Gwangju and South Jeolla International Magazine
Gwangju and South Jeolla International Magazine
September 2021 #235
September 2021 #235 Yoon Yeocheol: A Diplomat’s Thoughts On His Life, Gwangju’s Future, and South Korea’s Global Mission
THE 11TH WORLD HUMAN RIGHTS CITIES FORUM
Yoon Yeocheol A Diplomat’s Thoughts
On His Life, Gwangju’s Future, and South Korea’s Global Mission
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1 Gwangju & South Jeolla International Magazine
From the Editor
I
t’s September. Of late, we have been living under the darkened skies of the late-August rains, but much darker is the shadow of the coronavirus that has been hovering over us for the past year and a half. It now appears that there may be light at the end of the proverbial tunnel for the City of Light.
September 2021, Issue 235 Published: September 1, 2021 Cover Photo Yoon Yeocheol
Ambassador for International Relations at Gwangju Metropolitan City
THE EDITORIAL TEAM Publisher Editor-in-Chief Managing Editor Chief Copy Editor Layout Editor Photographer Copy Editing Online Editor Content Support
Dr. Shin Gyonggu Dr. David E. Shaffer William Urbanski Isaiah Winters Karina Prananto Kim Hillel Yunkyoung Di Foster, David Foster, Thomas DeVore Karina Prananto Melline Galani
The Gwangju News is the first English monthly magazine for the general public in Korea, first published in 2001. Each monthly issue covers local and regional issues, with a focus on the roles and activities of the international residents and local English-speaking communities.
The Gwangju News is published by the Gwangju International Center: Jungang-ro 196-beon-gil 5 (Geumnam-ro 3-ga), Dong-gu, Gwangju 61475, South Korea Tel: (+82)-62-226-2733~34 Fax: (+82)-62-226-2731 Website: www.gwangjunewsgic.com Email: gwangjunews@gic.or.kr gwangjunews gwangju_news
For volunteering and article submission inquiries, please contact the editor at gwangjunews@gic.or.kr. Special thanks to Gwangju City and all of our sponsors.
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We take a look at Korea’s past through an interview with Master Jung Kwan-chae, a National Intangible Cultural Asset, who has revived the art of indigo dyeing, which was traditionally centered in the Naju area. Men’s hats and hair care were a hallmark of the Joseon Dynasty. Read all about Joseon hats and hair, and the nationwide “Topknot Riots,” which were sparked in Jeolla-do [The Land of Hats]. And where did the people of Jeju Island come from? You will be surprised to learn in this issue’s Blast from the Past. Read about what SuperBin is doing to save the environment [Opinion]. Read one person’s analysis of Korean yangsim [Gwangju Abroad], and read one expat’s heartfelt and eloquent goodbye to Gwangju [Expat Living]. The above is only a taste of what this issue’s menu has on offer, so please get started. As always, stay Covid smart, stay Covid safe, get Covid protected, and enjoy the Gwangju News.
David E. Shaffer Editor-in-Chief Gwangju News
September 2021
Registration No. 광주광역시 라. 00145 (ISSN 2093-5315) Registration Date: February 22, 2010 Printed by Jieum 지음 (+82)-62-672-2566
Now, to turn to one of the bright spots that this month brings: the September issue of the Gwangju News! Our cover feature is an exclusive interview with Yoon Yeocheol, Ambassador for International Affairs for Gwangju City, who is organizing a session on Myanmar at the upcoming World Human Rights Cities Forum. The second feature we bring you is an interview with Roger Steffens, one of the major exhibiters at the Gwangju Design Biennale and the authority on all things Bob Marley.
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Copyright ©2021 by the Gwangju International Center. All rights reserved. No part of this publication covered by this copyright may be reproduced in any form or by any means – graphic, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise – without the written consent of the publisher.
Vaccines have finally become available and are being administered. There doesn’t appear to be the serious vaccine hesitancy here that is occurring is some parts of the West. The citizenry is keeping masked up and social-distancing rules are, for the most part, being adhered to. These are all good signs that indicate we are moving in the right direction. We must remember that we are all in this together and that we need to continue to work together to bring us out of the darkness of the Covid era.
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Photo of the Month By Kim Hillel Yunkyoung
“It is still hot out there. Please stay hydrated.” A painter working on a Gwangju apartment, 2021.
The Photographer
Kim Hillel Yunkyoung is a priest in the Anglican Church and also a portrait photographer. More of his pictures can be found at @hillelkim.
