Gwangju and South Jeolla International Magazine Gwangju and South Jeolla International Magazine
January 2022 #239
January 2022 #239 Adopt-a-Child: Something That Has to Be Done
Adopt-a-Child:
Something That Has to Be Done
Top 21 Albums for 2021
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1 Gwangju & South Jeolla International Magazine
From the Editor
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January 2022, Issue 239 Published: January 1, 2022 Cover Photo First snow on Dong-gu's walking trail. By William Urbanski
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 ©2022 by the Gwangju International Center. All rights reserved. No part of this publication covered by this copyright may be reproduced in any form or by any means – graphic, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise – without the written consent of the publisher.
Registration No. 광주광역시 라. 00145 (ISSN 2093-5315) Registration Date: February 22, 2010 Printed by Jieum 지음 (+82)-62-672-2566
Special thanks to Gwangju City and all of our sponsors.
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This is also a time to reflect on the past year – to reflect on what we have done, how successful we have been in what we have done, on what has gone on in the world around us, and how these things have affected us. In line with this, the January issue of the Gwangju News takes a reflective turn on 2021. The Adopt-a-Child program president discusses how this program for underprivileged children went ahead in 2021 despite the pandemic. We bring you the dope on the Top 21 albums of 2021 courtesy of GFN’s DJ with the musicmoniker “Danno.” KONA Storybook volunteers look back on their past year of service in helping disadvantaged children learn English through storybooks and story maps. Also in the reflective mood is our managing editor, who discusses what he considers to be the best Gwangju policy decision and the worst during 2021 [Opinion]. Doing more retrospection, he takes stock of his Korean-learning “progress” over the past year [Learning Korean]. Many of our readers who are not native speakers of Korean will likely be able to identify with this. We have three additional features this issue. One is about a miner and artist who uses coal, inkstone ink, and human hair as well as oils and acrylics – Hwang Jae-hyung. Another is about a Gwangju band who do much more in their performances than just music – The Group 4. And the third is about the biggest and most deadly Jeolla-centric uprising to occur in the past 150 years – the Donghak Peasants Rebellion [Blast from the Past]. I am sure you will want to read about the Harry Potter-themed restaurant Lucchetto, the Italian café Del Pisa, a trip to the old Gwangju Prison, the bamboo cathedral, a review of a Malcolm Gladwell book, as well as how Gwangju-area traditional roofs differ from the rest of the country, and about teaching English teachers and school principals. Stay Covid smart, stay Covid safe, be Covid protected, and enjoy the Gwangju News.
David E. Shaffer Editor-in-Chief Gwangju News
January 2022
For volunteering and article submission inquiries, please contact the editor at gwangjunews@gic.or.kr.
A new year suggests new beginnings: new resolutions, new aspirations, new adventures, new experiences. The cover photo containing arches over a pathway was selected to symbolize such new beginnings that we may enter into without full knowledge of where they may lead. The adventure continues . . .
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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
elcome to a new year – 2022. The entire staff of the Gwangju News joins me in wishing all of our magazine’s readers a meaningful, rewarding, and Covid-safe year. We also wish to thank you for your loyalty as readers.
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Photo of the Month
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January 2022
CULTURE & ARTS
By Aline Verduyn
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Frosty Roofs of Gangcheon-sa Visiting Gangcheon-san County Park in Sunchang is a must! Too late for autumn, we caught sight of these frosty temple roofs instead.
The Author
Originally from Belgium, Aline Verduyn has lived in Korea for five years. She has previously lived in Busan, Suwon, and Daegu but has found Gwangju to be her favorite city. Her goal is to visit every notable site in Korea. @gwangjumiin
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Contents
ISSUE 239, JANUARY 2022
NEWS 01. From the Editor 04. Gwangju City News FEATURES 06. Adopt-a-Child 2021: “Something That Has to Be Done” 08. GFN Radio: Top 21 Albums for ’21 13. KONA Storybook Experiences of 2021 16. People in the Arts: The Miner Artist, Hwang Jae-hyun – Mining for Truth 20. The Group 4: Art Is Dead 24. Blast from the Past: The Donghak Peasant Rebellion – A Bloody Chapter in Jeolla History COMMUNITY 27. Local Entrepreneur: Lucchetto, the Realm of Harry Potter 30. Expat Living: The Gift of Giving 32. Opinion: Big Hit, Then a Swing and a Miss – The Best and Worst of Gwangju in 2021 TRAVEL 34. Lost in Gwangju: The Great Leap Backward – A Look Inside the Old Gwangju Prison TEACHING & LEARNING 38. Language Teaching: Teaching Teachers and Principals 42. Learning Korean: The Adventure Continues 44. Everyday Korean: Episode 49. 눈이 높아서 문제야. “The Problem Is Your High Expectations.”
45. Restaurant Review: Del Pisa, the New Italian Sensation CULTURE & ARTS 02. Photo of the Month 46. Photo Essay: The Bamboo Cathedral 49. Gwangju Writes: Hansik 52. Book Review: Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell 54. Alan and Me: Episode 7. The Octopus 56. Crossword Puzzle
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January 2022
50. Restoring the Past: Chapter 3. Roofs of Gwangju’s Mass-Produced Hanok – Cost Efficiency or New Fashion?
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FOOD & DRINKS
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Gwangju City News From the Gwangju Metropolitan City website (http://gwangju.go.kr)
MONTHLY NEWS
Gwangju City to Host 2025 World Archery Championships Gwangju City has finally been selected as the host city for the 2025 World Archery Championships. In an online briefing, Gwangju’s Mayor Lee Yong Sup stated, “As a result of the voting of the World Archery Federation Steering Committee held in Lausanne, Switzerland, Gwangju’s bid was confirmed with overwhelming support, beating out Madrid (population 3.22 million), a worldclass sports and tourism city.”
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January 2022
Gwangju City participated in a video conference before the steering committee vote and once again explained in detail the strengths of the city, including infrastructure such as transportation and stadiums, as well as the 1.5 million citizens’ desire to host the competition. The World Archery Federation Steering Committee highly praised Gwangju as a city that has successfully hosted the 2015 Summer Universiade Games and the Gwangju 2019 World Aquatics Championships, and as a city that has facilities such as the Gwangju International Archery Center maintained at international standards and that has produced six Olympic gold medalists. To convey the will and desire of the city’s 1.5 million citizens to the steering committee, Gwangju City diligently prepared materials for the bid in a strategic and systematic manner. Aiming to make a perfect presentation to the World Archery Federation’s team that visited Gwangju in November, the city meticulously showed preparations for a successful event by using cutting-edge IT technology in 3D via a drone filming of the stadium. Gwangju City has established a close-cooperation system with the city council and the Korea Archery Association since it officially announced the bid for hosting the 2025 World Archery Championships back in March 2021.
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Moreover, in August the Competition Bidding Committee was officially launched by Mayor Lee Yong Sup and Chung Eui-sun, chairman of the Korea Archery Association, who co-chaired the committee, composed of 97 members including officials from political, administrative, sports, and related institutions, which became the cornerstone of the successful bid for the competition. During the World Archery Federation’s on-site inspection in November, Gwangju Mayor Lee Yong Sup led the entire inspection process and directly introduced the stadium to the inspection team, in addition to planning and participating in the welcome and farewell events. The biannual World Archery Championship is the most prestigious international archery event, with a history of more than 90 years, and is the largest such event in which all national representatives of the world’s recurve and compound bows participate. The 52nd Gwangju competition in 2025 will be the third time for Korea to host the World Archery Championships, after the 33rd event in Seoul in 1985 and the 45th event in Ulsan in 2009. The 2025 World Archery Championships will be held for eight days, September 5–12, at the Gwangju International Archery Center and the Asia Culture Center with 1,100 athletes and executives from 90 countries participating. In addition, the World Archery Federation Steering Committee has confirmed Gwangju as the venue for the 2022 Hyundai Archery World Cup (with 45 countries participating) and the 2025 World Archery Federation General Assembly, which were originally scheduled to be held in Shanghai, China.
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5 As Gwangju will host the 2025 World Archery Championships, following the 2015 Summer Universiade Games and the Gwangju 2019 World Aquatics Championships, it has once again confirmed its status as an international sports city, which will help with the revitalization of the local economy.
Gwangju Dong-gu (East District) Office News
Dong-gu Humanities Center to Open
Gwangju Mayor Lee Yong Sup stated, “I sincerely thank the citizens for their desire to host the 2015 World Archery Championships and their affection for archery. We will establish a closecooperation system with the World Archery Federation, the central government, and the Korea Archery Association.”
Gwangju City Video with BTS’s J-Hope Proves Popular
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The Humanities Center is stocked with books in collaboration with independent bookstores in Dong-gu. Moreover, humanities programs from various fields are to be showcased along with exhibitions. In addition, a shared kitchen has optimal conditions for cooking. There are various cooking products and cooking tables, and programs related to food are being planned. The Dong-gu Humanities Center is a space where area residents can strengthen their identity by sharing the space. It was made with the aim to become a tangible and intangible asset of Dong-gu by cherishing the traces of past lifestyles and keeping them intact. Opening is scheduled for January of this year. Location: 168-5 Donggyecheon-ro, Dong-gu, Gwangju. Inquiries: Dong-gu Humanities Urban Policy Division (062) 608-2175
January 2022
Translated by Melline Galani.
The design of the remodeled Dong-gu Humanities Center includes Korean, Japanese, and Western styles. The structure is a remnant of past eras in which the house’s former owner renovated sections of the house in different periods of Korea’s dynamic history. The newly remodeled main building is to be used as an archive and exhibition space, for humanities lectures, and for humanities-related club activities, while a tearoom is for the convenience of users where various craft programs related to tea are to take place.
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A promotional video produced by Gwangju City that features BTS member J-Hope, who was born in Gwangju, has received an explosive response from fans around the world, with a record 2.85 million views in just a week on social media channels. The video, entitled “Finding Hope: To Gwangju in Search of Hope,” was uploaded to Gwangju City’s official YouTube channel, “Light Tube,” on October 26. Instead of simply introducing the city of Gwangju, this promotional video is in the form of a travel vlog that features five themes of Gwangju: courtesy, intention, beauty, nature, and travel, based on the “hope” of J-Hope, making it much more interesting. URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2nW JaJa96Y
The Dong-gu Office discussed with related experts and residents the preservation of a house in the district that was slated to be demolished to build a parking lot. It was decided to convert it into the Dong-gu Humanities Center, a center for area residents’ humanities-related activities.
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Adopt-a-Child 2021 “Something That Has to Be Done” Inter view with Sarah Hale
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January 2022
FEATURE
G
wangju News (GN): Thank you for taking the time to do this interview. First of all, could you please give us an overview of the Adopt-a-Child program? Sarah Hale: Adopt-a-Child Gwangju was founded in 2010 by Al Barnum. Its main goal is to get Christmas gifts for children at the orphanages in Gwangju. We began with simple gifts, then shifted to winter clothing, and now we have a 50,000-won budget for each child we serve to pick whatever gift they want in that price range. We have covered at most nine orphanages in the city but have been focusing on Sungbin Girl’s Home and Ilmaek Boy’s Home for the past few years. GN: What is your role in the program? Sarah Hale: I am the president of the organization, but we have not had a group of people working on the program for some time due to the pandemic, so the title seems silly. Technically, it is just myself and Yuri Lee, who helps me w i t h finding impossible items in the Korean online shopping sphere and is my go-between with the orphanages we cover each year. There are also always friends and volunteers that help wrap gifts, drop them off, and write Christmas card messages.
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GN: Why do you feel it is especially i mp o r t a nt to support children who live in orphanages? Why is this a special cause for you?
Sarah Hale: I do not find it a special cause necessarily, just a necessity. While Christmas is not as much of a family holiday in Korea, it is still visible around the country and celebrated widely. I do not want one of these kids to not have a present they can share and show their friends at school like the other children. It is also something they get to have full control over and spend however they like. Gifts have included a professional coffee-making set for a boy who wanted to become a barista, a mattress for an older boy about to move out, name-brand fashion items they would not normally be able to afford, a giant kitchen set for a little girl, and an air fryer for an older girl also about to move out. It is not that it must be Christmas, but just that every culture has a familial celebration where gifts are exchanged, and that should not mean that kids in situations out of their control should not be able to celebrate, too. GN: Organizing and carrying out this program every year is a lot of work. What makes you want to keep doing it year after year? Sarah Hale: I have no idea. It is very rewarding when we drop off the gifts, and I love seeing the pictures. It is just something that I think has to be done. I do not have much of a poetic response to why I continue to do it. I just cannot imagine not doing it. GN: Were you ever involved in any activities like this before coming to Korea? Sarah Hale: Yes, I was. I volunteered when I lived in Constanta, Romania, in 2006–2007 at an orphanage for children who were HIV positive and also in an orphanage in Bulgaria, when I lived there in 2009–2010, that did a similar Christmas gift exchange. I started volunteering here at Sungbin Girl’s Home in 2012 and from there got involved in the Adopt-a-Child program in its infancy. GN: We understand that some of your traditional fundraising methods are on hold because of COVID-19. How have you been working around this?
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Boys’ Home in 2020. ▲ Christmas with Ilmaek
▲ Christmas with Sun gbi
n Girls’ Home in 202
0.
GN: As many people in the Gwangju community are no doubt aware, you are the 2017 recipient of the Michael Simning Community Builder Award. Can you speak to the importance of being involved in one’s community, and in particular, the Gwangju community? Sarah Hale: Well, I would not be doing this Christmas drive or have the ability to run the Sungbin volunteering program if it were not for Michael Simning. We need people like Michael who lead our community and bring us together such as Craig and Ron at Loft, Caleb at Nirvana, Kelly Kim with GOFG, Taesang Park with Dreamers, or Melline working on I cannot even count how many things. Gwangju has always been famous in a way for our tight-knit and service-minded foreign community. I have felt a sense of loss in how we were pre-pandemic, but we still have our pillars, and I do not think this will break us. Gwangju has always had a magnetic pull for expats who bring our community together, and I do not think that will stop.
Photographs courtesy of Adopt-a-Child Gwangju. Interviewed by Melline Galani.
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The Interviewee
Sarah Hale has lived in Gwangju since February 2012, almost a decade. She is originally from Maine, USA, and now works at Dongshin University in Naju. Sarah has an adult daughter named Jieun and the cutest dog in the world named Harold. Program Website: https://www.adoptachildgwangju.com/
The Interviewer
Melline Galani is a Romanian enthusiast, born and raised in the capital city of Bucharest, and is currently living in Gwangju. She likes new challenges and learning interesting things, and she is incurably optimistic. Melline loves living life as it is. @melligalanis
January 2022
GN: In all your years being involved with this program, are there any particularly special moments that stand out to you? Sarah Hale: Making people I know reluctantly dress as Santa is always entertaining. Really, seeing the kids excitedly open the gifts and show them off is always special. I have more comedy-of-errors situations that I always remember. For instance, there is the time when a girl wanted a straightening iron for her hair and was given a clothes iron, which we were able to replace within 30 minutes with both a straightening iron and curler! In the end, we were able to give the new clothes iron to a very excited imo (이모, auntie) who takes care of the girls.
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Sarah Hale: Luckily, I have always tried to keep a surplus of money in our account, since I usually need to start shopping at the end of October or beginning of November. We also keep extra in there to pay for volunteering activities at Sungbin Girl’s Home when we could go there pre-pandemic. I have put on two fundraisers since the pandemic began with Justin Gunn Taylor, which the American military was involved in, and those have held us over. The American military is also helping out by writing the majority of our Christmas card messages this December. We are all set for now, but I need to be able to hold events for 2022 to keep it going. Hopefully, we can revive the Date Auction this summer!
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GFN Radio
Top 21 Albums for ’21 Danno Picks His Top Albums of 2021 By Daniel J. Springer
FEATURE
T
he past year has been quite strong in a lot of elements that one would most assuredly not want to highlight for anything. Mainly, of course, the ongoing COVID-19 wars have caused most of these multifaceted negatives that professors in several depressing disciplines will be puzzling over and arguing about for decades to come, but generally speaking, 2021 was nothing to write home about, except that it was a decent bit better than 2020, aka The Year That Lasted 80 Years. However, for those searching for light at the end of the tunnel, faint glimmers of hope and bright sunny smiles from amidst the seemingly endless morass, music was certainly (and very thankfully – can you imagine if not?) a very big plus in the world this past year.
