the Gwangju ▲ Traveler Aspirations, acrylic on canvas by Museum of Art Choi Soon-im. was recruiting artists for a residency in Japan, I applied for it with the Japanese language-learning component. I was accepted and through the residency, I was able to work in both Yokohama and Sapporo. The exhibition was part of the residency. Jennis: Do you have any memorable episodes from your residency in Japan that you would like to relate? Choi Soon-im: It was 2017 when I went to Japan. I worked in Sapporo at the beginning of that year and later stayed in Yokohama. It was a good experience to experiment in my work using the materials available in Japan. The Japanese audience showed favorable interest in my cat works. Perhaps it was because the Japanese are used to living with cats in the house. An interesting episode is that my husband came to see me on a bike. He traveled on his bike from Gwangju to Busan, loaded it on a ferry, and then rode across Japan from the port to Yokohama, where I was. It took him six days. He said that he had come for me to ride on the back seat. Jennis: Your husband appears to be a romanticist. That was really touching. Choi Soon-im: I call him a “big cat.” Cats do not show their warm feelings as apparently as dogs do. But like the statue you saw, the cat holds out his arm to keep the girl from getting wet when it rains. Jennis: That is really nice. Is there a special reason you decided to open a studio and exhibition space in Yangnim-dong? Choi Soon-im: As I was at the residency studio in Japan
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and focused on my work day and night, my body seemed to have been under a certain amount of strain. So, when I came back to Korea, I took time to take care of myself. However, some parents asked me to give their children an art class just once a week, so I made a small space in Yangnim-dong for that. We played with clay, drew, or went to nearby art museums every Saturday. Jennis: I am sure that the students couldn't help but be happy in your art classes. Your artworks are so interesting. How do you come up with such fresh ideas? Choi Soon-im: I often get surprised when I draw with my students. In an art class, a boy drew a very big-mouthed crocodile with a very short tail. His sister asked him why the crocodile looked like this, and the boy said, “This crocodile is a very angry one.” If I were to be asked what I have gained throughout my life, I think I would have to say it is the sensitivity to communicate with children. To be honest, I think that I am less adapted to socializing in adult society. Jennis: Your works are quite diverse. With only your flat works, you draw with various materials such as oil paints, watercolors, acrylics, pencils, and ink. And for your t h re e - d i m e n s i on a l artworks, you use soil, iron, stone, and FRP (fiber-reinforced plastic) as materials. It seems that your use ▲ Travelers, by Choi Soon-im. of materials knows no borders. I think it would be hard to find another artist who works with such a variety of materials. You are like a singer who has a wide vocal range and performs with a diverse array of musical instruments such as the cello, piano, and drums. Choi Soon-im: Thanks. Pablo Picasso said this: “I draw what I think, not what I see.” For us, Picasso is well known as a painter, but he did not get trapped with only one way to express his thoughts. Not many people know that he made pottery and embodied his thoughts that way, too. As a sculptor, I am curious about various materials and not afraid to use new ones. Jennis: At first, I wondered what I should call you, a sculptor or a painter. Some people call you a ceramic sculptor. What exactly is that?
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15 Choi Soon-im: A ceramic sculptor might be a little unfamiliar to many people. In order to understand what ceramic sculptures are, you need to understand the plastic arts first. The plastic arts are art forms that involve physical manipulation of a plastic medium by molding or modeling them into things such as sculptures or ceramics. It is commonly referred to as sculpture, or a three-dimensional work made of various materials. To make such sculptures, you first apply plaster to the figure made of clay. Be sure to apply soap between the sections of plaster to make it easier to separate after the plaster dries. When the plaster is dry, carefully remove the plaster sections along the lines of soap that you applied earlier. Dig out all the clay inside the plaster sections. After wiping the inside of the plaster cleanly, pour the sculpture material, such as bronze or FRP, into the plaster. When the material has hardened, break off the plaster mold and gloss or color the sculpture. These are the basics of how to make a sculpture. Clay has been used almost totally in the process of making sculptures, but I wanted to use clay as the completed work itself. So, I began to make terracotta and ceramic sculptures using the coiling technique. The “coiling” technique uses clay and forms it into long, round coils that are stacked.
IN CLOSING… While listening to the explanation of the procedure for sculpting from artist Choi Soon-im, I thought that the process of sculpting was much like life itself: A creature can come out into this world only after breaking through the hard outer shell. Photographs courtesy of Choi Soon-im.
The Interviewer
Kang Jennis Hyunsuk has been living in Gwangju all her life. She has painted as a hobby for almost a decade, and she has learned that there are so many wonderful artists in the Gwangju area. As a freelance interpreter, she would like to introduce the English-speaking world to the diverse sphere of Korean art. Her goal is to interview 100 artists!
December 2021
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during the stacking process. For the last question, what are your plans for the future? Choi Soon-im: From December 1–12, there is an exhibition at the Gwangsan-gu Sochon Art Factory. The title of the exhibition is “Myoyeon” (묘연). It refers to a loving relationship with a cat. I have been working on my “Traveler” series in different ways for quite some time, and now I am thinking of another journey – travels with a stray cat, and me living with her.
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▲ Travelers on Blue Pottery, acrylic on canvas by Choi Soon-im.
Je n n i s : You should have threedimensional vision in order to create figures using your stacking process. Since the inside is empty, the sculpture c o u l d collapse if it is not balanced
▲ I’ll Be with You in the production process with Choi Soon-im.
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16
FEATURE
Kudos to the Nation’s Unsung Heroes Fighters of the Flames
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December 2021
By Chloe Chan
I
n June of 2021, a heartbreaking tragedy occurred at the Coupang warehouse in Incheon. A senior firefighter, Kim Dong-shik, was trapped by a fierce blaze, and his severely burnt body was later discovered in the basement. At that time, Kim was on duty rescuing people who were trapped in the building. He later failed to escape, after ensuring that everyone had been safely evacuated. This incident is certainly disheartening. Somehow it reminds me of those tear-jerking scenes from the U.S. television series 9-1-1, and the verses from the widely known “Fireman’s Prayer”: “Whenever flames may rage, give me the strength to save some life… if according to your will, I have to lose my life, please bless with your protecting hand, my children and my wife.” Firefighters are burdened with obligations that are far beyond extinguishing fires. It is indeed a serious commitment, and a one-way track that forbids U-turns.
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Due to their stability in nature, public servant (공무원) jobs are normally considered some of the most popular occupations amongst South Koreans. However, compared to the other professions that fall into this job category, firefighters might not receive as much praise, though we all recognize the potential danger of their work. On top of that, the manpower shortage experienced by many fire stations in different regions leads to inevitable long working hours. In certain circumstances, fire stations are required to temporarily dispatch staff to other regions for emergency support. A recent example is the accident where a building collapsed in Gwangju on June 9. A building in the Namgu area suddenly collapsed during demolition, leaving nine people confirmed dead and eight others badly injured. Given the severity of this case, firefighters were mobilized from other fire stations across Jeollanam-do to assist local Gwangju fire stations in the search for trapped
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17 passengers in the buried bus where the collapse occurred. Metropolitan cities with larger populations like Gwangju are likely to possess better supplies and more advanced equipment than the sparsely populated regions around the city. This advantage undeniably enhances the efficiency of work in more hectic cities, but the challenges that Korean firefighters face in general are still very much unforeseen, and often cross-regional. In Korea, each fire station normally divides firefighters into three teams. The crews are required to work in rotating shifts that are changed on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. For instance, firefighters may have a week of day shifts, and later have two weeks of night shifts – the schedule may vary depending on the region. While one is doing an “on-duty” shift, their working hours can possibly reach ten hours a day or more. Now we might wonder what exactly the main duties of a firefighter are that would take up such long working hours. The public probably assumes that dramatic accidents, catastrophes, and other emergency situations requiring severe fires to be extinguished are not likely to happen frequently in reality; however, the duties of a firefighter are indeed way more diverse than many of us might imagine. The duties of firefighters are mainly classified into “fire” (화재), “rescue” (구조), and “first-aid” (구급). Among these, extinguishing fires is simply part of the duties within the “fire” classification. During the past five years, 16 fires have occurred in traditional markets in Gwangju and Jeollanam-do, involving over 1.8 billion won in property damage.1
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Source 1 Kang, E. H. (2021, October 14). 광주전남 전통시장 화재공제 미가입률 80% [Gwangju-Jeonnam traditional market nosubscription rate for fire deductions 80%]. Gwangju CMB News. http://www.cmbkj.co.kr/ab-991-22849
The Author
Originally from Hong Kong, Chloe Chan has just completed her master’s degree in NGOs at Chonnam National University. She is currently serving several NGOs and MPOs as a full-time freelancer and volunteer. @hoi0305
December 2021
As for the “first-aid” tasks done by firefighters, they are broadly known as the basic 119 services for ambulances and fire brigades to deliver. In emergency situations, firefighters as first-aid providers administer immediate treatment such as CPR, as well as temporary care.
A special thanks goes to Mr. Seong for providing firsthand information. Images sourced from the National Fire Agency.
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From saving people in danger and wild animals that are trapped, to relatively “minor” but very essential services such as “beehive removal,” these are all considered the most common “rescue” tasks. This summer, the average number of beehive removals reached approximately five cases per day in the rural areas of Jeollanam-do. Due to the fact that bee venom can cause life-threatening reactions and hives can cause serious structural damage to property, officials have suggested people report them immediately once they discover a beehive around the house so that the threat can be removed. As trivial as it might seem, removing a bee colony is, on the contrary, a specialized procedure that we should always leave to full-geared and well-trained professionals.
Rather than mere “flame fighters,” firefighters are more akin to “go-to guys” who are always reliable to tackle those unexpected troubles in our daily lives. This is indeed making the firefighter an even nobler “people’s hero” whose duties demand a rational, wholehearted devotion instead of a baseless, irrational savior fantasy. However, only since April 1 of this year have firefighters finally become “state officials” (국가직공무원) as police officers are. Taking into account that there are many anonymous heroes like Kim Dong-shik who are working day after day at their highly skilled profession to serve the community, firefighters in Korea certainly deserve much more recognition than they are ever likely to get. After all, in matters of life and death, while others turn away, they are always the ones who choose to stay.
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18 Blast from the Past
Jang Bo-go and the Rise and Fall of Unified Silla blast from the past
This month’s Blast from the Past takes us deep into Korean history almost to the time “when tigers smoked pipes” (호랑이 담배 피던 시절), back past the Joseon Dynasty, past the Goryeo Dynasty, past the Later Three Kingdoms era, and back to the Unified Silla period. Jang Bo-go was the naval officer protecting the coastline and waters of the Jeolla region. This article is from a two-part series penned by Won Hea-ran, “Jang Bo Go and the Sea Kingdom” and “Zen Buddhism in Unified Silla,” which appeared in the June 2015 and July 2015 issues, respectively, of the Gwangju News. — Ed.
JANG BO-GO, THE COMMONER COMMANDER In ancient times, it was very unlikely for a commoner to obtain the power and status of a general. Jang Bo-go went much further than that. As a general, he eliminated Chinese pirates attacking Korea’s coast and made his country prosperous through active trade. Ultimately, Jang rose to be an important political figure in the Unified Silla period.
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December 2021
Jang was born in the late 700s AD. It was about a century after Silla had won its fight with rivaling states and finally unified the peninsula. Unified Silla, however, still had many problems. Chinese pirates were plundering coastline villages and trade ships. They captured the people of Silla and sold them as slaves in Tang China. Jang was born in a hard time to be alive.
▲ Portrait of the “Emperor of the Sea,” Jang Bo-go. (Portrait of Jang Bogo, https://namu.wiki/w/장보고 is licensed under Creative Commons 2.0 Korea (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 KR)).
