[EN] Gwangju News June 2018 #196

Gwangju and South Jeolla International Magazine I June 2018 #196 I Fr. Nandana Manatunga: Defender of Justice Wins Prestigious 2018 Gwangju Prize for Human Rights

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From the Editor

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June 2018, Issue No. 196

Published: June 1, 2018 Cover Photo: Adam Travis

Fr. Nandana Manatunga Defender of Justice Wins Prestigious 2018 Gwangju Prize for Human Rights Stories begin on page 8.

THE EDITORIAL TEAM Publisher Editor-in-Chief Managing Editor Chief Proofreader Layout Editor Copy Editors Proofreaders Photo Editor Photography Team Online Editorial Team Creative Advisor Researchers

Dr. Shin Gyonggu Dr. David E. Shaffer Wilson Melbostad Isaiah Winters Karina Prananto Joseph Nunez, Gabrielle Nygaard Teri Lyn, Waziha Farha, Elisabeth Loeck, Di Foster, David Foster, Gilda Wilson Lorryn Smit Annalise Reinhardt, Adam Travis, Sarah Pittman, JT White Karina Prananto, Nguyen Huong (Sen), Shahed Kayes Joe Wabe Han Saebyeol, Yoo Yeonwoo

The Gwangju News is the first public English monthly magazine 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 by 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 Logos Color 로고스칼라 (+82)-62-672-2566 GwangjuNews

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GwangjuNewsGIC

For advertising and subscription inquiries, please contact karina@gic.or.kr or 062-226-2733.

Special thanks to the City of Gwangju and all of our sponsors.

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For the adventurous, we take you to Japan (Traveling Tokyo), to the quiet of Gangwon-do (Gangneung: A Peaceful Vacation Place), and too a forgotten corner of Gwangju (The Yang-dong Bookmaker’s House).

We bring you even more places to explore. Have a sauna experience in Jjimjilbangs Revisited. Find out what all the Gongyu Share Center has on offer. Find out how and where you can volunteer to be part of the community of shelter dog walkers (Why Not Walk a Shelter Dog?). And find out what international community folks are saying about their experiences here in our fair city (Paradise Behind the Curtain).

Learn more about this month in June: The Month of Patriotism. Learn how to talk about summer in Everyday Korean. And learn about principles for all teachers to follow (Korea TESOL).

If you think you Know Your Beers, think again. If you think you know all the great places to eat, add Nasania to your list.

For the moviegoer and the yearner for reunification we have a review of As One. For the bookworm we have a review of The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommended. And for all readers, Gwangju Writes brings you a new, “cool,” and incredibly written piece of fiction. For everyone, we have our photo essay (Tangibility) and our Photo of the Month from Gwangju’s recent Together Day” event. Enjoy the June we have to offer.

David E. Shaffer Editor-in-Chief Gwangju News

June 2018

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

We are proud to introduce to you in our cover feature Fr. Nandana Manatunga, winner of the 2018 Gwangju Prize for Human Rights for his fight against injustices in his home country of Sri Lanka. Also on the topic of injustices, we bring you a review of V-Day Gwangju 2018, this year’s performance in our community’s fight for awareness and realization of gender equality. Hong Kong’s Umbrella Movement rounds out the fight for justice in this issue.

www.gwangjunewsgic.com

The Gwangju News is published by 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 E-mail: gwangjunews@gic.or.kr

ime flies! Summer heat is already slipping into our seasonal cycle; Mangjong falls on the 6th (along with Memorial Day), signifying a busy period in the farming season for sowing grains.

The Gwangju News is busy, too! Busy bringing you our June issue. It’s hard to believe that this issue already marks the halfway point in our publishing year. We hope you enjoy what this issue has to offer.

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JUNE 2018 SCHEDULE

Every Saturday, 4 p.m.

GIC 1F Lounge JUNE 2 4th Annual Mike Simning Community Builder Award Ceremony JUNE 9 Democratization Movements: From Gwangju to Ouagadougou, Transition to Democracy

Speaker: Stephie Melina Kabre Master student, Chonnam National University 2nd year student in Global NGO Master Program

JUNE 16 The Importance of Books: What Reading Can Do for You

Speaker: Madeline Miller

JUNE 23 Gwangju Uprising and Korean Culture

Speaker: Shin Gyonggu

JUNE 30 Origins of Damunhwa: Achieving Multiculturalism in South Korea

Speaker: Wilson Melbostad Human Rights Lawyer, OMLA Director

@GICTalk

GICTALK

Have an idea about a GIC Talk? Email us at gictalk@gic.or.kr 5, Jungang-ro, 196beon-gil, Dong-gu, Gwangju｜062-226-2733｜gic.or.kr 2018�6��.indd 2

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CONTENTS JUNE 2018 #196

GWANGJU NEWS 04. Gwangju City News 05. Gwangju Theater Schedule 06. Upcoming Events: June 56. Community Board

COMMUNITY 18. V-Day Gwangju 2018: Gender Equality That Stands on Both Legs 34. Expat Living: Jjimjilbangs Revisited

GWANGJU NEWS

FEATURES 08. Defender of Justice Wins Prestigious 2018 Gwangju Prize for Human Rights 14. Paradise Behind the Curtain 16. Gongyu Share Center

TRAVEL 22. Lost in Gwangju: The Yang-dong Bookmaker’s House 26. Around Korea: Gangneung: A Peaceful Vacation Place 29. From Abroad: Traveling Tokyo SPORTS & ACTIVITIES 32. Why Not Walk a Shelter Dog? EDUCATION 36. Korea TESOL: Six Principles for All Teachers 38. Everyday Korean: Episode 6 – Summer

OPINION 54. Hong Kong’s Umbrella Movement and Achievements of Democracy

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June 2018

ARTS & CULTURE 39. Korean Culture: June – The Month of Patriotism 44. Photo Essay: Tangibility 48. Photo of the Month 50. Gwangju Writes: Cool Water, or Crystallized Ice Fractals in Flight 52. Movie Review: As One 53. Book Review: “Unread Adventures. Friends You Haven’t Met Yet, Hours of Magical Escapism Awaiting You” – The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald

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FOOD & DRINKS 40. Know Your Beers 42. Where to Eat: Nasania

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Gwangju City News Compiled by Yoo Yeonwoo and Karina Prananto Reprinted with permission from Gwangju Metropolitan City

U.S. Reverend Buried in Gwangju

GWANGJU NEWS

Rev. Charles Betts Huntley, who promoted the truth behind the May 18 Democratic Uprising to the world, has recently been buried in Gwangju. The burial was held on May 17 at the Missionary Cemetery in Yangnim-dong, Nam-gu.

The late reverend served as a resident pastor at the Kwangju Christian Hospital at the time of the May 18 Democratic Uprising. He recorded martial law forces’ brutal crackdown on civilians in photos and wrote letters to foreign media to cover the story.

The reverend passed away on June 26, 2017, at the age of 81. Before passing, he told his family that he wished for his remains to be buried in Gwangju.

Enjoy Leisure and Culture in the Heart of the City

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June 2018

Gwangju City announced on April 25 that it will be running its Civic Participation City Park Program at various parks from May to November.

Pureungil Park will be running a program that tells visitors why the park was made and will explain the themes behind the different areas of the park. Maps of the park will be provided in English.

Mulbit Park, Bonchon Park, Jungang Park, and Suwan Lake Park will run a program called “Experience the Forest and Make Natural Humidifers!” This program will allow visitors to experience the forest as a playground and make flowerpots called seokchangpo, which act as natural humidifiers.

Duam 2nd Geunrin Park will allow visitors to observe plants and animals in the forest and make pottery through its program, “Let’s Play with Ecology: The Story of Making Pottery with Natural Clay.”

Hansaebong Agricultural Environmental Park in the Ilgok area will run the “Hansaebong Farming School” from rice planting to harvest, while Ilgok Park, will run a program

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called “The Flower of the Park: People.” This program will teach visitors through ecology guides, the making of forest play areas, and a play program, which will be run each season of the year.

Yeongsan River Grand Park will provide a program for visitors who are blind and for those who cannot walk. It will include a forest experience program by the side of the road.

The Korean Art Publicity Society will run the “What I Love Most Is Playing” program, which will help visitors learn to be thankful for nature through their senses and playing outside. Also, there will be various other creative arts and crafts programs that make use of the park.

Ssangam Lake Park and Gyeongam Park are going to run festivals called “A Korean Traditional Music Tour for the Whole Family” and “Let’s Enjoy Traditional Games.” At these, visitors can experience traditional Korean music, instruments, and dance, such as samulnori, a performance in which four traditional Korean instruments are played.

The programs will be run by eight private organizations and are free to attend. To check the schedules and find out how to participate, please visit each of the organizations’ websites.

Contacts

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Pureungil (Gwangju Greenway) 푸른길 062-514-2444 http:// www.greenways.or.kr Gwangju “Forest of Life” Citizens’ Movement 광주생명의숲국민운동 062-234-5540 http://cafe.daum.net/ gjforest Korean Art Promotion Association 한국예술진흥회 062-5213372 http://www.e-kapa.org World Music Group Rootmerge 월드뮤직그룹 루트머지 062444-0767 http://www.rootmerge.co.kr Yeonhuidan Sorimadi 연희단 소리마디 010-4609-9434 Bitgoeul Happy Town Economy Community 빛고을행복마을경제공동체 062-265-1230 Hansaebon Dure 한새봉두레 062-575-0306 Gwangju Federation of the Visually Challenged (사) 광주광역시시각장애인연합회 062-234-5540 http://gjbu.or.kr/

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Gwangju Theater

62 Chungjang-ro 5-ga, Dong-gu, Gwangju (two blocks behind NC Wave) TICKETS: 8,000 won CONTACT: 062-224-5858 For more information, please visit http://cafe.naver.com/cinemagwangju * Synopses excerpted from Wikipedia, IMDb, and Hancinema.

All English language films are presented with Korean subtitles; non-English international films are presented with Korean subtitles only.

BURNING 버닝

Genre: Mystery Director: Lee Chang-dong Film Length: 148 minutes Language: Korean (No subtitles) Starring: Yoo Ah-in, Steven Yeun, Jun Jong-seo Summary: The film is a mystery thriller revolving around a woman whose life is intertwined with two men – one rich and the other a courier who struggles to make ends meet.

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ISLE OF DOGS

개들의 섬 Genres: Animation, Comedy Director: Wes Anderson Film Length: 101 minutes Languages: English, Japanese (Subtitles: Korean) Starring: Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Bill Murray Summary: In a dystopian near-future Japan, a dog flu virus spreads throughout the canine population. The new authoritarian mayor of Megasaki City, Kobayashi, signs a decree banishing all dogs to Trash Island, despite a scientist named Professor Watanabe insisting he is close to finding a cure. The first dog to be banished is Spots, who belonged to Atari Kobayashi, the orphaned nephew and ward of the mayor.

June 2018

BOMBSHELL: THE HEDY LAMARR STORY 밤쉘 Genre: Documentary Director: Alexandra Dean Film Length: 89 minutes Language: English (Subtitles: Korean) Starring: Hedy Lamarr Summary: The film follows the life story of Lamarr from her youth as the daughter of assimilated Austrian Jews through her rise to fame, the Nazi onslaught, her departure

FACES, PLACES 바르다가 사랑한 얼굴들 Genre: Documentary Directors: Agnes Varda, JR Film Length: 117 minutes Language: French (Subtitles: Korean) Starring: Agnes Varda, JR Summary: Director Agnes Varda and photographer/muralist JR journey through villages and small towns throughout France to meet communities of people and create large portraits of them to plaster on the surroundings. Through this, they form an unlikely friendship.

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BIRDS WITHOUT NAMES 이름없는 새 Genres: Romance, Thriller Director: Kazuya Shiraishi Film Length: 124 minutes Language: Japanese (Subtitles: Korean) Starring: Yu Aoi, Sadao Abe, Tori Matsuzaka Summary: Towako still cannot forget Kurosaki, even though they broke up eight years ago.

She now lives with a man named Jinji who is 15 years older than her. Towako hates Jinji, who is poor and vulgar, but she lives with him because of his wages. One day, she meets Mizushima, who is married but reminds her of Kurosaki.

Soon, she is in an affair with Mizushima.

for the United States, six marriages, acting career, landmark invention, decline, reclusion, and finally her death at the age of 85 in 2000. The focus of the film is on her co-creation with George Antheil of the technology of frequency hopping.

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June 2018 Upcoming Events Compiled by Karina Prananto

June 15-18 GWANGJU NEWS

Beopseongpo Dano Festival 법성포 단오제 2018 Dano is the fifth day of the fifth month by the lunar calendar. On this day, traditional Korean culture and performances are being held in Beopseong-myeon, Yeonggwang. You are invited to experience the uniqueness of Korean traditional culture!

Location:

156 Jingulbi-gil, Beopseong-myeon, Yeonggwang-gun, Jeollanam-do 전라남도 영광군 법성면 진굴비길 156

Admission: Telephone: Website:

Free 061-356-4331, 4334, 4335 http://bspdanoje.co.kr/

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June 2018

June 1-21 Gwangyang Lavender Healing Festival 광양 라벤더힐링축제

In June, Gwangyang holds its very first lavender festival!