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Contents
ISSUE 235, SEPTEMBER 2021
NEWS 01. From the Editor 04. Gwangju City News FEATURES 06. Yoon Yeocheol: A Diplomat’s Thoughts – On His Life, Gwangju’s Future, and South Korea’s Global Mission 10. Gwangju Design Biennale: Interview with Top Reggae Archivist Roger Steffens 14. People in the Arts: Living to Dye – Indigo Master, Jung Kwan-chae 18. Blast from the Past: The Secrets of Jeju TRAVEL 20. Lost in Gwangju: And on the Seventh Day, the Economy Rested 24. Around Korea: Destination: Jangheung – June 19−20, 2021 TEACHING & LEARNING 26. Language Teaching: Of Many Tongues – Speaker, Learner, Teacher 29. Everyday Korean: Episode 45 – 운전할 줄 알아요? (Do You Know How to Drive?) COMMUNITY 30. Gwangju Abroad: The Humanity in Humiliation – The Search for Yangsim in National Disasters 32. Expat Living: A Home Unexpected 34. Opinion: The Rise of SuperBin www.gwangjunewsgic.com
36. Environment: The Magic to Creating Toilet Paper CULTURE & ARTS 02. Photo of the Month 38. Experience Gwangju’s ACE Fair: Korea’s Most Comprehensive Cultural Content Exhibition 40. The Land of Hats 44. Photo Essay: Tobacco Farming in Muan County 48. Book Review: Isaac’s Storm, by Erik Larson 52. GFN Radio: Top of The Drop 54. Gwangju Webtoon: Alan and Me 56. Crossword Puzzle
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Happy Chuseok!
September 2021
50. GFN Radio: Face2face – A Heart-to-Heart from GFN
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Gwangju City News
MONTHLY NEWS
From the Gwangju Metropolitan City website (http://gwangju.go.kr)
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September 2021
“Come to Gwangju,” Online Youth Exchange Program Promoted Abroad Gwangju’s teenagers have promoted Korean culture through an online program with overseas adolescents from sister cities by interacting closely through events, discussions, and virtual trips. The youth cultural exchange program, hosted by Gwangju City and organized by the Gwangju International Center, was held twice this summer, July 19–29 and August 2–6. In July, 23 young adults from Gwangju and 12 other countries, including the sister city of Sendai (Japan), took part in the event, while in August, 24 people from the sister city Medan (Indonesia) and Gwangju participated. All participants in the program had received kits that were mailed in advance with English and Indonesian translations so they could enjoy firsthand the experience events they chose. The activities in the program, led by expert instructors in each field, were diverse, ranging from K-pop idol-like make-up tutorials, taekwondo instruction, and K-pop dance routines to making Hangeul
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souvenirs, and learning about the May 18 Democratization Movement. In addition, as a group activity among the participants, they had to introduce themselves to the team members by taking pictures of restaurants and attractions in the neighborhood where they lived, sharing a special experience of scenery and vivid daily life around the world. “I was able to communicate with participants from other countries and enjoy various experiences related to the areas of Korean culture that I was interested in,” said Nioka from Sendai, Japan. Jang Bong-joo, a city official for international cooperation, said, “We have prepared an opportunity to revitalize youth exchanges, which have been stagnant due to COVID-19, into a new type of online cultural exchange, and we will continue to promote friendship and strengthen exchanges and cooperation.”
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Gwangju Initiates Cultural Village Construction Project The selection of a remodeling design service for Dongmyeong Space (tentative name), a key hub of Gwangju’s flagship cultural village project, was completed in July and is progressing smoothly with the goal of opening in March next year. Gwangju City had to select a remodeling construction company by the end of August to start the remodeling work from September and prepare for the opening scheduled for next year. The Dongmyeong Space project will transform the former Jeonnam Provincial Superintendent’s Office of Education, located in the center of Dongmyeong-dong, into a tourist information space, a community space for travelers and residents, and an exhibition space where one can view the history of Dongmyeong-dong at a glance. It is being promoted as part of a project to create a cultural village representing Gwangju by utilizing the regional identity of Dongmyeong-dong, located behind the Asia Culture Center, and connecting it with other touristic resources such as Yangnim-dong Cultural Historical Village and Jeonil Building 245.
“We plan to develop a brand identity (BI) suitable for the identity of Dongmyeong Space and select a suitable operator,” said Kim Yeong-geun, head of the Cultural Infrastructure Creation Department in the city, adding, “We will faithfully prepare a preliminary system so that Dongmyeong Space plays a role as a tourism and cultural hub space.”
When receiving an emergency report of cardiac arrest, the Gwangju Fire and Safety Headquarters provides a video call support service for CPR to the caller via smartphone. This cardiopulmonary resuscitation video support service is designed to help the declarant perform CPR maneuvers quickly and accurately before 119 paramedics arrive on the scene in case of an emergency, helping anyone to undertake first aid in cardiopulmonary resuscitation. According to a video sent by a man who reported his father had collapsed in Gwangcheon-dong, Seo-gu, in April, CPR was performed until 119 paramedics arrived on the scene, at which point the patient received first aid and regained consciousness. The Gwangju Fire and Safety Headquarters expects to have a tangible effect by providing first aid videos to firsttime reporters in situations where face-to-face training is difficult due to the spread of COVID-19. In this regard, the rate of CPR administered by citizens who found cardiac arrest patients in Gwangju over the past three years was 12.7 percent, which was 10.4 percent lower than the national average of 23.1 percent.
Translated by Melline Galani.