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Jang originally did not have a given name. (Historical records however do record his given name variably as Gung-bok or Gung-pa.) Although there is not much known about his family or birth, Jang must have been from a commoner family because only noblemen could possess given names. Historians assume that he gave himself the given name Bo-go when he moved to live in Tang China for a few years. Because everyone in China had a given name, it would have been easier for him to work in China with a given name. During his stay, Jang proved his talent as an able soldier and commander. He worked as a military officer in a coastal region of China called Seoju and reached the status of high commander when he was still in his 30s.
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19 Jang Bo-go was a very righteous man. While working as an officer in China, he witnessed how many Silla slaves were captured and sold in Tang China. He returned to Silla in an outrage. In 836 A.D., Jang met with King Heung-deok of Silla and created a military base named Cheonghae-jin. The base was located at Wando, a southwestern island and Jang’s birthplace. From this naval base, Jang completely eliminated the pirates from the seas in just a couple of years and created safe trade routes for Silla merchants. It was the beginning of a great “sea kingdom,” as General Jang had not only eliminated pirates, but also united Silla merchants to work together. He and the Silla merchants dominated trade among Tang China, Unified Silla, and Heian Japan. Thanks to Jang’s efforts, Unified Silla became prosperous and influential, enough to be recognized as a major power in the region. ZEN BUDDHISM IN UNIFIED SILLA The events surrounding Jang Bo-go’s death remain unclear, but it appears that he was assassinated by an emissary of the Silla court dispatched to meet Jang at his Cheonghae-jin base. The king and/or the Silla aristocracy were disgruntled with Jang’s attempts to have his daughter marry into Silla royalty. After Jang’s assassination (846 A.D.), Unified Silla gradually lost power. Political chaos and corruption led to local rebellions. The central government became so powerless that local nobles started to build their own military forces and rule their individual regions without any interference from the central government. Local rulers who gained freedom from interference in this manner gradually spread their influence over the spiritual realm of ideology as well. This led to the introduction of Zen Buddhism.
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In contrast, Zen Buddhism put emphasis on spiritual fulfillment by performance. Zen Buddhists believed anyone could be a Buddha with absolutely no knowledge of the scriptures if they performed asceticism and perfectly understood the nature of Buddhism. While non-Zen Buddhists claimed that “The king is the Buddha and the country is the Pure Land of Buddhism,” Zen Buddhists said, “I (who found enlightenment) am the Buddha and where I stand is the Pure Land of Buddhism.” While previous non-Zen Buddhism gave the central government the right to rule, Zen Buddhism supported local families, providing self-confidence that they themselves could rise under the idea that “Buddha = power.” Zen Buddhism was most influential in the Jeolla region. Out of the nine most famous Zen temples, the Jeolla region had four of them in the late Unified Silla period. This was because the monks who studied abroad in southern China usually returned to the southwestern coast of Korea. The support of local nobles such as Wang Geon also helped Zen Buddhism to spread in the Jeolla region. Zen Buddhism was more than simple religion. The public saw hope; the local families saw ambition; but the central dynasty and nobles saw Zen as a threat to their original system. Ultimately, Zen contributed to the fall of the Silla kingdom and the birth of a new dynasty, Goryeo (918– 1392 AD). Arranged by David Shaffer.
December 2021
Before the central government started to lose power, Unified Silla was mostly ruled by non-Zen Buddhism such as Hwaeom Buddhism. Non-Zen Buddhism emphasized interpretations of Buddhist scriptures and doctrine, and its various factions were named after the main scriptures that they followed. For example, Hwaeom Buddhism followed the sutras of Hwaeom, and Yeolban Buddhism followed the sutras of Daeban Yeolban as their basic scriptures. The emphasis on scriptures is conspicuous in their temples’ architecture. For instance, Hwaeom temple has Hwaeom sutras written on the sides of three floors of its tower. Because non-Zen Buddhism considered the ability to interpret difficult characters more important
than asceticism, it could only become the religion of the central government.
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“As a general, he eliminated Chinese pirates attacking Korea’s coast and made his country prosperous through active trade.”
▲ Unified Silla (668–935 AD).
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▲ Endless rows of middle-class barracks apartments stretching from Pungam-dong (foreground) to Geumho-1-dong (background).
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December 2021
TRAVEL
20 Lost in Honam
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Anticommunism and Counterespionage in the Middle of Nowhere By Isaiah Winters
“I
t’s hideous, yet I can’t look away.” This recently rang true for a few new Korean words that’ve caught my attention in rural Honam. These include terms such as 반공 (anticommunism), 방첩 (counterespionage), and my absolute favorite, 멸공 (eradication of communism). The terse, disyllabic smack of each phrase echoes the country’s more militarized past and showcases the Korean language’s knack for brevity. This edition of Lost will look into these and related terms found scattered across the countryside so that once you encounter them yourself, you similarly can’t look away.
◀ Facing page: Top: The floodlit façade of the “멸공” farmstead out in Hwasun-gun. Bottom: Many shots were clearly fired at the façade, though under unknown circumstances.
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December 2021
Speaking of dolts, my otherwise unfruitful research into this location yielded a religious sect of anticommunists that’s worth a tangent. Known as Saeil Church, adherents believe the devil in the Bible refers to communist countries such as North Korea, China, and Soviet Russia, which will invade South Korea in a ten-day war unless locals accept the church’s doctrine and receive the “king’s authority,” or something.[1] To thrust this message out into the public, a few male members of Saeil Church cheekily
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The first of these terms to catch my eye was 멸공 out in Hwasun-gun. There a little farming complex bears the phrase in large, bleached-red lettering that’s still discernable from the nearby highway. Up close, the lettered wall reveals dozens of tiny holes that add consequence to its fading message. Our very own editor-in-chief of the Gwangju News, Dr. Shaffer, recounted that the term 멸공 became prominent in the 1970s, and given the tumult of that decade, the wall’s myriad pockmarks at execution level make one hope that the site was merely used for target practice and not by any junta firing squad.
Normally, a place as rural and nondescript as this wouldn’t deserve so much analysis, but there’s one more detail that adds a grim mystique to it: floodlighting. Someone considered this site important enough to install upward-facing floodlights at the base of the pockmarked building to make it visible at night. This suggests the site has some significance, though my online trawling failed to yield any corroboration. Interestingly, this floodlit throwback also appears to have a conspicuous spelling error: The “ㅕ” letter in “멸” has a slight projection to the right that makes it easy to confuse with “ㅏ” when seen from the highway. My wife had the funniest interpretation of this: The painter was likely an illiterate dolt.
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22 stripped nude and rode through Seoul on the bed of a work truck during the colder months of 2007. The truck, emblazoned with the message “멸공 † 새일,” was later pulled over by police, who arrested the naked zealots. By the way, I explore these rabbit holes so you don’t have to. Let’s move on. In Honam, Yeonggwang-gun retains more anticommunist slogans than anywhere I’ve visited. The terms 반공 and 방첩turned up in three different areas of this sleepy, bucolic county on a single visit to Gunyusan. (A halfdozen boar also turned up as I made my way down the mountain, an unnerving experience for another article.) Consistently charmless, the slogans are usually painted on the facades of drab, utilitarian depots for agricultural goods and are always conspicuously facing the main roads. Dr. Shaffer noted that these two terms were a bit older, having emerged earlier in the 1970s. Apparently, they were easy to spot along highways in those days, with some standing a few meters high. Today the larger displays are virtually all gone due to highway expansions, so finding one would be something special.
The Saemaul Movement sought to promote communitydriven socioeconomic development in three stages: stage I (1971–1973) improve basic rural infrastructure, stage II (1974–1976) expand agricultural output, and stage III (1977–1979) “disseminate” rural communities’ newfound can-do spirit to the broader society. A few of the catchwords associated with the movement were “diligence, self-help, and cooperation.”[2] It’s not hard to see parallels with the Juche state ideology of North Korea, which promoted economic self-sufficiency, military self-reliance, and political independence. Given the ideological overlap, it begins to make sense that the collectivist slogans of the Saemaul Movement were often
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December 2021
Naturally, you may be wondering what the middle of nowhere has to do with fervent anticommunism, so now’s a good time to talk about the Saemaul Movement.
For most of the 1960s and 1970s, South Korea was ruled by military strongman Park Chung-hee, with the backing of the U.S. In those days, the two Koreas were at relative economic parity despite their opposing economic paradigms: capitalism and communism. Just as the U.S. and U.S.S.R. aimed to outperform each other in the Cold War, both Koreas sought to outdo each other, too. In the mad rush to modernize at any cost, imbalances between the South’s fast-developing cities and still-impoverished villages soon intensified. Thus, Park sought to mitigate certain urban–rural discrepancies by launching the Saemaul (or “New Village”) Movement.
▲ “Anticommunism” (반공) and “counterespionage” (방첩) are seen painted on this small garage and store in Yeonggwang-gun.
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23
on the Korea we see today. Something as dull as faded slogans on an abandoned building’s façade can conjure up so much history if we simply know what they mean. And so, when you’re in the countryside, keep your eye out for these and other slogans from yesteryear. There’s far more to them than meets the eye. Photographs by Isaiah Winters. Source [1]
Jeong, Y. (2016, June 21). 멸공 외치는 새일파 그들은 누구인가? Kportalnews. http://www.kportalnews. co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=13571
Asian Development Bank. (2012). The Saemaul Undong Movement in the Republic of Korea: Sharing Knowledge on Community-Driven Development (CDD). ADB.org. https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/publication/29881/ saemaul-undong-movement-korea.pdf
[2]
▲ An exhortation to produce and sell communally sits between the slogans of “anticommunism” (반공) and “counterespionage” (방첩) in Yeonggwang-gun.
explicitly framed as anticommunist to avoid confusion. My favorite example of this is a slogan that says, “Let’s produce and sell communally through cooperation!” This exhortation was flanked by the words 반공 and 방첩 to prevent anyone from getting the wrong idea.
The Author
Born and raised in Chino, California, Isaiah Winters is a pixel-stained wretch who loves writing about Gwangju and Honam, warts and all. He particularly likes doing unsolicited appraisals of abandoned Korean properties. You can find much of his photography on @d.p.r.kwangju.
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▲ “Anticommunism” (반공) painted above a doorway in Yeonggwanggun.
December 2021
My aim here is neither to extol nor vilify the Saemaul Movement, but rather to highlight its continued impact
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Ultimately, the Saemaul Movement was a drastic tradeoff between modernization and preservation. For example, thatched roofs which were common in rural Korea began to be replaced en masse in 1972 as part of the movement. In just six years, millions of homes had been fitted with tin, slate, or tile roofing – a huge aesthetic change to traditional housing. Similarly, traditional totem poles at village entrances, village-god shrines, and folk ceremonies were decimated during this time. On the other hand, the irrigation systems and telecommunications networks found today in rural areas largely date back to this time, while many households, now with less flammable roofing, were finally being electrified. Around this time, the Korean government also ordered coal or oil to be used for ondol heating systems rather than the traditional firewood. This mandate, in tandem with a robust reforestation effort, helped restore much the vast forests we enjoy in Korea today.[2]
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24 Opinion
COVID-19 Confusion
The Public Mis-understanding of Science By Muthukumar Elangovan
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December 2021
COMMUNITY
The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom. — Isaac Asimov
C
OVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus culprit behind the current pandemic, has so far killed around five million people and affected hundreds of millions more all over the world. The pace at which science made vaccines possible for the virus is unprecedented. Given the fact that vaccines generally take years to get approved, the first vaccine for COVID-19 took less than a year. Although this is the first time that an mRNA vaccine has been approved for human use, the mRNA vaccine technology itself was being tested for many years to prevent other viruses. Amidst the current pandemic and huge global vaccination drive, discrediting science and scientists thrives, and social media very often facilitates the spreading of false or misleading information. The public understanding of science and how it works is important in general and is particularly relevant in the context of the current pandemic. However, decades of discrediting science on a range of major issues from climate change and child vaccines to GM foods have created negative effects in the minds of the public. A major part of the mistrust of science is that the public is never involved with scientific methods and applications in solving or understanding scientific problems. For example, part of our team headed by Prof. Jun Young-soo (director of the Cell Logistics Research Center at GIST) studies how SARS-CoV-2 makes numerous tiny packets to produce copies of itself in those packets using host cellular machinery. In the lab, we make a hypothesis, and we test our hypothesis using scientific methods. Many times, our observations turn out to be contradictory to our initial hypothesis. Following this, we accept that our initial hypothesis was wrong (scientists are usually humble when they are wrong!) and test a new hypothesis based on our previous observations. If our observations
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are supportive of our hypothesis, we use different scientific methods to verify our observations before we publish our data. Hence, testing hypotheses, failures, errors, and changing methodologies are a part of the scientific process.