Fields will be filled with beautiful, purple-colored lavender. Lavender bouquets and seeds will also be for sale.

Location: Sarasil Lavender Farm, Sagokri, Gwangyang-eup, Gwangyang, Jeollanam-do

전라남도 광양시 광양읍 사곡리 사라실라벤더 시험재배단지

Admission: Telephone: Website:

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Free 061-797-2114/ 010-7419-7122 https://gwangyangsi.blog. me/221252210160

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~2018.07.18 From Vietnam to Berlin 베트남에서 베를린까지

This exhibition features paintings produced between the early 1960s, when the Vietnam conflict escalated into an international war, and the late 1980s, when the Berlin Wall collapsed.

Times: Location:

Tue-Sun: 10 am – 6 pm; Wed, Sat: 10 am – 7 pm.

Spaces 3 & 4, Asia Culture Center, 38 Munhwajeondang-ro, Dong-gu, Gwangju 광주 동구 문화전당로 38 국립아시아문화전당 문화창조원 복합 3,4관

Admission: Telephone: Website:

3,000 – 5,000 won 1899-5566 https://www.acc.go.kr/en/board/schedule/ exhibition/1956g.com

▲ Photo: Asia Culture Center.

~2018.10.27 Gungdong Street Art Festival “Pretty Gungdong”

어여쁘다 궁동

Location:

▲ Art Festival Gung-dong.

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광주 동구 예술길 21 예술의 거리 일원

Free 062-224-0323 http://blog.naver.com/butterflyart

June 2018

Admission: Telephone: Website:

21 Gungdong Art Street, Dong-gu, Gwangju

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Hosted every Saturday, this festival promises to bring a wide range of fun, experiential activities, and wellorganized performances. Visitors will get to explore how to make a caterpillar toy, learn about 3D printing, flower art and balloon art, sit down for a Taro experiment, and so much more.

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Defender of Justice Wins Prestigious 2018 Gwangju Prize for Human Rights

FEATURE

Written by Nguyen Huong Photographs by Adam Travis and courtesy of Fr. Nandana Manatunga

Diploma in Human Rights Training… diploma in Youth Pastoral & Faith Education… diploma in Foundations for Pastoral Renewal… diploma in Development Dynamics… diploma in Leadership…

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June 2018

o reads the educational background of Father Nandana Manatunga – winner of the 2018 Gwangju Prize for Human Rights. This award is an annual dedication to the people’s spirit of the May 18 Democratization Movement hosted by the May 18 Memorial Foundation.

As I was waiting for Manatunga’s response , I was sitting on a bench with a cup of coffee in front of the Yongbonggwan building at Chonnam National University. This was where the student protest started that led to the Gwangju Uprising in 1980. As a human rights activist myself, I am curious about how others got started in the same relentless fight against social injustice. For Manatunga, the impetus was seeing his compatriots being tortured, burnt, and killed on the roadside and thrown into the river.

It was during the second year of his priesthood in Sri Lanka that the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) Youth Insurrection – also known as the 1989 Revolt – hit its climax. It was organized by the left-wing nationalist Sinhalese JVP against the Sri Lankan government under President J. R. Jayewardene. Occurring from 1988 to 1989, the unfortunate incidents resulted in over 60,000 deaths, including many who did not have any connection with the JVP. Many people “disappeared” or were killed by security forces and paramilitary groups who operated under the authorization of the government.

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Manatunga decided to do something about it. He visited several police stations and army camps to get some of the youth released and provide security for those who were being searched for by the security forces. Manatunga recounts the incident that changed his life: “Once when I was traveling alone in my van, a man stopped me, got into my vehicle, and asked me to speed up. The stranger then got off at the bus stop and only then revealed that he had been taken to the cemetery to be shot, but he managed to escape.” And thus commenced Manatunga’s career as a human rights defender.

Sri Lanka has left this dark past behind, but corruption still cripples the system, making it impossible to establish sound law enforcement units. This, coupled with widespread public apathy, has given rise to numerous cases of human rights abuses, particularly in the form of rape and torture. A rape occurs every five and a half hours in Sri Lanka, according to police statistics. The wrongdoers often beat the rap or get away with mild sentences. The fact that rape and torture are perceived as commonplace and that a culture of victim-blaming exists only rubs salt in the wound.

Fortunately, the situation is improving, according to Manatunga. “Because of the recent incidents of cruel, inhuman acts of rape and murder, people have changed their perception and are condemning crimes to the extent that civil society has campaigned to implement capital punishment for criminals of rape and murder,” he said.

The work Manatunga has put forward is not to be overlooked. His holistic three-body approach, called “Victim-Centered Activity,” involves providing security

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Father Nandana Manatunga, winner of the 2018 Gwangju Prize for Human Rights.

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The 2018 Gwangju Prize for Human Rights medallion, presented to Father Nandana Manatunga by The May 18 Memorial Foundation.

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▲ Father Nandana participating in a street campaign against torture in the streets of Kandy, Sri Lanka.

Not only are former victims witnesses of institutional injustice – they can also be agents of change. Manatunga told me about the stories of two such people. The first was a young man named Vivodan, who was arrested as a suspect under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) in the north of Sri Lanka. He was severely tortured by the police but was later released after his persuasive negotiations. But Vivodan’s battle did not stop there – his brother was arrested, too. “Since [Vivodan] got his freedom, he has joined us and exerted ferocious efforts to free not only his brother, but also other political prisoners and all torture and rape victims in all our campaigns,” Manatunga said.

Working as a human rights defender is like dicing with death – one has got to batten down the hatches. “In 2008, one of our victims was shot dead and our task was found to have become even more difficult with the PTA,” Manatunga said. “After the civil war, the police have all the powers to label any person as a terrorist and make them disappear.”

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Providing protection and security to torture victims is the biggest challenge that he and his team have faced. As the perpetrators invariably happen to be running from law enforcing units, protecting the victims is a difficult task.

As daunting as it is, their will withers not.

June 2018

The other victim who later became an agent of change was a police officer named Anton Perera, who was arrested on fabricated charges and ended up being tortured and imprisoned. Manatunga’s team managed to free Perera, provide him with counseling, and restore his dignity. Perera is now an activist who supports other victims of torture by accompanying them to court.

Unfortunately, his activism has also rendered him a target of law enforcement agencies. “[Perera] was followed by police officers when he accompanied a torture victim to an outstation high court, but he managed to escape,” Manatunga said.

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for young abuse victims to restore their sanity and lives. It also includes surrounding victims with assistance from a professional support group (including counselors, doctors, lawyers, and foster parents), and using Manatunga’s post as a religious leader along with the media to transform public attitudes. His organization, Human Rights Office Kandy, is not the only one that provides legal assistance to victims in Sri Lanka, but his organization’s holistic assistance is still unique. As a result, Manatunga’s model has had a profound impact on countless victims of rape and torture, and has revolutionized the landscape of human rights work in other countries.

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▲ Father Nandana sharing the joy of christmas with children of the victims of torture.

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June 2018

“Despite notes of warning, we accompany the victims of torture and continue to do so until the perpetrators are convicted in court,” Manatunga said. “Most cases have been going on for 12 to 15 years.” The very first cases in which Manatunga’s team provided shelter, security, medical care, counseling, and education were in 2001.

The high court case was finally concluded in December 2015. He emphasized the enormous sacrifice the victims had to bear to seek justice while the perpetrators lived free and happy lives.

Regarding his view on the future of human rights in Sri Lanka, Manatunga is convinced that problems will persist if the leaders in his country carry on entertaining impunity and corruption.

“As long as we have a defective justice system, justice is going to be delivered with impunity and rife with loopholes,” Manatunga said. “The perpetrators of crime and corruption will rule the country, and human rights issues will remain.”

The future looks rather bleak, and the need for a strong, charismatic leader who stands for truth, justice, and integrity is urgent. Fortunately, the city of Gwangju has now recognized Manatunga as one such leader.

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As the laureate of the 2018 Gwangju Prize for Human Rights, Manatunga dedicated the award to all the victims, survivors, members of support groups, and human rights defenders whom he has worked with. He hopes that the award will inspire many other activists, as well as religious leaders, to defend and protect the rights of the people, even if it means taking on unforeseen risks.

Manatunga is an astoundingly qualified academic, a revered Father, and a courageous hero who commits to building a harmonious society in his country and inspires humanity. He does not speak to us from an ivory tower, but rather keeps it real, confronting the predicaments in the trenches by supporting thousands of victims of torture and rape, and by educating myriad human rights activists.

We can all learn something from him. I know I did, as I was sipping his lessons into my consciousness while taking in the aura of the place where history began and human rights triumphed.

THE AUTHOR Nguyen Huong is a graduate student and a vigorous reader, whether it is a book or people.

She comes from Hanoi, Vietnam, but her home is wherever her heart is.

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The 2018 Gwangju Prize for Human Rights, presented to Father Nandana Manatunga by The May 18 Memorial Foundation.

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International students in Gwangju gather for a group photo.

COMMUNITY

Paradise Behind the Curtain Written and photographed by Nargiza Iskandarova

“Throw your dreams into space like a kite, and you do not know what it will bring back, a new life, a new friend, a new love, a new country.”

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his quote is a reflection of my life and those of many other foreigners who live or have lived in Gwangju.

When I first came to Gwangju, everything seemed simple; however, when I became accustomed to living in this city and all its opportunities, I understood that life here is much more intriguing and beautiful than it initially seemed.

Especially, this city is appealing for its unimaginable beauty and its way of welcoming people. Apart from this, I became familiar with its culture and customs. For example, I have been to weddings where the couples have worn hanbok – traditional attire that shows reverence towards the culture.

I have experienced many things like this that are a small part of Korean culture. During my time here, I have made many international friends who have had quite similar opinions in terms of Korea. Here is a brief compilation of some of those friends’ impressions of Gwangju, and Korea in general, that I hope you will enjoy.

HARSH KUMAR (INDIA) It was the fall of 2015 when I first arrived in Gwangju, after completing my one-year Korean language training at a university near Seoul. It was a very strange and lonely feeling when I started living here as most of my friends from the language institute went on to continue their studies in Seoul. For the first two months, I kept going to Seoul on weekends to meet my friends so I could avoid feelings of

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loneliness. But those feelings didn’t last long in the “City of Light,” Gwangju.

I think Gwangju has this positive energy that not only attracts you to it but also fills your life with positivity and enthusiasm. For those who don’t know about Gwangju, it’s a metropolitan city in the southwestern region of South Korea famous for its revolutionary democratic movement, abundance of foods, and incredible art and culture. Being at Chonnam National University, I’ve become very fond of Gwangju’s May 18 Democratization Movement in which the whole city came together to fight for democracy in South Korea.

I have many reasons why I like Gwangju more than any other place in South Korea, but I want to mention the top two. The first thing I like about Gwangju so much is the kindness and helping nature of people here. Second, you will never run out of opportunities in Gwangju. Whether it’s teaching Indian culture in Korean schools, sharing your views on the famous GFN radio station, or helping the international and local community through the platform of the Gwangju International Center, I’ve been able to do it all here.

BAHODIR KOMILOV (UZBEKISTAN) I came to Korea approximately two years ago with unlimited ambition to study as well as to explore a new culture. Initially, it was quite complicated to adapt to Gwangju because I had a problem with language know-

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15 how. I attempted to learn the Korean language and make a lot of Korean friends who could have a beneficial impact on my language abilities.

I started to love Gwangju after traveling around to places where I was able to see many beautiful and unforgettable things. Last year, I traveled to Busan, where I was mesmerized by its beaches and skyscrapers; however, Gwangju was different and more beautiful than any other place in Korea.

I loved Korean food even more than Uzbek food. Korean dishes are so multifaceted with ingredients and sauces that are undeniably delicious. It is important to take into account that kimchi in Gwangju is completely different and much tastier than anywhere else.

The city is also deemed a magnificent place to improve one’s education and communication spheres. Interestingly, my life was greatly improved thanks to the Asian Culture Center (ACC), where I was a reporter and volunteer; GFN, where I was a DJ; and CNU, where I was a volunteer. Last year, I was an exchange student in Malaysia, but I missed Gwangju because the people in Malaysia were not openminded and sociable like they are here. In short, I love Gwangju.

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OLGA CABALLERO CASTILLO and ADRIAN LOPEZ NAVAS (SPAIN) To begin on an honest note, we were impressed by amazing Korea, especially the small city of Gwangju. When we came, everything seemed to be totally different: the culture, clothing style, and the lifestyle itself. In Spain, we usually choose clothes by matching various colors and following our own style. However, the majority of Korean people wear formal attire by following a certain trend. We usually enjoyed Korean food because it was really delicious, healthy, and cheap compared to that of Spain. In our country, people usually drink one cup of coffee in a day, but here it seems that people drink four to five cups of coffee, which is wonderful.

Korea is a very homogeneous country. This is portrayed in the clothing style itself. There are many beautiful people who will help you in any situation, especially in Gwangju.

One day, we went to a restaurant to taste Korean traditional food, but Adrian left his phone behind. We went outside and a Korean woman came running up to us to give him his phone, which was really a relief because if we were in Spain, the situation might have been completely different.

In Korea, we made many international friends with whom we often had fun exploring Gwangju.