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September 2021
“It is not easy to come upon someone experiencing cardiac arrest and for the caller to perform CPR without hesitation,” said Moon Hee-joon, head of the 119 General Situation Office, adding, “We will do our best to manage emergency situations so that callers can perform CPR quickly while watching the first aid video.”
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While maintaining the meaning and memory of the past by maximizing the appearance of the former Jeonnam Provincial Superintendent’s Office, the interior was designed to enjoy modern times and the historical sensibilities of Dongmyeong-dong and focus on the safety of buildings by applying a seismic reinforcement design.
Gwangju Firefighting CPR Video Support
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FEATURE
6 THE 11TH WORLD HUMAN RIGHTS CITIES FORUM
▲ Ambassador Yoon giving an address on the anniversary of the Cairo Declaration in Egypt in 2019.
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September 2021
Yoon Yeocheol: A Diplomat’s Thoughts
On His Life, Gwangju’s Future, and South Korea’s Global Mission Inter viewed by the World Human Rights Cities Forum Secretariat Yoon Yeocheol is the Ambassador for International Relations at Gwangju Metropolitan City and has been involved in international relations representing Korea in many capacities. At the World Human Rights Cities Forum, Ambassador Yoon will lead the session on Myanmar. The Gwangju News thanks him and the World Human Rights Cities Forum (WHRCF) Secretariat for conducting this interview for the Gwangju News.
W
HRCF: Thank you for taking the time to accept this interview request. For starters, would you mind telling us a little bit about yourself, including your background?
Ambassador Yoon: I am a Korean diplomat with 37 years of experience. I studied at Seoul National University
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and its Graduate School for Public Administration, and at Dartmouth College and The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy in the United States. I have been posted four times in the United States: the Korean Embassy in Washington, D.C., the Office of the President of the UN General Assembly, the Korean Mission to the UN, and the Office of the UN Secretary-General in the UN Secretariat,
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7 all three in New York. I have also served twice in Africa, in Cote d’Ivoire and Egypt. I served as Director for Protocol and Director for North American Affairs, Deputy Minister for Protocol, and Protocol Secretary to the President. After my latest work as the Korean Ambassador to Egypt, I arrived in Gwangju in August 2020 as international relations ambassador. WHRCF: How exactly did you become involved in the field of diplomacy? Was there a particular moment or person who inspired you to follow this line of work? Ambassador Yoon: When I was a child, I dreamed of becoming an astrophysicist. I was fascinated by the beauty and mystery of the universe. But when I learned about the influence external forces have had on Korea, I became interested in foreign culture and history. That is what led me to the profession of diplomacy. There was also an English teacher in my high school who said that, with my proficiency in English, I would make an excellent diplomat. My teacher’s encouragement helped to settle my choice between science and the humanities. After passing the Foreign Service Exam in early 1984, I finally joined the corps of Korean diplomats and began my life’s work. WHRCF: Could you please share the most memorable moments you experienced as a special assistant to the UN Secretary-General and ambassador to the Arab Republic of Egypt? Ambassador Yoon: As special assistant to the SecretaryGeneral, I was in charge of his daily schedule and foreign
trips. In fact, the annual distance covered by all his trips was enough to fly around the world twice. In 2011, he visited South America. Due to a volcanic eruption in the Andes and the ashes it produced, our flight from Bogota, Colombia, to Buenos Aires, Argentina, was diverted to another city called Cordoba, 800 kilometers south of our original destination. The host country provided some tour buses for the delegation, which we had to ride for ten hours. That particular day was SecretaryGeneral Ban Ki-moon’s birthday. At a cafeteria along the highway, we stuck a candle in a cupcake and sang happy birthday to him. After Argentina, we had to use a ferry boat to cross the La Plata river to move to Uruguay because the ash was still thick in the air. Then we flew to Brazil, where the Secretary-General was informed of the unanimous decision by the UN Security Council and General Assembly to re-elect him for another term. He had been laboring without remembering his own birthday or thinking about the ongoing process of his re-election. There is an American comedy movie called Planes, Trains, and Automobiles about an unpredictable journey, and our trip was just like that – except that our crazy expedition covered air, land and water, so we called it “Planes, Buses, and a Ferry Boat.” Last year, the whole world was caught off guard with the sudden outbreak of COVID-19. Egypt was no exception. Many Korean tourists, volunteers, and residents needed to quickly leave the country. Fortunately, some European countries were flying chartered flights to evacuate their
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September 2021
▲ Ambassador Yoon (right) with South Korean President Moon Jae-in.
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▲ Ambassador Yoon (left) with former U.S. President Barrack Obama.
nationals. They also allowed other nations’ residents to take available seats and share the cost. As I was in close contact with ambassadors of those countries, information sharing and necessary coordination for Korean passengers were quite timely and effective. We were able to evacuate 124 Koreans on the flights arranged by the British and French governments.