“Amidst the current pandemic and huge global vaccination drive, discrediting science and scientists thrives, and social media very often facilitates the spreading of false or misleading information.” Now consider this: For nearly 1,500 years, Ptolemy’s view that Earth was at the center of the universe was widely believed until Nicolaus Copernicus in 1515 proposed the model that Earth, like Venus or Saturn, circled the Sun. Though the Copernican model was closer to reality, it was still far from perfect, as he incorrectly assumed the orbits of planets were circular. In 1605, Johannes Kepler, using Tycho’s data, announced that planets moved in ellipses with the Sun at one focal point. Galileo Galilei in 1610 made critical observations that demonstrated that Copernican’s “sun-centric” model was basically correct but not the part about circular orbits of the planets. The point is that science is a never-ending process of gathering data, testing the theory, and comparing it with existing theories either to confirm or correct it. Now imagine if centuries of science about planetary motion from Ptolemy’s era to the 17th century were squeezed into one or two years – then the public would be more likely to see the errors of science rather than how it is corrected, which is exactly what is happening now with science
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25 germane to COVID-19. Science is usually provided to the public through second- or third-hand information, hence, the level of transparency and the amount of information from the current COVID-19 research pave a way to label science as dubious. Probably because this is the first time the public has been able to watch science unfold, they see the errors and changing of hypotheses in real-time, whereas before people always used to see the end products. The progress of science is built on failures, whether it is a space mission or understanding a virus, and it is the only tool in our possession to satisfy our thirst for knowledge. For example, when scientists change their stance on the importance of vaccine booster shots (or any of their previous claims), the public must realize that science now has more data that support the new claim. If society starts to understand and appreciate science, we will be more fascinated to see the intricacies of nature and the fact that we are all living on a small planet going around an average star, which itself is one of a hundred billion stars in our galaxy. What is more, we should remember that science has helped us to see even farther to appreciate the awe-inspiring fact that our galaxy is just one of two hundred billion galaxies! Science, my lad, is made up of mistakes, but they are mistakes which are useful to make, because they lead little by little to the truth. — Jules Verne
The Author
Muthukumar Elangovan is a molecular biologist at the Gwangju Insitute of Science and Technology (GIST). He’s a naturalist, loves reading non-fiction books, and writes poetry, short stories, and other topics in his blog. Email: pentomuthu@gmail.com
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December 2021
Annual Membership Fee
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The Gwangju International Center (GIC) is a non-profit 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.
2021-11-26 �� 2:47:26
26 Opinion
Luxury Fruit Can Go Suck a Lemon By William Urbanski
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December 2021
COMMUNITY
W
ith the holiday season bearing down on us like an out-of-control freight train, I feel it is my civic duty to raise awareness about one of the most blatant scams that unscrupulous sonofaguns are employing to fleece you of your hard-earned cash. This despicable racket takes place nationwide but has become ever-more prominent and brazen in our fair city and will only get worse in the coming weeks when people are under pressure to shell out the big bucks for holiday gifts. Like rabid hyenas, conmen nationwide can sense the desperation honest people feel to find suitable gifts for their friends and family and leverage this duress to target honest, hardworking consumers with perhaps one of the most ridiculous hustles the Asian continent has seen in decades: so-called “luxury fruit.” Overpriced, overpackaged boxes of luxury fruit are nothing more than a shakedown, and you should just say “no.” To be perfectly clear, “luxury fruit” is any of a wide variety of fruit that is genetically identical to “normal fruit” but has been put in a fancy box that magically triples or quadruples its fair market value. Particularly around the holidays, it is all too common to see peaches, grapes, and even the wholesome apple (the best fruit) wastefully overpackaged and sold at a price that is an affront to common sense. While it is surprising that anybody is daft enough to shell out fifty or sixty bucks for ten oranges (each of which is cradled in its own nonbiodegradable Styrofoam wrapper thingamabob that goes immediately into the garbage), it is not completely unexplainable. There are certain consumer goods that people buy simply because they are expensive: a phenomenon called conspicuous consumption. Conspicuous consumption is a performative act; one that ostensibly signals the purchaser’s social status and explains why people go into debt to buy designer handbags, and why they drop two-hundred grand on a Porsche that they barely know how to drive. But getting back to the topic at hand: If you buy expensive luxury fruit, the moment you are out of earshot, the person who sold it to you will burst out in a
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hysterical fit of laughter because you just forked over the equivalent of a week’s worth of groceries for something that literally grows on trees.
▲ As this fruit tier list clearly shows, apples are the best fruit. Unfortunately, when they are placed in a fancy box and sold for a ridiculous price, you are better off eating a durian.
Listen, I get it. When the holidays come around, it is rude to not pick up a gift for your family and friends. The problem with choosing luxury fruit as that gift is that it actually perpetuates a system that takes a nutritional staple that should be readily available for all to enjoy and turns it into some sort of exclusive product that people use to show off. When people start clamoring for luxury fruit around the holidays, it creates a domino effect. Stores carry more of it and less of the regular, delicious fruit that the average Joe Schmo would like to pick up on his way home from work. In the long term, as demand for “regular fruit” decreases, producers switch to growing and distributing less of it. Whatever the justification or social pressure to pay for expensive fruit like this is, it actually creates a lot of problems by reducing access (in the short and long term) to good-old regular fruit.
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27 like some fruit this holiday season, buy it from the true businessmen, the hardworking hustlers who could sell the shirt off your back: I am talking about the grizzled old men who sell apples out of Bongo trucks. These guys are the real deal and for twenty bucks will load you up with more apples than you can carry. Heck, if you really want, you can stop at Daiso to buy some pink ribbons to wrap them up in and tell grandpappy you paid two hundred dollars. Nobody will know the difference because after all, a “luxury apple” is the exact same thing as a regular apple.
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Photograph by William Urbanski.
The Author
William Urbanski is the managing editor of the Gwangju News and one day hopes to own his own apple orchard. sasa@will_il_gatto
December 2021
Don’t support this nonsense, and keep in mind that the stores and corporations responsible for producing these fruit gift sets do not care about you or what your alleged reasons are for convincing yourself that you need an eighty-dollar box of mangos for your sister’s husband: They just want to separate you from your money and then laugh at you. If your family and friends would really
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THE CASE FOR EATING MORE FRUIT ▲ The real heroes of the Korean fruit trade: the Bongo truck fruit men. The go-getter in this picture sold me With all the sugary snacks a huge bag of tangy, juicy, delicious apples for five thousand won. Support guys like this. and drinks that are basically everywhere you look, it is not So, when it comes to buying gifts around the holiday a bad idea to consider cutting some of that garbage out season, perhaps what is needed is for families to have of your diet and switching to something a little healthier an honest, open conversation about not tossing their and a lot more natural. Bananas, apples, chamoe, grapes, money away on wastefully packaged apples, oranges, oranges, and even the occasional slice of pineapple should pears, and mangoes that are nothing but a massive scam. be a regular part of your diet and not pawns in some twisted marketing ploy. Fruit, much like air, water, and SUPPORT THE LITTLE GUYS staple vegetables such as carrots and onions (which are When you buy something, you are voting with your gross) fall squarely into the category of things that should bucks. When you shop at one store instead of another, never, ever, ever be considered a luxury, and if anyone you are giving a vote of confidence to the way the tries to tell you otherwise, it is because they think you are business is run and supporting the people who run it. a feeble-minded simpleton and a chump. All the time, I buy things from stores not because they are the cheapest but because I like the way the store is At the end of the day, don’t let me tell you what to do run, and I like the people who work there. The reason with your money. If you want to flush your cash down you should not support this luxury fruit commerce is not the toilet by spending it on fruit with an outrageous and just because it is a blatant rip-off (which it is), but also emotionally charged price tag, be my guest. While you because the people responsible for peddling it basically are at it, I have a bag of magic beans I might be willing to assume that you are a moron. On top of this, it is a bad part with if the price is right. business overall that adds zero value to the production chain.
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28 Environment
Eating Plant-Based
Adaptable Bean Burger Recipe By Becca Buse
However, Gwangju is a very different environment, where my apartment is surrounded by Korean BBQ and other meat restaurants. I have heard people tell me I am brave to be a vegetarian in Korea since so much of the food culture surrounds meat. Yet, I decided to stay vegetarian since I had already been vegetarian for nearly two years by the time I moved to Korea in February 2021. But it has been challenging. Many Koreans have asked me why I do not eat chicken or pork. They tell me, “It’s so delicious,” or even, “Don’t you miss eating meat?” To all of those comments, I stay confident in my choice to be vegetarian. After all, since I have become vegetarian, I feel healthier and happier. I also am a vegetarian to care for the planet and produce less waste. In fact, by not eating meat, I can reduce my carbon footprint on the Earth. You too can eat less meat (especially red meats like steak and pork) to reduce carbon waste.
As I reflect on being vegetarian, I always go back to my days living in Bolivia. Every lunch, the volunteers rotated cooking. For a year, I cooked one or two meals a week for a dozen people. I learned to try new flavors in beans, use rice, quinoa, and potatoes creatively, and I even started making breads like sourdough and pizzas! The easiest recipe I learned was from watching another volunteer from the Czech Republic. He was really creative with using leftover food from lunch. Once a week, he would take all the leftover beans and vegetables, and combine them with a little flour to make bean burgers. This recipe is what I will be sharing with you all here. It is an adaptable recipe, which means you can use any vegetables you already have or buy your favorites. You also can use your favorite beans, or protein, and your choice of flour, potato, or quinoa! Photographs by Becca Buse.
The Author
Becca Buse has been an ESL teacher in Gwangju since March of 2021. Before moving to Korea, she lived in Bolivia; Minneapolis, Minnesota; and Nottingham, England. She has a degree in international studies and a minor in English writing. As a global thinker, Becca is an advocate for protecting the Earth, caring for communities, and peace-building. In her free time, she enjoys hikes with the Gwangju Hikers Club, cooking, and reading fiction. @bkahbuse
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December 2021
COMMUNITY
A
fter graduating from college in 2019, I moved to rural Bolivia to work as a volunteer for a nonprofit organization, Etta Projects. It was in this community that I learned to cook delicious plant-based meals. I learned many other lifelong skills, such as organic gardening of vegetables, coffee beans, and even medicinal plants. The environment made the transition from eating meat to being plant-based comfortable. I found it quite easy to become a vegetarian when there were no temptations around. I could not even bring meat or fish to the kitchen.