THE AUTHOR Nargiza Iskandarova is from Uzbekistan. She matriculated from Medical College Fergana and is currently a student at Chonnam National University, majoring in English language and literature. She has been living and studying in South Korea for seven months and is considered to be the youngest member of Korea TESOL. Nargiza is interested in exchanging ideas with international teachers who can help her pursue her goals in higher education for a better future.

June 2018

SHELLY BAUMGARTNER (U.S.A.) Living in Korea while studying abroad has been an amazing adventure that I will never forget. I met so many great people, including my two best friends, Mackenzie and Rachel, who were with me in the fall at Chonnam National University and who also go to Salisbury University. We visited so many places and tried so many new things.

Coming from a small town in America, I was not really

In Korea, I studied hard but also went on trips to Seoul, shopped, ate, and visited clubs for fun. Where I live in America, there are no clubs nearby, no karaoke places, and not many cafes either. I miss Korea with all the stores and restaurants near school, the hills we had to walk up to get to class, and the bakeries outside the school, where we could buy anything. There is so much to say about each place that I think the only way to really learn is to visit for yourself.

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MELIDA BERTON (FRANCE) Life is beautiful, and if you choose the right place to live, then you will be the happiest person in the world.

Currently, I am studying at Chonnam National University, majoring in business administration. The first impressions were the brightest, and everything made it seem like the greatest place to live. I was shocked by Gwangju’s unique nature, which was quite different from that of France. I have traveled a lot around the city, where I have seen the customs of Korea and have had a chance to taste various foods, which were all delicious. I have made a lot of international friends. I especially like the coffee shops because they are affordable and serve as comfortable places to have chats with friends. In France, it is quite expensive to find places as convenient as Korean coffee shops. I am fascinated by Korean attire because it is more formal that what I was used to in France. But here the only thing I miss is pasta, which is quite different from France’s. Still, I am in love with Gwangju.

sure what to expect. I had never taken a taxi or a bus; I had my own car in America that I drive everywhere. Arriving in Korea gave me a huge culture shock. I am sure arriving in a new country would do that to anyone. Things are incredibly different in America. There, I do not live in a dorm – I live in a two-story house across from an open field and surrounded by trees. I think that might be the biggest difference between my life there and life in Gwangju, but if you go to cities in America it is a different story.

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COMMUNITY

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Mrs. Baek Ji-Eun (standing) and her assistant after helping the author to choose a hanbok at the Gongyu Share Center.

A team member sharing information about the Gongyu Share

Gongyu Share Center

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June 2018

Written and paragraphed by Cami Karim Translated by Kim Seul-gi

H

ello, beautiful folks! When the atmosphere all around is so pleasantly warm and friendly that even talk of reuniting the Korean Peninsula is in the air, it is a good time to explore and enjoy the entrancing Korean culture. The Gwangju News recently took the time to interview the head of Gongyu Share Center (공유광주센터), Baek Ji-Eun, to shed some light on the center’s activities.

Gwangju News (GN): First of all, thank you for spending time with us. I am pretty sure our readers will highly appreciate it. To start things off, could you tell us when Gongyu Share Center opened and how it has developed since then?

Baek Ji-Eun (BJE): Gongyu Share Center was opened in July 2015. The center is open seven days a week, except for

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major holidays such as Chuseok and Seollal. During the last two and a half years, it has rapidly grown into a large, active center that now offers a variety of services.

GN: Have you heard of any other share centers in South Korea?

BJE: Yes, there are three big share centers in the nation.

Two of them are located in Seoul and the third is ours.

Also, I have heard of a couple of small ones elsewhere.

GN: What kinds of services does your center offer to visitors?

BJE: We offer traditional clothing rentals both for females and males of any size. Also, there is space sharing, camping equipment loans, a range of board games, a sewing room, a little library, and a canteen.

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Gongyu Share Center during a recent event.

Some of the Gongyu Share Center’s regular visitors gather after a joyous performance.

GN: That is impressive! Could you familiarize us with the loan process?

BJE: Of course! We offer items on loan for one week. To carry through, one does not have to bring an ID card; there is just a simple form to file that includes the renter’s contact info. All loans are free of charge. In special cases, it is possible to extend the loan period to our visitors.

BJE: All of them are welcome to visit Gongyu Share Center! We have enough space for everyone.

GN: It seems you really care about visitors’ comfort. I have heard that the center holds events as well. What sort of events do you usually hold?

BJE: Beginning from cultural events, we can hold anything from musical performances, to bracelet crafting, to master cooking classes. Actually, there are a variety of activities, and our main objective is to share joy, create a cheerful atmosphere, and enjoy the event along with our visitors and their families. We usually hold such events every month. Furthermore, we hold five large events per year.

Gongyu Share Center is one of the most convenient places to get closer to diverse Korean culture. Its doors are always open not only to share traditional clothing and speak with staff but also to be transformed into a positive mood and have fun!

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THE AUTHOR

Cami is a student from Chonnam National University majoring in economics. She writes poems both in English and Russian. She is a faithful feminist who considers gender equality as one of the most important pillars of society.

But her true loves are the waves of the sea and the tastes of cheese.

June 2018

GN: I do believe this cozy place will deservedly become popular among international residents in a short time.

GONGYU SHARE CENTER Address: 30 Hwasan-ro, Nam-gu, Gwangju 광주광역시 남구 화산로 30 Phone: 010-2391-0352 Website: http://www.sharegj.kr/app/main/index

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GN: I am looking forward to attending all of them in the future. Do many foreigners visit Gongyu Share Center?

BJE: I think you are the first one. There have not been any foreign visitors yet.

GN: Thank you for your time, hospitality, and friendly attitude! The Gwangju News wishes you prosperity and endless enthusiasm.

BJE: Thank you for visiting us, Cami!

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June 2018 COMMUNITY

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V-Day Gwangju 2018: Gender Equality That Stands on Both Legs Written by Lee Suk Pei Photographed by Ben Robins and Sarah Pittman

A

fter quite actively attending performances back in Kuala Lumpur, that passion died down a little after I came to Gwangju. Blame the weather, blame the tight study schedule, blame the price of the ticket, blame the language, etc. – the list goes on but never includes my laziness. One day, a colleague asked whether anyone was interested in watching V-Day Gwangju 2018, and I quickly said “yes” as I had been contemplating watching it for quite some time. As a result, V-Day Gwangju 2018 is the very first theatre performance I have seen in Gwangju!

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June 2018

Out of the sixteen “monologues,” I could not help but pick Dr. Vaginski, Because He Liked to Look at It, and While I Was There in the Room as my top three favorites. Dr. Vaginski portrayed the constant worry women have about

I managed to catch the director, Ms. Dana Han, to talk about the performance. This was her fourth time participating in V-Day performances, and she has been involved in directing three of them. In its seventh season since it began in Gwangju in 2012, it took the whole production team two months to produce the performance this time. Speaking of the main message of this season, she replied that combining both The Vagina Monologues and The Mending Monologues was intended to “combine both voices together against violence towards women and girls, as well as men and boys. This is basically an invitation to men to choose to be part of the solution instead of the problem. I wanted to show that men are also suffering from violence, directly as victims or indirectly through the experiences of women they love. I believe

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Without doing any research before going to the performance, I tried to guess the content of the play as suggested by the title. As a combination of The Vagina Monologues (by Eve Ensler) and The Mending Monologues (by Derek Dujardin), the idea of men and women talking about their sexual experiences came naturally into my head. Once I was seated, the director, Ms. Dana Han, kicked it off by introducing the performance. The simplicity of the theater setting and facilities did not stop the talented actors and actresses from delivering their performance and its key message stated on a pamphlet: “to raise awareness about gender violence and to end sexual violence against women.” The performance explored a wide spectrum of topics related to sexuality, including sexual violence, sexual orientation, and anxiety from sexual organ aesthetics. This season should be applauded for combining both The Vagina Monologues and The MENding Monologues that share views from both women and men. This move made the performance no longer look like monologues but parallel dialogues.

their body image, which goes even as far as worrying about how their vaginas look! While their lovers did not seem to care about how they looked, it was the women who cared to make them look perfect. This piece is useful in reminding women to love themselves the way they are instead of subjecting themselves to the constant worry of rejection by their lovers. Because He Liked to Look at It is also a piece that shares a similar theme with Dr. Vaginski.

Instead of being ashamed of our private parts and hating them, the lover’s love of the woman’s private parts helped her to be comfortable and love her vagina again. While I Was There in the Room is a piece about a personal experience involving the realization of the big role that vaginas play after witnessing the birth-giving process of a friend. From that experience, one realizes how a vagina gives life to a baby, and what the pains are that a vagina has to go through in order to achieve that. The piece struck me very hard, as we never cherish the importance of our vaginas but instead decide to hide them away, denounce their existence, be embarrassed about them, and even neglect them.

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2020

that changes will happen only when men and women unite their efforts together.”

Empowering women helps to relieve this pressure from men and hence may be able to reduce the occurrence of sexual violence due to stress put on them. The combined

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June 2018

FEATURE

On a related note, speaking about the biggest challenge of the production being to find male actors and the hope for future seasons of V-Day performances, she added, “I reached out to a lot of men and mostly got a lot of verbal support. They wished me luck and many of them came to the show, which I am very grateful for. However, I really hope that next time there will be more actively involved men, not only supporters.” I could not agree more with her that men’s participation is very much needed in the movement to end sexual violence and to acknowledge that men are also suffering from it and are always required to put up the strong image of “manhood.”

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theme does not try to imply that society is unable to stand with only one leg, but that a harmonious society is able to maintain its balance better with the support of both legs, which includes men and women together. I did not expect a performance to trigger so many thoughts in me the way Dana mentioned in the introduction when she said that she hoped the performance would be able to generate questions and dialogues among the audience, and that those questions and dialogues would be brought out of the theatre and expanded.

THE AUTHOR Suk Pei is from Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, and is currently doing her master’s in NGO studies at Chonnam National University. She likes traveling, photography, running, and exploring her surroundings on foot.

www.gwangjunewsgic.com

June 2018

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The Yang-dong Bookmaker’s House

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June 2018

TRAVEL

Written and photographed by Isaiah Winters

Candid photos and rotten books are displayed together for no apparent reason.

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G

wangju’s Yang-dong neighborhood is a lot like a time capsule. The market there provides a multisensory trip down memory lane (especially where they keep the live chickens), while the surrounding businesses and houses stand as further testaments to another time. It’s a rough, seedy part of town that encapsulates South Korea’s development, warts and all.

Along Yang-dong’s winding Guseong Street (구성로), businesses catering to both spiritual and carnal pursuits share the same space.

On one end, fortunetellers sit tucked away behind neon vinyl storefronts ready to impart their augury. On the other end are Amsterdam-style “glass box” (유리박스) storefronts, most of which sit empty. Posing as adult entertainment karaoke bars, they offer their clients a more tangible array of services.

Among the neighborhood’s many abandoned houses, one – a former bookmaker’s house – is particularly noteworthy for its voluminous contents. Doubling as a workshop, the house has half a dozen pieces of outdated machinery used for stamping, cutting, sewing, and pressing books. A few of the machines are evidently quite old, as I could only find photos of them in the online galleries of a few museums and printing shops here in Korea.

A representative from The Museum of Books and Printing ( in Chuncheon, Gangwon-do, kindly responded to my inquiry with some basic information about a few of the machines. One turned out to be a book sewing machine (사철제본기) made by Samwon Machinery (삼원기계). There’s another one just like it on display at a screen printing shop called Pactory (팩토리) in Mapo-gu, Seoul, and an almost identical one on exhibit at the above museum. 책과인쇄박물관)

Another one of the machines is a semi-automatic cutting machine (반자동재단기) for paper stacks and hardback book covers made by Cho Heung Machinery (조흥기계). Though similar models can be seen in said museum and elsewhere online, it was hard to pin down an exact match. Ditto for the hellaciously heavy antique sewing machine found onsite.

Less impressive are its final gilded words, followed by my still less impressive translation:

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June 2018

관서운영경비출납부 지급원인행위부 (Public Office Management Expense Accounts Book) (Purpose-of-Payment Transactions)

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Probably the most visually impressive machine was found by chance during a repeat visit to the house. Hidden behind a door that blends with the wall, a large hot foil stamping machine (금박기) sits idly through its final order. Machines like this are responsible for all that tacky gold and aluminum lettering you’ve no doubt seen stamped on old book covers. What’s visually impressive is the unfurled roll of gold foil it was last stamping on, which makes the machine look like it’s spinning a web of gold.

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▲ Bits of metal sit in drawers beneath the hot foil stamping machine.

A clutch of old wooden stamps is displayed by a piece of rusty machinery.

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▲ An old cast-iron sewing machine collects dust.

On yet another return trip, a smaller replica of this machine was found in a different room with its own little web of gold foil bearing the same stodgy verbiage. As both machines lacked company logos, I had to reach out to a few specialists for further information.

Luckily, one from the Book Workshop and Book Art Center (책공방북아트센터) in Songpa-gu, Seoul, was able to affirm that both machines were indeed Korean-made and expressed an interest in coming down to see them in person.

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THE AUTHOR

Originally from Southern California, Isaiah Winters first came to Gwangju in 2010. He recently returned to South Korea after completing his MA in Eastern Europe and is currently the new chief proofreader for the Gwangju News. He enjoys writing, political science, and urban exploring.