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September 2021
Later, the Korean community, in cooperation with the embassy, arranged our own chartered flight and brought 133 people home. Those Koreans still remaining in Egypt continued the minimum management of their properties, relieved that their loved ones were already back in Korea. That was challenging work, but with the help of the Korean community, it was really well orchestrated. WHRCF: Based on your experience, what are the most important traits for a diplomat to have? Ambassador Yoon: I regard myself as a lazy person. But when I have responsibilities to fulfill, I try to be prepared. One trait I would look for in a potential candidate is curiosity about culture, history, and other aspects of foreign countries. A diplomat should also be prepared with the knowledge of their own country. Curiosity prepares you to ask the right questions as well as further your own knowledge. Preparation enables us to answer others’ questions about ourselves. In the process of intercultural and international communication, foreign language skills are critical. The international language at the moment is English, but knowledge of other languages is useful. It goes without saying that the greater command one has of English, the better.
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▲ Ambassador Yoon (right) with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
WHRCF: You have been serving as Ambassador for International Relations on behalf of Gwangju Metropolitan City for about a year. What does the City of Gwangju have to offer regarding international collaboration? What advice would you like to give to the city? Ambassador Yoon: The City of Gwangju is, without a doubt, the hub of human rights in Asia due to the heroic 1980 Gwangju Democratization Movement. Its influence and prestige are also due to the hard work of the Gwangju International Center in organizing the World Human Rights Cities Forum for the last ten years. Gwangju is also the art capital of Korea with high appreciation of art by the people of Gwangju and events like the Gwangju Biennale. I am also struck by this city’s ambition to become the hub of artificial intelligence in this corner of the world. Overall, I see Gwangju’s people and government as future-oriented and proactive on many fronts. At the same time, I wish to emphasize that our value is not entirely determined by what we can show the world. Our interest in other cultures and our understanding of different nations also matters. We need to widen our perspective and see where the world is going in order to understand how Korea can help other people. That will create a truly global mindset for the people of Gwangju. WHRCF: Following the last consultation on the Myanmar crisis between Gwangju City, UN OHCHR, UCLGCISDP, and other human rights cities, a special session will take place during the 11th WHRCF. Can you give us a sneak preview of what to expect in this session? Could you also share your thought process in setting it up?
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9 Ambassador Yoon: Well, it is still in the preparation stage, and the participation of major figures needs to be confirmed. We plan to gather together leaders who can tell us what is happening on the ground and show us the way forward. We will try to enlist the current and previous UN special rapporteur on Myanmar as well as representatives of the National Unity Government of Myanmar who are fighting against the military junta. WHRCF: Recently, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) upgraded Korea’s status from a developing country to a developed one. What do you think are the factors that caused this change? What are the cultural and economic implications for Korea’s future? Ambassador Yoon: Until recently, Korea had been considered a developing country by the World Trade Organization. With the tenth largest economy in the world as well as a per capita income over 30,000 USD, it almost feels unfair that we enjoyed such a status, much to our benefit. In a way, this change took place because Korea’s progress outpaced everyone’s imagination. As an ambassador from Korea, I have frequently been asked the same question: What was your secret? My answer usually starts with our adoption of an export-driven strategy, help from the international community, including the United Nations, our alliance with the United States that created a stable environment for foreign investment in Korea, and our traditional emphasis on education. The list goes on and on.
But most importantly, the Korean people worked incredibly hard. There is no secret nor easy way. Making sacrifices for future generations with your hardwork is what makes the biggest difference. I also think Korean women’s extraordinary resilience and their contribution to development was a key factor. As a diplomat who has worked outside of Korea, I feel the impact of our status change, and not only from economic growth. Our full-fledged and vibrant democracy also garners the respect of other countries. In addition to our work ethic and strategic planning, we should remember to appreciate the helping hands of our friends around the world. Now, it is our turn to reach out. Not only with economic aid but also with cultural understanding of other peoples by working with them on the ground. That kind of service will earn us more respect globally, and it will set a good example for the next generation. Photographs courtesy of Yoon Yeocheol.
THE 11TH WORLD HUMAN RIGHTS CITIES FORUM Theme: Human Rights in Times of Challenge: A New Social Contract Dates: October 7–10, 2021 Venue: Kimdaejung Convention Center and Online Website: www.whrcf.org
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▲ Ambassador Yoon leading the discussion on the UCLG statement on Myanmar.
September 2021
▲ Ambassador Yoon on a trip to Greenland.
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September 2021
FEATURE
10 Feature
Interview with Top Reggae Archivist Roger Steffens Inter view by Isaiah Winters
F
be achieved if we practice the Rastafarian philosophy of One Love. That’s the name of Bob’s song that became the Anthem of the Millennium, known and loved by people in every time zone of this planet.