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
January 2022
So, for those who don’t have all day to do this like I’m (un)lucky enough to be able to do (unlucky as in I listen to a lot of absolute garbage in a given day), we’re going to go over some of the best albums of the year-that-was in this article. Now, as far as criteria, the main thing is that I personally enjoyed these albums, just so that’s out of the way. Extra points were given for albums that I think reflect the times or are otherwise culturally relevant. So, let’s begin the countdown from #21. 21. Griffith James – Comfortably High In his full-length debut that was both touched by COVID-19 and seemingly an angel that has blessed his continued existence, LA-based indie artist Griffith James has created something very special with indie darlings Tennis. Initially, when James was invited by Tennis to record at their home base in Denver, this wasn’t even supposed to be an album but just a couple of songs. While many artists
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have called their debut LP a lifetime in the making to the point of it becoming banally cliché, James has truly done it with this record. James in his lifetime was raised in a group that became a religious and personality cult over time, forcing him to run away at 18. A life on the streets of Seattle and San Francisco followed, with his eventual salvation coming from a Buddhist monk in the former. These experiences are vividly captured on this brilliantly produced record, with the artist laying bare his feelings on organized religion, falling in love with sin, and generally finding oneself. Griffith James obviously has on Comfortably High. 20. Tasha – Tell Me What You Miss the Most It’s very hard to capture the moments even in memory of the joys that make life worth living. That is, before everything all falls apart, which it most certainly has on the macro level and does all too regularly after the most fleeting momentitos of joy for pretty much all of us. The Chicago-based Tasha in her sophomore LP captures these types of glorious albeit fleeting flickers of time in an unpredictable yet poignant fashion, giving us a reminder of what makes life worth all the trouble at its very essence. It’s funny how the mind and memory work. On the one hand, horrible experiences are laughed about later or sung about endlessly in songs. The smiles, happy puppy dogs, moments of love, and giggles with friends are harder to memorialize. In this, Tasha has done an amazing job and has given us all a little something to cherish. 19. The War on Drugs – I Don’t Live Here Anymore The War on Drugs have always existed in a rather nebulous zone stylistically, a rather thick gray area betwixt love and hate, physical and emotional, tattoos
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9 and virgin skin. On this latest album, lead singer Adam Grundicel is once again hopelessly asea in the doldrums, only hoping for what’s to come and his finding the great savior, most often noted as “babe” on this or any past record. While this odyssey, like the actual production of the record itself, seems so grandiose and hopelessly epic, it does work in spectacular fashion on a sonic and emotional level. Even through some of the lyricism can border a bit on the cliché, one can’t help but cry out with him through this latest semi-quixotic audio adventure in seeking fulfillment. 18. Durand Jones & The Indications – Private Space Ask any popular band and they will tell you – keeping your fans but updating your sound is a major challenge. Enter Private Space, the Indiana-bred, New York-based band’s third LP. Stylistically, it’s definitely an update, with the band on a handful of cuts opting for a more disco and dancefloor vibe that’s more Chic than Marvin Gaye. However, that’s merely what you get at the door on Private Space, as the best songs on this LP are the vintage soul joints that made a name for the band. While American Love Call was one of the best albums of 2019, this is the band’s strongest outing on an album to date.
16. Snail Mail – Valentine In her second full-length outing, Lindsey Jordan is sending a bit of balm to all those wounded by love and affection. Which, if you need it pointed out, is everyone.
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15. St. Vincent – Daddy’s Home The shapeshifter alien of the music world, Annie Clark, was back at it in 2021 with another morphology that took a trip into vintage 1970s rock and soul chic. Not a single detail from the notes to the vocal carries to the outlandish wardrobes are unaccounted for, brought lovingly to your experience in a most meticulous fashion. While a tribute to some of the rock legends that she adores, the record is also intensely personal in that it’s both a rumination on her father’s incarceration and her own deep-seated fears of becoming a parent herself. This is an album that truly shines even bathed in the sepia and grain of yesterday’s photographs long lost. 14. Tyler, The Creator – Call Me If You Get Lost Let’s just face it right here: Tyler, The Creator is the best around in hip-hop, and he’s only getting better. In 2019, the still-maturing artist was growing into his boots in a way, which of course didn’t prevent him from also making one of the year’s best albums in Igor. Whereas that record was intensely personal and introspective, befitting the young man’s age and emotional outlook, Call Me If You Get Lost reflects a more assured, macrocosmic outlook. What’s fascinating about this record is the mixtape format, which gives the listener a look both into the Tyler of now and a trip back to his early days of releases. 13. Julien Baker – Little Oblivions It’s been rather surprising to see this album missed by many of the music “critterati” in the larger publications here at the year’s end. As opposed to previous outings where a stripped-down sound gave the artist her calling
January 2022
Cavalcade is both far more ambitious and sweeping than the previous run out, and far more focused in that mission. In fact, to call the album post-punk does the album a major disservice, as the tangible taste of jazz within the cocktail makes it a truly satisfying drink of darkness.
In the end, it might seem a bit hefty and glum to be focusing on the natural state of love as being mainly that of disrepair. But is that not true for most of us?
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17. Black Midi – Cavalcade In 2019, this hyper-talented, UKbased band put out their debut album Schlagenheim, and to be honest, it sounded less master of their craft than a very gifted college garage band trying to figure things out. On this record, Black Midi are making a serious case to be the best post-punk band around.
Valentine is a documentation of love in its many states, with the focus being on the neglected and out-of-order. But there’s a lot going on here in this love letter on love itself, with the black of bedrock and the glorious pink of bliss thrown in to give the canvas vibrance and fullness.
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10 card, Little Oblivions gives Baker a more expansive canvas and tools to work with. Many seem to still express the idea that Baker’s work shows the limits of where she can go musically and that she’s somehow the little sister to Boygenious partners Lucy Dacus and Phoebe Bridgers. This record puts such arguments to bed. 12. Mdou Moctar – Afrique Victime One of the most gifted guitarists of today, the Tuareg Nigerian artist is a very local blast from the past in an exceedingly vivid present. Whereas listening to this LP might be picturing an alternative universe where Jimi Hendrix didn’t die at 27 and took a trip to Africa to record with Ali Farka Toure a la Ginger Baker’s adventures with Fela Kuti and Afrika 70 back in the day, this would be a much more locally rooted affair in reality. Moctar gathered with his bandmates in the backyard of a friend's house in Niger late last year, with a crowd naturally gathering during their impromptu session, dancing and swaying with them as the sounds burst into the Saharan nighttime air. The result is Afrique Victime, a highly expansive, experimental, and extravagant tourde-force on West African traditional stylings punctuated with unbelievable moments of psyche that give it a touch of Hendrix and the best days of the Zamrock era further south in Africa.
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January 2022
11. Idles – Crawler
The Bristol-based band over the course of time has become a kind of emeritus chair in the department of post-punk, but this very textured and daring album that seemed to rise straight out from under our feet is a testament to the band’s exploratory and defiant nature. This album is hard to get a grip on even for the seasoned listener, but the satisfaction is very much there if you let it grow with a few listens. While that most certainly makes it almost the antithesis of their last LP, Ultra Mono, which debuted at #1, that does not a bad album make. In fact, this is one of the absolute best of the year in the rock category, but it’s grown folks’ biz.
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10. Magdalena Bay – Mercurial World This is a band that’s been on the rise in the indie world with their previous releases, but it never seemed to go much beyond top spots on SubmitHub and such, as the duo were mainly releasing singles and mixtapes. Enter Mercurial World, which is Magdalena Bay’s proper debut album. This record has a vintage amorphous aspect that makes you feel like you somehow grew up with it but are in fact hearing it for the first time. The careful delivery in the synth-centric arrangements and songwriting style make it familiar to those amongst us who can remember the aughts and 90s in music, but its overall navigational guide is firmly rooted in the contemporaries and pop artists of right now. 9. Adele – 30
One of the most anticipated LPs of the year certainly didn’t disappoint, as Adele delivered what might be her most personal and diversely constructed full-length to date. The album serves as Adele’s (presumably happening later) explanation to her young son on what divorce is. Clearly still struggling with the duality of being both not married and a mother, Adele throws in poignant moments of recordings with her son as she opens up to him about how she feels in conversation with clearly larger problems on her mind. The instrumental arrangements on this LP are both beautiful and strikingly subtle, given the counterpoint of having the best vocalist of her generation still absolutely belting home runs in the big moments. This just might be Adele’s best yet in an already stupefying career of success. 8. Genesis Owusu – Smiling with No Teeth There’s really no way of describing this record. On his professional debut, the Australia-via-Ghana artist delivers a record that’s an opus to unbridled expression, freeform creation, and a genre-free world. Punching his vocals from singing to rapping to literal directing on the record, this is no mere “Australian hip-hop” LP, with explorations of jazz, soul, punk, and even folk during a wild yet controlled ride in avant-funk. Consider this the anarchist side B of the current rebellion to the normative boredoms of mumble rap and
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11 the dying dominants on the commercial side of hip-hop. Now for side A and the guns of the Nararone, we come to #7. 7. Little Simz – Sometimes I Might Be Introvert In what’s unquestionably hip-hop’s most sweeping and masterclass album of 2021, we see the artist on her third LP neither half- nor misstepping in any way. Sometimes I Might Be Introvert is superlatively produced, diverse in sound selection, and in a word, epic. On the lyrical front, we see a fully grown Little Simz ruminating down to the bone with introspection over everything from soaring full orchestras down to very pared-back beats. In the process, she’s cemented herself as the UK’s preeminent hip-hop artist, a landmark in the world today. For those looking past the metronomic monotony of the trap and mumble sound that’s run roughshod over mainstream hip-hop for seeming eons, Little Simz is the modern assassin carrying the revolutionary banner for the golden age of hip-hop’s restoration. 6. Japanese Breakfast – Jubilee As far as artists go in the new generation coming up and reaching primetime, one doesn’t have much to think about when selecting the captain of the team in KoreanAmerican Michelle Zauner. While she wrote a New York Times bestselling rumination on her mother called “Crying in H-Mart,” which was published earlier this year, she also put out an album that’s high on considerations for album of the year.
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In short retort: no, now get out. This record is an instant classic, which had a hype that was somewhat out of control and bound to eventually attract the lazy abovementioned upchuckery. Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak have created an incredibly fun, infectious album of vintage funk and soul rooted firmly in modern sensibilities that will stand as a mighty monument forever. 3. Turnstile – Glow On In the modern audioverse, rock and especially its very angry younger brother hardcore have become almost an afterthought. That is, a relic to their supposed past glories and conquests left to old people in their now ill-fitting leather vests to ruminate upon. For those paying attention, this supposed norm might have just gotten smashed to bits on Turnstile’s third LP, Glow On. Produced by Kenny Beats, this record is all the things that make rock great: passion, groove, and absolutely epic riffs. While it’s certainly not a crossover record, there are little touches of soul that make this more than a straight hardcore record and elevate it into the top rock album of the year, if not the overall #1. 2. Joan as Police Woman with Tony Allen and Dave Okumu – The Solution Is Restless On Joan Wasser’s latest and ninth career album, there’s no amount of space on an extra-large canvas that’s left unexplored. Born of a few sessions in Paris with dearly departed Afrobeat father Tony Allen and The Invisible’s Dave Okumu that metastasized into a masterclass full-length,
January 2022
5. Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds – Carnage It’s hard to find a more admirable thinker and seasoned musician in the world than “Aussie punk pioneer turned global emotional mirror and truth-teller” Nick Cave. His modern works are pensive, almost brooding reflections on the state of the world, with his most recent being the haunting Ghosteen from 2019.
4. Silk Sonic – An Evening with Silk Sonic The common complaints that have been aired about this record fall into a few exceedingly half-assed critical areas. One is that the album is a mere 70s golden age of funk and soul retread. The other is that the record should be longer. Finally, you have the (mostly clickbait) “it’s just not that good” or some similar piece of lazy internet barf.
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Jubilee is a buffet of subgenre sonic exploration rooted in the artist’s shining previous outings in the indie sense. Whereas Zauner till recently had felt trapped by her own songwriting on dour subjects and elegies on sadness in other works, this record is a break from the mold, a shining celebration of joy that breaks both the listener and the artist out of the critics’ dungeon.
Enter Carnage, which is so spot on in the age of pandemic, political parody, and abject sadness that it hurts almost worse than the real thing. Almost. A record that’s for neither the faint of heart nor the impatient, it might be Cave’s best work in a long and very storied career.
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12 the artist here creates an unforgettable blend of deep colors and darkly glimmering images of sumptuous depth. The Solution Is Restless feels less like Wasser and her esteemed company created it from scratch but more like they pulled it directly from inside your spine. Haunting and refreshing, dusty and factory new, sitting in the dark weeping and smiling in the sunshine of eternality, this is both Joan as Police Woman’s opus and a fitting venue for Tony Allen to do his unmatched syncopated stylings, further cementing his legacy as one of the alltime greatest. 1. Floating Points with Pharoah Sanders and The London Symphony Orchestra – Promises In what’s not merely album of the year but one of the most original and haunting pieces of audio that’s been created in many of them, one cannot be faulted for staring a little too long at the collaboration on this record trying to comprehend what you’re looking at before even taking the dive in. Jazz saxophone legend Pharoah Sanders is now over 80, and admits that he doesn’t even really listen to music at all anymore, but rather the stuff that others don’t listen to, like the waves in the water.
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January 2022
Enter British producer Sam Shepherd, aka Floating Points, one of the most respected up-and-coming names in dance music. Shepherd, who composed this stunning continuous 46 minutes of emotional dissonance, was able to both get the London Symphony Orchestra to play it and also get the man listening to what we take for granted to strap on his sax once again. The result is a record that can at points run mumble so low that it might make the listener check the speakers to make sure they’re on. However, there are the crescendos, which are earth-shattering expansions of
the cosmos, leaving the psyche still there, but merely floating with gravity’s pull. The addition of Sanders both on his instrument of choice and in rumbling melodic interludes of thought merely puts the platinum sheen on this mighty colossus, a record for the ages.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
(The Rest of the Top 40) Faye Webster – I Know I’m Funny haha Sleaford Mods – Spare Ribs The Weather Station – Ignorance El Michels Affair – Yeti Season Sault – Nine Dry Cleaning – New Long Leg Black Country, New Road – For the First Time Halsey – If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power Shame – Drunk Tank Pink Iceage – Seek Shelter Madlib – Sound Ancestors Low – Hey What BadBadNotGood – Talk Memory Lucy Dacus – Home Video Olivia Rodrigo – Sour Arlo Parks – Collapsed in Sunbeams Squid – Bright Green Fields Twice – Taste of Love Lana Del Rey – Blue Bannisters
The Author
Daniel J. Springer (aka “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
Notice on Vaccine Pass
From December 13, 2021, the "Vaccine Pass" is being fully implemented, so it is compulsory to show your "Vaccine Certificate" when you visit the Gwangju International Center (GIC). According to government regulations, you are not allowed to enter the GIC if you have not been vaccinated. Children and youth younger than 18 years old are excluded from the Vaccine Pass system, but if their parents or guardians have not been vaccinated, they may be denied entry to the GIC. Thank you for your kind understanding.
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13
FEATURE
KONA Storybook Experiences of 2021 KONA, the Korean Organization of the Natural Approach, is a UNESCO-sponsored initiative to help underprivileged children to learn English through storybooks. Volunteers assist children in orphanages, at community children centers, at day-care centers, and at the KONA Storybook Center in normal times, and online during pandemic times. Here, three of the KONA Volunteers share their experiences and thoughts on contributing their services to KONA throughout the past year. — Ed.
My Year of Volunteering at UNESCO-KONA By Shilpa Rani
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After being associated with KONA for several years, I had to return to India. But the COVID-19 pandemic brought us all back together, this time via the internet. Volunteers from Korea (KONA-families), foreign volunteers from India (myself), Canada (Kevan), and other volunteers residing in Korea from Japan (Yoshiko), Bangladesh (Nayan), India (Shikha), Uzbekistan (Mati), and children from the Gwangju Children’s Home in Gwangju all participate in a Zoom call from their respective homes on the day of volunteering. We split into breakout rooms due to the large number of participants and read and learn from one another. I am delighted for the student volunteers because meeting people from various origins and cultures
January 2022
This quote by Bedford encapsulates the goals of the Korean Organization of the Natural Approach’s (KONA) teaching and learning process. I first visited UNESCO-KONA as a speaker at the KONA Vision Talk in 2010. I met the young volunteers in training there, and I saw how much better children learn from each other than from a one-sided lecture from an adult teacher. They were not even aware that teaching was happening, and learning, too. The idea of learning a language through stories and story maps piqued my interest. Every story is turned into a map, which stimulates visual learning.