June 2018

Within the property’s living quarters, there were quite a few revealing personal effects lying around, ranging from candid black-andwhite family photos to glossy, nature-themed pornographic magazines from the early 2000s.

What stood out most were an incredibly oldlooking hanja-to-hangeul dictionary from 1956 and a few black-and-white photos of two young, well-dressed couples visiting a temple together on a road trip.

There’s one more intact room at the bookmaker’s house that I’ve yet to see, though I’ll probably save it for the future – the very near future. Much of the area won’t remain in its current state beyond a few more years, as it’s being redeveloped bit by bit. Just in the last month, the former Agricultural Cooperative’s Gwangju Marketplace (농협광주공판장) on the fortunetelling end of Guseong Street has been cordoned off by that inauspicious combination of scaffolding and pastel construction fabric. It’s surely a sign of things to come.

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The remaining pieces of equipment are obscured to varying degrees by either rust, collapsed roofing, or heaps of rotten, waterlogged books. Most of the remaining books are simple logs or ledgers used for various sorts of recordkeeping. Fittingly, a few cases of old wooden stamps turned up, looking much like those on exhibit at printing museums. They were mostly engraved with terms in hanja (Chinese characters) and hangeul (Korean alphabetic script), though one randomly bore “Vessel Sounding Log” in English, which is a log used for recording the levels of fuel and waste water in storage tanks aboard ships.

An honorable mention goes to the Korean-language Kama Sutra book with technical-sounding section headings such as “Sedentary Extended Position,” “Astride Position,” and the world-famous “Normal Position.” Not to be mistaken for a recliner manual, each heading came with explicit imagery, detailed information, and even an approximate geometric shape, giving the book that extra nerdy touch.

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Gangneung: A Peaceful Vacation Place Written and photographed by Natsuho Tsuda

For my mother, the Olympics in Korea is something special, as the 1988 Seoul Olympics took place when she was here studying and working as a translator. Now, I

am following the same path, so we cannot help feeling a strong connection between ourselves and Gangneung.

Gangneung is located in Gangwon Province in the northeastern part of South Korea. By bus, it takes about two and a half hours from Seoul and about five hours from Gwangju. Because of its location, Gangneung is the place that gets the most snowfall in South Korea, so it is really famous for its resorts and for enjoying winter sports like skiing or snowboarding. I had a strong image of Gangneung as only a place for enjoying winter attractions because of the Olympics; however, I now know there are so many other attractions there.

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June 2018

TRAVEL

O

ne day, my mother said, “I will come to Korea. I have booked a ticket!” That was five days before making the trip. I was upset because it was too sudden, and I had no idea about where I should take her because, like me, she also studied abroad here in the past and knows a lot about Korea. At the time of the proposed trip, the PyeongChang 2018 Olympics were being held, and we were so excited about it that we decided to go to Gangneung (강릉), which is near Pyeongchang, to feel the atmosphere of the Olympics and to explore a new place.

Sacheon Beach from an observation platform.

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27 Actually, Gangneung is a harbor town. When I checked the tourist map, there were so many beaches (approximately four or five), so we visited the seaside nearest our guest house, Sacheon Beach (사천해변). It was so large and seemed to continue for as far as the horizon, clearly visible without any obstructions such as high buildings.

I felt like I had the sea view all to myself because there were not many people around. Although it still does not meet the sightseeing quality of Haeundae in Busan, it was really calm, and I felt like staying all day on the beach even though the temperature was 10 to 15 degrees below zero and my mother and I were almost freezing.

Because of this coldness, we were really eager to get something warm to drink. Near the seaside, there were so many cafés that we had a hard time choosing which one to visit. Actually, Gangwon Province is also famous for a coffee called “coffee mecca.” This was created by Park Yi-chu, a first-generation barista who started a coffeeshop there. From this humble beginning, there are now many things related to coffee in the area: a coffee museum, a coffee academy, a coffee festival, and a café street at another beach, Anmok Beach (안목해변). Moreover, the local tourist information center offers a map book for coffee shops that includes countless cafés. So, I think that

for coffee lovers like me, Gangneung is the best place to enjoy coffee in Korea.

Finally, we decided on a café named “Shelly Café,” located just in front of Sacheon Beach. The building’s appearance was really cute, and it seemed that we had strayed into a nostalgic house drawn up in a fairytale, complete with fancy vintage-looking furniture. There were various types of coffee and some cakes offered. On the menu, an explanation about each coffee was also included, so we chose the coffee that best suited our taste. The shop had two floors, and the view from the window of the second floor was amazing. It seemed like we were looking at a framed picture of the sea accompanied by the beautiful sounds of waves and birds.

Traveling is always about food, especially in Korea. So during the trip, we of course enjoyed the local food. Near Gangneung Station, there is one big market, Gangneung Jungang Market (강릉중앙시장), where one can taste a lot of delicious local foods. My recommendation here is to taste jang-kalguksu (장칼국수). This is a variation of kalguksu, a noodle made from rice. Usually, kalguksu is just noodles with seaweed, beaten eggs, and vegetables. However, in Gangneung, it can also include some seafoods, since it is a harbor town, and spicy seasoning that makes you so warm despite the winter temperatures. Actually, since there are several of these restaurants located close together, if you pass by, you cannot help but stop at one of them because of the attractive smell.

One more thing I would like to mention is the hospitality in Gangneung. I am still amazed by the Korean people’s hospitality, which made my experience so enjoyable.

Sometimes this hospitality causes unexpected miracles.

The most impressive experience came from a convenience store ajumma (older lady). On the way to Sacheon Beach,

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June 2018

In Gangneung, I felt this so strongly. When we asked the local people about things like the best place to see or good food to try, they gave us more information than expected.

For example, in a taxi, when we asked about Gangneung, the drivers explained things to us as if they were our local tour guides.

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Of course, there are various other foods I would like to recommend. One is coffee bread (커피빵). This is a small bread pastry with a coffee taste made in the shape of coffee beans. Also, there is jeon (전), a Korean crepe made from buckwheat flour whose texture is really soft, or sundubu (순두부), which tastes extra fresh thanks in part to Gangneung’s naturally clean water and air. You should not return home without trying these foods.

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June 2018

▲ Clockwise from top left: The interior of Shelly’s Cafe, Gangneung Train Station, Sacheon Beach, and jang-kalguksu sold in Jungang market.

we could not find a taxi to take us there, so we asked the storeowner to call one for us. However, because of the Olympics, she could not get one, so she finally ended up taking us to the beach in her own car even though she had to close up her shop to do so. This level of hospitality made us want to come back again and reminded me that interacting with local people is the most valuable part of traveling.

In my opinion, traveling opens up new worlds that allow us to escape from reality. However, this time I traveled like I was living there. Everything was comfortable. The cozy cafés, beautiful beaches, warm food, kind people, and calm atmosphere removed the coldness from the body with the warmth created in our hearts. This peaceful feeling gave us time to look back on our lives after coming to Korea and to share our experiences together.

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Summer is coming. In Gangneung, the temperature will be cooler than in Gwangju. How about visiting there to relax near the seaside, drink coffee, and experience the calm atmosphere?

THE AUTHOR

Natsuho Tsuda is a Japanese exchange student at Chonnam National University, studying English language and literature, and is also currently volunteering for GIC Talk. Natsuho loves traveling, sharing experiences with others, and learning new things about the world.

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Traveling Tokyo Written and photographed by Shahed Kayes

I traveled to Tokyo from Busan along with two friends and classmates, Dinesh Kc and Tao Don Tajaroensuk, on February 27, 2017. After the immigration procedure at Narita Airport, it was lunch time, so we decided to have our lunch inside the airport before we started for our accommodation, Space Hostel Tokyo. While we were having our lunch, we met a group of Japanese students at the food court. They were traveling to the Philippines,

After touching down on Japanese soil, the first imprint upon my heart was that I had to come to Japan again and again to learn and to enrich myself. Japan is an Asian country that has fully embraced Europe in terms of science and knowledge, and has established its position in the first world while maintaining its own identity.

During World War II, Hiroshima and Nagasaki were bombed by the U.S. with the first and only nuclear weapons to have ever been used in war. After that huge amount of destruction, how Japan has stood back up in such a short time is truly amazing! There’s an expression in my language of Bengali, “the Goddess of Politeness,” and when I talk to any Japanese, I can feel that politeness.

They don’t talk much, but instead devote themselves to their work silently, like saints.

TRAVEL

J

and we had a good chat during our lunch. They were very friendly and helpful. I read a lot about how the Japanese are a polite and gentle people, and that day I realized it was true. It was really a very good start in Japan.

apan has always fascinated me since my childhood.

When I was in middle school, we had an essay in our textbook named “The Children of China and Japan.”

After reading that essay it seemed to me that Japan was heaven for children. Later on, in my high school geography textbook, I read an essay on Japan where it was mentioned that Japan is known as the “Land of the Rising Sun.” Though I had a dream since my childhood to someday travel to Japan, I never had a chance. At last I got the opportunity to travel to Japan last year after finishing my first semester.

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June 2018

The author in front of Tokyo National Museum.

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30 30 SPACE HOSTEL TOKYO My friends and I reached Space Hostel Tokyo in Taito-ku by riding on the high-speed Skyliner railway from Narita International Airport.

It took 40 minutes to reach our hostel. The hostel’s ambience was beautiful and intimate. There were guests from 15 countries in the hostel at that time, most of whom were students and travelers.

The charge was quite reasonable compared to other places in Tokyo. The day I reached Tokyo, I learned two useful Japanese terms from one of the Japanese guests: konnichiwa (hello) and arigatou gozaimasu (thank you).

Throughout my travels in Tokyo, whenever I met any Japanese, I used these two words as greetings.

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June 2018

PICTURES OF AUTHORS AND SCIENTISTS ON JAPANESE CURRENCY There are pictures of the king, the founder of the nation, or the president on the currency of almost all countries in the world, including Bangladesh, India, Nepal, South Korea, and the U.S. I was very surprised to see that Japanese currency didn’t have any picture of a king, queen, or head of the Japanese government on its coins and notes, unlike other countries. There were instead pictures of eminent writers and scientists from Japan on their currency. I was really surprised when seeing the Japanese peoples’ mindset towards their intellectuals; the Japanese nation knows how to respect its most knowledgeable persons!

I asked a few Japanese people in our hostel about the historical figures represented, but they couldn’t say anything about them.

The next day, when we went to visit the Tokyo National Museum, I asked the information officer of the museum, Mr. Kanako Kemura.

He explained that Hideyo’s image An assortment of sushi.

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31 was on the 1,000-yen note. Also known as Seisaku Noguchi, he was a scientist and bacteriologist who was born in Fukushima in 1876 and died in 1928. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1913–1915, 1920, 1921, and 1924–1972.

Higuchi Ichiyo’s image is on the 5,000-yen note. She was a renowned writer in Japan who was also known as Natsuko Higuchi. Ichiyo was born in 1872 in Tokyo and died in 1896 at the young age of 24, and yet she achieved literary excellence at such a young age! Fukuzawa Yukichi’s image is on the 10,000-yen note. He was born into an Osaka samurai family in 1835 and died in 1901.

He was a writer, teacher, and social reformer. He’s also known as a civil rights activist, a liberal idealist, and one of the founders of modern Japan. Known as the Voltaire of Japan, his most famous work is An Encouragement of Learning (Gakumon no Susume).

RENKO-JI BUDDHIST TEMPLE I visited the Renko-ji Buddhist Temple with my friends Dinesh and Tao on the first day. Just a 15-minute walk from the Koenji Metro Station, the temple houses a statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, whom we honored by observing three minutes of silence.

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On the premises of the Tokyo National Museum, there are four other buildings: Honkan (Japanese Gallery), Horyu-ji (Horyu Treasury), Toyokan (Asian Gallery), and Hyokeikan (a space for temporary exhibitions). In general, houses and offices are small but quite livable. However, wherever called for, structures are built on a large scale, such as the Tokyo National Museum. The museums and galleries are well structured and the architecture of all the buildings is spectacular. Also, there’s a huge park outside the museum for visitors to sit in a green space of natural surroundings.

IN SUMMARY Though the food, accommodation, and transport in Japan are expensive, it’s worth visiting to experience Japanese culture and meet the wonderful people. It was an excellent experience for me to travel in Tokyo. I recommend that you all visit Japan at least once in your life.

THE AUTHOR

Shahed Kayes is a poet and human rights activist from Bangladesh. He has published three volumes of poetry in Bengali and edited an anthology of Bengali love poems. He has also produced one book in English entitled Laureates of Gwangju Prize for Human Rights Award: Who Really They Are? At present, he is pursuing an MA in human rights at Chonnam National University in Gwangju.

June 2018

Since then, Bose’s ashes have been kept in the Renko-ji Buddhist temple in Sugniami-ku, Tokyo. On August 18, an annual memorial service is organized on behalf of this temple for the memory of Bose. Although there’s a debate about whether this temple really preserves Bose’s ashes, three former prime ministers of India have visited this temple, and many regular visitors come to pay their respects. It was a great experience for me to pay my respect to Bose while visiting the temple.

TOKYO NATIONAL MUSEUM On our second day in Tokyo, we visited the Tokyo National Museum where there’s a special discounts for students.