Isaiah Winters (IW): Firstly, thank you so much for taking the time to answer a few questions for Gwangju News readers. At this year’s Gwangju Design Biennale, you’re showcasing your reggae archives and so much more that you’ve produced and collected over many decades. For visitors who are unfamiliar with your work and reggae music, what do you hope they take away from the experience? Roger Steffens: The knowledge that there’s more to music than dancing. Bob Marley said, “Dance to Jah music,” which means dance to music whose lyrics lift the soul and spirit of humankind. This is message music, music to instruct, inspire, and offer hope that a better world can
IW: Bob Marley, whose life you know better than most, got a rough start in music, often at the hands of shady producers who’d cheat him out of his rightful earnings. I suppose this is where a lot of his music industry cynicism emerged. What do you suppose Bob would think of the K-pop industry today, and of the current music industry more globally? Roger Steffens: I think in some ways he’d be baffled and angry that oligarchs have taken over entire careers and bodies of work with only the bottom line behind all their decisions. Bob was cheated throughout his life, never earning more than two figures a week in his earliest days with producer Coxson Dodd, no matter how many thousands of records he was selling at the time. Accountants’ tricks robbed him of much of his later earnings. As a result, at the time of his final illness in late 1980, Bob was about to sign a ten-million-dollar contract with Polygram Records, hoping to establish his company as a Jamaican Motown, with artists owning their own music and its potential rewards. K-pop is an example of a country supporting a music that became one of the
eatured at this fall’s Gwangju Design Biennale are the prolific works of actor, writer, lecturer, editor, photographer, and producer Roger Steffens. Lucky for us in Gwangju, his installation at the Gwangju Design Biennale’s International Pavilion (Hall 2) will showcase arguably his best-known work: extensive reggae music archives, with much focusing on the life of musician Bob Marley. I recently reached out to Roger for an interview, and he graciously responded despite the tight deadline. What follows is our discussion about his installation, his vast knowledge of reggae, the life of Bob Marley, and his outlook as a writer and photographer.
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11 biggest financial bonanzas of our time. Bob would have loved that, but wouldn’t have allowed the capitalists to pull the musicians’ strings. He would have given artists control over all artistic decisions. IW: One of the more fascinating details to emerge about Bob’s life is that in his later years, monthly some 6,000 people were financially dependent on him – meanwhile, he didn’t even have a bed of his own, let alone a house. Could you share with us another little-known fact of Bob’s life that sheds positive light on his unique character? Also, as he was just a man, what’s a little-known fact about Bob that sheds a negative light on him? Roger Steffens: Bob wasn’t a saint, but there’s no question that much of what he did in life was saintly. As you say, he didn’t even own a bed until about 18 months before he passed. He supported that number of people because he believed he’d been sent to earth for a purpose, and that was to help his people in their quest to recover from 400 years of slavery and colonialism. He started businesses, bought farm equipment, and fought for the legalization of the herb. He gave away almost all of the money he made. His music is the rhythm of resistance embraced worldwide.
relatives, friends, and other contacts still alive today, what do you think explains the persistence of so many rumors? Roger Steffens: No one wants to believe that the obvious is most often the truth. Fans don’t want to believe that a man who advocated a healthy lifestyle – he ran miles every morning, played soccer every chance he got, had his personal i-tal (natural) cook on the road with him – could die at such a young age. The rumor that someone gave him a boot with a poison nail in it the day after he was shot in December 1976 is also utter nonsense. First of all, you cannot give someone melanoma. And it doesn’t arise from injuries. It’s genetic, and Bob’s white father’s family had a history of skin cancer there in Jamaica, and one death from melanoma. Nor has any concrete evidence of CIA involvement in the assassination attempt ever come to light.
As for a negative light, I’d say that Bob was very lucky to die when he did, at age 36, with his reputation largely intact. Twelve years earlier, he’d predicted the exact age he would die. He was at the absolute pinnacle of his success, filling stadiums all over Europe in 1980, when the notorious Shower Posse began to penetrate Bob’s entourage. Their intentions were most likely to smuggle drugs through Bob’s equipment, and it’s fairly obvious that that wouldn’t have gone undiscovered.
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September 2021
IW: In your Library of Congress lecture entitled “Oral History of Bob Marley,” you mentioned that there’s a surprising amount of rumor and conjecture surrounding Bob’s life. These include CIA involvement in the assassination attempt on his life, the source of his ultimately terminal form of cancer, and the “Nazi doctor” who treated him up until the very end. With so many
IW: Now turning to your prodigious works, you have over 50 years of amazing slide photography compiled online and in book form. Titled “The Family Acid,” it’s an evocative miscellany of heterodox images that any photographer can immediately appreciate. What things do you aim to capture when you’re behind the lens, and what advice would you give to aspiring photographers? Roger Steffens: Good question. My designation as “photographer” came very late in life, thanks to my children, although I’ve been shooting all my adult life. When I was drafted and sent to Vietnam in the Army in late 1967, the first thing I did was buy a camera, because I knew I was in the middle of a historic event. So, I guess the first thing I wanted to learn how to do was find images that would represent the reality of living in Saigon at the height of the war, with no place truly safe. And the ephemera. Everything is ephemeral ultimately, of course,
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Although Rasta people are nearly all vegetarians, Bob did, in fact, on occasion eat meat. After his melanoma cancer had been discovered in the summer of 1976, he spent most of the following year in London, working on the albums “Exodus” and “Kaya,” and living with Cindy Breakspeare, the reigning Miss World, who cooked him liver to “strengthen him.”