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29
The Recipe
Adaptable Bean Burger SERVES 4–6 PEOPLE PREP TIME: 10 MINUTES COOKING TIME: 30 MINUTES
INGREDIENTS 2–3 cups of cooked beans: kidney beans, black beans, lentils 1 cup of cooked vegetables: zucchini, pepper, carrot, eggplant, etc. 1 small onion 3 cloves of garlic (with the oil for sautéing) Seasoning of your choice: pepper, salt, cumin, chipotle, sesame seeds 1 cup of grains: 3 tbsp flour, 3 tbsp oatmeal, 2 tbsp flaxseed powder or quinoa Serve on lettuce as an open sandwich, or on bread of your choice. It also goes well with avocado and cilantro with chipotle mayo (vegan options available at E-Mart). PREPARATION 1. To begin this recipe, check your fridge for any cooked beans, vegetables, or ingredients you may already have. This recipe works best if you use what you already have, instead of buying ingredients solely for this recipe. Be creative and trust your instinct! I checked my fridge beforehand and found two bell peppers, onion, garlic, and cooked eggplant. Then, I went to the store to buy zucchini and lettuce. Next, I checked what to use to bind the ingredients together, I found flour, oatmeal, and flaxseed powder. If you only have one of these ingredients that is great! You can also use quinoa or potatoes.
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December 2021
3. Once your beans and vegetables are cooked and cool, combine them in a bowl. If the beans or vegetables are too hot, Step 4 will not work as well. Mix and add any seasonings you would like: salt, pepper, cumin, chipotle, sesame seeds, etc. Taste and see how it is before going to the next step. Mash
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2. Next, if you have cooked beans and vegetables, skip ahead to Step 3. If you need to cook your beans and vegetables, let us get started! Cook your beans as directed. While they are cooking, mince 3 cloves of garlic and a small onion. Sauté the garlic in an oil of your choice, then add the onion. While the garlic and onion are cooking, dice your vegetables into small cubes (remember, this will be a burger, so think small, bite-sized pieces). I like to cook the zucchini and eggplant first, then add the bell pepper at the end so it stays crunchy. Once my vegetables were cooked, I added the eggplant from my fridge and cooked it for a few more minutes. I love seeing the beautiful colors of all the vegetables! Once everything has been cooked to your liking, set the vegetables aside to cool.
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30 the beans and vegetables together so it becomes half smooth and half chunky. This will help the burger form in the next steps. 4. Now you will add the binding agents to keep the burger from crumbling apart. Depending on how soft your beans and vegetables are, you may need to adapt the recipe for the correct consistency. Add around 3 tablespoons of flour, 2 tablespoons of flaxseed powder, and 3 tablespoons of oatmeal. This should be around one cup in total. Slowly add each ingredient, mixing and checking the consistency. When it feels thick enough to form into balls, try one and see if it sticks together. You do not want to add too much, then it would dry out and lose the flavor of the beans and vegetables.
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December 2021
5. Finally, heat a non-stick pan on medium-low heat. Then, form your bean burgers, rounding the edges and patting them together. (I prefer smaller sizes, which cook faster). Place 4–5 burgers in the pan at once. Cook on each side for 3 minutes.
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6. The last step is to assemble the burger. You can serve things on a bed of lettuce or as a traditional burger on bread. Either tastes delicious. I enjoy mine both ways. On bread, I toast the buns, then place mustard on the bottom bun, then lettuce, the bean burger, and onion with ketchup on top. On lettuce, I enjoy it with mustard, ketchup, and onion as well. Another good combination is avocado, cilantro, and chipotle mayo (if you can find these ingredients). I have also made simple wedge potatoes while my beans and vegetables were cooling – it made the meal complete for me. If you are eating alone, keep the remains in your fridge for 2–3 days, or put them in your freezer to enjoy later. Note: this recipe makes around 15 small burgers and can serve around 4–6 people if each person is eating 2–3 burgers. If you are serving many people, double the recipe, or add more side dishes. ADDITIONAL WEBSITES FOR INSPIRATION The Korean Vegan: Enjoy delicious recipes from this website of a Korean-American vegan. https:// thekoreanvegan.com/blog/ Cookie and Kate: Check out another veggie burger recipe and other plant-based recipes. https:// cookieandkate.com/best-veggie-burger-recipe/ Vegan Space: A website you can order vegan ingredients from. https://veganspace.co.kr/ Etta Projects: http://www.ettaprojects.org/
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Environment 31
Eating Plant-Based
Korean-Spiced Falafel Recipe By Nicky Archer
VEGETARIANISM / VEGANISM IN THE UK Over two decades ago, eating out at a restaurant in the UK as a vegetarian was often a dish minus the meat or a token mushroom taking center stage. Now, I have nothing against mushrooms, as they can be as versatile as any vegetable, but it is not always the main ingredient you desire as a child. I turned vegetarian when I was really young because of my ethical beliefs around animal wellbeing. Now though, in the UK, there is currently a huge shift happening, as more and more people begin to understand the immense benefits eating a plant-based diet can have on their health, animal suffering, and the environment.
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RECIPE INTRODUCTION Falafels really are truly versatile, adaptable, and forgiving. You can create them to your taste by adding more or less of a spice or herb or by including spring onions or chili peppers, or you can even make them gluten-free by using chickpea flour instead of plain flour. Do not let the ingredients on any recipe become a barrier! Don’t have plum tomatoes? Use a different type of tomato, or even something other than a tomato! Can’t find any herbs? Use a spice instead! If you are keen to have a go at making a plant-based meal for whatever reason, just give it a try! It might be the inspiration you need to commence a healthier, cruelty-free, and more environmentally friendly diet.
The Author
Photographs by Nicky Archer.
Nicky Archer is an ESL teacher and animal rights campaigner from the UK. She is a foodie, art enthusiast, and somewhat of an adrenaline junkie. Living in Gwangju, she enjoys coffeeshop hopping, mountain hiking, and learning new things.
December 2021
SHOPPING, EATING, AND COOKING IN GWANGJU Coming from having a myriad of plant-based produce at my fingertips to navigating my way through Korean markets carrying foreign goods with limited Korean language knowledge, it has not been easy. I have spent hours scouring ingredient labels of packaged goods using translation apps to discover if it is suitable or not. However, it is not an impossible feat. Finding Korean recipes online such as doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew) or bulgogi wraps (made with tofu or mushroom instead of meat) allows for a more targeted shopping experience. When it comes to eating out, there are the staples such as kimbap,
As a long-term strict vegetarian, falafels have always been a favorite. Usually easy to come by or make at home, they work great as a snack, lunch, or dinner. (Even as a cold breakfast food, I would not say no!) Generally, most falafel recipes I have come by always include coriander, parsley, and cumin. Although it is not impossible to buy fresh herbs and spices here in Gwangju, I do not normally see them in my local mart. What I do see though is a lot of gochu-garu and sesame seeds. Gochu-garu is a beautiful, vivid, red chili powder that can be found in gochu-jang paste and is commonly used in Korean cuisine. Gochugaru adds spice to a dish while sesame seeds can add a nice nutty flavor. So, as I experimented with falafel-making one recent Saturday, I set out to include those ingredients in one of my falafel batches. And it worked!
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Big cities such as London, Manchester, and Bristol have all seen an increase in cafes and restaurants serving vegan food only. Not only is this changing the way people eat but the way we think and engage with our food, too. Supermarkets are finally starting to listen more to what their compassionate, eco-conscious customers want, diversifying their aisles with alternative meat proteins such as tofu, seitan, legumes, nuts, and seeds as well as dairy-free alternatives to milk, yogurt, and cheese. Before, being a vegan meant giving up more foods than you could eat; now you can get almost anything minus the cruelty and with a reduced carbon footprint. Supermarkets still have a way to go to reduce their levels of plastic waste, but in the UK at least, plastic bags are becoming a thing of the past with a new tax being brought in back in October 2015.
bibimbap, and naengmyeon that can almost always be ordered in most places without the meat (or egg).
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32 32
The Recipe
Korean-Spiced Falafel
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December 2021 2021 December
SERVES 4–5 PEOPLE PREP TIME: 1–1.5 HOURS COOKING TIME: 20 MINUTES
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33 33 INGREDIENTS 200 g dried chickpeas (soaked overnight) 10 plum tomatoes 3 tbsp of plain flour 3 cloves of garlic 1 onion (white or red) 3–4 tsp toasted sesame seeds 2 tsp gochu powder (red pepper powder) 1 tbsp of olive oil (plus more for cooking with) Squeeze of lime Salt and black pepper to taste PREPARATION 1. Soak your dried chickpeas overnight or for at least 12 hours. Boil them for around 50–60 minutes until you can squash one between your fingers – that way you know they are ready! Put them aside to cool. 2. Wash your tomatoes and remove the stems. Halve and blitz in a blender until mushy. 3. Add salt, pepper, olive oil, the cooked chickpeas, salt, pepper, gochu powder, sesame seeds, chopped onion, and garlic into the blender and combine. Blend until it forms into a sticky dough-like consistency. 4. Scrape the mixture into a bowl. Add the flour, some more sesame seeds, and mix thoroughly. This should form a dough that is not too sticky. 5. Cover the bowl with cling film, and put it into the fridge for 1–2 hours to firm up the mixture.
7. Cook the falafels in batches. For each batch, heat a large frying pan with 2–3 tbsp of olive oil and cook for 2–3 minutes. Leave enough room in the pan to turn them over halfway through.
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December 2021 2021 December
8. Drizzle falafel patties with tahini and serve warm with salad and bread. Alternatively, for a bit more of a Korean twist, try combining with fried mushrooms, Korean rice, vegan kimchi, or other pickled vegetables.
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6. Shape the mixture into about 20 balls. They should be around the size of a ping pong ball. Next, flatten them slightly on the edges to form a small patty shape. (If you choose to make them larger, adjust the cooking time accordingly. Or if you want to keep them ball-shaped, turn them more frequently when cooking.)
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34
Organizations Supporting Foreign Residents in Gwangju Most organizations mentioned below provide support in multiple languages. Call them when you are looking for information about living in Korea and convenience support for foreign residents in Gwangju. Buk-gu Multicultural Family Support Center Danuri Multicultural Family Support Center Dong-gu Multicultural Family Support Center Foreign Workers Culture Center Gwangju City Hall Peace Foundation Development Division Gwangju Foreign Workers Center Gwangju Foreigner Welfare Center Gwangju International Center Gwangju Migrant Health Center Gwangju Migrant Women Support Center Gwangju Migrants Support Center Gwangju Support Center for Foreign Workers Gwangsan Women Job Seeking Center Gwangsan-gu Multicultural Family Support Center Immigrant Whole Support Center International Migrants Cultural Institute Koryo-in Village Korean Cooperative Nam-gu Multicultural Family Support Center Rainbow Multicultural Family Segyero Multi-cultural Center Seo-gu Multicultural Family Support Center
Contact No. 062-363-2963 062-366-1366 062-234-5790 062-943-8930 062-613-1481 062-971-0078 062-962-3385 062-226-2733 062-956-3353 070-7502-6797 062-959-9335 062-946-1199 062-381-5417 062-954-8004 062-962-3004 062-515-1366 062-961-1925 062-351-5432 070-7783-5586 062-522-1673 062-369-0073
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December 2021
FOOD & DRINKS
Organization
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2021-11-26 �� 2:47:36
Learning Korean 35
Everyday Korean Episode 48
"2022년에 뭐 하고 싶어요?" What do you want to do in the year 2022? By Harsh Kumar Mishra
Grammar Points
네하: 벌써 12월이네요. 시간이 참 빨라요. Neha: It’s already December. Time flies so fast. 정민: 맞아. 곧 2022년이 오겠네. Jeongmin: Right. 2022 is coming soon. 네하: 언니는 2022년에 뭐 하고 싶어요? Neha: What do you want to do in 2022? 정민: 특별한 게 없어. 그냥 지금 사는 것처럼 살려고 해. Jeongmin: Nothing special. Just to live the way I’m living now. 네하: 그럼 새해 결심을 안해요? Neha: Then aren’t you making any New Year's resolutions?