You just have to show your student ID card and the discount is yours. We paid only 410 yen. To understand a nation, it’s necessary to understand its history and culture, as its present and future are created and developed based on those past traditions. So, it’s important to visit national and folk museums of any nation when you are traveling.

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I should explain briefly about Bose. He was a great leader and visionary on the Indian subcontinent, which consists of India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, where he’s still an idol and source of great encouragement for many people. In August 1945, at the age of 48, Bose, one of the main victims of India’s independence struggle against the British, disappeared. During World War II, Bose developed a friendship with Japan to fight against the British for the independence of India. Bose formed a radical group of freedom fighters, the Azad Hind Fauj (Indian National Army). Azad Hind Fauj fought fierce battles against British soldiers in India, Singapore, and Burma. On August 17, 1945, Bose left Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam on a military aircraft. The following day, a Japanese radio broadcast announced that he’d lost his life in a plane crash in Taipei along with a Japanese passenger.

Bose’s death or disappearance is still mysterious.

JAPANESE CUISINE Since the day we arrived in Tokyo, we traveled randomly to many places like Renko-ji Buddhist Temple, Tokyo National Museum, Hachiko Square at Shibuya Station, Tsukiji Market, San’ya alleys, and Akihabara (not to mention all the times we went out to experience the nightlife in Tokyo). We were always traveling, and when we were hungry, we searched for fast food shops where we could get food at a reasonable price. Usually, we had our lunch and dinner at any hotel near Wino Park and sometimes at Shibuya Station. I liked Japanese food, especially sushi. Sushi is served with raw fish that’s sometimes smoked with mustard sauce (wasabi), one of the most delicious sauces.

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SPORTS & ACTIVITIES

32

ADOPT ME

Why Not Walk a Shelter Dog? Written and photographed by Paulina Witkowska

I

www.gwangjunewsgic.com

June 2018

f you like animals and outdoor activities, why not walk a shelter dog?

Animal shelters try to help unwanted, injured, and lost animals, mostly dogs and cats. They provide a home, food, and medical care for them. However, since they are very often overcrowded, underfunded, and understaffed, it is really difficult for staff to take good care of all creatures living there. There are many ways to help animals in need.

We can simply donate some money, gather supplies, or just spread the word using social media. Another good idea is becoming a volunteer at a local animal shelter. Volunteers are usually responsible for walking dogs, playing with cats, and cleaning cages.

Nowadays, more and more people are interested in walking a shelter dog because it is a good opportunity to interact with the animals and spend some time outdoors. While

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walking a dog, we are able to help it become more sociable and rebuild trust with people, and as a result, we may create a better chance of finding a new home for it. Animal shelters are short of hands so usually they are not able to walk all the dogs. In order to allow animals to leave their cages more often, they try to involve more volunteers. For example, the Muncie Animal Shelter in Indiana has used the Pokémon Go craze to attract players and, at the same time, get them to walk the dogs.

If you wonder how you can help abandoned pets and do not know where to start, just contact your local animal shelter or volunteer group. Many animal shelters in Korea run a volunteer program. In Gwangju, every Sunday at 1 p.m., a group of volunteers goes to the local pound to walk dogs. The Gwangju Animal Shelter Volunteering group was created in March 2016 by Lisa Crone and Rob Smith, who are English teachers and animal lovers. The group has goals of not only walking dogs but also fundraising, promoting

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33

◀ Left page: Two of the dogs at the Gwangju Animal Shelter.

This page: Volunteers who dedicate their time to walk the shelter dogs.

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Even small acts can make a big difference, so do not hesitate to take some action and help animals in need!

THE AUTHOR

Originally from Poland, Paulina is an exchange student at Chonnam National University majoring in business administration. In her free time, she likes taking photos, traveling, and learning languages. Currently she is a volunteer for GIC Talk and enjoys being a part of the Gwangju International Center.

June 2018

dog adoption, and fostering animals. The “Sunday Dog Walking” has turned out to be a very successful program that attracts many people keen to help animals in need.

Currently, Gwangju Animal Shelter Volunteering has more than 600 members. Many of the members are exchange and international students, as well as foreigners working in Korea. Taking part in the “Sunday Dog Walking” program lets us do a good deed for animals while at the same time relax our mind. For some dogs, it is the only opportunity to leave their cages for the entire week.

www.gwangjunewsgic.com

Unfortunately, due to the animal shelter manager’s resignation, the “Sunday Dog Walking” program is not operating these days. Nevertheless, we can still support pets in another way. Nowadays, the Gwangju Animal Shelter Volunteering group is putting emphasis on fostering. Fostering involves taking a pet into your home and taking care of it for some specified amount of time.

Some dogs need a quiet place to recover as they are not in a good condition for living in a shelter. Usually, the foster person is supported with money to pay for veterinary bills.

The most important part of fostering is that the chances of a dog in foster care being adopted are higher than for a dog living in an animal shelter. While giving a temporary home to a pet, we are training it to be more sociable and helping it to learn pet etiquette.

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34

COMMUNITY

Jjimjilbangs Revisited Written by Allison Tim

www.gwangjunewsgic.com

June 2018

W

ith plenty of locations to choose from, low prices, and even 24-hour admission, jjimjilbang, or public bathhouses, are an affordable and convenient way to rejuvenate oneself after a long day. A day at the spa seemed like the perfect remedy after two crowded and cold days in Pyeongchang.

On my return to Seoul, I planned a visit to a jjimjilbang to see what all the hype was about. From what I’d heard, it was a simple process: “You just go into different pools.

Some are hot and some are cold.” Sounds easy.

Even if you go alone, you’ll often find strangers who are willing to help – like the mother-daughter pair who approached me at the front desk while I looked hopelessly through a list of services and treatments. They were fans of Korean spas back in New York and recommended a few different options. A little later, I went down to the changing room, where another woman, detecting my rookie status, showed me where to put my stuff and the location of the showers. Whether you prefer to go alone or with a friend, don’t hesitate to ask for help.

Yet, there’s a lot more to a jjimjilbang than baths and bare bodies. While they’re popular places for Koreans to gather, the sheer number of options and add-ons can be overwhelming for newbies. Throw in some nudity, and a trip to your local jjimjilbang might not be so simple after all. So, if you’re thinking of a day at the spa, here are some things to consider.

DISCONNECT Water and technology don’t mix well, so leave any phones or devices in your locker. Disconnecting can be hard, but going to a jjimjilbang is a great opportunity to take a break from social media. You can get back to any missed messages or calls when you leave, and your eyes will thank you. Instead of staring at a screen, you can explore your own thoughts through meditation or those of others with a good book.

BRING (OR MAKE) A FRIEND Navigating the variety of pools, saunas, and scrubs is enough to confuse the uninitiated, so backup may be necessary. It’s not uncommon for a group of friends to meet up at a jjimjilbang after work, and bringing a friend along for the ride can help calm your nerves.

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STAY FLEXIBLE To fully unwind and enjoy all that a jjimjilbang has to offer, clear your schedule. Beyond the baths and saunas, a jjimjilbang also offers massages, facials, hair and skin

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35 treatments, as well as food, drinks, and games. Many stay open 24 hours and even have space available for you to take a quick nap or stay the night.

With so many options, it’s easy to lose track of time. I made the mistake of scheduling my first visit to a jjimjilbang before a movie screening. Although I made it to the opening credits, I could have done without the adrenaline rush or wet hair. So, save yourself the unnecessary stress and keep your post-jjimjilbang plans flexible.

GET COMFORTABLE Yes, you’ll be naked. Your first step after changing out of your clothes and into the jjimjilbang uniform is to shower, after which you can head to the baths. As somebody who goes to the gym often, getting naked and showering in front of a room full of strangers is routine. It may take time for you to feel comfortable disrobing in front of a crowd, especially if you’re the only foreigner in the room, but soon it’ll feel, well, natural.

For me, the hardest part came after taking it all off. At a jjimjilbang, you’ll spend a lot of time lounging like you’re back at home. Whether you’re in a bath, a sauna, or lying on a table while an employee scrapes off layers of dead skin from your body, you’ll spend most of your energy moving from one sedentary position to the next.

On my first trip, I was admittedly bored. I moved from bath to sauna and back again, but still couldn’t figure out why a jjimjilbang was so special. Sure, there are some positive outcomes from going to a jjimjilbang, like how soft and smooth your skin is after a vigorous scrub. But why would someone spend hours each week at one?

THE AUTHOR

June 2018

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Allison Tim is a writer, teacher, and proud pedestrian living in Gwangju. After obtaining her BA in international studies, she spent the following years between the Midwest and Far East, taking photographs, enjoying window seats, and taking gratuitous coffee breaks.

www.gwangjunewsgic.com

It wasn’t until a while after my first visit that I realized what makes the jjimjilbang unique. Between the detoxifying and exfoliating that go on at a jjimjilbang, there’s another more obscure perk – idle time. A jjimjilbang is a place where you can commit mind and body to doing close to nothing. It’s not a popular notion, especially in a fastpaced society, but it should be. So, if wading around in a heated pool doesn’t sound like the most productive way to spend an afternoon, it might be time to try it.

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36

Six Principles for All Teachers Written by Dr. David E. Shaffer

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situation. What are their likes and dislikes? Are they shy or outgoing? Do they have family support? Are they interested in learning English? What is their English proficiency level?

How can we obtain all this information? Time-consuming individual interviews? In-class questionnaires? Online surveys? These information-gathering methods can be used for some of the student information, but much of it can be collected during the lesson, built into language learning activities. For example, for a lesson on asking questions, you could ask students to interview each other and report their findings. After collecting student information, this knowledge could be used to inform the linguistic content of your lessons, the topics that you deal with, how you arrange students for small-group activities, and how you deal with them individually.

PRINCIPLE 2: CREATE CONDITIONS FOR LANGUAGE LEARNING How well students learn depends a lot on the classroom environment: Is the classroom pleasing to the eye? Is it comfortable? Are the facilities and materials satisfactory?

Is the teacher likeable? Are the students comfortable with each other? Students learn best in non-threatening situations, and it is the responsibility of the teacher to create and maintain a learning-friendly environment.

June 2018

EDUCATION

E

veryone has principles. As an educator, particularly as one who interacts with English language learners, what are your principles? Do you have a set of clear ones? TESOL International Association has delineated a set of six principles that they suggest as being appropriate for all educators who interact with English language learners. We will discuss these below. But first, if you are not familiar with TESOL International Association, it is a group of over 13,000 individuals involved in the teaching of English as a second language. TESOL (for short) is U.S.based and has over 100 affiliate associations worldwide: about half in the U.S. and about half elsewhere around the world. Korea TESOL is the sole Korean affiliate of TESOL. Now, to the principles.

PRINCIPLE 1: KNOW YOUR LEARNERS Memorizing your students’ names – and pronouncing them correctly – is only a small part of “knowing” your students. This principle refers to knowing them as a group and individually. This involves knowing their character, their social and cultural backgrounds, and their family

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The students must have a clear idea of what the course goals are in order to effectively strive toward them. At the beginning of the course, the teacher should inform the students of these goals and of the course content that will be instrumental in attaining these goals. Expectations for student outcomes should be set high but not too high.

We know that if goals are too high to be attained or if the coursework is too easy, motivation to learn will go downhill quickly. A pleasing environment makes for an effective language learning environment.

PRINCIPLE 3: DESIGN HIGH-QUALITY LESSONS FOR LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT

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37 “High-quality lessons” does not suggest the use of expensive materials. Rather, individual lessons should be carefully planned. The targeted language must be carefully selected and the content well thought out. Students must be informed of the goals of the lesson and provided with the language learning strategies necessary to attain those goals.

An explanation of lesson goals must be presented in a manner that is easy for students to understand. Rather than being teacher-centered, much of a lesson should be student-centered with large doses of interaction among students and with the teacher. Lessons should be engaging, and students should be made aware of what language learning strategies may be helpful in attaining the goals of the lesson. All too often students are unaware of simple strategies that we take for granted (e.g., using background knowledge, making inferences and predictions, monitoring, and evaluating).

PRINCIPLE 4: ADAPT LESSON DELIVERY AS NEEDED Teachers often reflect on a lesson that flopped after class to revise it for the next time. This is a good practice, but if this is the only reflection that is done, a whole class hour is wasted. What is needed is what is often called “reflection-in-action”: the in-class recognition that an exercise or activity is not going well and, by thinking on one’s feet, making the necessary revisions on the spot. It is often the case that the activity itself is not the problem, but instead, the manner in which the activity is presented is defective. Was the teacher speaking too fast or too softly? Did the instructions include difficult vocabulary or syntax? Should the students’ L1 be used? Should visual aids be added? Or should more time be allotted? These are some of the questions that attentive teachers should be asking themselves as soon as they detect that the lesson is not going as well as expected.

THE AUTHOR

David E. Shaffer is vice-president of the Gwangju-Jeonnam Chapter of Korea TESOL (KOTESOL). On behalf of the chapter, he invites you to participate in the teacher development workshops at their monthly meetings (always on a Saturday). For many years, Dr. Shaffer has been a professor of English Language at Chosun University. He is a long-time member of KOTESOL and a holder of various KOTESOL positions; at present he is national president. Dr. Shaffer credits KOTESOL for much of his professional development in English language teaching, scholarship, and leadership. He is chairman of the board at the GIC and also editor-in-chief of the Gwangju News.