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but there were things particular to war that could be gone in the blink of an eye. I carried my Canon FT everywhere from the DMZ to the Delta for 26 months, working with refugees, and returning home to lecture against the war in 1970, when students were murdered by National Guard troops and schools everywhere went on strike. I photographed the demonstrations from coast to coast. For young photographers, I would suggest selecting a handful of themes you want to investigate. It could be as simple as fire hydrants, something you can find in virtually every country. My dear friend, the great war photographer Tim Page, shoots laundry everywhere from India to Kabul and outback Australia. Rule number one: Never leave your home without your camera, and always bring an extra battery or two. Also, experiment. I’ve been shooting double and triple exposures since Nam. With the apps on cell phone cameras now, bizarre optical effects that would have taken weeks or more to create in a darkroom, are there at the press of a button. Learn them, free yourself to think “outside the box.” I live in L.A., a city that destroys its history without compunction, so I have hundreds of tear-down-andrebuild photo series, as landmarks become soulless concrete warehouses for people and products. I love to shoot the sidewalk stencils on Melrose Avenue and the ever-evolving murals, some of which are masterpieces that last just days or weeks. Enormous advertising posters for movies and TV litter the heights of Sunset
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Strip and are unique signs of the times. I’ve also taken to shooting gas prices, beginning in December of 1969 upon my return Stateside, where a Berkeley, California, station sported a sign that said “Gas – Cheaper Than LSD.” Gas was 19 cents a gallon then. IW: At this year’s Gwangju Design Biennale, you’re featuring many of your written works, in addition to records, items, and prints centered on reggae music. You’ve written quite a few books focused on reggae music, a musical genre you found early on in life and developed an insatiable interest in. What do you think undergirds your writing success over the years and what guidance might you give first-time writers? Roger Steffens: I’ve always written from the perspective of a fan who got lucky. I’ve been writing all my life and was fortunate enough to have mentors who were poets and perhaps gave me a style. I read poetry for years in a one-man show called “Poetry for People Who Hate Poetry,” and even had a program on TV in Saigon reading poetry to the combat troops on Sunday afternoons. That gave me a real feel for language. I didn’t publish my first book until I was 54, now I’ve got ten. But I had co-edited a magazine, The Beat, over a 28-year period, and was a voracious reader. My first national piece was in 1970 in Rolling Stone, and I continued to contribute to periodicals, especially since the early 1980s, writing about my discoveries in the world of Jamaican culture and music. My first interview was with Peter Tosh, the second with Bob Marley. After that, anyone in the reggae world I approached knew that I understood when they spoke in patois, and had a grasp
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13 IW: Thank you again for your time. I can’t wait to visit the Gwangju Design Biennale to see so much of your life’s work in person. Roger Steffens: Thanks for taking the time to speak with me. One Love, everyone. Photographs courtesy of Roger Steffens.
GWANGJU DESIGN BIENNALE Venues: Gwangju Bienalle Exhibition Hall, Gwangju Institute of Design Promotion, Gwangju Museum of Art Dates: September 1 – October 31 Website: www.gdb.or.kr Email Inquiries: bob0328@gdb.or.kr Ticket Purchase: http://www.ticketlink.co.kr/ product/34859 of the island’s fraught history. If you know your subject, you shouldn’t be afraid to talk to anyone. Show respect and understanding, and it’ll truly open doors. Follow your passion, the thing that makes you want to get out of bed in the morning to tell your friends about. And never stop learning.
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Born and raised in Southern California, Isaiah Winters is a pixel-stained wretch who loves writing about Gwangju and Honam, warts and all. When he’s not working or copyediting, he’s usually punishing himself with long hikes or curbing his mediocre writing and photography with regular practice. Regarding the latter, you can check his progress on @d.p.r.kwangju.
September September 2021 2021
As for Bob’s youthful successor, I don’t think he/she has been discovered yet. Every generation needs its own spokespersons to reinterpret the eternal truths for their contemporaries. It might be some biracial inhabitant of Gwangju helping bring an Asian overstanding to the rest of the world. I’m ready to listen.
The Interviewer
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IW: Finally, what topics do you think a young Roger Steffens would be obsessed with in 2021? Also, where might a young Bob Marley be today? Roger Steffens: I made the bulk of my income since moving to Hollywood in 1975 from voice-over work. In Forrest Gump, I’m the announcer in the White House when he goes to visit Pres. Kennedy and has to pee so badly. Today, I think of how much easier it is to do voice work from one’s home for clients anywhere on earth. I don’t have to waste gas driving to far-flung auditions, and things can be turned around in an instant. I might be more interested in film production. There are always new forms of art to be discovered, new songs to hear, and pieces of the past that finally surface after decades of suppression, so the thrill of the new is still possible if one is open to them. My motto has always been “Aim High.” And never be discouraged by naysayers. As Joseph Campbell advised, “Always follow your bliss.”