네하: 맞아요. 저도 항상 그래요. Neha: That’s right. It happens with me, too.
Vocabulary
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새해 결심 New Year’s resolution 작심삼일 short-lived resolution (a proverb) 항상
always
방학 때 뭐 하려고 해요? What are you planning to do during vacation?
N~처럼 Use this with nouns to express that something is the same as that noun, i.e., “the same like something.” Ex: 정진 씨는 야구 선수처럼 야구를 잘해요. Jeongjin plays baseball like a pro player. 언젠가는 한국 사람처럼 한국어를 읽었으면 해요. I wish to read Korean like a Korean person someday.
The Author
Harsh Kumar Mishra is a linguist and Korean language educator. He teaches Korean with TOPIKGUIDE.com and LEARNKOREAN.in.
December 2021
벌써 already 참 truly 빠르다 to be fast 맞다 to be right/correct 곧 soon 특별하다 to be special 지금 now 살다 to live
This grammar point is used with verbs for describing your plan, i.e., “planning to do something.” If the verb stem ends in a vowel, use “~려고 해요,” and if it ends in a final consonant, use “~으려고 해요.” Ex: 다음 달에 새 집으로 이사하려고 해요. I’m planning to move to a new house next month.
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정민: 새해 결심해도 그거 작심삼일로 끝나버려. Jeongmin: Even if I make New Year’s resolutions, they get broken in a few days.
V~(으)려고 해요
TEACHING & LEARNING
The Conversation
2021-11-26 �� 2:47:36
36 Language Learning
How to Study Chinese Characters
H
anja (한자, 漢字), Chinese characters are the basic building blocks of many Korean words. Each hanja is a kind of pictograph, or picture with its own specific meaning. For example, the hanja 火 has the meaning 불, or fire. The pronunciation of this hanja is 화. This is the 화 in 소화기 (so-hwa-gi), which means fire extinguisher. 소 means to put out, and 기 is a machine. All three syllables of 소화기 are from hanja. Although 소화기 is a common enough word that you may know it without learning hanja, there are many words you will encounter as a Korean language learner that you will not be familiar with and are best approached by tearing them down into their component parts. Doing this will help you understand a word much better than simply looking it up in the dictionary, assuming it is even listed, which in some cases it is not.
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December 2021
TEACHING & LEARNING
By Stephen Kagarise
▲ So-hwa-gi (소화기), or 消火器 in hanja, consists of characters 消 meaning to put out, 火 meaning fire, and 器 meaning tool or machine.
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To study hanja, you need a hanja dictionary and a specially designed hanja notebook, which are both available at most bookstores with a stationery section. The dictionary will probably have the hanja arranged by level. There are eight levels, plus two special levels. The lowest level is Level 8, which has 50 of the most basic and common hanja, like 火. This is where you will start. The notebook has 100 rectangular boxes on each page. Each box has a horizontal line dividing the large upper part from the small lower part. The upper part is where you draw the hanja. The lower part is where you write the meaning and pronunciation, both in Korean. To learn hanja as fully as possible, you want to practice going from the picture to the meaning and pronunciation, and then back again from the meaning and pronunciation to the picture. This means you will be able to both read and write hanja. You may think there is no way you can remember how to draw each of the hanja, especially if you learn 2000 of them. Actually, it is not too difficult. It just takes review. The trick is figuring out the most efficient way to conduct your review. The purpose of this article is to show the method I used to learn about 1800 hanja in a year and a half. Like learning Korean, all it takes is some faith in yourself and dedication. I think that learning hanja is key for anyone who wants to pass the TOPIK Level 6. Filling in one page a day of your hanja notebook is enough. This is 100 boxes. If you have spent a few weeks studying Level 8, you can review all 50 hanja every day. In fact, you can review them all twice. But what if you have also studied Level 7, and now need to review 150 hanja? The trick is to allocate a certain number of boxes to each level, based on their percentage of the total. You would allocate 100/150, or 2/3 of the boxes to Level 7, and 50/150, or 1/3 of the boxes to Level 8. In other words, 70 boxes to Level 7, and 30 boxes to Level 8. In this way you would be able to cycle through the hanja in both
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37
▲ Studying hanja can help those who want to pass TOPIK Level 6.
“They will make you a monster on the reading section of the TOPIK.”
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The Author
Stephen Kagarise has been living in Gwangju for the past nine years. He has been busy the past two years hiking and biking around Korea.
December 2021
Using this system, I was able to study three new hanja a day. It takes about an hour to fill in one page of the notebook. If you keep up this pace for a year, you will have learned 1000 hanja, but only spent 20 minutes on each one. That includes the time spent drawing, because you will be able to both read and write hanja. A year may be more than enough to meet your needs, but if you want to rival and surpass your Korean friends, I recommend attempting Level 3, for a total of 1800 hanja.
So that is all there is to it. Is it a lot of work for nothing? It depends on what your goals are, but there are many advantages to learning hanja. I have already mentioned how they provide a deeper knowledge and appreciation of the Korean language, giving you a sixth sense of what a word means even if you have never encountered it before. They will make you a monster on the reading section of the TOPIK. Knowing hanja can also help you learn Japanese kanji and Chinese, if you want to achieve the trifecta of northeast Asian languages. For those who are less goal-oriented, there is something relaxing and meditative about drawing hanja. Eventually, you will start to see patterns, allowing you to guess at the meaning and even the pronunciation, just by looking at the picture.
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levels in two days. If you have also studied Level 6, for a total of 300 hanja, then you would allocate 150/300, or 1/2 of the boxes to Level 6; 100/300, or 1/3 of the boxes to Level 7; and 50/300, or 1/6 of the boxes to Level 8. In other words, 50 boxes to Level 6, 30 boxes to Level 7, and 20 boxes to Level 8. So it would take you three days to cycle through the hanja. This may seem overly complicated, when you could just review about 100 hanja a day, paying no attention to level. The reason that allocating boxes by level is important is because it allows you to spend less time reviewing the hanja in earlier levels that you have already reviewed many times before and know better. You can give those levels less than their fair share of boxes, and give the excess to levels you have studied more recently and need to review more often. This way you are cycling through the less familiar hanja more often than the hanja you know well, which helps to fix them in your memory.
We have discussed how to divvy up the boxes in the notebook, but not how to use them. The first six boxes at the top of the page are dedicated to the three new hanja you will learn every day. Draw the hanja, writing its meaning and pronunciation underneath, and then leave the box beside it blank. The other 94 boxes are dedicated to review. You should have already settled beforehand how many will be allocated to each level you are reviewing. For each hanja, look at its picture in the dictionary, covering the meaning and pronunciation with your finger. Try to recall the meaning and pronunciation from your memory, saying them aloud if you want. Check to see if you are correct, then write these in the lower part of the box. Do this for all 94 hanja, filling out the page. Now you are going to go from the meaning and pronunciation back to the picture. Close your dictionary. Look at each meaning and pronunciation you have written, and draw the corresponding hanja. When you have reached the bottom of the page, go back to the top and review the three new hanja, filling out the empty box next to each.
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COMMUNITY
38
Fun & Free: Creating Multilinguals at the GIC Korean–Chinese Language Exchange By Chloe Chan
W
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
December 2021
hile learning a foreign language, what hinders us from proceeding to the next level seems to always be related to the loss of interest. As many bilinguals or multilinguals are able to attest, we all have experienced a period of time when we find it extremely difficult to stay committed to our language goals. Unarguably, human beings get disinterested so easily that we so often find constant stimulation necessary in order to stay motivated. It sounds cliché to emphasize “fun is the key to effective learning,” but it is indeed very true. During my own research, I came to realize the significance of interactive pedagogy in one’s cognitive learning process. Instead of a traditional one-way cognitive teaching approach or a rigid school curriculum, the incorporation of creative, multicultural learning methods is often deemed to be rather effective in terms of knowledge acquisition. The Gwangju International Center has resumed its Korean–Chinese language exchange program this year. Hosted by a Chinese student from Honam University, Nate Yuan, this year’s program has transformed into a fun language-learning experience designed to engage natives and non-natives to talk and learn languages in a stress-free manner.
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Various group games are set out as icebreakers to connect newcomers. Based on the theme of the day, participants are granted a chunk of time to interact with one another. The major features are highlighted below for those who are curious about the program. GROUP DISCUSSION & DEBATE The host divides the participants into two rows and faces them across from each other. A topic is given for them to initiate conversations regarding the theme.
▲ Group discussion and debate.
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39 CULTURAL EXPERIENCE WORKSHOP As we know, language and culture are inextricably connected. It is nearly impossible to truly master a language without understanding its associated culture. By recognizing this, cultural experience workshops are also conducted by the host once in a while to foster cultural understanding. In such a creative language-learning setting, participants are given chances to socially connect and explore oriental cultural customs and arts.
“It is definitely the most genuine and wholehearted language exchange program you could ever wish to experience.” FREE ACCESS For the purpose of serving the local community in Gwangju, this language exchange program, as a GIC Global Community Project, is entirely free of charge. The project embodies mutual, cross-cultural learning for the promotion of multiculturalism between diverse cultural groups. Therefore, except for the occasional gatherings and parties that might require small costs for extra food supplies, the organizer covers all the costs for printing materials, snacks, and venue use.
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The Author
Originally from Hong Kong, Chloe Chan has just completed her master’s degree in NGOs at Chonnam National University. She is currently serving several NGOs and MPOs as a full-time freelancer and volunteer. @hoi0305
December 2021
KOREAN–CHINESE LANGUAGE EXCHANGE Program Period: September 11 (Sat) – December 25 (Sat). Every two weeks. Time: 3:30 p.m., until December 25 (Sat) Host Email: nathaniel01822@gmail.com Location: Gwangju International Center, 1st floor Hall (Jungang-ro 196-beon-gil 5, Dong-gu, Gwangju)
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
▲ Pottery-making with members as part of the culture experience workshop.
Even though the program plans are designed by a group of non-experts, it is definitely the most genuine and wholehearted language exchange program you could ever wish to experience. Anyone who is interested in the Chinese language (or even just Chinese culture itself) is welcome to stop by, grab a snack, and have an enjoyable learning experience in a relaxed environment.