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“You can teach a student a lesson for a day; but if you can teach him to learn by creating curiosity, he will continue the learning process as long as he lives.” — Clay P. Bedford
I have been a member of the KONA family since 2014. It has been a process of learning and growth for me. Over the years, I have had the opportunity to participate in weekend cultural exchange programs, buddy reading programs, KONA vision talks, Children’s English Library (CEL) volunteering, storytelling sessions at Gwangju International Community Day, and in the Gwangju World Storybook Festival, in addition to volunteering at the Gwangju Children’s Home twice a month.
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14 broadens their perspective of the world and alleviates their fear of strangers. They learn to care and love the earth more when they realize that, despite our differences, we are all members of the same large universal family. The pandemic has affected the children socially. Professor Kim Youngim, the founder of KONA Volunteers, was nice enough to permit my son, Adhrit Pradeep, to volunteer as well, and each week he used to prepare a science topic for discussion. He enjoyed connecting with children and sharing his thoughts. This past year, I have also had the chance to engage with senior citizens who are interested in story mapping as a method of learning. Their eagerness to learn is contagious. Even though I live 5,000 kilometers away, we have been able to connect, communicate, and be a part of the KONA volunteering family, cherishing our time together.
Storybook Center in 2021, which helped me gain confidence by giving me a chance to try something new and build a real sense of achievement. Since 2020, I have been doing my volunteer work through Zoom, where I can have a great time regardless of why I do it. My volunteering day is every first Saturday of the month from 13:00 to 15:00. During my volunteer time, I see some Korean families and foreign volunteers, including Shilpa Rani and Shikha Dubey from India, who are all very outgoing and love working with children. They always inspire me with their punctuality and abilities in teaching children. Everyone is unique in their own way. My experience with KONA was special and I would love to volunteer there again in 2022.
I have discovered that we all have an inherent responsibility to assess our impact on others and, eventually, to care for them. As a result, we must be willing to share what we individually have of value. I believe impressions made as a child leaves lasting imprints in our memories. I hope I can positively influence these memories in children through my volunteering. We never know how our actions may make an impact on someone’s life!
My Virtual KONA Volunteering Experiences in 2021
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January 2022
By Matkhiya Usmonova
One of the words that defined 2020 and 2021 is “pandemic” – it still literally means “affecting everyone.” The coronavirus has changed all aspects of our lives, and it has led to surprising discoveries. By facing a pending lockdown again in 2021, I dedicated 24 hours of volunteer service to the KONA program. As many already know, the KONA Storybook Center, founded in 2004 by Professor Kim Young-im, is a small research center that supports UNESCO-KONA volunteers. Its specific target is to help disadvantaged children learn English independently through storybooks and story maps. It also motivates families and children to love reading storybooks in English. This year, I also got a chance to give my time and use my skills and passion to make positive changes in disadvantaged students’ lives. In this article, I would like to share my great virtual experiences at the KONA
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▲ One KONA student's story map.
Ten minutes before our volunteer work begins, we join Zoom and discuss what to do with Professor Kim. We also sing inspirational Korean and English songs before starting our work. There will be around 12 students getting prepared to read their storybooks and draw story maps. Our job is to assist them to study English in proper ways as we read short English stories from the websites Little Fox and Unite for Literacy Library. Then the students will read after us, and we check their mistakes related to pronunciation while making a video with Zoom’s recording function. Afterward, we ask some questions related to the stories and make the lesson more informative with in-depth communication. I hope that our work inspires children in learning the English language. This work with students lasts for an hour, and in the remaining hour, the volunteers upload their work in the form of screenshots and recorded videos on both the KONA Storybook and KONA English Center websites. Finally, we put grades like “Okay,” “Excellent,” and “Perfect” on the website for students’ participation. Disadvantaged children from the KONA English Center spend their precious time studying English online with foreign volunteers, and it is one of their most valuable
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15 moments during the period of the COVID-19 pandemic. As for me, I am grateful to Professor Kim for giving me such chances to feel part of something outside my friends as well as family and to learn new skills, gain experience, and sometimes even qualifications. Most importantly, through KONA volunteering, I can challenge myself to try something different, achieve personal goals, practice using my skills, and discover hidden talents.
My Covid-Era UNESCO-KONA Volunteering Experiences By Shikha Dubey
“There is some good in this world, and it’s worth fighting for.” — J.R.R. Tolkien, The Two Towers That is right, and I believe that the quote stated above is one of the motives of the founder of KONA, Professor Kim. Moreover, this quote motivates me to endure and compete against many of life’s difficulties. I also believe this is what many frontline coronavirus fighters like doctors, nurses, and many back-end fighters like researchers and Covid-control teams believe in, as they have been striving to battle against this pandemic for more than two years now. None of us could have imagined that in this advanced and highly technological world, we would encounter such a pandemic for such a long time, which not only affects one’s physical health but also the mental health of people around the globe.
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To make the kids’ studies exciting and fun, we sometimes arranged cultural sessions, where we learned about other countries’ cultures. After the session ended, all the volunteers updated Professor Kim with information about the students’ performance and ideas for how to improve our online KONA sessions – that is how we ended our volunteering each day. All the volunteers together enjoy teaching these kids. I personally found this volunteering so helpful in my life. Although I have not met any children in person because of social distancing, I still enjoy teaching them and learning from them. This helps me keep my sanity and keep my energy high by doing these good deeds. Of course, I would like to meet all the students in person after this pandemic situation gets better. I am so grateful to Professor Kim for giving me this opportunity and allowing me to be a part of such a great organization. Apart from my daily work life, this volunteering has also helped me in learning new skills and has given me such a great experience despite the pandemic. Lastly, I would like to mention that we should never give up in our lives; there is always hope. And that is what I can say after meeting the children from Gwangju Children’s Home. For more information on KONA Volunteering, please refer to page 59 of this issue.
January 2022
I am a comparatively new member of KONA, as I started volunteering in September 2020, when the COVID-19 situation in Korea was at its peak. I was going through some difficult situations at that time, as I could not visit
Later, after getting some experience, I started volunteering every second Saturday of the month on Zoom at Gwangju Children’s Home, 13:00–15:00. I, along with Professor Kim and other co-volunteers, joined our Zoom session. We do pre-session prep before the children join us. After some singing, we go to breakout rooms. Pictures are taken of the students with their story maps, after which they tell their stories from the maps. As volunteers we help with grammar and pronunciation problems, give motivating evaluations and upload them to the website.
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We have all faced lockdowns, social distancing, and many other struggles. But even such difficulties have not been able to stop the KONA organization from serving its goal, and its founder kept motivating all of the volunteers, including myself, to teach and help some unprivileged children through our organization. KONA’s goal and vision are to help unprivileged and disadvantaged children by teaching them English through storybooks and story maps, and by making English books and teaching accessible for free worldwide. With this aim, the KONA Storybook Center was established in 2004 by Professor Kim in Gwangju. In this article, I would like to share some of my volunteering experiences at KONA and how they influenced my life throughout this pandemic.
my family and friends in India due to the pandemic. Then somehow, I got into contact with Professor Kim and decided to dedicate some of my time to some of the noble deeds of KONA. Due to the pandemic, I started online volunteering through Zoom. In the beginning, I joined for two Saturdays a month and observed how my co-volunteers conducted their online lessons. I met my KONA co-volunteers from different countries, such as India, Uzbekistan, Japan, Bangladesh, and Canada, along with young Korean volunteers. I was motivated by noticing how all the volunteers were so dedicated to their work at KONA and how all of them enjoyed teaching the children at Gwangju Children’s Home. I enjoyed all the sessions; the participants were all so well behaved and friendly.
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16 People in the Arts
The Miner Artist, Hwang Jae-hyung Mining for Truth By Kang Jennis Hyunsuk
FEATURE
I
n the summer of 2016, I had the opportunity to participate in a special art class called Bokgwe 5. It was an art camp organized by the Gwangju Museum of Art. Luckily, I was able to learn from my favorite artist, Hwang Jae-hyung, who encouraged the participants by telling us that everybody has the instinct of creation. For ten days from 9 to 5, he led us in group discussions along with some theoretical classes and diverse practical classes in the arts. It has already been almost six years since that time. One day during the art camp, we went to Paengmok Port in Jindo by bus. The families of five missing victims were still waiting at the port. The 2014 Sewol disaster had resulted in 299 casualties, most of whom were students who were on a school trip to Jeju Island. As a mother with children myself, I could not stop crying. We all cried together.
remember one of your artworks in that exhibit. It included a distorted aluminum washbasin belonging to the famous writer, Han Seung-won [the father of Han Kang, author of Human Acts, 소년이 온다). Can I ask what kind of story you put into that sorry washbasin? Hwang Jae-hyung: The writer Han Seung-won had left Seoul and returned to his hometown, Jangheung. When I visited him, I spotted an aluminum washbasin placed near the side of the well in his yard. To me, the modest aluminum washbasin looked as if it were deserting the comforts of civilization. The position of the washbasin meant that he had to squat down in the yard to wash his face even in the cold of winter. The gelidity would spread to
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January 2022
On another day, we climbed Mt. Mudeung in Gwangju and sat apart in front of a small stone, a little leaf, and then a tree. Artist Hwang had us break down the image of the objects and try to draw the original character of each with “the eyes of our mind.” I appreciated Hwang’s efforts to have the participants realize that art is close to the ordinary individual. He is one of my most admired teachers who has led me through this fascinating world of art. So, I would like to here introduce Hwang Jae-hyung to everyone who may not know him. Artist Hwang was born in Boseong, Jeollanam-do, though he now lives in Taebaek. He is known as both a miner and an artist. I am grateful to him for agreeing to this interview. Jennis: After your four-month-long exhibition at the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, I imagine you are in need of some time for a rest. But I am thankful that you are permitting this interview. I remember the day you let us share the agony of the families of the Sewol ferry victims. When we were on our way back to Gwangju, we stopped by an art exhibition in Jangheung. The exhibition was held under the theme of “Jangheung’s Story.” I still
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▲ Exposed Face, by Hwang Jae-Hyung (2017, human hair on canvas; Gana Art collection).
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▲ Artist Lee Min
17 the whole body, but it could also awaken the mind. Just like the old scholar’s saying, “Many firsts and constant starts,” I felt that the washbasin symbolized the beginning of Han Seung-won’s new life, washing himself with the water of his hometown. Jennis: I am curious about your childhood. I heard you were born in Boseong, Jeollanam-do. Hwang Jae-hyung: That is correct. I was a child who played alone rather than with others. My family told me that as a child, I liked to draw in the white sandy beach all day long, but I do not remember that well. I moved to Gwangju when I was in the fifth grade of elementary school. At that time, I liked to draw Yun Du-seo’s (1668–1715) self-portrait, which was in our school textbook.
Jennis: You majored in fine art in Chung-Ang University in Seoul. And you have been working in realism art. So, some people call you one of the masters of Korean minjung art (the people’s art). What do you think of it? Hwang Jae-hyung: I do not think it is meaningful to categorize art based on whether it is minjung art or not. This is because art cannot be separated by any barrier or cut with any straight edge.
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mine in Taebaek during my vacation in college. At that time, more than a few miners died in coal mine accidents. I kept one of the victim’s work clothes. He had been called by his number, “Hwangji 330,” not by his name. I wanted to record a memory of him in a painting, and that painting was over two meters tall. For that painting, I received an award at the Jung-ang Art Competition when I was a junior in college. After receiving the award for the Hwangji 330 work, I could not stop asking myself, “How do you know the feelings of miners? Are you not just pretending to know?” I felt ashamed of myself, as merely a spectator and observer. I thought that my intellectual play and ideological fiction were acts of betraying the world. So, I felt that I had no choice but to pack up to find an authentic answer to this fundamental question. That is why I left for Taebaek with my wife and child to start a new life as a miner. About a month after I started working, my colleagues gave me a welcoming party. We sang and danced with exciting rhythms that seemed to drive away the fear in our minds. When I saw an old coal miner dancing with his bent back, I thought his wrinkled neck, dyed with the blackness of coal, was like a living record of miners. Then I felt that I was a real miner at last. After the welcoming party, my wife told me, “Now I know why you wanted to come here.” She cut off all contact with her friends and relatives and was faithful to living her life in Taebaek. I am grateful to her for walking along the way with me. Jennis: I remember the teachers at the Taebaek Art Institute who led us with you at the art camp, Bokgwe 5. Why did you start teaching painting to Taebaek’s children and what
January 2022
Jennis: You moved to Taebaek in Gangwon Province with your wife and child, leaving Seoul and all its comforting civilization, and became a resident of a coal mining village. I wonder what prompted you to do this and how your wife accepted the process. Hwang Jae-hyung: I once worked as a day laborer at a coal
▲ Washing with Hometown Water, by Hwang Jae-hyung (2016, acrylic on aluminum washbasin).
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One day on my way to school, I saw several middle school students drawing plaster statues in a studio. Watching them through the window, I was fascinated with their statue drawings. It was my first encounter with threedimensional drawings. I was eager to have a chance to draw. Plucking up my courage, I entered the studio and asked an adult who seemed to be a teacher, “I can draw better than anyone else if you just give me a chance.” The teacher looked a little embarrassed, but he permitted me to draw. If I had been able to draw well at that time, I would not have remembered this episode, but my first drawing of a gypsum model with charcoal was so disappointing that I wanted to die of shame at the age of 12. After that I got a chance to learn drawing, thanks to an introduction facilitated by my sister. Following this, I had the honor of winning “best prize” in the National Arts Competition when I was a middle school student. However, with my introverted personality, I had a hard time in school. When it snowed a little, my steps to school turned toward a mountain, and if the forest seemed to be cozy, I spent the day there. Only the encouraging words of several teachers who taught me painting comforted me at that time.
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18 did you want to convey to the participants through the art camp? Hwang Jae-hyung: I think art is the totality of a life. It should be viewed as wide and long without being tied to any place. It exists in all areas of our lives. Art education as preparation to making life richer should start with obtaining life from where you are at the moment. It is more important than any theory or any teacher’s advice. Experience is not everything, but we need a foundation to give us experience. When I was no longer able to work as a miner due to severe conjunctivitis, I was asked to teach a child with a severe disability who could not attend school. In the process of teaching that child, I learned of the healing power of art, so I taught children in need of help in every corner of the mountain village. That is how the Taebaek Art Institute began. When I taught the children of Taebaek or through the Bokgwe art project, I wanted them to see objects with the eyes of their heart. Opening the eyes of the heart means that we stand as ourselves.
Jennis: What is the most memorable work of your numerous artworks and why do you consider it so? Hwang Jae-hyung: It is a work called Sambae-gugo-du (삼배구고두 / 三拜九叩頭). In 1614, when Qing China invaded the Korean Peninsula, the king of Joseon, Injo (r. 1623–1649), gave up fighting by bowing three times (sambae) and knocking his head (du) on the ground nine times (gugo). King Injo saved his life with this courtesy, but his people suffered, and some of them were even taken to China as slaves. Everything that has life is limited by time. It has a beginning and an end. However, Henri Bergson said intrinsic time is the process of continuing with space. In Sambae-gugo-du, I expressed with human hair the mountain range as the constant space within which human time in contained. That mountain range has been lowered by being cut and crushed like an old man’s knuckles, but it contains the persistence of time, and it flows today, embodying human history.
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January 2022
Jennis: I think the themes that run through your artworks might change with the passage of time. What do you think? Hwang Jae-hyung: When I was a young man, I wandered, thinking about the dignity of human beings and the depth of lives. After living as a miner, another pressure bore down on me: “How can I bear the weight of the moniker ‘minerpainter?’” I drew and drew to survive, without being able to shake off my debts. I think I survived because I realized that my vocation in art was not from a god but from this society. Artists should open the drawer of darkness and catch a handful of light beyond the faintness of oblivion.
As I went to Taebaek to be a miner, I did not take with me any paints. When the aspiration to paint rose, I painted with coal powder mixed with a gel medium. Coal is definitely the most common material in Taebaek. After that, I used various materials depending on the subject of the work. One day, I wanted to create art with a miner’s hair. I heard that the human body commonly contains about 100,000 hairs. That much hair is never created in one day, and it never dies at the same time. It is a little ironic that such independent yet equal-functioning hairs growing on a human body embodies the inequality of this society. Each hair with its own vitality is a film that records the history of an individual’s life.
▲ Dark Mountain, Dark Cry, by Hwang Jae-hyung (1996–2006, coal and inkstick ink on canvas). ▲ In My Heaven, by Hwang Jae-hyung (2018, human hair on canvas).