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FEATURE
14 People in the Arts
Living to Dye
Indigo Master, Jung Kwan-chae
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
September 2021
By Kang Jennis Hyun-suk
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n this issue, we feature and interview Korea’s only living human cultural asset for fabric dyeing, National Intangible Cultural Asset No. 115, Jung Kwan-chae (정관채). Master Jung’s ancestors long ago settled in Dasimyeon, a rural area within the Naju city limits south of Gwangju, and Jung has lived there all his life. NAJU AND KOREAN INDIGO Attesting to the importance of Naju in the Jeolla area is that in the naming of provinces by the Goryeo Dynasty in 1018, the names of the two most important urban areas in the province were combined: the first syllable of “Jeonju” and the first syllable of “Naju” to form “Jeolla.” The Yeongsan-po district of Naju was once a bustling port (the –po portion of its name means “port.”) It is still known for its street of stingray restaurants. This port was one of the largest, with boats bringing in catches of a variety of seafood and salt from the nearby islands at the mouth of the Yeongsan River. Rich supplies from the islands and vast agricultural plain on the mainland made Naju a powerful city in supporting Wang Geon (왕건, 877–943 A.D.), who founded the Goryeo Dynasty over a thousand years ago. Jung’s home township of Dasi-myeon, though near this plain, was too close to the Yeongsan River to be suitable for rice farming, due to the flooding that occurred annually with the summer rains. However, Jung’s home village of Saetgol (샛골) was famous for cotton growing because of the warm weather. Cotton fabric was used for making clothes and bedding. Almost all the women of the village had looms at home for weaving fabric and dyeing cloth to make clothes and bedding for themselves. The word for weaving cloth is nai (나이) in Korean, and Saetgol nai (샛골나이) was the epitome of fine cotton cloth across the country.
After overcoming several failures, Jung succeeded in cultivating jjok and harvesting the leaves to produce dye. He thought to himself, “Who else would resurrect the cultivation of jjok and the tradition of dyeing in this modern society? Though it won’t make me a fortune, I should make it as a descendant of the traditional dyeing village.” Jung has now spent more than 40 years restoring and researching the art of jjok dyeing. And now, in his mid60s, he is the only human cultural asset for jjok dyeing. MASTER JUNG’S TRADITIONAL DYEING CENTER The day I visited Master Jung’s Traditional Dyeing Center, I spotted a stack of oyster shells piled high and a lot of large pots for the fermentation of jjok in the yard. Some of Jung’s students were dyeing fabrics just as they had learned from their master. I could read the eagerness to learn traditional fabric dyeing in their faces, and I could feel his students were creating vitality in a quiet, rural village. When I entered the center, Jung was talking with other guests who had come earlier than me. While I was waiting, I could overhear their conversation. I found that the guests were experts on restoring and repairing Korea’s ancient cultural assets, and they had come to ask Master Jung for his help. I knew that natural jjok dyeing had antibacterial properties that protect the fabric from bacteria and insects, but I found out that its antibacterial function could also be used to preserve ancient documents. When the document-preservation experts were finished, Master Jung was ready to dive into the interview that both of us had eagerly waited for. THE INTERVIEW Jennis: I heard that you have devoted your life to the revival of jjok dyeing ever since you were a young man. I think the greatest task for a young artist is to create art and, at the
◀ Previous page top: Master Jung with his jjok-dyed fabric drying in the open air. Bottom: Bolts of fabric dyed with jjok.
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September 2021
THE TRADITION DIES OUT Saetgol Village had perfect conditions for growing cotton, weaving, and dyeing, but the times began to change. Naju, which flourished with nearby jjok plantations, became more and more crowded with merchants, some who came
RESURRECTING THE ART OF DYEING When Jung Kwan-chae was attending Mokpo National University, he majored in fine arts. The professor who taught fabric dyeing, Park Bok-kyu, gave him some Korean indigo seeds. The professor had received the seeds from Ye Yong-hae, a journalist who was searching out and recording human cultural assets. Professor Park told the young, 20-year-old man from Saetgol that he should use the seeds to resurrect jjok dyeing.
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Persicaria tinctoria (or jjok [쪽], Korean indigo), which was a plant used for dyeing the cotton fabric, was grown along the river. It could be harvested in July or early August, so jjok was less vulnerable to flood damage than growing rice in Saetgol. This made Jung’s home village a mecca for cotton fabric and jjok. In addition, the Yeongsan River was close by, a ready source of oyster shells, which are essential for dyeing fabric. All these conditions made Jung’s village perfect for fabric dyeing.
from as far as China and Japan, to get dyes and fabrics up until the early 1900s. But after the Korean War, as chemical dyes and synthetic fibers were now in wide use, jjok plantations disappeared and jjok dyeing died out.
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▲ Master Jung prepares to remove the jjok leaves from the jars of jade-colored liquid.