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40 Language Teaching
Curriculum-Building for Student Workshops
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
December 2021
TEACHING & LEARNING
An Inter view with Brennand Kennedy
G
wangju is seeing more of Brennand Kennedy around town these days, as he has moved from teaching in Naju to a university position in the city. Brennand completed his MA in applied linguistics (TESL) at Brock University in Canada. As part of his graduate program, he conducted research in the area of reflective practice under the supervision of Dr. Thomas Farrell. In his recent move to Chosun University, Brennand had the opportunity, or need, to do some interesting curriculumbuilding for his new courses, which he describes in this interview. Interviewer: Thank you for making time for this interview, Brennand. To begin with, could you tell us a little about yourself before you came to Korea? Brennand: Absolutely! But first, let me say how honored I am to be able to share my story with the Gwangju community! I was born and raised in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. My mother was an elementary school teacher, and I think she really instilled in me the value of education, even if that did not always translate into good grades. I ▲ Brennand Kennedy remember being very fascinated by different languages from an early age, and I was enrolled in the French immersion program when I started school. Although not all my classmates were as enthusiastic about having to take all their subjects in a foreign language, it kind of became “my thing,” especially in high school when I took part in an exchange program and lived
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in Grenoble, France. That experience was a seminal one for me as it demonstrated that one may never feel truly “fluent” in a foreign language without plenty of opportunities for meaningful communication in the real world. It is a principle that stuck with me throughout my post-secondary education as I studied linguistics and anthropology, and it was a huge part of why I decided to begin teaching English in Korea. Interviewer: And next, please tell us about your life in Korea – what brought you here, what you have done, and so forth. Brennand: I first came to Korea in 2013 when I was hired by the EPIK program. I worked in the tiny village of Hwagae, in Hadong County, Gyeongsangnam-do, where I stayed for almost four years. At first, it was tough living by myself in the middle of the Jiri Mountains, but it really grew on me as I eventually made a lot of local friends and became immersed in the community. As Hadong is one of the major tea-growing regions in Korea, I even studied Korean tea ceremony for the purposes of competing! In addition to cutting my teeth as an English teacher, I also achieved a relatively high proficiency level in Korean due to all the opportunities for real-world communication, the best example of which was when I met my wife at a mutual friend’s wedding! Unfortunately, the Gyeongsang dialect remains a major challenge for me. Eventually, despite my wonderful students and my newfound love for rural life, I began to feel that my teaching practice had reached a plateau. I felt that my superiors were increasingly pushing me into a babysitter role while simultaneously stifling my attempts to experiment with new (to me) forms of pedagogy. It was KOTESOL, and especially KOTESOL’s magazine, The English Connection, that eventually showed me that there were many more opportunities available to teachers who really want to teach. Inspired by Tom Farrell’s work in reflective practice, I made the decision to go back to
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41 the other staff were also having to go through all the same adjustments. Can you tell us more about some of the specific courses you taught?
▲ Student presentation incorporating small group discussion.
Canada for a year to attend graduate school at Brock University. Upon returning to Korea in 2018, I married my wife and began working at Dongshin University in Naju, where my daughter was born last year. Since starting this new chapter of my life, I have also enjoyed getting more involved with the KOTESOL community by attending and presenting at several KOTESOL conferences and taking part in the local reflective practice group here in Gwangju whenever possible. Interviewer: I hear that you recently moved into a new teaching position. How has that experience been? For most people, just adjusting to a new job is difficult enough, but having to do that in the midst of the Covid pandemic must have posed some unique challenges.
Interviewer: I know that moving to a new workplace usually entails having to adjust to new courses and curricula, but it must have been especially difficult if all
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▲ Slide from Brennand’s tutorial on creating student presentations.
Interviewer: Please tell us about this curriculum-building project that you were involved in – how did you go about it, and how is it working out in practice? Brennand: When reflecting on how to best fill-out the rest of the course outline, I found that despite being built around the theme of TED talks, the curriculum we had been given was bereft of any presentation skills instruction. This was tragic, in my view, because these students deserved to have the chance to put all their years of English-language training to good use by learning valuable skills that could help them throughout their academic and professional careers. With that in mind, I set out to change the overall trajectory of the course by
December 2021
This is not to say that Covid has not presented any challenges, however. Fewer people in the office has meant fewer opportunities to meet and share ideas with all my new colleagues. Adding to this, I arrived at Chosun in the midst of a complete overhaul of the freshmen English language program, which expanded the number of course offerings seven-fold. While it felt exhilarating to join a team of teachers all working together toward a common goal, it could be hard to find guidance when even the veterans were charting new territory.
The curricula and materials for all the advanced classes had been designed by other teachers shortly before I started working in my new position. Last semester, an advanced-level class I was tasked with teaching was titled “TED Talks and Current Events.” As anyone who has taught similarly themed courses will surely know, this topic can provide plenty of opportunities for engaging discussion among students. Moreover, since this was still a new program, the course outlines we were given included plenty of gaps for individual teachers to develop as they pleased. This provided the perfect chance for me to take on a small curriculum-building project of my own.
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Brennand: Yes, that is right! After working in Naju for three years, I had the good fortune of being hired by Chosun University in the spring of 2021. Covid did not actually pose as many challenges as one may have expected. After having taught online for the entire previous year, starting work at Chosun felt a lot like a return to pre-Covid times, as the university had just re-implemented in-person instruction for all English courses in our department.
Brennand: Sure! Despite some hurdles, I am super excited about the new direction the department has chosen to take. Instead of offering all students the exact same conversational English course, the university began leveltesting students prior to class registration and offered a choice of content-based courses for advanced students in addition to the more basic four-skills courses being offered to those who scored lower on the diagnostic tests.
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42 first setting a major presentation project as their final evaluation. However, I knew that I did not want to put my students, or myself, through the torture of having to listen to the usual, emotionless recitals that many of us are all so familiar with. Because I believe students learn best by doing, I wanted these presentations to incorporate a lot of audience participation. So, taking inspiration from the many excellent KOTESOL talks I have had the pleasure of participating in, I decided to teach my students the art of the workshop.
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
December 2021
▲ Brennand explaining the class project: “What is your idea worth spreading?”
Since most of my students had never experienced a presentation whose audience could not have been replaced by a brick wall, I knew it would take time and experimentation on the part of the students for them to become familiar with this new interactive format. Therefore, I decided to create some tutorial workshops of my own that would allow them to prepare and revise their presentations over the course of three (non-consecutive) weeks. I had never taught public speaking or academic writing before, nor had I ever created so much course content from scratch in such a short time. But we were rewarded – me and the students – at the end of the semester when even the weakest students demonstrated their ability to give effective presentations that engaged their peers. Interviewer: You said that you had to create what was essentially a three-week public speaking program from scratch. What was your planning process and what
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influences, if any, did you draw from in your design? Brennand: Three weeks is not a long time to teach students how to make engaging workshop presentations, so I decided to focus on just three important elements: choosing a topic, planning, and audience experience. In the spirit of TED talks, my students were required to present an “idea worth spreading.” As you can imagine, this left them with a huge range of options to choose from for their topics. As I told my students, “If you are not interested in your topic, your audience won’t be, either.” Unfortunately, it is not always easy for people – and especially university freshmen – to take stock of what interests them, so when teaching my students how to choose the perfect topic, I took a lot of inspiration from reflective practice. I encouraged them to systematically reflect on different areas of their lives including their hopes, their worries, their goals, their hobbies, their majors, and even the most recent news articles they found appealing. While it was important to give students enough time to complete these exercises on their own, their ideas really started to flow once they were able to ask each other questions about what they had come up with. When it came to planning their presentations, we largely followed a process-writing approach. This meant that students were given time to brainstorm, research, draft, edit, and provide peer feedback. Of course, it is extremely difficult to fit all these stages into one week of tutorials, so I organized each of them into individual in-class exercises so that they could at least get their hands dirty and leave class with the tools to continue the process on their own time. Finally, when teaching students key public speaking skills like making good visual aids, attention grabbers, and keyword outlines, I turned to my good friend Luis Caballero who graciously shared his insights and resources from his time teaching public speaking at UNIST. To ensure students would be able to create true workshop presentations, I also dedicated a lot of time to demonstrating effective ways to promote audience participation, including discussion activities, surveys, and social experiments. Despite packing so much into so little time, I was really impressed with the results, and I cannot wait to see how it will go when I do it all again at the end of this semester. Interviewer: In the past, you have been quite concerned
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43 with reflective practice and professional development, and giving presentations on the subject. With everything else going on in life these days, including a pandemic, have you had much time for reflective practice and professional development? What things might you have liked to have done, but the time and circumstances have not allowed? Brennand: I have found that good, systematic reflection requires a lot of discipline, and unfortunately, with transitioning to a new job, adapting to online teaching, moving to a new city, and the birth of my daughter, my routine has changed so many times over the past two years that it has just been too difficult to focus on reflective practice. It is too bad because I know reflection would have really helped me through some of the biggest challenges of the past two years, not just with teaching, but with life in general. Although the pandemic has seriously impacted teachers’ ability to get together and reflect as a group, I think it has also produced some interesting variables that are worth exploring. A sudden transition to online teaching has forced language teachers everywhere to undergo a significant paradigm shift, bringing up new questions about what it means to teach and learn a language in the digital age. For example, is it possible to create a truly communicative environment using online video conferencing? Is it worth attempting to re-create the classroom experience online, or would it be better to only focus on those aspects of language instruction that are well-suited for this new medium?
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Interviewer: Well, Brennand, I really hope that you will soon have that wished-for time for in-person workshops and for more reflective practice, although you have been gracious in providing a lot of reflection for this interview. Thank you. Interviewed by David Shaffer. Photographs and graphics courtesy of Brennand Kennedy.
The Interviewer
David Shaffer is an educator with many years of experience in the field of English education in Korea. As vice-president of the GwangjuJeonnam Chapter of KOTESOL, Dr. Shaffer invites you to participate in the chapter’s teacher development workshops (now online) and in KOTESOL activities in general. He is also a past president of KOTESOL and is currently the editorin-chief of the Gwangju News.
GWANGJU-JEONNAM KOTESOL UPCOMING EVENTS Check the Chapter’s webpages and Facebook group periodically for updates on chapter events and other online KOTESOL activities. For full event details: Website: http://koreatesol.org/gwangju Facebook: Gwangju-Jeonnam KOTESOL
December 2021
Adapting to this new era has required us to continuously reflect on and re-evaluate our principles and theories of practice. I would have really liked to have documented my reflections and those of colleagues during this interesting period of flux, especially since online teaching has made it so much easier to observe what we do in our digital classrooms and to save those observations for later reflection. But it is not too late, so if there are any teachers out there who would like to collaborate on such a project, feel free to contact me. Interviewer: Once the corona crisis is no longer an impediment, what are some ELT-related things that you look forward to doing?
Brennand: I really miss going to in-person conferences, workshops, and reflective practice meetings with the reflective practice group (RP-SIG) at Gwangju KOTESOL. As much as I admire all the work that has gone into organizing all the online conferences and meetings, there is just something about the dynamicity of physically gathering in one place and talking with like-minded people that cannot be fully realized with the online tools currently at our disposal.
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
“I decided to focus on just three important elements: choosing a topic, planning, and audience experience.”
▲ Student presentation with generous amounts of audience interaction.
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44 Photo Essay
The Mungyeong-saejae Open Set Feel the Sensation of Historical Korean Dramas CULTURE & ARTS
By Emmanuela Sabatini
T
he Mungyeong-saejae Open Set is part of Mungyeongsaejae Provincial Park in North Gyeongsang. There you can find Mungyeong Natural Ecology Park, the Yetgil Museum, Mungyeong Ecology Maze Park, and the Mungyeongsaejae Open Set. To be honest, my friends and I only visited the Mungyeong-saejae Open Set because of the influence of the Korean Wave, of which Korean dramas feature so prominently.
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
December 2021
As its name suggests, the Mungyeong-saejae (문경새재) Open Set is a historical Korean drama filming location. Over the years, a large number of Korean dramas and movies have been filmed here, including Bossam: Steal the Fate (2021), Kingdom (2020), The Crowned Clown (2019), Hwarang (2016), The Face Reader (2013), The Moon Embracing the Sun (2012), The Great King Sejong (2008), Taejo Wang Geon (2000), and many more. Therefore, this place offers various historical locations set in the Joseon era, such as the homes of the nobility and commoners, Gwanghwamun Gate, government offices, and Joseon and Baekjae period palaces. Photographs by Emmanuela Sabatini MUNGYEONG-SAEJAE PROVINCIAL PARK
(문경새재도립공원)
Address: 932 Saejae-ro, Mungyeong-eup, Mungyeong-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do 경북 문경시 문경읍 새재로 932 Open Dates: Open all year round Phone: 054-571-0709
The Author
Emmanuela Sabatini is originally from Jakarta, Indonesia. After graduating with a master’s degree from Keimyung University, she landed an internship at the Gwangju International Center in 2020. Since 2021, she has been working at one of South Korea’s educational institutions. You can follow her journey at www.emmasabatini. com. @emmasabatini
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45
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
December 2021
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46 Book Review
How Starbucks Saved My Life by Michael Gates Gill
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
December 2021
CULTURE & ARTS
Reviewed by Michael Attard
I
came across this book while browsing. Seeing “Starbucks” in the title immediately caught my attention, and since I like Starbucks, I pulled the book from the shelf. What really piqued my interest was the incongruity of the name of a corporate brand associated with “the saving of life.” “How Multinational Giant Wipes Out Town” would have been a more believable title. I flipped the book over and read the back cover. Actually, the man in the story, including his name, sounded a lot like me, so I bought the book.
to simply fill the pages. But the more I read, I began to see that as he progressed to a new life, he still needed validation that his old life was not bereft of significance. In this way, I do not think that he is any different from anyone else. And it is these images from the past, now seen in a new light, that help Michael transition to his new self.