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19 Jennis: You had a four-month-long exhibition at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in 2021. What was the theme of the exhibition? Hwang Jae-hyung: The title of the MMCA exhibition was “Hoecheon” (회천/回天), meaning “to turn the heavens,” allowing the heavens to turn towards the people. Lee Saek (1328–1396), a scholar of the late Goryeo Dynasty, said, “Cheon-in-mu-gan” (천인무간/天人無間), meaning that there is no gap between heaven and humankind; they are as one. I think it is fundamental to live as the “true I” with ethical responsibility for others living together in society. We are addicted to the “need” imposed by goods in a consumerism-based society, and we are paralyzed by the illusion of “need” and suffer from a sense of poverty in our abundance. I hope that the exhibition admirers had a chance to think about what the “true I” is. Jennis: Do you have any memorable stories from that extended exhibition? Hwang Jae-hyung: When I was a miner in Taebaek, I painted from time to time. Sometimes my family went to the public bathhouse and then had coffee at a tearoom sitting next to a window where the sunlight came in. That was the luxury of our previous urban culture that we could not shake off. Some people had heard that I was a painter, and one day a person who was opening a tearoom wanted to buy one of my paintings. We settled on the painting Miners’ Lunch. When she went to Insadong in Seoul to have the painting framed, the shop owner asked her to sell the painting for double the price she had paid. Returning to Taebaek without selling the painting, even after being offered ten times the original price, she became a goodwill ambassador of my paintings
in Taebaek. I do not know where she lives now, but I expected that since she liked my old works, she might have gone to see my exhibition at the MMCA. Jennis: Do you have any future plans, or dreams, for your artwork? Hwang Jae-hyung: Art is an intermittent cough that shares the pain of others, and it is the talk of pain. As a pilgrim of life, even if I have to endure the fate of standing in front of a new asceticism, I can have hope for tomorrow’s life if another person’s closed door opens again with my meager light. I hope that my art can serve as a love letter to some anonymous individual. Bertolt Brecht said that all human happiness depends on the happiness of others. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am grateful to Curator Lim Jong-young of the Gwangju Museum of Art for putting me in touch with Artist Hwang Jae-hyung. I greatly appreciated this, and I appreciate Artist Hwang’s sincere answers to my interview questions. I felt as if I were talking with a philosopher or a clergyman who allowed me to contemplate what my “true I” is. Photographs courtesy of Hwang Jae-hyung.
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 Korea. As a freelance interpreter, she would like to introduce the English-speaking world to the diverse sphere of Korean art. @jenniskang
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
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January 2022
▲ Bathing (Not Washing Off), by Hwang Jae-hyung (1983, oils on canvas).
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FEATURE
20
The Group 4 ART IS DEAD
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
January 2022
By Melline Galani and Chloe Chan
M
elline writes: On a cold December night, I was invited by my close friend Chloe Chan to a different sort of musical performance at the Bohemian. I was not sure what to expect, but by knowing Chloe, I was certain that the event would raise my interest, and so it did. It was the first time for me to experience a “manifest” performance, which combined sounds and visuals in such a manner that touched on all the problems of modern society, not only in Korea but worldwide, with a deeper focus on hot issues of the moment and Gwangju’s modern history. The performance was accompanied by images rolled on a big screen behind the stage, guided by modern
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dance performed by a very talented individual. Though the music had no lyrics, the impact and the emotions transmitted were more than words could have expressed. The entire show began with a short movie representing a young man starting to walk in his bare feet from the former Jeonnam Provincial Hall to the venue. When he entered the door, the music started to be accompanied by the visuals. Art in all its forms is also a means of education while addressing the social issues our society faces today. Chloe writes: Loose T-shirts, metal necklaces, and fine tattoos – these music performers looked every inch the classic underground artists you can see on the Korean variety show Show Me the Money. But as someone who
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21 has known Sagoon for over three years, I know very well that he has always been a gentle and loving person despite how “badass”-looking he is. In fact, after receiving a phone call from him asking me whether I could assist with his art project, I immediately said yes.
Our band was inspired by The 4th Group’s art funeral in the 1970s led by Mr. Kim Gu-rim, and it was created by the two of us, bassist Choi Jeong-sik (최정식) and drummer Sagoon (사군), in accordance with the idea that art should be integrated within society as a whole.
The part I was honorarily involved in was about democratic movements. Even as a Hongkonger, I am always able to sympathize with Gwangju citizens in their passion for fighting for human rights, but this performance hit me quite differently. Drumbeats, intense rhythms, strong visual effects on the back screen, and vocals reproduced electronically – these elements cocreated a unique, mind-blowing experience that really made me emotional. The impassioned speech I delivered as a closure to one of the tracks was indeed a declaration of Hong Kong protesters. I am not entitled to comment on my own performance, but I highly appreciate the genius in The Group 4 for coming up with this brilliant idea. I believe the entire show was a powerful shout-out to the crowd that it is time for us to face up to the longterm problems of today’s society.
MG&CC: Can you tell us how and when your passion for music started? Sangoon: We first met five years ago at a street performance commemorating the Sewol ferry disaster and the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye. Two years later, Jeong-sik and I joined forces to create the band.
In order to know more about the project, we interviewed the founding members of the project, bassist Choi Jeongsik (최정식) and drummer Sagoon (사군).
MG&CC: Are there any specific genres that you find yourself connected to or that you are attracted to when you listen to music? Choi Jeong-sik: I do not prefer any particular genre, but I listen to my favorite songs in different situations and moments. Sagoon: Rather than a specific genre, I like various music by diverse artists and other art forms that include books, movies, photographs, or artworks. To name a few musicians whom I have been greatly influenced by, they include Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Melline Galani & Chloe Chan (MG&CC): Please introduce yourself to our readers. Sagoon & Choi Jeong-sik: Hello, we are The Group 4.
MG&CC: What defines your music? Sagoon: This may sound overly lofty, but it is human life than influences our music. We wanted to capture the
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January 2022
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22 The fourth song, “Phone,” contains the lyrics “Aren’t we like people who sit in a red-light district waiting to be sold?” I came up with this idea while I was at a daily laborers’ center. It is about people who are being sold for different purposes, those behind them, and the human rights betrayed by capitalism. (Note: Sagoon also told us that he was inspired by the recent scandal that shocked society involving porn-like movies filmed with phone cameras and uploaded in private chat rooms.) The fifth song, “Democratization,” is an unfinished story about Gwangju, Hong Kong, and Myanmar. The sixth song is about this crazy society and a world where common sense does not work. The last song, “Earth,” expresses the sorrow of the earth towards the humans who have brutally destroyed and failed to protect this planet.
▲ Choi Jeong-sik
January 2022
MG&CC: Please tell us the concept behind the show you had on December 3 at the Bohemian. Sagoon: The performance at the Bohemian was themed “Art Is Dead” and was inspired by the aforementioned art funeral of The 4th Group in 1970,* which criticized all the art forms of society influenced by capitalism.
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numerous stories and problems that we were experiencing around us and the scenes of daily life that we sometimes pass by and ignore. I hope that our group will become a genre in itself rather than being characterized as part of a specific genre.
The first song unveiled the numerous problems in Korean society, so I thought that the passage of time and the story of modern and contemporary history were essential. The second song, “Factory Mass Production,” contains a critique of capitalism that views and judges people and the world based on their production value. The third song was inspired by the movie No. 3 (넘버 3) and satirizes modern society beset by power and capital. The main character of the movie is the number-three man in a gang who wants to become number one.
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MG&CC: When did you start doing such meaningful music, conveying messages such as human rights? Choi Jeong-sik: It was when I came across folk songs while entering college and learned that the world I knew was not the way I had thought. I hope that heartbreaking events such as the May 18 Democratization Movement, the martyrdom of Ryu Jae-eul, the Yangju highway incident (involving Shin Hyo-sun and Shim Mi-seon), the Yongsan fire disaster, the martyrdom of Park Jongtae, the Sewol ferry disaster, and other such events will not happen again. Sagoon: It took us five years to put our ideas into practice. The reason for making this kind of music seemed to be when the words “love God” and “love your neighbor” began to burn in my heart. As you all know, Korean society is very dynamic, so I thought that something or some event could happen to me, so I started to sympathize with others.
“Art in all its forms is also a means of education while addressing the social issues our society faces today.” MG&CC: How do you present political and economic issues to the young generation? Do you think your music can make a change? Sagoon: I do not know how our music will impact the younger generation. However, I think there will be a new generation of artists who will continue to talk about these things. MG&CC: Performing live seems very important to you. How have you been dealing with the constraints of the pandemic?
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23 Sagoon: For us, COVID-19 is not so important. The stories and the videos we are making are our priority. Honestly, I thought about proceeding without an audience for the performance in December. We do use a lot the modern channels of social media such as YouTube and Instagram. For the visual part of the performance, I had a lot of meetings and talks with movie director Baek Jongrok (백종록). Featured DJ Syunman (션만) helped mix and master not only the performance but also the understanding of the entire song, the poster production, the intro music, and a mixtape of a human rights activist’s voice. The dance expressed by Jeong Chi-hyeon’s (정치현) body movements ignited both the nature of the song and passion for the work, and Lee Jung-woo (이정우) installed the lighting for the Xyloband and special devices the day before the performance to help us all perform smoothly. Lee Yong-hak (이용학), CEO of Haks Studio, took great pictures and videos. Choi Minseok (최민석) silently but effectively played his role as the floor director. Also, I would like to thank Kim Nam-kook (김남국), CEO of Gwangju Bohemian Club. Once again, I would like to express my deep gratitude to everyone. You can watch our video on YouTube by typing in the following: 제4집단_thegroup4official MG&CC: What are your future plans for the band? Sagoon: We want music to become a work of art rather than a mere performance. Furthermore, we would like to try to combine it with media art and the metaverse. Our plan of action is to present our work when everything is ready at the time and place we want without rushing. We are preparing for our next concert in Jeonju in January 2022.
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* The 4th Group was a performance art group founded in 1970. It was a rare example of an attempt at avant-garde art in Korea. The members of The 4th Group were embroiled in controversy even before the group’s founding. On Liberation Day in 1970, The 4th Group held a “Funeral for Established Culture and Art and the Existing System” as their second performance after their founding. When the funeral procession reached Gwanghwa-mun in Seoul, they were stopped by the police for questioning. (Source: https://m.khan.co.kr/feature_story/ article/201309272006415#c2b)
The Interviewers
Melline Galani is a Romanian enthusiast, born and raised in the capital city of Bucharest, and is currently living in Gwangju. She likes new challenges, learning interesting things, and is incurably optimistic. She loves living life as it is while discovering new places and meeting interesting individuals. @melligalanis
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
January 2022
Photographs courtesy of Haks Studio @haks_studio.
Footnote
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
THE GROUP 4 Instagram: @thegroup4_official Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheGroup4official • Drummer: Sagoon @sagoon27 • Bassist: Choi Jeong-sik @coe4171 • Film Director: Baek Jong-rok • Featured DJ: Syunman @syunman • Dance Performer: Jeong Chi-hyeon @politics_hyeon • Recording (Digital Creator): Lee Yong-hak @haks_studio • Lighting: Lee Jung-woo @jj___0.0 • Floor Director: Choi Min-seok @chergei_530 • Vocals: Chloe Chan @hoi0305
▲ Sagoon
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24 Blast from the Past
The Donghak Peasant Rebellion
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
January 2022
blast from the past
A Bloody Chapter in Jeolla History
When we think of history-making uprisings centering on the Gwangju area, we immediately think of the May 18 (1980) Democratization Movement. Some might also recall the Gwangju Student Independence Movement of 1929. Few, however, will recollect the Donghak Peasant Rebellion of the late 19th century, though it was a struggle involving many more casualties than these other two and arguably the initial crusade for democratic reforms in Korea. This article is from a two-part series penned by Won Hea-ran, “The Donghak Peasant Rebellion, Parts I and II,” which originally appeared in the January and February 2015 issues of the Gwangju News. We hope you enjoy them as republished here. — Ed.
I
n the late 1800s, corruption was everywhere in Joseon Korea, but it was especially rampant in Jeolla Province [consisting of today’s North and South Jeolla provinces]. Perhaps Jeolla’s rich farmland made the region a desirable target for corrupt officials. The governor of Gobu [present-day Jeong-eup, north of Gwangju], Jo Byeong-gap, was one of those unscrupulous officials. He exploited the region’s citizens through high taxes and intimidated them with false criminal accusations. Once, he took 1,000 nyang (billions of won in today’s currency by some estimates) from his people to build a commemorative monument to his father. He also unnecessarily levied a tax on water from a reservoir after using farmers as laborers to build it. Many people grew angry with the governor’s harsh mandates. Among them was the future leader of the Donghak (or Gobu) Peasant Rebellion, Jeon Bong-jun (전봉준). THE FIRST REVOLT Jeon Bong-jun was the son of a fallen aristocratic family. As a young man, he was greatly influenced by the religious ideology of Donghak (동학, “Eastern Learning”). When Jeon Bong-jun’s father was killed for criticizing the governor, Jeon Bong-jun planned the Gobu Peasant Rebellion. At the end of 1893, he gathered farmers who were angry with the governor and wrote their names on a document known as the Sabal Manifesto (사발통문). The names of the 20 participants were written in random order to make it harder for officials to pinpoint the group’s leader. In January 1894, Jeon Bong-jun and his followers
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▲ Jeon Bong-jun, leader of the Donghak Rebellion.
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25 attacked a government office. At first, the rebellion did not get much attention. The incident was viewed by outsiders as a small village quarrel, but it turned out to be the start of a far greater uprising. Jo Byeong-gap eventually fled and was replaced by a new governor. The newly appointed governor, although not as greedy as his predecessor, punished farmers for stirring up unrest. He also criticized followers of Donghak, viewing the ideology as responsible for the rebellion. In March of 1894, the farmers collaborated with Donghak members to fight against the government. The movement spread across the Jeolla region, including villages like Buan, Gochang, and Heungdeok. In this First Donghak Revolt, the rebel army won every battle. Even the royal army could not stand against the rebels and their anger toward the government. The farmers showed remarkable ingenuity as warriors. During a conflict at Hwangto-hyeon, the rebels cleverly remodeled a chicken house into a weapon that shielded them from bullets. Finally, on April 27, only a month after the struggle began, the fortress at Jeonju fell into the hands of the rebel army. When the government finally realized how serious the situation was, it asked for help from the Qing Dynasty of China. This distress signal turned out to be a terrible mistake. It not only brought 2,000 Qing soldiers into Korea but also attracted 8,000 Japanese troops who had been searching for an excuse to intervene in Korean affairs. Threatened by the sudden military involvement
of Japan, the Joseon government called for negotiations with the rebels to end the struggle as quickly as possible. The First Donghak Revolt came to a successful end for the rebels. In negotiations with the government, the rebels succeeded in negotiating a treaty that defended citizens’ rights. These reforms abolished slave ownership, gave widows permission to enter into second marriages, and redistributed land. It is seen today by some as one of the first steps toward Korean democracy. However, it also paved the way for Japanese interference in Korea. THE SECOND REVOLT The First Donghak Revolt, ignited by a small village uprising, brought many great democratic changes. The reforms signed by the government and rebels burned documents on slave ownership, prevented any tyranny caused by corrupt officials, gave widows permission to remarry, and divided unfairly taken government land equally among farmers. The most noteworthy reform was the establishment of a Jipgang Hall (집강소) in 54 Jeolla Province villages. The Jipgang Hall was an independent commoner organization that supervised village officials and continuously worked for democratic reforms. With the rebels’ power dominating in Jeolla Province, the Jipgang Hall performed most of the village politics in place of government officials, particularly maintaining security and public order.
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January 2022
However, the First Donghak Revolt also opened the country up to foreign intervention. The government’s fear during the First Revolt led it to call upon China for help, which not only brought 2,000 Chinese soldiers but also four times that number in Japanese fighters, troops who had eagerly been looking for an opportunity to take part in Joseon politics. The Japanese military intervention greatly surprised the Joseon government, causing the government to hurriedly sign a reform plan with the rebels, and thus have the Japanese
▲ The Sabal Manifesto, signaling the start of the first revolt.
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26
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
January 2022
soldiers leave Joseon soil. But the Japanese forces remained and continuously influenced the Joseon government. The Japanese forces soon took control of Gyeongbok Palace, threatened King Gojong, and established a proJapanese group inside the government. Making the situation even worse, the Japanese forces defeated China in the Sino-Japanese War (1894), leaving Korea completely isolated and vulnerable to the Japanese.
▲ Jeon Bong-jun (seated, center) after his capture following the second revolt.