GWANGJU-JEONNAM KOTESOL MONTHLY MEETING Date: June 9 (Saturday) Place: Gwangju National University of Education • Presentation 1: When You Meet a Suicidal Student (Oh Jung Keun, M.D., Seoul) • Presentation 2: What Makes a Great Lesson? vs.

What Makes a Lesson Great (Daniel Svoboda, HUFS, Seoul) SwapShop – Share with the group an activity or teaching idea that you have.

For full event details: Website: koreatesol.org/gwangju Facebook: Gwangju-Jeonnam KOTESOL

June 2018

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Teachers who follow these six general teaching principles and fine-tune them to suit their specific teaching situations will be exemplars of quality teaching and of caring about the improvement of their students’ language-learning skills.

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PRINCIPLE 5: MONITOR AND ASSESS STUDENT LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT Not all learners learn the same thing at the same time or at the same speed. On top of this, students often come into our courses at vastly different levels of language proficiency. In order to be effective in the students’ language development, teachers need to constantly monitor and assess their students’ progress. This does not mean merely observing participation and giving a summative test at the end of the course for grading purposes. Instead, it means observing their work on class projects and activities, and regularly giving feedback – positive feedback for tasks well done as well as critical and corrective feedback. The feedback is most beneficial when it describes what was done well or what needs to be improved on and how to improve upon it.

PRINCIPLE 6: ENGAGE AND COLLABORATE WITH A COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE A “community of practice” (CoP) is a group of teachers, large or small, who cooperate in some manner for their own professional development to better serve their students. Co-workers may collaborate on generating class materials, creating lesson plans, and designing courses.

Teachers may also form larger associations such as Korea TESOL (koreatesol.org) and the local Gwangju-Jeonnam Chapter, which organize workshops, conferences, and a variety of other professional development events, all in the spirit of “Teachers Helping Teachers” for the improvement of the teaching of English in their community.

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38

TOPIK Guide (topikguide.com) is the most comprehensive website devoted to the TOPIK exam. It’s been helping Korean language learners pass the TOPIK (Test of Proficiency in Korean) for more than seven years. On this website, you can get all the TOPIK updates, grammar and vocabulary material, and study tips.

Everyday Korean Episode 6: Summer

EDUCATION

Written by Harsh Kumar Mishra Korean Language Expert at TOPIKGUIDE.COM

아나: 오늘 날씨가 너무 덥고 습해서 땀이 뻘뻘 나네요.

[O-neul nal-ssiga neomu deop-ko seup-haeseo ttami ppeol-ppeol naneyo.]

Ana: I’m all sweaty today because of this hot and humid weather.

정민: 맞아요. 저도 회사 가는 길에 버스 정류장에서 땀이 비 오듯 쏟아졌어요 [Majayo. Jeodo hwe-sa ga-neun gire beo-s jeong-nyu-jang-eseo ttami bi o-deut ssoda-jyeo-sseoyo.]

Jeong-min: Right. I too was dripping with sweat at the bus stop on my way to the office.

아나: 지구온난화로 인해 여름이 점점 뜨거워지고 있어요.

[Jigu-on-nan-hwa-ro in-hae yeo-reumi jeom-jeom tteu-geo-weo-jigo isseoyo.]

Ana: Summer is gradually getting hotter because of global warming.

정민: 앞으로 환경이 어떻게 될 건지 정말 걱정스러워요.

[A-peuro hwan-gyeongi eotteo-khe dwel geonji jeong-mal geok-jeongseureo-weoyo.]

Jeong-min: I’m really worried about what the environment will be like in the future.

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June 2018

아나: 광주의 최고 기온은 얼마예요?

[Gwangju-e chwego gi-o-neun eolma-yeyo?]

Ana: How high does the temperature get in Gwangju?

정민: 35°도까지 올라가요. 그런데 문제는 온도가 아니라 습도예요.

[Sham-shib-o-do-kkaji olla-gayo. Geu-reonde munje-neun ondo-ga anira seup-tto-yeyo.]

Jeong-min: It gets up to 35°. However, the real problem is not the temperature but the humidity.

Grammar & Vocabulary ~이/가 아니라 Attach it to a noun as a connector to show the meaning “(something is) not A, but B.” Ex: 저는 선생님이 아니라 학생이에요.

I’m not a teacher but a student.

~고 있다.

Attach it to a verb stem to make the present progressive “-ing” (~고 있었다 makes it past progressive).

Ex: 아나씨는 열심히 공부하고 있어요.

Ana is studying hard. 습하다: to be humid 땀: sweat 뻘뻘: profusely 비 오듯: like it will rain (metaphor) 지구온난화: global warming 환경: environment 걱정스럽다: worried (about ~) 온도: temperature 최고: highest, best 집안: indoors (inside a house) 눅눅하다: damp

#KoreaLifeHacks 1.

아나: 습도가 높나요?

[Seup-ttoga nom-nayo?]

Ana: Is the humidity very high?

2.

정민: 네. 집안도 습기가 많아서 너무 눅눅해요.

3.

[Ne. Jiban-do seup-kkiga mana-seo neomu nung-nuk-haeyo.]

Jeong-min: Yes. It’s very humid inside the house, too.

Most of the time summer is not that hot but quite humid in Korea.

It’s recommended that you use your air conditioner in 제습 (je-sup, dehumidifier) mode to save electricity and money.

Various places offer water sports in summer. Don’t forget to enjoy these while in Korea.

Naeng-myeon (cold noodles) and bingsu (a shaved-ice dessert usually served with fruit) are must-try foods during the summer.

Visit the TOPIK Guide website or our YouTube channel to improve your Korean and reach your goal on the TOPIK test.

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2018-05-30 �� 4:42:46

3939

June: The Month of Patriotism

A

mid the mood of rapprochement that has dramatically been building up between the two Koreas since the recent inter-Korean summit in April, the month of June’s significance in Korea deserves more attention this year than ever before.

June not only hints at the coming of summer, but also brings along the spirit of patriotism to the Korean people.

Coincidentally, the sixth month of the year marks the onset of conflict between the two Koreas. From National Memorial Day on the 6th and the day of the outbreak of the Korean War on the 25th (1950), to the days of the two battles of Yeonpyeong on the 15th and 29th (1999 and 2002, respectively), this is the month dedicated to those who have sacrificed for their homeland.

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THE AUTHOR Cho Namhee currently studies communication at Chonnam National University.

June 2018

During the Period of Remembrance, a commemoration ceremony is held at Seoul National Cemetery on the 6th and respects are paid at various memorial monuments

The month of June is also known as the month of hogukbohun (호국보훈), meaning “Defense of the nation and recognizing those who have defended it.” A siren goes off at 10 a.m. on June 6. It is the moment when you can pay a silent tribute to those whose sacrifices has allowed us to have the Korea that we have today.

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For this reason, Korea’s Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs has designated June as Merit Reward Month to commemorate and honor fallen heroes, and to preserve and promote the patriotic spirit of Korea’s patriots and military veterans. The thirty days of the month are equally divided into three ten-day periods – the Period of Remembrance (June 1-10), the Period of Thanks (June 11-20), and the Period of Unity and Harmony (June 2130) – to inspire as many as possible with the ideals of the nation’s patriots and veterans.

around the country before and after National Memorial Day. The next ten days are more focused on award-giving and expressing appreciation for veterans, patriots, and their bereaved families. A great number of awards and prizes are presented to people of national merit and their families, and numerous cultural programs are held to promote the wellbeing of honorable patriots and veterans.

Lastly, the month comes to an end by honoring the victims of the Korean War and individual battles, and various events are also held to enhance the public’s perception of security. Since 2005, special “Love-for-Country Tree” pins have been worn to show respect.

ARTS ARTS && CULTURE CULTURE TRAVEL

Written by Cho Namhee

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FOOD & DRINKS

4040

Know Your Beers

www.gwangjunewsgic.com

June 2018

Written by Joe Wabe Photographed by Jeffrey Thompson

A

few years ago, the process of selecting a beer from the beer aisle was quite an easy one for me, as I’d check the ABV (alcohol by volume) and price only. Beers that stood above five percent ended up in the cart as long as the price didn’t exceed the 5,000won mark. Expensive beers with a low alcohol percentage made no sense to me, after all, beer shopping was all about feeling “buzzed” and relaxed at home. I read neither the brewing style nor the brewery. My short-minded beer thought process was hardwired to think all beers were created equal. But that all changed after I took up craft beer home-brewing as a hobby and began studying and researching more about the world of beer. A new universe of knowledge opened up for me, and this new discovery made me see beer on a whole new level.

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HOW’S BEER MADE? The four basics ingredients of beer are barley, water, hops, and yeast, and up to today beer-making in Germany has been regulated by the “Purity Law,” which allows no other ingredients than those mentioned above. But beer all over the word is made using a wild range of ingredients from wheat, rice, and oatmeal, to exotic fruits, chocolate, and even coffee! Hoegaarden, the popular Belgian beer (to give an example), is made out of wheat with elements of orange peel and coriander. Another interesting fact about beer – this one historical – is that beer was originally made by the Egyptians using bread.

CLASSIFYING BEER Beer can be classified into two main categories: ales and lagers. Ales are the older form of beer, and they

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tend to be more fruity and hoppy with the fermentation process usually happening at higher temperatures using different varieties of yeast strains. They have a stronger taste and tend to have a thicker body and aroma. On the other hand, lagers are a relatively newer form that first started in Bavaria, Germany, and then spread throughout Europe, giving birth along the way to styles like Pilsner before carrying on to the rest of the world. Lagers usually use the same yeast strain, are fermented under colder temperatures, and have a cleaner taste with lighter body and coloring that’s usually referred to as “crisp.” Most national beers fall into the category of lagers (Cass, Heineken, Budweiser, Tsingtao, and Sapporo, to name a few) since their lighter body and taste are more appealing to the average palate. There are hundreds of beer styles, and it’d be impossible to crunch them all into this article, but here’s a short list to get you started:

American IPA (India Pale Ale): Launched the modern craft brew revolution. Gold to copper in color, mediumbodied, crisp mouthfeel with pronounced hops and strong citrus, pine, and floral characteristics. Examples: Sierra Nevada, Stone IPA, and Centennial IPA. (ABV 4–7%)

LAGERS American Light Lagers: Light and dry with very low malt and hops flavor present. Usually brewed with corn and rice to lighten the beer and lower its bitterness.

Examples: Cass Light, Bud Light, Coors Light, and Miller Light. (ABV 2.5–5%)

Lambic: Light to medium-bodied, intensely fruitflavored: raspberries, cherries, peaches, and strawberries are often used with herbs and spices. Examples: Lindermans Framboise, Cantillon Kriek 100% Lambic, and Abita Purple Haze. (ABV 3–8%)

Bohemian Pilsner: Clear, light golden or orange color with a medium body. Complex in taste but clean and crisp. Higher bitterness, with occasional spicy and floral notes. Examples: Pilsner Urquell, Sierra Nevada, and Lagunitas PILS. (ABV 4.2–5.4%) European Pale Lager: Crisp, balanced, and light-bodied.

Produced with sweet malt and very easy to drink.

Bitterness comes at a medium level. Examples: Stella Artois, Harp Lager, and Heineken Lager. (ABV 4.5–5.4%) Vienna Lager: Reddish brown, medium body with a slight malt sweetness and a slightly toasted character.

Crisp and hoppy with mild bitterness. Examples: Devil’s Backbone, Great Lakes, and Dos Equis. (ABV 4–5%) Marzen/Oktoberfest: Medium to full-bodied, ranging from pale to amber or dark brown. Hoppy and bitter.

Examples: Paulaner and Weihenstephaner. (ABV 4–7%) ALES Abbey Trappist: Dark brown with a creamy off-white head. Rich and complex with a smooth, toasty malt that evokes dark fruit like plums, raisins, and dark cherries.

Examples: Chimay Premiere Red, Westmalle Trappist, and Duvel. (ABV 6.2–12%)

Stouts: Darkly colored and medium-bodied, lightly carbonated and hopped. Coffee-like bitterness, sometimes served on a nitrous system to make it creamier. Examples: Guinness, Irish Stout, and Black Sun Stouts. (ABV 4–6%) Hefeweizen: Very pale or light amber in color and cloudy in the bottle. Medium-bodied with hints of fruits and spice like banana, apple, and clove. Sometimes a slight bubblegum finish. Examples: Weihenstephaner, Franziskaner Hefe-Weisse, and Widmer. (ABV 4–7%)

Porter (English): Historically a combination of three beer styles favored by English porters. Bold, roasted malt flavors like coffee and toffee, with hop bitterness varying by brewer. Examples: The Famous Taddy Porter, London Porter, and Old Engine Oil. (ABV 5–6%) Saison/Farmhouse Ale: Gold to amber-orange in color with crisp and complex flavors that are mildly earthy and sometimes musty, fruity, spicy, and sour. Dry finish.

Examples: Dupont, Hennepin, and Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale. (ABV 5–8.5%) After discovering this new world, I now resist the urge to just swallow the beer. Instead, I love to investigate the aroma by breathing deeply and analyzing the taste by taking every sip very slowly, identifying the sweetness, bitterness, acids, herbs, and citrus that might come along.