To be clear, the book is a nonfiction memoir. Yet the story of his troubles touches all the bases for writing an interesting novel. There is career and financial success. As a protagonist, Michael suffers from the fault of arrogance, and this leads him to succumb to scandal, destroy his marriage, and ruin the already precarious relationships he had with his children. His job, which he assumed was on a solid footing, is yanked like a carpet out from under him. Add a serious medical issue and Michael is forced to contemplate whether his sudden trials are not perhaps his comeuppance. The story begins with Michael already in a downward spiral. In an attempt to get a grip on his life, or a sense of his place in the universe, he retreats to the bygone familiarity and comfort of the past by visiting the neighborhood where he grew up. Standing in front of his old home, he reminisces about the day his father had a Steinway grand piano hoisted by crane into the second floor. Throughout the book, Michael goes back years in time and pulls stories seemingly out of thin air and pops them into the present. At first, I thought that most of these were interesting little titbits from the past that he was using to make his story more interesting or
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47 to see how hypocritical he had been as a member of an old boys’ club. He came to like, admire, and respect the young people he was working with. As time passed, he was able to accept the new reality that he was forced to see. The theme of “respect” is central to the story. Mike learns that through respect for others, one comes to respect oneself and to gain the respect of others. In his former life, he never had to learn this. He had been placed on an upward escalator and then mistakenly interpreted his success as achieved on his own merit. The story is also about taking risks. I do not mean skydiving or trying to summit Mount Everest. Rather, Mike comes to understand that his boss, Crystal, has taken a risk by hiring him. He thought he understood risk because he had gone out on a limb in many of his corporate presentations during his past life. But he had never taken a risk on people, especially if they were not like him, meaning white and male.
▲ Michael Gates Gill
The change is predominantly brought about through the Starbucks partners, Mike’s fellow workers. Working at 93rd and Broadway, Mike’s white face makes him the minority. To his credit, with an open mind he comes
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The Reviewer
Michael Attard is a Canadian who has lived in Gwangju since 2004. Though officially retired, he still teaches a few private English classes. He enjoys reading all kinds of books and writes for fun. When the weather is nice, you may find him on a hiking trail.
December 2021
“Throughout the book, Michael goes back years in time and pulls stories seemingly out of thin air and pops them into the present.”
By the end, Mike had also learned gratitude and how to listen to his heart. He saw that the people around him were a sea of positive energy. That is a message he wants to share. Mike did not find religion. He found happiness in himself through others. He had become newly validated. www.gwangjunewsgic.com
By accident, more than by fate, destiny, or out of desperation, he becomes a Starbucks employee. He had worn expensive suits for years, and now he was putting on an apron. His boss, Crystal, is a young black woman. At this point, to Mike, things were backward and difficult. He struggled but then persevered. At times, Mike tells us about the actual job – cleaning, taking out the garbage, his fear of the cash register, and the specifics of either opening or closing the store. These descriptions give the reader an insight into the job, but the story is essentially about what is happening inside Mike’s head.
Sceptics and critics might argue that this is merely the rationalization of a guy who did not make it, but I do not think so. His story is too honest. A mere rationalization would ignore or discount his past failures. But he lays it all bare, even admitting that the woman he had an affair with dumped him because she found him to be boring. Dishonest people do not talk about such things.
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CULTURE & ARTS
48 Gwangju Writes
Tale of the Mighty Four
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
December 2021
By Stephen Kagarise
T
here was once an old couple who, having offered a prayer to Buddha, were blessed at last with what they had hoped for, a son. But sadly, their son could not stand or sit, or take a few steps, or speak a few words, not even on his first or second birthday, or his third. Too weak to move, he could only twitch his face. One day, his parents woke to find that he was gone. They searched the house, unsure of how a boy who could not walk, climb, or leap could have gotten far. After an hour they found him, by the path to the mountain, sitting on a rock. “Mother, Father, let’s take this rock back to our yard at home.” The boy was only seven, and the rock was massive, but even so, to the amazement of his parents, he lifted it and set it on his shoulder. They nearly fainted, as off he went.
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This child was now as strong as anyone in the town. No matter its weight or size, he could lift any rock. For that, he was given the name “Rock.” Over time he got stronger and stronger, until, at twelve, he could have fought anyone, anywhere, and been the victor. Ten years later, war broke out. A mighty nation had invaded, and though the people tried to turn them back, their troops, in twos and threes, could not resist the flood. Like an oil lamp blown by the wind, it seemed that doom was near. Rock knew about the war. He thought, “Perhaps I can help.” Throwing a knapsack over his shoulder, he said goodbye to his parents. After a few hours of walking, he saw a willow in the distance. Its branches were rising to the sky, and then falling back down. Going closer, he saw a man beneath the tree. Through his gaping nostrils, his breath would
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draw down the willow’s branches, then blow them up again. Rock kicked him in the side. “What man is this who torments a tree? Tell me what gives you the right.” The man looked at Rock. “Just taking a nap, is all. Think you can go about kicking people?” He got to his feet and glared at Rock. It was decided. Not by words would they resolve this conflict. Instead, they would grapple and try to beat each other in a round of wrestling. But could anyone compete with Rock? No. The man lost. “What’s your name?” asked Rock. “Snore,” he said. “Since I was born, they called me that.” And so the two became brothers. Rock, having won, was the elder, and Snore, the younger. Farther down the road, they noticed a mountain, off in the distance, collapse below the tree line, and then, just as quick, jut high into the air. Curious, the two went closer to investigate. There, at the mountain’s base, was a grim-looking man. He was holding a large, wooden rake. He kept pushing and pulling the mountain up and down. “Why do you toy with the mountain like that?” asked Rock. “What has it done to deserve it?” “Who are you, boy, to interfere with me?” replied the man. “Spare me your lip, and be off.”
“Ill-mannered lout,” said Rock. “You can’t just piss wherever you want.” “You lot, don’t think for a second you can bully me.”
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At last, they reached the enemy’s main force, camped in a valley. From above, the four could observe the soldiers swarming like ants. Rock began by blocking both sides of the valley, so that nothing, not even a mouse, could escape. Then Piss decided it was his turn. He let loose a torrent that zigzagged its way to the enemy’s camp. Many tried to flee, but they were caged in by Rock’s expert handiwork. Before they could tell the source of the flood, it had swept them off their feet, dragging tents and gear in its course. Once a quiet valley, it was now a sea of piss. “Snore, it’s your turn. Give it your best,” said Rock. He took a deep breath of air, so deep it seemed his chest could hold no more, and then sent it reeling down the mountain. It froze the sea of piss, and the soldiers still clinging to debris were stunned to find themselves encased in ice. “The rest is up to Rake,” they said. He grabbed his namesake, the tool that never left his side, and walked down the slope towards the heads that poked above the ice. They gaped at him, in dread of what would happen next. He set his rake against the ice and pushed with all his strength. It rocked, and then cracked in several places. Pushing and pulling, he sent the blocks of ice, with people inside, up and down through the air, making a mountain and unmaking it. “Enjoying the ride?” he asked. “Surrender, or you’ll be sent flying again.” They all begged for their lives, and were set free.
The Author
Stephen Kagarise has been living in Gwangju for the past nine years. He has been busy the past two years hiking and biking around Korea.
December 2021
Together, they set off to fight the army that had come to take their land. But as they walked, the trough beside the road began to fill with a dark, frothy liquid that gurgled as it went. Foul-smelling, too, with the stench of vinegar. They followed it and saw a man standing in a field, with trenches dug in the earth by his piss. It was flowing everywhere, like rivers.
"No matter its weight or size, he could lift any rock. For that, he was given the name ‘Rock.’”
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
Rock and Snore took off their shirts. The man threw down his rake. It was time to wrestle again. Rock won, Snore came in second, and their new brother, Rake, in third.
But the three beat him handily at wrestling. So they were four now: Rock, Snore, Rake, and Piss.
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50 GFN Radio
Radio Is My Life!
An Interview with GFN’s Chief Producer, Kim Mi-young
CULTURE & ARTS
This issue marks one full year of collaboration with the Gwangju Foreign Language Network (GFN), as the Gwangju News offers an interview with Kim Mi-young (김미영), director of Programming and the Producing Department at GFN. As you read, you will see that she has had a multifaceted career in broadcasting both at GFN and earlier. — Ed.
G
wangju News (GN): Thank you for taking the time to do this interview for the Gwangju News, Ms. Kim. First, please introduce yourself; tell us a little about your background, and about your career at the radio station. Kim Mi-young: To begin, I produced various TV programs while working as a PD at KBS in Seoul for six years after graduating from university. I later moved to Paris, France, with my family in 2000 and lived in Europe for eight years. In Europe, I produced and sent “World News” videos to the KBS News team and also interviewed and photographed famous designers for Korean magazines. I returned to Korea in 2008, joined GFN in 2009, and have been working there ever since.
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
December 2021
GN: You have been working for GFN for a really long time. During this period, you have done a few different programs and shows. Please tell us in brief about them. Kim Mi-young: Since 2009, when I started working at GFN, I have been interested in human rights. This
▲ Kim (left) receives Best Program of the Year Award.
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was before Gwangju showed interest in becoming a human rights city. GFN has been producing human rights-related documentaries every year, starting with the coverage of Rosario, Argentina, which was the first to be declared a human rights city. Some of the others were a documentary on sexual assault victims during the May 18 Democratization Movement, a documentary for unregistered migrant children, a documentary on prisoners’ human rights, a documentary designed to illuminate how the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has influenced a large number of different groups in society, and a documentary for the genetic inheritability of trauma. GN: You are now a PD for the show face2face. Are there any other shows that you manage? Kim Mi-young: I have produced many kinds of programs since 2009. They have included programs of various genres, from current affairs programs like City of Light, Hello Korea, Music Program, and Sunday Talk, as well as public broadcast programs and face2face. GN: In 2018, you directed a very important and unique documentary on the abuse of women by the military during the May 18 Democratization Movement. Please tell us more about this documentary. Kim Mi-young: The idea for this documentary was obtained when I went to Argentina in 2010. Argentina is a country bearing the pain of the “Dirty War,” a historical tragedy similar to ours. During the coverage, I met female scholars who published a book collecting statements from women who were taken by the military and sexually assaulted during the People's Revolution. Looking at the book made us also wonder if this might have happened during the May 18 Democratization Movement. I wanted
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▲ Kim co-produced the BBC Four radio documentary.
to cover this event for a long time, but I did not have a chance. Meanwhile, the #MeToo movement spread socially, and we got the courage to look for victims of sexual assault. With the help of PD Han Soo-hee, who coproduced the program with me, I was able to meet victims and interview them after several attempts at persuasion. However, there are still women who bury what happened at that time in their hearts, and it is heartbreaking that they cannot come forward.