The leader of the Donghak Peasant Rebellion, Jeon Bongjun, realized that he could not overlook the situation, so he gathered his men from the former revolt and the entire Donghak forces to fight against the Japanese. In this second Donghak Revolt, the rebels fought against both Japanese troops and the Korean royal forces at Ugeumchi, Gongju, a region in Chungcheong Province between Jeolla Province and Seoul. The battle turned out to be a desperate struggle for the rebels. They were at a great disadvantage in both weaponry and position. The Japanese forces fired down on the rebels from their positions in the hills, mercilessly killing anyone climbing towards them. The Japanese also had advanced modern weaponry, including machine guns and cannons that were far superior to the agricultural implements that the rebels had to use as weapons. The massacre lasted for about a week, leaving only 500 alive out of the original 20,000-strong rebel force. Jeon Bong-jun was able to escape to Sunchang to prepare to take revenge, but he was arrested at Ugeumchi in December 1894 and executed. The rebellion was extinguished soon afterwards. Although the rebellion failed militarily, it opened the door to modern reforms. The Donghak Peasant Rebellion was noteworthy in that it was not only one of the fiercest struggles by commoners for democratic reforms, but it was also the beginning of the anti-Japanese movement. Several of the later participants in anti-Japanese movements were originally involved in the Donghak Rebellion, including the leader Kim Gu, and its legacy extends to the March 1st Independence Movement of 1919.
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FAST FACTS 1. The number of fatalities in the Donghak Peasant Rebellion were approximately 6,000 Joseon government soldiers and an estimated tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of rebel fighters. 2. The treaty ending the First Revolt contained these Donghak-side provisions: • Accepting the Donghak religion • Punishing corrupt officials • Punishing other corrupt persons of the upper • classes • Punishing those who gained their riches illegally • Freeing of all slaves • Freeing all cheonmin (천민, “vulgar commoners,” the lowest class of commoners) • Discontinuing the branding of butchers • Legalizing remarriage by widows • Lowering taxes • Selecting politicians based on merit rather than on family ties 3. The famous Jeonju dish, bibimbap, originated as the food provided to the rebels fighting in the Jeonju area. Arranged by David Shaffer.
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Local Entrepreneur 27
Lucchetto,
The Realm of Harry Potter By Melline Galani
I
Achieving success as a business or company can feel like a major achievement, and many businesses spring from a great idea that is not only unique but also innovative. This is the case of Lucchetto, a restaurant and wine bar located in Bongseon-dong and Park’s second enterprise.
his close friends by playing the saxophone. Lucchetto has a family-like warmth and friendly atmosphere because one of Park’s goals was to make the restaurant a safe space for people with diverse backgrounds and unique personalities, a place where freedom of expression is fostered and art is expressed through music. Therefore, every evening the customers are encouraged to reveal themselves by singing songs (a sort of Western-style karaoke), and friends from different cities and of diverse nationalities gather here to enjoy time together. It is just a matter of time until you become a regular of Lucchetto!
COMMUNITY
n December 2020, the Gwangju News presented an interview with Park Sang-won of Plan B, an apparel store in downtown Gwangju. Mr. Park is a unique individual, not only in terms of fashion and style, but also in terms of good ideas that have been turned into successful businesses.
But what makes a great restaurant? The food, location, service, and setting are just a few factors behind why guests might come to it – but there is a lot of work behind the scenes to bring an exceptional and consistent experience every day.
However, Lucchetto is more than a fancy place to hang out with friends on cold winter evenings. It is a place that fosters the arts in all their diverse expressions, as the owner himself is a music lover who sometimes entertains
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January 2022
From the ancient-style cutlery to the tree roots covering the walls of the cave-like restaurant, you feel like you are in the basement of the Hogwarts academy. Everything inside, including the toilet, is made Instagram-able, so the first thing I did was take a lot of pictures. Once the amazement of the decorations subsides, it is time to order the food. The menu is quite generous, covering fusion cuisine with pastas, pizzas, soups, fried chicken, and snacks, but what impressed me most was the collection of wines. I opted for a Spanish Merlot that was expensive but also the best wine I have had in Gwangju up till now.
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For Lucchetto, design plays a crucial role. It was first opened in 2019 as a jazz bar with live performances, but it was recently remodeled and changed to a Harry Potter theme, making it a unique destination in Gwangju.
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28
To give deeper insight into Lucchetto, the 29-yearold Park Sang-won was kind enough to answer some questions related to his second business. The outcome of the interview follows.
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January 2022
Melline Galani (MG): What is the main concept behind Lucchetto? Does the name have a meaning? Park Sang-won: In Italian, lucchetto means “lock,” but I chose the name with the sense that each and every one of the people who come to the place is the main character and the key to their lives. MG: Why did you choose Harry Potter as an inspiration? Park Sang-won: I wanted to create a safe space where we could enjoy time together, a fantasy space from a fairytale that is not real. And what better inspiration than Harry Potter? The entrance of the restaurant conveys the feeling of opening and stepping into a book called Lucchetto. MG: What makes Lucchetto special? Park Sang-won: Lucchetto brings to life an environment where new people meet, get to know each other, and enjoy their time together in a very friendly manner. MG: The food menu is really diverse. How did you select the dishes? Do you know how to cook? Park Sang-won: We opted for a fusion Italian menu that goes perfectly with cocktails, wines, or Korean liquors so that we can meet every taste. My partner is a chef. He has been in the restaurant business for a long time and worked as a hotel chef before starting Lucchetto with me.
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29 MG: You play the saxophone. Do you sometimes entertain your guests at the restaurant? Park Sang-won: Playing the saxophone is currently just a hobby, but my goal is to entertain my guests in the future, so I am practicing diligently. MG: Who are your customers? Do you have a close relationship with them? Park Sang-won: Customers can be anyone regardless of age. Most of our customers are people I meet daily who later become close friends. They are persons I either meet at Plan B or directly at Lucchetto. Later they bring their friends, too, and the circle of acquaintances grows bigger. MG: Is it not very tiring to run two businesses together? Park Sang-won: I work fifteen to eighteen hours a day and it is physically tiring to run two businesses, but many people come to see me, and if I communicate and have a good time with them, I forget about fatigue and work happily. MG: Do you advertise your businesses? If so, how? Park Sang-won: Lucchetto has its own Instagram account; therefore, this is one way of advertising it. I also promote the restaurant to my clothing store customers at Plan B and to everyone I meet, or use marketing companies and Instagram influencers to increase visibility.
▲ Park Sang-won remodeling Lucchetto.
MG: What is the main goal in your life? Park Sang-won: My goal in life is to promote the things and values I believe in and to create a space where persons around me can enjoy themselves, but above all, I just want to let people know that we can all be friends without being wary or hostile to the new people we meet. Therefore, everyone who wants to come to Lucchetto is more than welcome, and we will do our best to make it a place that suits you. MG: Thank you for sharing your thoughts with the Gwangju News’ readers. Photographs courtesy of Park Sang-won. w
(루껫또)
Address: Basement, Bongseon-jungang-ro 123-beon-gil 10, Nam-gu, Gwangju 광주 남구 봉선중앙로123번길 10 지하 Operating Hours: 17:00 – 3:00 (a.m.), closed Mondays and national holidays Phone: 010-9866-9611 Instagram: @lucchetto_jazz_bars
The Interviewer
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January 2022
Melline Galani is a Romanian enthusiast, born and raised in the capital city of Bucharest, and is currently living in Gwangju. She likes new challenges, learning interesting things, and is incurably optimistic. She loves living life as it is. Her favorite safe space to spend quality time with friends is the magical realm of Lucchetto. vvv @melligalanis
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
Lucchetto
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30 Expat Living 30
The Gift of Giving By Karina Prananto
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
January 2022
COMMUNITY
I
t is a brand-new year, and for some of us, we plan to start things anew by cleaning up our storage spaces to make room for new stuff; however, we sometimes overlook that there are people who are less fortunate and are not able to have even one new item, let alone a whole room of leftover ones. What we think might be just an ordinary item to someone else can be something they have been longing to have but not have the means to get. While there are ways to turn these unwanted items into an income by selling them second hand, why not give them away and make someone else’s wish come true? There are several places in Gwangju that receive donations, so if this gift of giving interests you, try contacting the organizations listed below. CHILDREN’S WELFARE CENTERS Most children’s welfare centers in Gwangju house and nurture children who were abandoned by their guardians or parents due to death, divorce, or separation. Here are some of them: • Aeyukwon 애육원 062-513-0859 http://www.gjw.or.kr/ kjchild/ • Don Bosco Sharing House 광주돈보스코나눔의집 062-524-1207 • Ilmaek Boys’ Home 광주일맥원 062-222-2040 https:// cafe.daum.net/ilmac2040/_rec • MDream 무등육아원 062-222-3762 http://mdkids.org/ • Nazareth House 광주나자렛집 062-954-3009 https:// cafe.daum.net/knazare/_rec • Notre Dame Brothers House 노틀담형제의집 062651-0788 http://www.gjw.or.kr/hjshome/ • Shinaewon 신애원 062-674-1551 http://www.shinaewon .org/ • Sungbin Girls’ Home 성빈여사 062-234-8278 • Yongjinwon 용진육아원 062-952-8040 https://www. gjw.or.kr/yongjinwon/ • Youngshin 광주영신원 062-234-2163 http://www.gjw. or.kr/youngshin/?gmcode=2
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MY HOUSE 우리집 My House (featured in the Gwangju News, February 2019) houses single mothers of children of varying ages. My House: Eodeung-daero 563-beon-gil 30 (Unsu-dong), Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju 광주 광산구 어등대로 563번길 30 (운수동) Telephone: 062-232-1313 Website: http://www.myhouse.or.kr/ RECENT MOTHERS SHARING STORE 광주출산맘나눔가게 The Recent Mothers Sharing Store hands out items for free. Although they mostly accept items for babies and infants, they also accept items for kids of all ages. Call them in advance if you want to donate bulk items. Address: Hwasan-ro 30, Nam-gu, Gwangju (Gwangju Sharing Center No. 105, basement of International Tennis Courts) 광주 남구 화산로 30 (광주공유센터 국제테니스장 지하) Telephone: 062-714-3455 THE BEAUTIFUL STORE 아름다운가게 The Beautiful Store is a nationwide store with five branches in Gwangju (Cheomdan, Yangsan, Gwangju Station, Baekun, and Uncheon). The store receives donations and re-sells them at a very affordable price. They usually only receive small items that customers can easily carry home. The store can also pick up items of certain sizes based on the number of boxes to be donated. Telephone: 1577-1113 Website: www.beautifulstore.org
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31 accepting volunteers, so you can make regular or onetime monetary donations or sponsor a specific child instead.
▲ Gwangju Global Volunteers helping to deliver coal briquettes on November 27.
DURUDORA 두루도라 Durudora receives and shares donations for mostly foreigners and immigrants in Gwangju. They also help create job opportunities by letting foreigners collect and sort the donated items. Telephone: 010-4680-7767 (Kim Chang-sik)
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The Author
Karina Prananto is from Indonesia and has been involved with the Gwangju News since 2007. She is a special needs mother who loves Harry Potter, watching vintage Disney movies, and true crime documentaries.
January 2022
OTHER WAYS TO DONATE Opportunities to share are endless. If you enjoy being with other people, all the organizations above would love to have volunteers. Their websites usually have a form that you can fill out to apply for volunteering. If they don’t, you can always give them a call and inquire. Although being able to converse in Korean is an advantage, you can also donate your talents by teaching the children English, music, or art. However, since we are still in the midst of the pandemic, most welfare centers are not
Photograph by Moon Jaegyeong.
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
COAL BRIQUETTE DONATIONS VIA “WARM PEOPLE” Many old-style houses where the elderly live in Gwangju still use coal briquettes to warm their houses in winter. “Warm People” receives donations of coal briquettes from many organizations and individuals and later distribute them to homes around Gwangju. They need volunteers to help deliver the briquettes. Most households need around eight briquettes per day to warm their house. Volunteering to deliver coal briquettes is fun and a good way to get to know the old neighborhoods in Gwangju. To volunteer, contact the sources below. Address: 2F, Sangmu-daero 1224-beon-gil 7, Seo-gu, Gwangju 광주광역시 서구 상무대로 1224번길 7 (2층), 따뜻한사람들 Telephone: 062-522-4020 Website: https://warmpeople.modoo.at/
THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND 1. Commitment If you would like to volunteer your time and talents, try aiming for at least three months of volunteering. The longer the better, as you might have the chance to get to know the people and the children. Leaving after just a couple of weeks will not only create sadness and disappointment, it will also make a minimal long-term impact. So, if you think you cannot make the time commitment, use other means of donating instead. 2. Responsibility and Respect If you have decided to volunteer, be on time and be available when they call or contact you. Do not ignore calls or be late. Follow the rules of the organization and avoid asking questions about their past. 3. Donate Only Useable Goods Children will appreciate receiving new items, but if you cannot donate new items, then make sure you donate items in good or like-new condition. Basically, no stained, dirty, or torn items, but also no undergarments, used swim wear, socks, or towels. If you are donating electrical items, make sure they still work well. If possible, you might have to send or deliver the donated goods yourself. Most of the places above have a limited number of hands who can help, so if you can, deliver your items directly. 4. Confirm First Before going to donate, make sure you give them a call and ask whether they need certain items as donations, and if you are donating to a children welfare center, asking them how old the children are would be helpful. This helps make sure that your donations will be used effectively and immediately.
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32 Opinion
Big Hit, Then a Swing and a Miss
The Best and Worst of Gwangju in 2021 By William Urbanski
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
January 2022
COMMUNITY
2
021 was for many people equal parts fortuitous and dumpster fire. While life in Gwangju has steadily marched forward, there was no shortage of trials and tribulations that just kept popping up. Personally, I feel quite happy to live in a city where life has pretty much remained normal and productive (all pandemics considered), especially compared to the tales of calamities in other parts of the world. That being said, Gwangju was not impervious to the ups and downs of 2021, and here are my picks for the biggest win and most epic fail of the year. BIGGEST WIN: ALLOWING PUBLIC SERVANTS TO HAVE AN ACTUAL LUNCH HOUR This past July, the all five districts in Gwangju allowed their civil servants to shut down the office between noon and one in the afternoon so that they could, you know, actually sit down and eat lunch somewhere. This applies to all civil servants, or gongmu-won (공무원), including the frontline workers at your friendly neighborhood “gu” office who deal with people from all walks of life, day in, day out. While “taking a lunch break during the lunch hour” may not seem like a particularly revolutionary idea, it is important to understand that until the Gwangju districts implemented this change, workers had to rotate their lunches in order to keep services running for the populace at large. No doubt, this system of rotating lunch times subtly enforced the notion that lunch time was a luxury and led to a lot of public officers cutting their lunches short or skipping them all together. Gwangju was the first major metropolitan city in Korea to enforce a standard lunch hour, and now public servants in other cities such as Busan have demanded the change as well. Interestingly, many regular people are extremely upset about this, complaining that lunchtime was the only time when they could visit the gu office to pick up documents or whatever. What this anger really shows is the underlying arrogance of people who feel that public officers are some sort of personal servants. Everyone in
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Korea knows that being a public officer is one of the most desirable career paths because of its stability and benefits, but there is a segment of society that is perhaps just a smidgen jealous of those who are able to obtain such gainful employment. This resentfulness manifests itself in the ridiculous assertion that could be aptly verbalized as “How dare they go for lunch! They are there to serve me!” While it is kind of understandable that people would be upset that they can no longer visit their local gu office to handle important matters on their lunch break, I say, boo-hoo, cry me a river. Issues like passport issuance or assistance with basic livelihood assistance, for example, are not the kind of problems that materialize suddenly out of thin air. Anyone who has to address these kinds of problems did not become aware of them at 11:58 on a Tuesday morning and need them rectified by 12:15. If someone needs a passport renewed, he or she can do what the rest of the world does: expect it to take a good couple of weeks at least. As well, not being able to get important paperwork done is not the fault of people being on lunch break, but rather a person’s own poor planning. To those who are worried about not being able to get their passports lickety-split, here is a question: Where y’all think you’re going anyway? There’s a pandemic going on. It does not make sense to be jealous or resentful of public officers for any reason. Something people do not fully understand is that while it may seem all sunshine and roses, there are a couple of serious downsides to these positions. First, every couple of years these officers, whether they like it or not, have to relocate to another city. In the best of scenarios, they can just drive to their new office (without being compensated for transportation costs), but in many cases, they have no choice but to uproot their lives or worse, spend the week living away from their families. Relocating every couple of years is extremely disruptive, especially when the workers are not told where their new jobs will be until mere weeks in advance. The second major drawback is that any job
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33 that involves dealing with the public has a laundry list of challenges, the least of which is dealing with jerks who see going into a store or office as a chance to vent. As anyone who has worked in retail surely has experienced (me too, on many occasions), unhappy customers routinely lose their minds and think they are justified in hurling abuse at workers. Dealing with people like this is the definition of emotional labor, and having a regular, predictable lunch break is the light at the end of the tunnel when dealing with tough customers all morning.