It’s a new game for me, one that I’m enjoying fully. Cheers!

THE AUTHOR

Joe Wabe is an established photographer and Gwangju local business entrepreneur. He has been contributing to the GIC and the Gwangju News for more than eight years.

American Amber: Light to dark amber or even copper in color. Medium-bodied, malty and hoppy. Examples: Levitation Ale, Fat Tire, and Red Rocket Ale. (ABV 4–7%)

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42 Where to Eat

FOOD & DRINKS

Nasania

Written and photographed by Adam Travis

I

www.gwangjunewsgic.com

June 2018

t’s Saturday morning and after pulling ourselves out of bed, we hop on the bus. We step off and make our way away from the bustling main road down a quiet street to find a café named Nasania. The sign out front, basking in bright sunlight, tells us it’s “a nice corner of the world to be happy in.” The cozy, eight-table, white-walled café is decorated with dream catchers, plants, colorful cushions, twinkling strings of lights, and a surfboard in the corner.

Stepping through the front door, we’re greeted by the chef with a cheery “Long time no see,” though our sole visit had been five months prior. We take our seats and begin leafing through the three-page menu. The chef calls out to ask if we are vegetarian and offers some allveggie variations on menu items, as well as her personal favorites.

Nasania’s menu is focused on brunch, sweets, and European-influenced dishes like lasagna and gambas al ajilo – shrimp fried in oil with chili flakes. Though the menu may seem small, a scroll through social media reveals a diverse set of specials and seasonal variations on menu staples. Worth noting for the dinner crowd is the bring-your-own-wine option, subject to a 5,000-won

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corkage fee. Fixed to the front of the menu is a small card telling us about the morning’s specials: mushroom cheese Benedict and 1 + 1 (buy one get one free) strawberry ades.

Though it’s late enough to be lunch, we opt for the brunch menu. With Hollandaise sauce on my mind and a craving for bacon, I choose the classic eggs Benedict. It seems to be a dish frequently featured on the café’s social media, so I’ve been eager to try their take on it. My companion opts for the chef-recommended Persian omelet: two eggs cooked in a deep pan with tomatoes, spinach, mushrooms, onion, and cumin served with toast.

While we wait for our food, our strawberry ades arrive.

The drinks taste light and sweet with just a little pulp from the strawberries. We sip our drinks and relax into our seats as the chef prepares our food in the open kitchen behind the counter.

With a few dings, a clatter of pans, and a shuffle of footsteps, our food arrives. The eggs Benedict are good – the eggs have been poached well and the bacon is exactly what my taste buds have been looking for, but an un-toasted English muffin keeps it from really hitting the spot.

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43 ◀ Previous page: Left: Eggs, bacon, Hollandaise sauce, and a fresh side of salad make the eggs Benedict a good choice. Right: Dense, chocolatey cake topped with light, springy meringue is a winning combination.

But the Persian omelet is something else.

Good food is sometimes more about a feeling than posh ingredients or precise technique. Though the omelet was gorgeous to look at, it was the eyes-closed, chewit-slow reaction that leaves me wishing I’d ordered it, too. Soft, runny egg; bright, flavorful tomatoes; and a little punch of cumin make this dish the clear winner of brunch. My only recommendation would be to order another side of toast – you’ll want it to mop up every last drop.

We wrap things up with a slice of the daily cake: chocolate meringue. The dense, almost fudgy cake is topped with a chocolate meringue almost as thick as the cake itself.

Some might prefer a softer or spongier cake, but the balance of textures seems just right.

The cake is chock-full of flavor, too. Not too sweet, and very, very chocolatey. By the last bite, I was full.

Nasania’s greatest strength must be its distinct personality. Amongst the legions of anonymous, minimalist cafés and shops, Nasania and its cozy, eclectic space feel indisputably authentic and human.

And dishes like their Persian omelet that effortlessly sweep you off your feet make it hard to stay away from the café for too long.

We pay up and are on our way – about an hour and change after stepping through the front door. On a slower afternoon with a bigger appetite, it would be easy to spend much more time in this happy little corner of the world.

THE AUTHOR Adam Travis is an English teacher in Gwangju. Adam is originally from New Brunswick, Canada, and can usually be found behind a camera when he’s not in front of a classroom.

NASANIA 나자니아 Address: 8 Hoeseo-ro 12-beon-gil, Nam-gu, Gwangju 광주 남구 회서로12번길 8

Telephone: 010-9305-3835 Opening Hours: 11:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jenneristhechef / Instagram: _nasania

www.gwangjunewsgic.com

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▲ The exterior of the café, marked by a shipping-crate wall that can be opened up to let the café spill out onto the street.

June 2018

▲ With soft eggs, flavorful tomatoes, and a little cheese, the Persian omelet is the star of brunch.

2018-05-30 �� 4:43:03

www.gwangjunewsgic.com

June 2018

ARTS & CULTURE

44 Photo Essay

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2018-05-30 �� 4:43:04

45

Tangibility Written and photographed by JT White

Other times, I find a negative. The process of going from the negative to a print really is something.

“More vignette…

Softer highlights…

Brighter faces…”

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This photo, for example (of a woman and reeds), was taken near my hometown in Newfoundland.

A small town. I can’t figure out if the spot in the distance is a bird or dust. I’m not sure it matters.

I remember the rolling waves and the smell of the sea. Somehow, for me, film lends itself to such tangibility. This negative was there with me. This scene was exposed onto that 35mm strip and will be there forever.

People often compliment me for being able to mimic film in digital. I’m happy I’m able to. I like the look of it. For me, though, it’s never the same. It isn’t the same because the image I end up with never really is more than a figment of an

June 2018

I remember thinking these things in the darkroom.

I remember the process of making them work. It’s a tangible experience. Digital manipulation isn’t

the same. Ironically, I feel like I haven’t got the patience for it. www.gwangjunewsgic.com

S

omething about a photographic print.

Something about the feeling of a photograph that isn’t just equatable to zeros and ones.

Something about a 35mm negative. Something about the scanned-in grain, dirt, and dust. Film is certainly annoying. It isn’t for the impatient. I’m impatient. Sometimes I hate it. Sometimes.

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www.gwangjunewsgic.com

June 2018

46

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alternative reality. It doesn’t feel real. Even if I make a print from digital film. It isn’t the same.

Zeros and ones.

This is probably why I always end up back with a roll of film and an old camera. Whatever digital camera I buy ends up being replaced. It isn’t the same with film. I don’t feel the same way about it.

It really is more about the memory.

THE AUTHOR Born on the small island of Newfoundland, off the east coast of Canada, JT grew up with a hockey stick instead of a camera. After moving to Korea in 2007, he began taking photos during his daily commute and hasn’t stopped since. His work has been published throughout the world, and he has hosted several Leica Akademies in both Canada and South Korea. He now calls Iksan, South Korea, home, where he lives with his wife, Seonju.

The tangibility.

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47

www.gwangjunewsgic.com

June 2018

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48

Photo of the Month

www.gwangjunewsgic.com

June 2018

ARTS & CULTURE

By Lorryn Smit

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2018-05-30 �� 4:43:07

49

O

n Sunday May 27, Gwangju Immigration office collaborated with the Gwangju International Center to host the annual Together Day. This is a significant day in the international community as it helps facilitate integration and cultural understanding of the Korean and the foreign community. This picture, to me, was a beautiful moment of communication and embodied what this day is all about!

THE AUTHOR Lorryn Smit is a South African who has called Gwangju home for seven years now. She is a recently turned full-time photographer specialising in documentary-style wedding and portrait photography. She is also the editorin-chief of a popular photography blog called Photographers in Korea and freelances for a variety of publications in Korea.

June 2018

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www.gwangjunewsgic.com

Do you have any photos that you would like to show to Gwangju (and the world)? Gwangju News features a photo of the month to create more opportunities to promote more photographers based in the Jeollanam-do region and to show off our beautiful province from different areas and angles. Submissions can be posted in the “Photography in the South” Facebook group throughout the preceding month. Alternatively, you can also send your submissions to the editor by email: photos@gwangjunewsgic.com

2018-05-30 �� 4:43:09

ARTS & CULTURE

50 Gwangju Writes

▲ Mathematics Faculty Building (Simon Building) at MIT. (Photo by MIT Mathematics)

Cool Water, or Crystallized Ice Fractals in Flight Written by Stephen Schelling

www.gwangjunewsgic.com

June 2018

M

y name is Handa, and I was born with a gift. I didn’t know it at first. I thought I was the same as everyone else, but gradually I came to know I was different. I didn’t earn it, it was given to me – that’s how a gift works. Some people are born with something called synesthesia. It’s this condition where the senses get all mixed up. One person might see a sound. Another might taste a color. My gift is different. I see mathematics – in everything. I see it in the design and construction of buildings. I see it in the wind as it blows through the waving branches and dancing leaves of trees. I see it in the engineering marvel that is motor vehicles as they move through space and time. And I see it in people: in their body shapes, in the ways they move and circumnavigate, and in the shapes of their smiles, in the geometries they inhabit. I’ve been fortunate to have people in my life who’ve helped me nurture this gift, and I, in turn, have worked hard to get to this point, this point where I am now, leaving my home of Nairobi, the only home I’ve ever known. I boarded an airplane for the first time in my life. I left to America to a university called MIT in a place called Cambridge, a place that’s far from everything I’ve ever

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known, a place that wants to pay for me to nurture my gift.

It all started in Form 1 (or 9th grade for some around the world) at a time when I was one of the lucky ones to even be in school. One of those fortunate people in my life was a math teacher named Mr. Ashura. He said he knew there was something special about me on the first day of class.

Mr. Ashura had pulled out something he was working on as the students left the room. It was an equation. As I was leaving – last as usual because my seat was in the far back corner – I caught a glance and noticed the equation was dancing, but it was dancing all wrong. Part of it was out of step with the rest of the equation. I stopped and pointed it out to Mr. Ashura. At first he was perplexed. He realized that something was indeed wrong. I watched him think and scribble for some time, but it was to no avail.

Finally, as he was about to give up, I asked him if I could try. He was surprised and seemed skeptical but offered me his pencil regardless. I took the dancing equation and rearranged the part that was out of step. Suddenly, it all moved in a concurrent rhythm, a beautiful, perfect

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51 dance. Mr. Ashura’s eyes grew, and even in them I saw the math of his eyes. A few weeks later I came into class and Mr. Ashura was beaming. My work had been correct.

From that day on, he provided me with more problems to solve. This led to me entering competitions. I solved every problem and, before long, I won every competition. It was electric for me.

MIT promised to help me find an understanding of a world I’ve known by no other name than my life. They said it’ll become a degree called theoretical fractal geometry.

Those words make sense to me in a lesser way than when I noticed that the waves of the ocean speak in different languages – how it depended on where they originated – and what they spoke to me in their dancing grace. Atoms have shapes and atoms come together to form shapes, to form all shapes so everything is really a shape made out of other shapes making shapes. I knew numbers before letters, equations before words, and formulas before conversations. They’re merely shapes, shapes that can speak, shapes that I understand, and shapes in which I know how to communicate. I saw those communicative shapes as I flew over the veins of the world for the first time, veins that ran through me like blood, veins that spoke in beats and rhythms.

by a blanket of white and complemented by a glorious dialogue perpetually falling through a minimum of three dimensions in a range 360 degrees around me. The smile and wonder on my face are mathematical expressions that no formula can fully capture, that no equation can truly extrapolate, that no number can quantify. The sky was crying tiny pieces of fluffy ice that danced and twirled, that spoke and sang, that touched my skin and revealed something to me. I know that what I see is extraordinary, that I’ve been granted access to something that’s beautiful beyond compare. I began dancing in the math. The shapes that form the shape of me joined the shapes that form the shapes of hexagonal ice, and our concurrent shapes formed new and unknown shapes. Together we spoke in the tongue of heaven’s frozen rain. My name is Handa, and I was born with a gift, but now I’ve been given a blessing, to know, for the first time in my life, the language of snow.

Postface: Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nairobi, which means “cool water.”

THE AUTHOR Stephen Schelling is a writer and teacher, a pickler, and an Eagle Scout from America with a BA in journalism from Marshall University.

All of this brings me to now: I’m standing outside my new home, outside of the dorm that’s been provided me, out on the lawn of presumably green grass I’ve never known nor seen, a fact I can’t see because it’s obscured

www.gwangjunewsgic.com

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June 2018

▲ Nairobi, Kenya. (Photo by African Mecca Safari)

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52 Movie Review 52

▲ Ri Bun-hui (left) and Hyun Jung-hwa (right) in 1991, portrayed by Bae Doo-na and Ha Ji-won in the movie As One, made in 2012

As One:

www.gwangjunewsgic.com

June 2018

ARTS ARTS && CULTURE CULTURE

Korea’s Longing for Reunification Written by Karina Prananto

T

he PyeongChang Olympics may be over, but the discussion on the chance of reunification is forever a hot topic here in Korea. Since the latest interKorean summit took place last April, residents of Korea have high hopes that reunification is a strong possibility!

