From the Editor

July 2021, Issue 233 Published: July 1, 2021

Cover Photo

Rescue workers atop the rubble of the Hak-dong accident. By Isaiah Winters

THE EDITORIAL TEAM

Publisher Editor-in-Chief Managing Editor Chief Copy Editor Layout Editor Photographer Copy Editing Online Editor Content Support

Dr. Shin Gyonggu Dr. David E. Shaffer William Urbanski Isaiah Winters Karina Prananto Kim Hillel Yunkyoung Di Foster, David Foster Karina Prananto Melline Galani

The Gwangju News is the first English monthly magazine for the general public in Korea, first published in 2001. Each monthly issue covers local and regional issues, with a focus on the roles and activities of the international residents and local English-speaking communities.

Copyright ©2021 by the Gwangju International Center. All rights reserved. No part of this publication covered by this copyright may be reproduced in any form or by any means – graphic, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise – without the written consent of the publisher.

The Gwangju News is published by the Gwangju International Center: Jungang-ro 196-beon-gil 5 (Geumnam-ro 3-ga), Dong-gu, Gwangju 61475, South Korea Tel: (+82)-62-226-2733~34 Fax: (+82)-62-226-2731 Website: www.gwangjunewsgic.com Email: gwangjunews@gic.or.kr gwangjunews gwangju_news

Registration No. 광주광역시 라. 00145 (ISSN 2093-5315) Registration Date: February 22, 2010 Printed by Jieum 지음 (+82)-62-672-2566

For volunteering and article submission inquiries, please contact the editor at gwangjunews@gic.or.kr.

Special thanks to Gwangju City and all of our sponsors. Welcome to July and to our latest issue of the Gwangju News! We hope the fair weather of late June is a harbinger of a pleasant July, especially after the recent tragedy that has befallen Gwangju. Be sure to read our feature on this deadly Hak-dong building collapse that should never have happened (pages 6–11).

We hope you will be eager to read our other features for the month. You are invited to a solar energy house in Ilgok-dong that generates more energy than it actually needs! The dog days of the Northern Hemisphere begin in July, including three particular Korean “dog days,” and our feature [Hot Dog!] recounts the traditional customs, foods, and foretellings associated with these hot days. Another of our features [Blast from the Past] takes us back three quarters of a century to the time of Korea’s liberation from colonial rule. And two of Gwangju’s artists allow us to reminisce about life in Gwangju’s backstreet neighborhoods before the dominance of the high-rise apartment complex [People in the Arts].

Several of our other articles relate in one aspect or another to Korea’s past, while we visit a futuristic solar-powered abode, we also introduce you to a restorer of old hanok houses who is bringing them beautifully into the present [Lost in Gwangju]. Also, bringing back memories of her childhood in Gwangju, one student abroad relates her reconnection and infatuation with the Jeollado dialect [Gwangju Abroad]. Our Photo Essay depicts the Japanese-era tunnels found in Mokpo, and our Book Review details the travels of the book’s author to many little-known historical sites throughout the country.

Education has its alternatives. Learn what the Raemi School has to offer in alternative education to its students. Well-being is a concern for everyone, and quite importantly for teachers and students. Learn how it can be fostered in the field of education [Language Teaching]. Learning Korean is certainly a concern of every expat in Korea – “It’s Worth Doing!” – check out Everyday Korean.

Check out our Restaurant Review of the Bondisto in Yangnimdong. Read about the disappearance of green space in Bongseondong [Opinion]. From GFN Radio, we bring you the latest from the music scene in “Top of The Drop” and all about The Afternoon Show with JD. We also introduce the webtoon “Alan and Me.”

Bring yourself up to date with Gwangju City News, feast your eyes on the psychedelic Photo of the Month, and puzzle your neurons with the Crossword Puzzle for July.

As always, stay Covid smart, stay Covid safe, get Covid protected, and enjoy the Gwangju News.

David E. Shaffer Editor-in-Chief Gwangju News