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Photograph by William Urbanski.
William Urbanski is the managing editor of the Gwangju News. He is married and can eat spicy food. @will_il_gatto
January 2022
Please, pretty please, knock it off with these festivals already. As we have seen in the past few weeks, all the vaccines and social distancing of the past two years amounted to precisely jack squat once the easing of precautionary measures came into place. Now, COVID-19 cases are at record highs and maybe, just maybe, it is not the best time to entice people into
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
Keep in mind that anyone who has become a public servant in Korea ▲ By sheer luck alone, this festival did not become a superspreader event. earned that position by doing exactly what society demanded of them, better than ninety- gathering en masse to watch scantily clad dancers shake nine percent of other people. They studied like crazy, what their mammas gave them on a massive stage did great in school, completed a degree, then passed downtown. the civil servant exam, which is, by all accounts, buck wild. Any worker at the gu office who is printing out For the record, I am not the least bit scared of COVID-19 your immunization record or registering your change and never have been. But what I do not like is the of address is smart enough that they could have easily increased restrictions that follow every time the case become an engineer, lawyer, or doctor if they had chosen numbers skyrocket. When open air concerts like this that life path. All things considered, allowing these are allowed to happen, they lead to a spike in cases, workers sixty minutes to chomp down their lunch is a which causes even further disruptions to our daily lives. Allowing these events is akin to giving someone a slice of pretty reasonable step. cake then immediately forcing them to go on a restrictive BIGGEST FAIL: FESTIVALS AT ACC REAR THEIR and difficult diet. UGLY HEADS YET AGAIN Within what seemed like only minutes of the “Living Underlying the yearning to hold huge public gatherings With COVID-19” initiative beginning in earnest, a is the hope that one day soon, things will go back to massive stage and a sea of plastic chairs were being set normal. The truth is, there is no going back. COVID-19 up at my beloved Asia Culture Complex (ACC). In a and Korea’s response to it has permanently changed previous article, I rallied against these ridiculous and the landscape, and the best thing for people to do is to obnoxious festivals that clog up the big public square at remember that life only moves in one direction: forward. the ACC and was actually very happy to see that they had, for good reason, been put on hiatus during the dark HAPPY 2022! days of early COVID. Well, the powers that be are at it What do you guys think are Gwangju’s biggest hits and again and on the third week of November put on one of misses of 2021? Let me know in the comments below, and the biggest, most extravagant festivals I have ever seen at do not forget to like, subscribe, and hit that notification the ACC. It is like they had some extra money in their bell – it really helps the magazine. budget from the past year and threw it all at putting on the biggest gong show possible.
The Author
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TRAVEL
34 Lost in Gwangju
▲ A prisoner’s-eye view of a guard tower at the old Gwangju Prison.
The Great Leap Backward www.gwangjunewsgic.com
January 2022
A Look Inside the Old Gwangju Prison By Isaiah Winters
G
etting into prison can be as hard as getting out. This I discovered with Dr. Shin Gyonggu, executive director of the Gwangju International Center, as we traversed an unknown underpass, illegal farming berms, and mud-strewn construction sites just to get to a no-man’s-land of foxtails that ran along an angle of soaring prison walls. A master networker in his element, Dr. Shin had gotten us this far after engaging no fewer than six passersby in just a few minutes: a pair of
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ladies on the street who led us to the tunnel, two farmers who pointed us to all the construction work, and a duo of hardhats who brought us to the hellish foxtail haven. We tramped through this desolate sniper strip till the entrance, where we finally met our prison guides. Just getting to the rendezvous point made me appreciate what extroverts like Dr. Shin could offer, so I felt obliged to prove what introverts like myself could reciprocate. That reciprocation is what follows in this article on what
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35 I observed within the walls of the old Gwangju Prison. If you search Korean map sites for the old Gwangju Prison, all you’ll find is an amusement park icon nestled within a poorly photoshopped forest in Munheung-dong. In reality, the old prison is a sprawling complex built around a long, central corridor with wings branching off to the left and right. Along each wing are rows of cells designated for all sorts of inmates. There were rooms for the elderly, for those busted on drug charges, for solitary confinement, and even one special cell called the “punishment room” (징벌실) with a rusted crucifix carved into its door. On the door of each cell were bits of information alluding to the number of occupants, which ranged from one to eight, and the publications they subscribed to. Based on the remnants of these subscriptions, what the inmates were keenest on were images of attractive women, which were found scattered and pasted all about. What they were also surprisingly keen on was decorating, as many rooms
had unique wallpaper not seen in other cells. Some were papered with chintzy floral prints and others with old-fashioned Hangeul script. One room even had a singular corner with wallpaper different from the rest of the cell, which suggests a certain level of decorative autonomy not only within the prison, but within individual cells. The customization was quite striking and hinted that the prisoners there were given certain privileges not usually associated with life in the clink. As I took a closer look at the cells, I began to notice a recurring month when everything at the prison must have stopped: October 2015. In fact, one roll call whiteboard in a corridor still bore the precise number of personnel in that particular wing on the exact day of closure: 44 convicts on Sunday, October 18, 2015. An even closer inspection of the scribbling in tiny recesses of certain cells revealed a flurry of graffiti linked to the prison’s final days. On the wall behind the curtain of one cubby were the names of a few cheeky inmates and the
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
January 2022
▲ The “punishment room” and its rusted crucifix.
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36
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
January 2022
▲ Small, individual cells like these lined so many of the prison’s wings.
timestamp “2015, October 9, Hangeul Day.” Knowing they would soon move to the new Gwangju Prison, there must have been an electric, devil-may-care atmosphere sweeping every cellblock. By the end, one inmate even grew bold enough to scrawl his name right beside his own cell entrance in giant block letters. Given how rare prison relocations are, I’m sure the inmates savored the experience. Gwangju Prison actually began long before in 1908, back when it was first located in Dongmyeongdong. In 1971, it was moved out to Munheung-dong, and then to Samgak-dong in 2015, where it resides today. Interestingly, if you look up the newest Gwangju Prison on Korean map sites, all you see is a “Ministry of Justice Daycare Center” icon in the middle of another badly photoshopped forest. Beyond the cells themselves, the prison offers a few additional sites of note, particularly the guard towers, which I was eager to scale. Not sharing my interest, Dr. Shin and our guides wisely stayed beyond the formidable thickets of foxtails, two heavy doors, and three sets of rusted stairs leading to the deck. To my delight, the towers were wide open and offered excellent views of the entire compound. In each, the dusty old phones, spotlights, cameras, and gun racks once used by eagle-eyed guards
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were all still in place beneath a dense patina of mold and decay. What surprised me most about the towers were the sturdy tunnel networks deep beneath them. Each tower had its own pair of self-contained tunnels, some that were locked and others that were flooded. One, however, was neither locked nor inundated, so I had a field day passing through it, which led deeper to a large stairwell that descended into a capacious bunker with several rooms. Yet another set of stairs then led back up to an opening within the prison grounds – a dead end for any potential escapees. For anyone looking to get out this way, I now know they’d have to scale the tower and break an upper window before leaping some four stories down to the outer grounds, or two stories down to the narrow perimeter wall and then down another two to the outside, both of which sound improbable. What’s more certain is that with neither heating nor air conditioning to ameliorate the elements, manning the tower must have been the most miserable assignment for most of the year – a sort of prison sentence for prison guards. The prison’s most poignant site also proved to be its most elusive: the execution room. Although our guides had come prepared with a ring of keys for certain maximumsecurity facilities still locked within the compound, we
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37 soon learned that like us, it was also their first time at the prison, seeing as their department had just taken the site over only three or so months before. This meant they had very few facts to share that weren’t already available online and didn’t even know where the execution room was. In the end, we never found the prison gallows and gave up our search after two hours. Truth be told, after looking through my photos, I now have a strong hunch where the execution room must have been, but even if I were to sneak back into the prison, I’d likely need a key to get to the room itself. It’s a pity to leave such a weighty stone unturned, as there are very few execution rooms in the entire country. So much about the old prison remains a mystery to me even after my visit, and the irony is that I likely won’t find out more until I tour the new one, where old hands can provide far deeper insight into Gwangju’s evolving prison system. This arrangement is in the works and may be featured in a later Lost in Gwangju months down the line – something I very much look forward to. Photographs by Isaiah Winters.
▲ Yours truly after checking the prison rooftop.
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, a remnant of his time working as an appraiser back home. You can find much of his photography on @d.p.r.kwangju.
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
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January 2022
▲ Convicts were apparently free to decorate the larger cells with the wallpaper of their choice.
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38 Language Teaching
Teaching Teachers and Principals
TEACHING & LEARNING
An Inter view with Ian Schneider
W
hen we think of English language teaching (ELT), we usually think of teaching language learners and of learners who are still young. But ELT goes beyond teaching English to the young. It expands to the training of pre-service teachers and inservice teachers, and it encompasses school principals, vice-principals, supervisors, and other administrators in ELT contexts. The Jeollanamdo International Education Institute is a training center for such teachers and administrators, and Ian Schneider, a trainer at the Institute, agreed to talk about his teaching experiences there. That interview follows.
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
January 2022
Interviewer: To start off this interview, Ian, could you tell our readers a little about yourself – things like where you’re from, what you did before Korea, when you came to Korea, and what you’ve done in Korea? Ian: I grew up on the west coast of the U.S. – mostly in California. Before coming to Korea, I earned my BA in linguistics from the University of Kentucky and worked as a substitute teacher for K–12 public schools in my hometown of Sacramento. After arriving in Korea in ▲ Ian Schneider 2017, I started as a native English teacher (NET) at Namak High School in the new Jeollanam-do capital district east of Mokpo. After two years in Namak, I moved to Yeosu to work at the Jeollanamdo International Education Institute (JIEI), where I helped Korean English teachers develop greater confidence in their listening and speaking skills. And finally, last February, JIEI promoted me to coordinate a team of five fellow NETs.
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Interviewer: At JIEI, I believe you’ve taught in-service English teachers. What are the differences and challenges in teaching skills courses to them as opposed to the general English learner? Ian: At JIEI, my primary goal as an instructor has been to help Korean English teacher-trainees (KETs) develop greater confidence in speaking and listening. In other words, every trainee I met was exceedingly bright with mountains of language knowledge piled up in their minds thanks to years of formal study. My job was to create a safe and supportive classroom atmosphere where KETs could unlock that stored knowledge through self-expression. However, I didn’t start out thinking this way. When I first started work at JIEI in August of 2019, I felt like an impostor who had to flex his linguistics degree in order to conduct a class that KETs would find worthwhile. But I soon realized that KETs’ advanced language knowledge liberated me to teach topics I found interesting in English rather than teach about English. At Namak High School, my teaching goals were limited to encouraging students to produce English discourse and fostering more positive attitudes towards English language learning. However, with KETs, my focus shifted from teaching English as a subject to teaching communication skills – a topic I’ve studied intensely due to decades of socially awkward feelings and a will to improve my own communication skills. But the freedom to teach more advanced topics also brings more challenges. More advanced learners have more advanced expectations. This shift in learner needs forced me to consider my course goals and requisite scaffolding in greater detail. For example, one of the more popular and useful assessments from my course was podcast interviews – where trainees had to both conduct and give interviews on their topics of choice.
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39 A former supervisor, Kristy Dolson, once suggested that I “plan with the end in mind” – a tip that I took to heart to reverse-engineer the practice and skills trainees would need to complete this summative assessment task. For example: As an interviewer, what makes for effective open-ended questions? How do I ask effective follow-up questions? How can I use pauses and silence? How can I demonstrate to my interviewee that I’m listening?
▲ Podcast interviews, conducted and given by the trainees.
As an interviewee, what kind of details would add intrigue to my message? How can I make my message simple yet compelling for an audience? How can I use pauses in order to add power to my message? This job frees me up to bring in the mindsets, ideas, and techniques I read about in books or listen to in podcasts into the classroom – ideas that KETs may not have encountered in past English linguistics or methodology courses. And trainees’ elevated expectations in the classroom pushed me to elevate myself as an educator in a positive feedback loop of professional development.
Ian: I found principals and administrators’ pre-existing assumptions to both work for and against me as an instructor during workshops.
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Once we hit cruising altitude and settle into class, I appreciate these folks’ open-mindedness. Even administrators who initially folded their arms and said “pass” at every opportunity to speak would soften up over time. While principals may have appeared ill-atease over more student-centered, production-oriented approaches to language education, they didn’t shy away either. My favorite activity toward the end of the workshop involved randomly assigning each administrator a school-themed idiom like “teacher’s pet” or “pass with flying colors” and watch principals who I might at first glance brand as a “curmudgeon” light up and chuckle as they research and explain their idiom with their classmates. To me, it spoke to the vast possibilities of language education and how sometimes exploring less conventional content or methods could open their mind in otherwise uncomfortable or unfamiliar situations. Interviewer: Teaching anecdotes are always interesting to hear. Would you like to share any anecdotes that you might have about teaching at JIEI? Ian: I had a co-worker, Ashley, who specialized in reading skills and methodologies. He taught me that our aim as educators shouldn’t involve providing information but facilitating experiences. That hit home for me when I watched him spend a whole class period playing Monopoly with the trainees. After the game, he conducted an informal poll on Google Forms asking the trainees the degrees to which they agreed or disagreed with the following statements: “My friends are kind.” “My friends are kind when they play Monopoly.”
▲ Slid
January 2022
On the one hand, these “traditionally educated” learners seemed to accept underlying assumptions that those who were seated were students and the person standing up was the teacher. Moreover, teachers have value and should be listened to. Despite my underwhelming credentials as an educator (especially compared to principals and viceprincipals), I found most of these learners more than
However, I also experienced some trepidation about how to subvert administrators’ expectations of a lectureheavy, grammar-centric class. And in order to do that, sometimes I go against my own personal philosophy and play games. Simple guessing games where principals use their hands and place various people around a laminated “school” and ask me questions like “Where is the principal?” really helps lower some initial anxiety or concerns about being in an immersion-level English class. (By the way, the principal is in the cafeteria!)
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Interviewer: I believe you also teach courses for school principals and other administrators at JIEI. They’re most likely more familiar with grammar-translation methodology and memorization of vocabulary and grammar rules from their school days, as well as large, teacher-centered classes and authoritarian teachers. How receptive are they to the more modern teaching practices that your courses most likely promote?
willing to suspend their disbelief and assume the role of student. This bought me enough time to build my own credibility through well-organized lessons and engaging activities.
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40 The results were striking. Tr a i n e e s who won the Monopoly game rated their classmates far more favorably than trainees who lost. He followed up with a profound discussion on how c o m p e t i t ive ▲ Competitive in-class games can be demotivating. games, while good for stoking a palpable “buzz” in the classroom, may actually be demotivating for a majority of students’ in the long run.
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
January 2022
Kristy had a similar approach, taking well-deserved pride in an experiential lesson where she teaches trainees how to speak “I can” and “I cannot” sentences using TFF (Teaching French in French) in order to give trainees the experience of an immersive classroom environment in an unfamiliar L2. In short, trainees are in a unique position as teachers to re-assume the role of student – an excellent opportunity to use experiential learning to help them reconsider alternative perspectives. Following both of their examples, I began to overhaul my own curriculum to orient more towards experiences than concepts – or more precisely, to teach concepts through experience. For example, rather than telling trainees about the advantages and disadvantages of a flipped curriculum, why not give them the experience of learners in a flipped classroom? Instead of sharing tips on how to manage the discomfort of silence, why not practice it by holding silent eye-contact with a partner for 30 seconds? Okay, that one seems needlessly cruel in hindsight, but the point stands. Trainees don’t remember what you taught, but they will remember how you made them feel – and experiential lessons are more conducive to those feelings. Interviewer: Has your approach to teaching changed since starting work at JIEI? If so, how? Ian: When I first arrived at JIEI, I felt myself sinking into a deep bout of impostor syndrome. “What am I doing here? What qualifies me to do this?”