One of the results of the summit is that the two Koreas will compete together again as a team for the 2018 Asian Games this coming August in Jakarta, Indonesia. This will be the third time that the two Koreas have joined together as “Team Korea,” the most recent case being the PyeongChang Olympic’s Korean women’s hockey team.

The Koreas first came together as a team for the World Table Tennis Championships in 1991. Those of you who are curious about what happened at that time should watch As One, a movie based on the real-life story of a retired South Korean table tennis player.

Warning: This article contains spoilers! The movie starts with Hyun Jung-hwa (portrayed by Ha Ji-won), a South Korean athlete who defeats Li Bun-hui (portrayed by Bae Doo-na) of North Korea, but later loses to her archrival from China. Her defeat makes her determined to win a medal in the next competition, for her country as well as for her sick father in the hospital. Following her training in Busan, her hometown, she is called to participate in a training camp in Chiba, Japan, to prepare for the World Table Tennis Championships. She also gets the news that the two Koreas will compete as a single team under the helm of a North Korean coach.

We see in the movie that the North Koreans behave in a very restricted manner, even when not in their country, while

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South Koreans are portrayed as loud, noisy, and obnoxious.

But as they’re engaged in training together (and in some scenes, doing what Koreans like to do: drinking), both teams’ players soon become close and develop a budding friendship and affection. As the tournament draws near, the Chinese team arrives to undermine their efforts to win again this time. As you may predict, Jung-hwa was paired with Bun-hui, and they met their archrivals once more.

The climax of the movie is the final game, which Junghwa and Bun-hui win; however, despite their win, the two teams are disbanded as the championships end. Knowing that they may never see each other again, their parting scene is probably the most touching part of any movie I’ve seen in a long time.

At the end, the movie tells viewers that Jung-hwa never saw Bun-hui again after the game. But the story doesn’t end there. To viewers’ great surprise, Jung-hwa does meet Bun-hui again one last time in a competition in 1993. But, who knows if that’s the real end, as they may again see each other now that the two Koreas have decided to meet often and discuss reunification. This might be a happy ending for everyone!

THE AUTHOR Karina is from Indonesia and has been living in Gwangju since 2006. She has been involved with the Gwangju News for ten years now. She loves watching horror movies whenever she has the chance!

2018-05-30 �� 4:43:11

Book Review

53

“Unread Adventures.

Friends You Haven’t Met Yet, Hours of Magical Escapism Awaiting You” The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend

by Katarina Bivald Written by Kristy Dolson

T

his month, in the absence of a pressing theme, I was free to choose any book that struck my fancy. And, since my last two reviews came down on the heavy side, this month I’m bringing you a light-hearted, smalltown novel that’s a love letter to books and bookworms everywhere. The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald is so delightful and upbeat you’ll forget that the story begins with the death of an elderly lady and has the protagonist living in said deceased woman’s home for the majority of the book!

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Now if I could just open a bookshop in a foreign country with the same incredible ease that Sara did, it would be a dream come true.

THE AUTHOR

Kristy Dolson lived in South Korea for five years before taking a year off to travel, read, and spend time with her family in Canada and Australia. She holds a Bachelor of Education and has just returned to Gwangju, where she splits her time between teaching Korean teachers at JETI and reading as much as she can. (Photo by Lisa Crone)

June 2018

This is a booklover’s book. Once begun, I couldn’t put it down, chuckling out loud and absolutely loving how much of myself I found within the pages. Every character in the novel feels like a real person, fully fleshed out and brimming with personality. And it’s these characters – their fears, flaws, hopes, and desires – that make the reading experience a true joy. Normally, the critic in me rages in fury over implausible romances and predictable plot twists, but this book is so quirky and charming that I actively applauded the predictability and feel-good ending.

I’d happily read an entire series based on the residents of Broken Wheel.

There are no big issues or moral questions in this novel.

It’s a celebration of the bookish experience, like one of Sara’s “Happy Endings Guaranteed” for when you’ve crossed those heavy hitters off your to-read list and need something whimsical to give yourself a break. The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend is a small-town narrative with implausible romances, larger-than-life personalities, and a feel-good ending that I absolutely recommend to all booklovers and book clubs. www.gwangjunewsgic.com

The novel opens with Sara, our introverted protagonist, arriving from Sweden in Broken Wheel, Iowa, for a holiday. This is her first trip overseas, and she’s been invited by Amy, her pen pal of two years. While a dying town in Iowa may seem like a strange choice, she’s excited to have an adventure of her own. Unfortunately, Sara gets more real-life adventure than she bargained for when she discovers that Amy had unexpectedly passed away a mere days before her arrival. Not sure how to react to this odd situation, but deciding to stay despite it, the town welcomes Sara and takes care of her in Amy’s stead. However, when Sara decides to open a bookshop stocked with Amy’s vast book collection, things get a bit out of hand.

The novel is written in the third-person omniscient and mainly follows Sara as she gets to know the town’s residents, but it switches to other people occasionally as the narrative expands. Just a warning: sometimes these transitions are clunky, and the reader may end up feeling a bit lost. I’ve read enough Swedish books in translation to know that they can often be vague and disorienting on purpose, so I’m not sure if that was intentional or something that resulted from Alice Menzies’ translation. In any case, the characters are charming enough to overlook these infrequent transition snags.

2018-05-30 �� 4:43:11

ARTS & CULTURE OPINION

54 Opinion

Hong Kong’s Umbrella Movement Overview of Key Issues in Hong Kong and Achievements of Democracy Written by Chloe Chan

www.gwangjunewsgic.com

June 2018

A

yellow umbrella is no longer just a tool for protecting against the rain or sunshine. In Hong Kong, it has actually turned into a symbol of democracy. More specifically, nowadays it symbolizes the spirit of student movements and the long-cherished wish for civil rights.

Hong Kong is a special administrative region located in the southern part of China. After the First Opium War ended in 1842, Hong Kong became a British colony and would remain so for well over a century. In 1997, Hong Kong was handed over to China and became a special region within a political system significantly different from China’s. Under the “One Country, Two Systems” policy, it has remained a self-governing city with its own laws, currency, and education system. The cultural clash of West-meets-East makes Hong Kong unique, but at the same time, it also brings along undercurrents.

Being a Hongkonger born before 1997, as a kid I experienced the time known as the “awkward transition

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period.” From a Western to an Eastern lifestyle and from capitalism to having a subtle sense of communism, for both my parents and me, it was tough to adapt ourselves to a new social climate. The boiling point triggering the Umbrella Movement may just be the demand for “true universal suffrage” for the chief executive election. But for me, as a student who participated in the movement, it has much meaning beyond that. Indeed, it is more about living under a changeable social environment and how we struggle to fight for freedom and democracy. Freedom that is slowly being limited, real estate markets that are being manipulated by certain “mainland moneybags,” education syllabi that are being replaced with patriotic propaganda, and a voice that is being suppressed by force – we are starting to be afraid. But meanwhile, this fear has given us strength to stand up for our society and to make changes.

How is it that the slogan “Occupy Central with Love and Peace” ended up with tear gas, pepper spray, and screams? Even though we refuse to let historical tragedies

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55 be repeated, we have to accept the fact that realizing democracy requires time and determination. Like with other student-led demonstrations, such as the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 and the Gwangju Uprising of 1980 – both of which resulted in bloodshed and loss of life – Hong Kong’s Umbrella Movement shares some similar undercurrents.

After watching the acclaimed Korean film A Taxi Driver, I started to picture what it would be like if Hong Kong turned into a city governed by a military dictatorship. No doubt, the Gwangju Uprising had a much higher number of casualties, as it was way more violent and tragic. But if we look at the Umbrella Movement, which took place 34 years after the Gwangju Uprising, how could so many unarmed young adults have been treated so violently, and how could the government intentionally condemn the protesters and unleash the police who exercised guilt-free violence? It is terrifying to admit that we are indeed losing our own say in society and in our beloved city, which used to be peaceful, open-minded, and multi-cultural.

to imagine that the freedom and rights we have right now are the result of past efforts and bloodshed. As mainland China is still blocking access to most forms of social media, like YouTube and Instagram, as a Hongkonger, I am now becoming aware that we are starting to be pulled backward. The government has even labeled the movement as a case of public disorder and turmoil, while from many of the citizens’ point of view, it is one of the largest-scale pro-democracy events in history. In spite of the intense situations and violence, I am proud of our citizens and how they were willing to devote themselves, and to be brave enough to speak out. I am so thankful every time I see a yellow umbrella; I find faith in it.

THE AUTHOR Originally from Hong Kong, Chloe Chan used to work as a news media editor. She came to Gwangju for Korean studies and is currently volunteering at the GIC.

During the Gwangju Uprising, Gwangju had been blockaded while the phone lines and media used to reach the outside world had been cut off. As most of us are being well protected and safely raised these days, it is hard

JISan LAW FIRM

山 师事务所

Since 2000

(former Body&Soul Clinic)

The International Clinic in Gwangju Family Medicine, Health Screening, Men’s Health, Women’s Health, Minor Surgery, Travel Medicine, Vaccination, Complementary Medicine, Pre-employment Health Screening, Laboratory Test (Blood, Urine, Pap, STD), X-ray & Ultrasound, Prescription Refill, Nutrition (Intravenous Vitamins & Minerals), Detox (Chelation & Fasting), Anti Aging, Immune Booster, Weight Management.

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WorkInjury Problems

For More Info: Phone: 062-525-0606 www.geomedclinic.com ** The best landmark for our clinic is “Buk-gu District Office” ** On the 1st Floor of our building, there is a “Paris Baguette”. Our clinic is located on the 5th Floor.

June 2018

Jisan Building 759 Sangmudae-ro, Seo-gu, Gwangju 광주 서구 상무대로 759 지산빌딩 Chinese/English consultation: 062-370-7799 www.jisanlawfirm.com

Illegal Overstay

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We Will Protect Your Rights

2018-05-30 �� 4:43:14

56

Community Board

Have something you want to share with the community?

Gwangju News Community Board provides a space for the community to announce club activities and special events.

Please contact gwangjunews@gic.or.kr for more information.

UNESCO KONA VOLUNTEERS KONA Storybook Center (KSC) is a registered small public library supported by UNESCO KONA Volunteers (UKV).

UKV is a registered organization that helps disadvantaged children to learn English independently through storybooks and story-maps. We guide the family and children to develop a love of reading storybooks in English.

We also give guidance to volunteers in using storybooks.

We are looking for long-term volunteers who desire to enrich their lives. We are asking volunteers to commit to helping at least once a month.

needed. Dress comfortably and be ready to sweat. Also, bring along water and a towel.

CHINESE-KOREAN LANGUAGE EXCHANGE GIC Lounge, 1st Floor 6:30–8:30 p.m., Wednesday Application: https://goo.gl/WjBZQQ The language exchange is casual, and you can turn up when you like. Welcome to bring and invite friends.

For more information, please visit http://cafe.daum.net/ konavolunteers or our Facebook pages for KONA Storybook Center and UNESCO KONA Volunteers, or contact Kim Young-Im 062-434-9887, or email konacenter@gmail.com.

www.gwangjunewsgic.com

June 2018

VOLUNTEER TEACHERS NEEDED for the Gwangju UCC (Universal Cultural Center). Any levels of experience, English teachers here in the Gwangju area during 2018 can participate. UCC has a Facebook profile if you would like to see what kind of other services are available. To participate in the international cultural exchange programs, you may email peter.j.gallo@gmail.com, or phone or text 010-94904258.

GWANGJU FILIPINO ENGLISH TEACHERS (GFET) Every 3rd Tuesday of the month 10 a.m. – 12 noon, GIC, Room 3 (2F) We are a group of Filipino English teachers in Gwangju who conduct regular lectures and accent training to help fellow English teachers to become better educators.

GWANGJU INTER FC The Gwangju International Soccer Team (Gwangju Inter FC) plays regularly every weekend. If you are interested in playing, email gwangju_soccer@yahoo.com or search “Gwangju Inter FC” on Facebook.

GIC ZUMBA WITH THANDO GIC Hall, 1st Floor 7 – 8 p.m., Thursdays Facebook: GIC Zumba with Thando It is a fun-filled cardio class that fits all levels, no experience

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Attorney Attorney Park’s Park’s Law Law Firm Firm We're ready to serve your best interests in legal disputes.

We provide affordable consultation & representation.

▶ Areas of Specialty contracts, torts, family law, immigration, labor ▶ Civil & Criminal Attorney Park, Duckhee former judge, GIC board member Services available in Korean, English & Chinese

Tel: 062) 222-0011

#402 Simsan Bldg, 342-13 Jisan-dong, Dong-gu, Gwangju Location: next to Gwangju District Court

Fax: 062)222-0013 duckheepark@hanmail.net

Gwangju Guide www.gwangjuguide.com For Information on Living in Gwangju Korean

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KS GENERAL HOSPITAL Internal Medicine - Gastroenterology | Cardiology Nephrology | Orthopedics | General Surgery | Neurology Neuro Surgery | ENT | Cardiothoracic Surgery | Obstetrics & Gynecology Pediatrics | Family Medicine | Dentistry | Rehabilitation Medicine Anesthesiology | Radiology | Laboratory Medicine Occupation & Environmental Medicine | Emergency Medicine

220 Wangbeodeul-ro, Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju Tel:062-975-9000 www.kshosp.com 2018 6

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