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GN: What is your vision for the future of GFN? Kim Mi-young: In Korea, there are only three English broadcasting stations: in Seoul, Busan, and Gwangju. This is a great help to strengthen the city’s international competitiveness. In the future, GFN is confident that it can develop its capabilities as a multilingual radio broadcaster that can promote Gwangju as an international city. Of course, for this, the production teams’ skills are important, but active support from listeners is also needed. I will try to make ours the favorite broadcast in Gwangju, Jeollanam-do, and also all over the world. GN: Thank you very much for the opportunity to do this interview, and the Gwangju News also hopes that GFN will become the favorite broadcaster in the city, the province, and well beyond. Interviewed by Melline Galani. Photographs courtesy of Kim Mi-young.
The Interviewee
Kim Mi-young has been with GFN from its beginning and has helped in its efforts to bring the Korean and foreign communities of Gwangju closer together. As a team leader, she continues to work towards that goal.
December 2021
GN: If you could do anything differently in your career, what would it be? Kim Mi-young: I have lived as a broadcaster since graduating from university. So, I have never thought of any other job, but recently I have wanted to produce a more experimental program while working as a PD,
GN: With so much content online, what can radio, and GFN in particular, offer that other mediums cannot? Kim Mi-young: Recently, GFN began producing YouTube content and supplying videos produced in Vietnamese to Vietnam’s state-run broadcaster, VOV. Since we have excellent human resources in terms of language, we can produce differentiated multilingual content with their help. Starting next year, GFN plans to interact with many overseas broadcasters through video content produced in more diverse languages.
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
GN: GFN has so much ethnically and linguistically diverse programming. Can you speak to the importance of providing such content to the community? Kim Mi-young: In fact, GFN was established for the purpose of providing information for foreigners living in Gwangju and Jeollanam-do. However, over a long period of 12 years, many Korean listeners have been listening to our programs to improve their English skills. Therefore, it is now necessary to produce programs for not only foreigners but also Koreans. Because of this environment, we are thinking a lot about the identity of GFN and trying to reflect on the preferences of our various listeners. As a result, we are trying to create bilingual programming, and we maintain differentiated programming for different target audiences for each program and by time slot. Each year, a survey is conducted to identify the time slots frequently listened to by Koreans and the ones frequently listened to by foreigners to produce programs accordingly. Of course, this arrangement is difficult, but I think we do our best to produce programs that are enjoyed by as many listeners as possible.
not as a team leader. Prior to the start of COVID-19, I had discussed co-production of a documentary with BBC Four’s radio team in the UK, but all of those plans have been temporarily postponed due to COVID-19. If possible, I would like to step down from my management position and return to being a PD to produce more diverse programs. But I don’t think our present producers, who are working so well together, would be too happy with that idea.
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52 GFN Radio
Top of The Drop By Daniel J. Springer Each month, Daniel Springer of the Gwangju Foreign Language Network (GFN) picks his favorite newly released tunes that you may not have heard yet, along with some upcoming albums and EPs that you might want to keep on your radar. — Ed.
CULTURE & ARTS
Joan as Police Woman with Tony Allen & Dave Okumu – “The Barbarian”
If you’re looking for three-minute hit diddies on this one, you’ll be very disappointed. But if you’re looking for masterful compositions that you can take a deep dive into and swim in for what seems like hours, this is your album. In one of the most thoughtfully executed full-lengths of the year, Joan Wasser, a.k.a. Joan as Police Woman, delivers the ninth LP of her career on The Solution Is Restless in stunning, lush fashion with the late father of Afrobeat Tony Allen and The Invisible’s Dave Okumu. The album in many ways feels like it had already been implanted in you since birth, sounding so eerily familiar and yet completely new and thrilling. This is seriously pro-grade stuff, and might be Joan’s best work to date, if not album of the year.
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
December 2021
Silk Sonic – “Put On a Smile”
File this album under an absolutely stellar instant classic. Bruno Mars and Anderson Paak’s new 1970’s soul-dipped album, An Evening with Silk Sonic, delivers on every single level, and with the hype of already released singles leading up to the sudden album drop, it’s a massive achievement that the album is just as good, if not better. “Put On a Smile” might be the best vocal harmonies of the year if not the decade, with the maximum slap epic drum rolls and string arrangements making for a tune that would make Marvin Gaye blush.
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Idles – “The Wheel”
Over the past few years, Idles have been gaining a devoted following with their aggressive and defiant post-punk sound. The band released their latest in Crawler just this past
month, and it’s certainly a change in a far more personal and pensive direction. For example, “The Wheel,” while combining the aggression and gruff vocals that Idles fans are familiar with, takes a very personal tone, with lead singer Joe Talbot talking about his hopelessly alcoholic mother.
Tasha – “Dream Still”
In the Chicago-based artist’s second career full-length Tell Me What You Miss the Most, Tasha focuses on all the moments of bliss, fleeting scintillas of beauty, and lovely minutes laughing before everything in life – relationships, jobs, etc. – fall apart. As far as the execution in transmitting that feeling through music, Tasha totally delivers.
Foals – “Wake Me Up”
In announcing their next as-yetunnamed LP due out next year, Foals are back to what they do best – making electronic rock bumps that absolutely smash everything in front of them with Yannis Philippakis belting it out in his own inimitable fashion. As a bonus, it seems the band have moved away from the self-produced method of Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost from 2019, so the overall sound is far crisper.
VC Pines – “Be Honest”
One young artist who’s definitely on the rise locally within the UK this year is VC Pines. His Concrete EP got huge airplay and support from all of the biggest outlets, and with this latest single, we see the young artist turning the page from his ruminations on being in lockdown London during the
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53 pandemic to a more hopeful motif of finding the light in the darkness and breaking the cycle of despair.
Adrian Quesada (feat. Aaron Frazer & David Hidalgo) – “One Woman Man”
In a brilliant collaboration, two of the biggest names in vintage soul have released this as part of the Look at My Soul: The Latin Shade of Texas Soul, a new original compilation from Adrian Quesada of Black Pumas. Here he teams up with Durand Jones and The Indications’ vocalist and drummer, Aaron Frazer, who’s also a brilliant solo artist and producer in his own right, in a tailor-made road trip jam.
Kaytranada (feat. H.E.R.) – “Intimidated”
Just out November 19 is the Torontobased producer’s latest three-track EP. Here on the title track he teams up with H.E.R. for an upbeat soulclapped bit of deep house that just has that incredible bit of extra cut and depth on the beat that makes Kaytra one of the best in the biz.
Curtis Harding – “Where’s the Love”
One of the best out there on the soul vocal tip has to be Atlanta’s Curtis Harding, who really arrived back in 2017 with the Face Your Fear LP. His latest full-length If Words Were Flowers just dropped in full last month and sees the artist contemplating over the meaning of love in his vintage, punchy manner that’ll already be familiar. In a pandemic world that’s still changing everything forever 18 months on, few are looking beyond their own little speck of the matrix as we navigate on social media and in our news feeds. For a real trip to somewhere else, Munya heads to space for a trip to the stars on Voyage to Mars for any of you out there bored with the inward life on terra. In the band’s sophomore LP Monsterhouse, Jules O’Neill and Sam Shea have delivered a much more electronic- and beats-infused album than their debut LP. An album three years in the making, most of the new
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Curtis Harding – If Words Were Flowers (November 5) Joan as Police Woman – The Solution Is Restless (November 5) Hana Vu – Public Storage (November 5) Neal Francis – In Plain Sight (November 5) Silk Sonic – An Evening with Silk Sonic (November 12) Courtney Barnett – Things Take Time, Take Time (November 12) Damon Albarn – The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure the Stream Flows (November 12) Idles – Crawler (November 12) Pip Blom – Welcome Break (November 12) Adele – 30 (November 19) Kaytranada – Intimidated (November 19) Sting – The Bridge (November 19) The Darkness – Motorheart (November 19)
LAST CALL FOR 2021! Arca – Kick II & Kick III (December 3) Tom Morello – The Atlas Underground Flood (December 3) Neil Young & Crazy Horse – Barn (December 10) Moses Sumney – Live from Blackalachia (December 10)
The Author
Daniel J. Springer (a.k.a. “Danno”) is the creator, host, writer, editor, and producer of “The Drop with Danno,” broadcasting nightly on GFN 98.7 FM in Gwangju and 93.7 FM in Yeosu, 8–10 p.m. Prior to this, he was a contributor to several shows on TBS eFM in Seoul, along with being the creator and co-host of “Spacious” and “White Label Radio” on WNUR in Chicago. You can find “The Damyang Drop,” his monthly collaborative playlist with The Damyang House, on YouTube and Spotify. @gfnthedrop Show RSS Feed: https://feeds.transistor.fm/the-drop-with-danno
December 2021
Warbly Jets – “Let Go: Be Free”
November Releases
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
Munya – “Voyage”
work on the album was technical, with the duo relearning (and even remaking due to a Paris burglary) their craft on the technical level, and the final product is well worth a full listen.
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www.gwangjunewsgic.com
December 2021
CULTURE & ARTS
54 Webtoon
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December 2021
Yun Hyoju was born and raised in Gwangju, and somehow ended up married to an Irish guy named Alan. She has been working on her short comic, “Alan and Me,” which is about their daily life. She publishes a new comic every week on Instagram. It can be found here: @alan_andme.
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
The Author
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CROSSWORD PUZZLE Created by Jon Dunbar
ACROSS 1 6 9 13 15 16 17 18 20 22 24 25 30 32 36 37 39
Pojang ___ English learner’s course Grad Water-dwelling micro-organism GIC’s type of business GFN’s ___ DJ program Mountain spirit Korean hobgoblin “Vegan is ___” Make a living “New phone who ___?” Large stringed instrument Prowl Very deep crack Perspective “Where ___” (2 words) Mascot version of 18 Across (2 words) 41 William Urbanski fears going here (2 words)
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44 47 51 52 55 56 58 60 61 66 70 73 74 75 76 77 78
Famous Korean beach “Take ___ at it” (2 words) “Once ___ a time” Start Depose or impeach City of 44 Across US int’l broadcaster Publisher of Transactions Meat-free buffet in Damyang Lee Min’s printmaking technique Annoying Mountain separating Honam and Yeongnam Hearing organ Gwangju-made compact SUV Alan and Me’s solution to malfunctioning door lock Place to study for 54 Down Fake person
Look for the answers to this crossword puzzle to appear in January in Gwangju News Online (www.gwangjunewsgic.com).
DOWN 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 14 19 21 22 23 26 27 28 29 31 33 34 35 38 40 42 43 44 45 46 48 49 50 53 54 57 59 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 71 72
Taco Bell slogan “Live ___” Reddit Q&A event Discusses “For ___ jolly good fellow” (2 words) In ___ (2 words) They justify the means Goes with soft or Mongolian Tom Hiddleston role Gardner or Duvernay Opposite of tell the truth Ray that gives you vitamin D Chiang ___ Shenanigan Broadcast regulator Byproduct of fire Lilly or Roth Shaman ritual Be that as it may (2 words) Actress Tyler Hawaiian wreath Hooting bird Big shot, in Hawaii Derrieres Goes with Yellow or Mediterranean Line in the middle of the DMZ Black and ___ “___ good turn daily” (2 words) Heard at a wedding (2 words) Sprinted Jeonju wants to be this financially Simpsons documentary The Problem with ___ Greek goddess of dawn They’re similar to radishes “Fit ___ fiddle” (2 words) “Boy With Luv” band Longoria or Mendes English proficiency test US domestic spy agency “That’s ___” (2 words) Follow commands Large flat stone Goes with earth or inch “And your point is?” (2 words) Clothes worn to bed Suffer a malady US gun org. Gratuity for restaurant workers in some countries Maiden name word Growling sound
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