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“These teachers are all older and more experienced than me. What could I possibly teach them?” As a result, I regret to say that my early lessons were exercises of linguistic flexing on my part. I dredged up ideas about conceptual metaphor theory, phonological reduction, and frameworks of ELT – topics I cannot imagine myself lecturing about today. A great inflection point came from speaking with KETs outside of class – whether it was over coffee or on the badminton court. I realized that although trainees had high expectations, many also showed symptoms of burnout. While they hoped for thought-provoking lessons each day, they also reveled in taking a break from their schools. Navigating this paradox consumed me as future programs commenced. I realized trainees didn’t need an “expert” to tell them about the latest-and-greatest EFL theories or activities. Rather than sharing new methods on how to teach, I realized I could share new methods on how to think about teaching and, as Kristy emphasized so well in her courses, how to reflect on yourself as a teacher – a kind of meta education. During my last six-month program, I put these ideas to work in a series of lessons about creative constraints. On the surface, the trainees and I simply practiced and performed different varieties of role-play and dialoguebased activities that varied in their creative demands. Some were fully scripted. Others required trainees to answer a short series of questions to create a story. In short, the metalesson I stressed every day was to think about teaching as a creative exercise where one must name and navigate a series of constraints. “Look, I know you ▲ Teaching is a creative exercise in probably won’t use navigating constraints. any of these activities in your own lessons. That’s fine. But you encounter creative constraints in your own school every day.” “What are some constraints that you have to name and incorporate in your own school and classroom?” “Once you can identify those constraints, what creative solutions come to mind?”
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41 So many trainees come to programs at JIEI with feelings of burnout. As an instructor, my goal hasn’t been to provide them with new activities or theories about education, but to provide them with psychological tools, mindsets, and a renewed spirit so they would be able to return to their schools with a fresh perspective and problem-solving capacities. Interviewer: From your experiences teaching in Korea, what directions would you like to see English education, and education in general, take in the coming years in Korea? Ian: These days, I’ve been heavy into reading books, journal articles, and dissertations about English language hegemony and ideology. The sociolinguist in me is interested in how English manifests as symbolic capital in Korean society. In general, I would like to see a more critical approach to English education – what many researchers would call “glocalizing” critical pedagogy. By “glocal,” I mean an integration of the global language of English into local contexts – another take on the theory of World Englishes. In short, that would involve greater consciousness-raising and discussion among educators and students (especially at the secondary and tertiary level) regarding the myths and realities of how English education fits into globalized and neo-liberal social structures. “Why are we learning English?” “Who benefits from learning English?” “Are we utilizing the most effective methods to reach our language-learning goals?”
to my own aspirations and interests as an educator. For example, while my knee-jerk response may be that Korean English education should prioritize speaking and communication skills and decenter the domination of reading skills and standardized tests, these skills also serve a purpose. And until we can all better articulate the purpose and function of English education in Korea, we cannot propose the changes we really need. This is a challenge for myself and others to “up our games” and really question the value that we bring to the classrooms as educators. If we take the time to reflect on our work in the classroom and conduct our professional development in a serious manner, I believe that our value lies well beyond our credentials or our first language. Interviewer: May I ask what your plans are for the future? Ian: I’m currently working towards an MA in linguistics through the University of Kentucky in an effort to plan my next career move. It might involve pursuing a PhD in linguistics or education. Or it may involve taking on a new job in Korea. Time will tell. Interviewer: Thank you, Ian, for this bushel basket full of insights from your experiences in training English teachers and principals. There’s much food for thought that you’ve given us in this interview. Interviewed by David Shaffer. Photograph and graphics courtesy of Ian Schneider.
The Interviewer
GWANGJU-JEONNAM KOTESOL UPCOMING EVENTS
But these questions are complex, and as an outsider, I’ll likely never have a complete answer. But they’re questions that many researchers and educators (like myself) see as worth exploring.
Check the Chapter’s webpages and Facebook group periodically for updates on chapter events and other online KOTESOL activities.
They’re also terrifying questions to explore as a nativespeaking teacher. Answers and solutions may be contrary
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For full event details: Website: http://koreatesol.org/gwangju Facebook: Gwangju-Jeonnam KOTESOL
January 2022
▲ A more critical approach to English education involves complex questions.
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
David Shaffer has been involved in EFL and TEFL in Gwangju for many years. As vicepresident of the Gwangju-Jeonnam Chapter of KOTESOL, he invites you to participate in the chapter’s teacher development workshops (now online) and in KOTESOL activities in general. He is a past president of KOTESOL, and is currently the editor-in-chief of the Gwangju News.
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42 Language Learning
Learning Korean: The Adventure Continues
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
January 2022
TEACHING & LEARNING
By William Urbanski
W
ell, well, well. It is once again that unfortunate time of year to reflect on my Korean language progress. All those years ago when I first started learning Korea, I had no illusion that Korean would be an easy language to learn, but given my background in foreign languages, I figured it would take no more than three or four years to become fluent. Fast track a bunch of years and while I have not thrown in the towel by any means, certain realizations about Korea, language learning, and some other stuff in general have made me come to terms with the fact that native-level fluency, maybe, is not such a great goal after all. HURDLES OF ALL SHAPES AND SIZES As anyone who has looked into the matter surely knows, there are a couple of objective factors that make Korean a bit of a tough nut to crack, and in no particular order, here are a couple of the big ones. First of all, Korean is obviously in a different language family than English and works differently than Indo-European languages. While there are a large number of loanwords, it can be tricky to use them in a meaningful way. Then, there is the whole hornet’s nest issue of honorifics, which is kind of neat I suppose, but takes up a lot of bandwidth to not horribly offend people every time you try to say hello. Another interesting characteristic worth mentioning is that while anyone who speaks English grows up with a great deal of exposure to people speaking English with different accents, Koreans are much more homogenous in this regard, meaning that unless your pronunciation is pretty bang on, it may be difficult to make yourself understood. Things like different grammar and pronunciation are surmountable hurdles but require a disciplined and deliberate approach. Besides the scientifically verifiable and objective features of the language itself, there are a host of other issues I would dub “situational factors” that add a layer of difficulty and complexity to learning Korean. Now, I cannot take credit for noticing all of these, but some of the major ones are outlined here. The first is the fact that so many people come
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over here as teachers: a position that, well, requires us to be speaking English most of the time. Every school that employs an expat teacher is slightly different, but I have experienced quite a wide range of, shall we say, “tolerance” towards speaking Korean during work hours. Most of my schools have been very welcoming of my interest in learning Korean, but some places have basically said to not use Korean at all (a silly rule that accomplishes nothing and one that I also flouted at every available opportunity). Another social factor that I would highly doubt I am alone in observing is the tendency for Koreans to reply in English, or start talking in English when you speak to them in Korean. There are myriad reasons for this, such as the fact that most Koreans are very eager to try out a skill they have spent years honing at school and the fact that it could be regarded as a polite thing to do. The reasons for this are not particularly important to understand here, but this is in stark contrast to, say, France, where the rule of thumb could be summed up as, “You are in France, speak French.” The sum of these and many, many other social factors means that on top of the typological considerations, the average expat/foreigner actually has surprisingly few opportunities per day to practice Korean in a meaningful way. So yes, as you can see, it is not hard to dream up a laundry list of reasons why it is hard to get good at speaking Korean, but doing so actually obscures an important fact: Many people from all walks of life accomplish that very goal each and every year. Focusing on the reasons (real or imaginary) why Korean is so tough is actually somewhat counterproductive, as they are quite general and unspecified when effective language learning is a task that should be extremely personalized and very specific. To borrow a bit of parlance from Jordan Peterson, we could say that when it comes to language learning, focusing on social factors is “low-resolution” thinking and the path forward should be “high-resolution” and extremely specific. Identifying difficulties and learning through mistakes should not be an end in itself but rather a tool to change learning strategies and forge ahead in a better way.
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43 MISTAKES AND DEAD ENDS Speaking of mistakes, there are two major ones I have made (so far) when learning Korean: trying to memorize hanja and using flash cards. Years ago, partly because of a general fascination with the way Chinese characters are used, I got the bright idea that burning a ton of time trying to memorize hanja would be even the least bit useful. I even went so far as to buy a practice book, complete with cute little pictures and endless pages of grid paper (hanja are supposed to “fit” into an imaginary square box) on which I could carefully write each character, using the proper stroke order, of course. I even dabbled in those “four-character idioms” you may have heard about. I kept at this for a solid eight months or so and, in the end, had exactly jack squat to show for my efforts because the truth is that while many Korean words “come from” Chinese, a knowledge of the characters is not essential in the way it is for Mandarin or Japanese. Hanja, while definitely cool to know a thing or two about, just are not essential on the road to high-level, day-to-day proficiency, much the same way that knowing calligraphy will not make someone a better English speaker.
▲ The Leitner system is actually an incredible system to memorize huge amounts of vocabulary – as long as the thousands of flash cards you made (by hand) are not hot garbage. (Image via www.researchgate.net)
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REASSESSING GOALS As a native English speaker, I always kind of assumed that the ultimate goal when learning a foreign language was, like some sort of James Bond-esque spy, to be able to blend in unnoticed among the speakers of a language. While definitely cool if you can do it with French, German, or Italian, when it comes to Korean, that is actually a really poor goal. If you were not born to at least one Korean parent and raised in Korea, no Korean will ever in a million years believe you are one. So for me, instead of trying to be some sort of linguistic chameleon, a better strategy is to be “a foreigner who speaks Korean pretty well” and who can go about my business with minimal difficulty whenever I am galivanting around the country. So, what do you guys think is the best approach to learning Korean? Let me know in the comments below, and do not forget to like, subscribe, and hit that notification bell – it really helps the magazine. See you in the next episode!
The Author
William Urbanski is the managing editor of the Gwangju News. He is married and can eat spicy food. @will_il_gatto
January 2022
THE WAY FORWARD: WHAT WORKS IN GWANGJU In short, what works when it comes to learning how to use any language effectively (as an adult, anyway) could be summed up in the following steps: Get a solid grammatical understanding of the language (how to conjugate verbs, use prepositions, etc.) as well as a solid base vocabulary (from five hundred to a thousand words), then practice
As for step two (practicing speaking), how about making some Korean friends and buying them a cup of coffee? Ask to practice Korean with them for 20 minutes whenever you meet. There are also language exchanges happening all over town, especially at the GIC. “Practice Korean” is a pretty broad term, but another great way to go about this is to read short stories or books in Korean, preferably with the help of a Korean friend. For example, read the book out loud and have a friend correct your pronunciation. The added benefit of this approach is you can choose books or stories (or articles) that are in line with your interests. If you like soccer, read an article about soccer! When it comes to practicing Korean, try a bunch of things and do what works for you – in the end, any good language program should be very specific, and there is no one-size-fits-all approach.
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
My bumbling and farcical extended encounter with hanja pales in comparison to the colossal, blundering waste of time surrounding flash cards that extended over roughly a thousand days. During this time, I amassed a literal shoebox full of thousands of handmade, painstakingly handwritten flashcards, 99 percent of which contained single vocabulary items. Using the Leitner system (which is actually pretty neat), I memorized an exhaustive quantity of lexical items… that I could not use effectively in sentences: a completely pointless ability for an agglutinating language. While this approach kinda, sorta, maybe gave me a halfdecent foundation of vocabulary, in the long run, it amounted to spinning my tires.
with native speakers as much as possible. Fortunately, Gwangju has a slew of resources to help you accomplish both of these objectives. The Gwangju International Center is a great place to start with face-to-face classes. As well, there are other Korean “academies” around the city that I will not mention by name here but that I have heard nothing but good things about. While I think faceto-face classes are the best, especially at the early stages of learning, another option, which I have been using lately, is Talk to Me in Korean, a website that has actually pretty good lessons – the only problem being that you have to be very disciplined and motivated to slog though the massive collection of lessons that are more or less all identical.
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44 Learning Korean
Everyday Korean Episode 49
눈이 높아서 문제야. “The Problem Is Your High Expectations.”
TEACHING & LEARNING
By Harsh Kumar Mishra
The Conversation
Grammar Points
네하: Neha:
V~아/어/해 주세요
언니, 저 상담 좀 해 줘요. Eonni, I need some advice.
정민: 말해 봐. 무슨 일이야? Jeongmin:Tell me. What’s up? 네하: Neha:
연애하고 싶은데 마음에 드는 남자가 하나도 없어요. I want to date, but I can’t find a single man I like.
정민: 그게 무슨 소리야. 넌 눈이 높아서 문제야. Jeongmin: What do you mean? The problem is your high expectations.
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
January 2022
네하: 아니요, 전 눈이 하나도 안 높아요. 평범한 사람을 좋아해요. Neha: No, I don’t have high expectations at all. I like ordinary people. 정민: 그래? 조금만 눈 낮춰 봐. 평범한 남자 수십 명 보일 거야. Jeongmin: Really? Just try lowering your expectations a bit. You’ll see dozens of ordinary men.
This grammar point is attached to a verb and works like an auxiliary verb. Whenever you want to request that somebody do something for you, you can attach this to the verb stem of that activity. When a verb ends with ㅗ or ㅏ, use “~아 주세요,” and when a verb ends with any other vowel, use “~어 주세요.” Verbs ending in -하다 change to “~ 해 주세요.” Ex: 문 좀 열어 주세요. Please open the door. 저 대신에 택배를 받아 주세요. Please receive the parcel for me.
눈이 높아요 This is not a grammar point, but instead a commonly used idiom of the Korean language that means “to have high expectations.” It can also be
네하: ㅎㅎ 언니가 그런 남자를 좀 소개해 주세요. Neha: Haha. Please introduce me to such a man.
used as “눈 안 높아요” as a negative expression, i.e., “to not have high expectations.” Ex:
Vocabulary
민지 씨가 눈이 아주 높아요. 그래서 100점에서 98 점
상담
consultation
무슨 일이에요
What happened?
연애하다
to date
마음에 들다
to like something/someone
문제
problem
평범하다
ordinary; simple
눈을 낮추다
to lower one’s eyes (expectations)
보이다
to be visible; to be seen
소개하다
to introduce
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받아도 실망해요. Minji has very high expectations. So, even if she gets 98 out of 100 points, she is disappointed.
The Author Harsh Kumar Mishra is a linguist and Korean language educator. He teaches Korean with TOPIKGUIDE. com and LEARNKOREAN.in.
2022-01-06 �� 9:28:18
Restaurant Review 45
Del Pisa,
the New Italian Sensation By Melline Galani
I
FOOD & DRINKS
n many countries around the world, coffee is a big deal, but Italy still remains at the center in terms of taste with its famous espresso. South Korea has its own coffee culture, and those living here for some time are quite familiar with it. What makes it different from other continents is its variety. This variety spans over the type of cafes and also the coffee menu, making it difficult to choose. In our wonderful city of Gwangju, Dongmyeong-dong is well known for its amazing restaurants, coffee shops, and places to go out with friends. The latest sensation I have discovered here is Del Pisa, an espresso bar serving authentic Italian coffee. But what exactly is espresso coffee? It is a concentrated form of coffee served in small, strong shots and is the base for many coffee drinks. It is made from the same beans as coffee but is stronger, thicker, and higher in caffeine. Therefore, I thought an espresso bar would not be popular here precisely because Koreans prefer Americano, the lighter version of a coffee, but I was wrong.
The unfinished-style interior of the coffee shop is very European-esque with Italian accents, making it not only fancy but also cozy and relaxing even on cold winter days.
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w
Del Pisa
(델피사)
Address: 135 Donggyecheon-ro, Dong-gu, Gwangju 광주 동구 동계천로 135 (동명동) Operating Hours: 10:00–22:00, closed on Mondays Phone: 010-6783-1557 Instagram: @delpisa_dongmyeong
The Reviewer
Melline Galani is a Romanian enthusiast, born and raised in the capital city of Bucharest, and currently living in Gwangju. She likes new challenges, learning interesting things, and is incurably optimistic. She loves living life to its fullest and loves the cinnamon cream latte at Del Pisa. @melligalanis
January 2022
Del Pisa’s specialty is, of course, espresso, which is cheap in terms of cost but delicious in terms of taste; however, the menu has many other delicacies to meet all tastes. For only 2,000 won you get to taste a real Italian espresso. If you fancy sweeter coffees than their cinnamon cream latte, their Einspanner will conquer you. The prices range from 2,000 to 6,000 won, but the taste is worth every penny. They also serve exquisite handmade cookies to accompany their drinks.
Those who know me also know that when I discover something interesting, I take all my friends to the place. In Del Pisa’s case, we all have a unanimous opinion – they do serve the best coffee in Gwangju. For this reason, if you happen to be in the area after 10 a.m., give this place a try. I assure you that you will not regret the decision.
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
I discovered Del Pisa by accident. I was in Dongmyeongdong at an early hour on a sunny summer day and just saw this place open. I went in craving a cappuccino, the coffee I usually drink. Instead of a cappuccino, which was not on the menu, I ordered a cinnamon cream latte – the best coffee I have ever had in this city and the one that made me a regular at this place.
The wooden furniture adds a contrast to the white walls combined perfectly with paintings and other decorations.
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46 Photo Essay
The Bamboo Cathedral
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
January 2022
CULTURE & ARTS
By Isaiah Winters
A
esthetically pleasing churches are among the rarest structures to find abandoned. Churchgoers tend to be older, conservative, and tenacious, so it usually takes an extended period of die-offs and depopulation for a rural house of God to shutter and fall into disrepair. In all my years of providing the Korean public with unsolicited appraisals, I can recall only a handful of churches I’d call quasicharming. This year’s first photo essay features one of these rarities: the bamboo cathedral. After a long winter hike in Gokseong-gun, I spotted this church on the drive home just before sunset and nearly salivated upon arrival. Entombed in towering bamboo, the external structure gave off a dignified, almost elegant ambiance. By contrast, the inside was dark, drab, and dilapidated. I found an unsecured crucifix on stage and hurriedly used it as a photo prop before daylight faded. This delayed my discovery of a bevy of printed materials in a backroom, which will have to remain unread until I return. In the meantime, I wonder when architectural troves such as this church will finally get “discovered” as cool and turned into overpriced café-bakeries.
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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47
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
January 2022
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www.gwangjunewsgic.com
January 2022
48
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2022-01-06 �� 9:28:22
49 Gwangju Writes 49
Hansik By Cata Lee
As for lunch, it’s bibimbap: rice, veggies, and an egg on top. When you mix them, add some flavor: sesame oil and you can savor! Wait, you forgot the best of all: chili paste completes the bowl.
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All this being said, I wish you goodnight! Enjoy all the food, the schedule was tight. What? Tomorrow again?! Well, there is also gukbap and fried chicken, japchae, kalguksu, samgyetang, bulgogi, budaejjigae, jjimdak, mandu, dakgalbi… Omo! We have to go to so many matjip… Pass me the soju, let’s have one more sip! Geonbae! Ahhhhh! *Dedicated to Sun Yong and my Korean family, who took me in and fed me nice meals, and to all Korean people who bought me delicious food and treated me as a guest. 감사합니다! 잘 먹었습니다! (Thank you! I ate well!)
The Author
Cata Lee is a Korean culture supporter and a community builder. She helps Korean companies find the right expats to promote Korean culture, tourism, events, and products too. Cata lived in Korea for four years and loves Korean food. She would go for tteokbokki anytime. @cosmospolitana
January 2022
And for dinner? Smells so nice! Korean barbecue, to be precise. Samgyeopsal or galbi? Both! And kimchi jjigae in a pot. Take some lettuce, sesame leaf, add some garlic, kimchi, beef, wrap it up and shove it in!
Oh, I didn’t speak of breakfast yet? Let’s have some cold noodles before I forget. Does it feel fresh, like it’s cleaning you up? So, first thing tomorrow you’ll start with some bap; That’s rice and a traditional Korean meal with a soup and side dishes your soul will heal. It might sound simple and plain, but you’ll see that banchan and kimchies will be so many! And you’ll feel the hard work of woori omeoni, whose hands cooked it all, so you’ll be happy.
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
For a snack, haemul pajeon: pancake, seafood, scallion. Enjoy it with makgeolli and you’ll fall in love, you’ll see! When it’s poured, you hear it bubble; In a bowl? It’s worth the trouble, because when you taste that wine the sun will begin to shine. You’ll feel that your heart expands… Remember: Receive it with two hands!
Now the chewing may begin. Thrilled? Here, have some soju! And the taste? Divine, I told you! Patience, let me cook the meat! And our tour is now complete!
CULTURE & ARTS
Korea’s food that’s called hansik makes you curious, doesn’t it? Shall we start with tteokbokki? Rice cakes – chewy and spicy. Sip a bit of fish cake soup. Be careful! It’s hot, woop woop! Still, my favorite of them all, tuna kimbap in my bowl! Dip it in the spicy sauce; the flavors you come across…
2022-01-06 �� 9:28:24
50 Restoring the Past
Chapter 3. Roofs of Gwangju’s Mass-Produced Hanok Cost Efficiency or New Fashion?
CULTURE & ARTS
By Kang Dong-su
L
ast time, we briefly learned how the floor plans of Gwangju’s mass-produced hanok were made and how these traditional Korean houses look. Though the shapes originated from noble or rich people’s houses in Honam, there were a lot of changes made to adapt to the modern period by discarding some elements such as the porch-like daecheong-maru (대청마루) or enhancing functions by making hot water heating systems for most of the rooms. Homes made in L-shapes and long, rectangle shapes were the most dominant. Especially, a lot of L-shaped hanok were built at that time, which previously would have had a nu-maru (누마루), a verenda of sorts, as this design was a symbol of earlier homes of the nobility.
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
January 2022
In this chapter, I want to talk about the roof designs of Gwangju’s mass-produced hanok. Roof designs are one of the main symbols of East Asian architecture, and such designs represent many things, depending on the region and the period in which they emerged. Gwangju’s massproduced hanok styles also tell us a lot of stories about the modern times of Gwangju. Even among those who are currently working in the hanok or heritage fields, many think of Gwangju’s massproduced hanok roof designs as ridiculous or too exotic, especially if they are educated or used to Joseon Dynasty styles, so-called authentic traditional Korean designs. Current Korean law also does not regard Gwangju hanok as proper hanok because of the designs of the roofs and rooftile materials, which make them hard to preserve or hard to open as an official “hanok-stay.” But if we get over our prejudice and pay them more attention, we can observe and feel how Gwangju people adopted traditional architectural skills and adapted them in their own way. CURVY ROOF LINES The first thing we can notice about Gwangju hanok roofs is the exaggerated curvy line on the top, which is called yong-maru (용마루). This line is visually one of the most important components of traditional architecture as it is
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the first thing we see from the outside. Compared to other regions of Korea, Gwangju and nearby areas have this big curvy line in their roofs that almost looks like roofs in Southeast Asia or in parts of Southern China. A more surprising fact is that this curvy line had never been created before the 1960s in this region – it was simply created in the 1960s and then disappeared after the 1980s. How did this happen, and why did builders suddenly make such a big design change? The first reason, I suppose, was to make it visually appealing to the masses. Hanok builders in the 1960–1970s had to create new mass-produced hanok that were attractive to buyers who had a fantasy about fancy roof-tiled hanok. So, they elaborated home façades with striking roof designs to appeal to customers. Japanese roof tiles, which were a new modern material at the time, also technically helped to create this design, as traditional Korean roof tiles created too much weight to make the same designs seen in 1960– 1970 mass-produced hanok. The second reason is that people in this region have less bias regarding the definition of “hanok” than other regions, as there were never many Joseon Dynasty-style noble houses previously built in the area, and this lesser bias also led to locals accepting many outside influences from places like Japan, China, and even from the Western culture of missionaries. This avant-garde ambiance might have influenced the designs we see today, including the extra curvy roof lines that were acceptable to the Gwangju general public at that time. THE DECLINE OF CRAFTMANSHIP AND THE ERA OF COMMERCIALISM L-shaped structures do look prettier and more elaborate, but they also take much more effort to make than simple rectangle shapes, especially for roof structures. In the 1950s and 1960s, Gwangju and Honam hanok carpenters tried to reduce the effort and time required to make hanok for the enhancement of productivity and lowering prices by using simpler structures and hiding the rafters from the inside with plywood ceilings. In addition, they started to
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51 tiles could not match demand in most regions of Korea, except Seoul and some touristic cities that got support from the government. EMBELLISHMENTS Usually, on each end of the roof there are triangular gables which usually have an ornamental face. During the Joseon Dynasty, these gabled faces were usually embellished with black traditional roof tiles, geometrical black brick patterns, or wooden planks. This custom also changed in the modern era to red brick, cement plaster, or glazed ceramic tiles. In Honam, tile work on the face is especially unique in design compared to other regions of Korea. Another distinctive ornamentation that had been used from the colonial period to the 1970s use raw timber and rough, unplaned wood from sawmills in the roofs, which was uncommon in the past. A little later, in the late 1960s and the 1970s, carpenters started to elaborate on home façades using large pillars and thicker rafters, though with much poorer quality wood and structuring (even worse than those of the 1950s and early 1960s) throughout the rest of the house, which were all hidden under plywood or wallpaper. Builders relied less on traditional timber framing joints and began relying on simple metal joints or nails. This quality deterioration of hanok structures was inevitable as the developers had to provide mass-produced hanok with the same style as rich people’s houses of the past at much cheaper prices.
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CONCLUSION Through the architectural ingenuity and cost-efficient practices of the Gwangju and Honam home builders of the post-war period, many middle-class folks of the region were able to proudly live in homes replicating those once reserved for only the nobility. Photographs by Kang Dong-su.
The Author
Kang Dong-su is a traditional Korean carpenter born in Gwangju in the year 1996. He started studying and archiving historical architecture in Gwangju at the age of 17. He is currently the representative of his company, Baemui, which researches and renovates homes and historical architecture in Gwangju and the Jeolla provinces. @baemui.naru
January 2022
Other regions usually used Japanese-style cement roof tiles for building hanok and other houses as they were easier to produce and install, and because they weighed less than traditional roof tiles, which also means that they required less wood for the structure. Another thing is that until that time, most residential homes had thatched roofs because only rich and high-ranking individuals could use ceramic roof tiles. Starting in the 1950s, as Korea’s hierarchical society collapsed after the Korean War, the demand for roof-tiled houses, which had been a distant dream for most, rose among the general public. Cement roof tiles were their only choice for mass-produced replicas of homes of the nobility as the supply for traditional roof
in Gwangju and Honam was the use of decorative nails on the gables. These were mostly in the shapes of flowers with delicate petals and were previously seen only on the houses of the upper class during the colonial period and premium houses during the mass-produced hanok era. www.gwangjunewsgic.com
JAPANESE-STYLE CEMENT ROOF TILES During the colonial period, the Japanese brought many manufacturing facilities to Korea, including factories for their own building materials, and one of the materials they introduced was cement roof tiles. Cement roof tiles are less durable compared to ceramic roof tiles but easy and fast to make. After the Korean War, the need for houses grew everywhere, which increased the demand for roof tiles. Seoul’s mass-produced hanok continued to use traditional ceramic roof tiles that were made in small kilns temporarily installed near central Seoul until the 1950s.
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52 Book Review
Talking to Strangers What We Should Know About the People We Don’t Know
by Malcolm Gladwell
CULTURE & ARTS
Reviewed by Michael Attard
T
he short title, Talking to Strangers, reminds me of what my parents and teachers repeated many times, namely, “Don’t talk to strangers.” It was explained that an unknown person might try to lure a youngster into harm’s way after gaining a child’s trust through simple conversation. Of course, as we mature and progress through life, we meet many strangers, and some of these become our best friends and life partners.
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
January 2022
Malcolm Gladwell does not tell us to not talk to strangers, but he strongly advises that for our own sake and the sake of society at large, we should be highly conscious of certain elements of any social discourse with people we do not know, and, for that matter, with individuals we know somewhat. From my research, it is clear that the book was not well received by critics when it was published in 2019 as Gladwell’s sixth book. There was a feeling that readers would not know where Gladwell was going with his tales of police violence, rape, financial crime, and wrongful murder conviction. But I believe that these diverse and true stories are merely the settings for the points that Gladwell is making. Perhaps, many critics have gotten the story wrong in the same manner as one might interpret an anti-war movie as being a film about Vietnam. The above thus begs the question, “What is or are Gladwell’s points?” Patience – there are several steps in getting there. The book’s opening will appeal to those who enjoy a good spy story. The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, after years of being played, discovers, and only through the defection of a Cuban spy, that their organization was replete with Cuban spies. It is important to note that the CIA had suspected as much but let it go every
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time. This brings us to what Gladwell refers to as “Puzzle One: Why can’t we tell when the stranger in front of us is lying to our face?” He elaborates with a study that looked at a list of 550,000 people, all of whom were defendants brought before judges in New York City. There were all sorts of crimes and extenuating circumstances that the judges knew about, and 400,000 of these individuals were released on bail. Next, an artificial intelligence system was given the same information that prosecutors had given to the judges and asked to make a list of the 400,000 people that it would release. The question then becomes, “Whose list committed the fewest crimes while out on bail?” Result: Those on the computer’s list were 25 percent less likely to commit a crime while awaiting trial. Gladwell refines his thinking with details from European history just before World War Two. This leads to “Puzzle Two: How is it that meeting a stranger face to face can sometimes make us worse at making sense of someone than not meeting them?” One might think that “Evolution … should have favored people with the ability to pick up on the subtle signs of deception. But it hasn’t.” This leads to Gladwell’s first major point or conclusion, which is actually drawn from someone else’s work. Namely, that our operating assumption when dealing with people is that they are honest, and this is referred to as the Truth-Default Theory. We believe people because we do not have enough doubts about them. Gladwell contends that this is simply being human. It would seem then that evolution has left us with a problem. And while Gladwell contends that there can be a trigger point after which we do not believe someone,
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he also states that the threshold for the trigger is high. For example, a woman may suspect her husband of having an affair for many reasons, but refuses to believe that it is true. Then when she sees a hotel charge on the credit card statement, the trigger is pulled. Gladwell refers back to the question “Is the TruthDefault Theory a mistake of evolution?” and concludes that it is not. In the story of Bernie Madoff, the financial advisor who stole billions of dollars through his Ponzi scheme, Madoff fooled a lot of people, but there was one person, Harry, who always thought that Madoff was a criminal. However, Harry’s personal story and other studies support the conclusion that if we were all like Harry, “life would be a disaster … suspicion and paranoia would bring society to a standstill.” It seems that meaningful social encounters demand trust.
“Perhaps if we all listen and focus more, we can avoid the pitfalls of not knowing how to talk to one another.”
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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.
January 2022
In conclusion then, should we heed the advice that we were given as children to not talk to strangers? No, as that will harm rather than protect us. But as Gladwell advises, we should talk to strangers with caution and humility. Our tendency to trust must be tempered with attention to red flags, and we must remember that things are not always as they seem. Perhaps if we all listen and focus more, we can avoid the pitfalls of not knowing how to talk to one another.
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
In part three, Gladwell discusses what he calls “transparency” and defines it as “the idea that people’s behavior and demeanor … provide an authentic and reliable window into the way they feel on the inside.” He recounts the nightmare of Amanda Knox, who was wrongly convicted for the murder of her roommate, largely because her demeanor was all wrong. Prosecutors and others inferred that her not hugging others, the lack of emotion on her face, relaxed poses such as putting her feet on her boyfriend’s lap, and responding loudly and angrily instead of sympathetically as clear signs that she was a murderer. But studies show that people are not transparent. “Surprised people do not necessarily look surprised. People who have emotional problems do not always look like they have emotional problems.” So, while we often work on the premise of “transparency,” Gladwell’s point is that it is a myth, an illusion.
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www.gwangjunewsgic.com
January 2022
CULTURE & ARTS
54 Comic Corner
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January 2022
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
Look for the answers to this crossword puzzle to appear in Feburary in Gwangju News Online (www.gwangjunewsgic.com).
DOWN
ACROSS 1 5 8 12 13 14 15 17 18 19 21 23 26 29 30 31 32
Best way to cook marshmallows Global animal org. The Bridge ___ Return (2 words) “Money is the root of all ___” Finance giant in HK Pilot project to realize Gwangju’s 2045 Energy Independent City goal Where garbage goes “___ the story goes” (2 words) Enrages “I haven't seen you in ___” Sign a treaty Found in a bathroom Capably Outsourced parts maker Free ___ bird (2 words) Chop ___ DMZ divider
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33 34 35 36 37 38 40 42 46 48 50 51 52 53 54 55
The Last Jedi director Johnson Gentry title “Produce 101” group Police ID “The Black-Haired Tchaikovsky” Jeong “Sweat” drink Desktop item Japanese assassins GFN face2face host Silla-era naval leader Like Chun and Roh Lincoln or Shinzo Opposite of under Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the ___ Seoul punk band World ___ web
1 Nigerian musician Kuti 2 Reitman or Drago 3 Finger jewelry 4 Senior 5 Middle of the human body 6 Star Trek actor Wheaton 7 Deep-fried patty made with chickpeas 8 Woodwind instrument 9 One of the three categories of firefighters’ duties (2 words) 10 Korea’s largest investor 11 Lacto-___ vegetarian 16 Scuffle 20 A place to work out 22 Containing element 53 24 Precedes Humphreys or Yongsan 25 Masked Batman villain 26 “Just ___” (2 words) 27 Opposite of pull 28 Local Mexican restaurant 32 Korean white porcelain (2 words) 33 Colorful display after storm 35 Market debut 36 Naval jail 39 Conquer 41 Goes with dress or red 43 Jon Bon ___ 44 Like fine wine 45 Aching 46 “Much ___ About Nothing” 47 ___ Speedwagon 49 ___ Dhabi
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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. Organization 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
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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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