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September 2021
same time, generate enough funds to live on. May I ask how you solved the problem? Master Jung: The busiest season for jjok dyeing is the hottest season of the year. As I majored in art education, I was able to work as an art teacher at a school. During the week, I would teach, and on weekends, I grew jjok. Fortunately, school vacation starts around the same time as the busiest season for jjok dyeing. Jennis: There is a saying, “Summer in Korea is hot enough to bend a cow’s horns, but jjok dyeing should be done in the hottest season.” Why is that? Master Jung: Jjok, or indigo, must be harvested before the flower blooms to produce the deepest blue pigment, and this time is right in the middle of summer. When people think of dyeing, they just think of coloring cloth, but it takes more than half a year to prepare for coloring cloth: growing jjok, harvesting it, extracting the dye, and fermenting it. Both harvesting and extracting the dye necessarily take place in the hottest season. Jennis: People say that jjok is the most difficult dye to extract. I would like to know how to go about making the traditional jjok dye. Master Jung: Certainly. First, put the harvested jjok in a large earthenware pot and pour in water so that the leaves are submerged. After two or three days, the water turns the color of jade. Then, remove the jjok leaves and add oyster shell powder. Heat the oyster shells in a kiln at over 1,000°C,
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and then grind them into a powder. The jade water will turn blue and form a navy foam. Third, the pigment is made of the insoluble material that sinks, so after the pigment has settled, pour out the clear water. The thick material that remains is called niram (니람) – the ni means “mud” and ram is “indigo” in Chinese characters. The niram is stored in a pot in a shady, cool place until needed. Jjok is insoluble, so fermentation is necessary to make it soluble for dyeing. Alkaline lye is used for fermentation, which is made by pouring hot water into a pot of beanstalk ashes. Next, put the lye and niram into a container and mix them well. At this time, make sure that the lye is 8–10 times more than that of the niram. After some time (about a month), blue foam forms on the surface of the liquid, which indicates that it is now ready to use as dye. Jennis: It takes more than six months just to prepare the dye material. I think the process of dyeing fabric is just as difficult. How do you go about it? Master Jung: Each step of the dyeing process requires delicate care. I put my whole mind into it and proceed as I pray because dyeing is only possible if all the conditions are just right. The process goes like this: —Prepare a cloth by washing it to remove the impurities. —Put the cloth into the jjok dye liquid, and take it out after 3–5 minutes. The yellowish green turns blue as it is exposed to the air.
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17 in knowledge. It derives from the saying “Just as blue is bluer than the jjok from which it comes, and ice is colder than the water from which it comes, a disciple can become wiser than the master with whom they study.” This suggests that the principle of dyeing was already known and used over 2,000 years ago. In Korea, Buddhist scriptures written during the Goryeo Dynasty and preserved with jjok have remained extant for a thousand years. Jennis: What would you say the advantages are of jjok dyeing? Master Jung: I think it is very meaningful to dye using natural dye instead of chemical dye. These days, people are increasingly aware of the need to preserve nature and pass on a clean environment to future generations. Jjok dyeing has an antibacterial function, so some people with skin conditions like to wear naturally dyed undergarments. And of course, keeping the craft of jjok dyeing alive preserves one of our valuable Korean traditions.
▲ Master Jung making indigo dye from jjok leaves.
Jennis: Jjok is called the thousand-year-old color. How did it get that moniker? Master Jung: A Chinese scholar named Xunzi (순자, 298–235 B.C.) is said to have coined the phrase “Cheongchul-eo-ram” (靑出於藍, 청출어람). It means that if a disciple studies hard enough, they can surpass their master
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Photographs courtesy of Jung Kwan-chae. MASTER JUNG’S TRADITIONAL DYEING FACILITY & TRAINING CENTER / 염색장 전수교육관 Address: 571 Musuk-ro (Gaheung-ri), Dasi-myeon, Naju, Jeollanam-do 전남 나주시 다시면 (가흥리) 무숙로 571 Phone: 061-332-5359 Website: http://www.jungindigo.com/
The Interviewer
Kang Jennis Hyunsuk is a freelance interpreter who loves to read books and grow greens. She has lived in Gwangju all her life and is most certainly a lover of the City of Light.
September 2021
Jennis: Is there a special reason why you focus more on jjok dyeing than dyeing with other dyes? Master Jung: I started dyeing to restore the traditional Naju jjok, but dyeing itself is very attractive. When you dip a white cloth into the liquid dye, it turns green at first. But when the green cloth meets the air and oxidizes, it turns blue. It seems magical. And it is also interesting to see how the dyeing results vary from person to person and from fabric to fabric.
Jennis: Wow, that is an amazing idea! Save the earth while wearing environmentally friendly jjok-dyed blue jeans. I hope to see people in traditional jjok-dyed blue jeans walking down the streets across the globe someday – you could call them “jjok-jeans”! Thank you, Master Jung. I appreciate you giving up so much of your precious time for this interview.
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—If you dye the cloth repeatedly, the blue color becomes darker. —Wash the dyed cloth with water. If the lye is not completely removed, the cloth will easily become bleached. So, repeat the washing and drying two or three times to remove the lye. When the lye is washed out, wash the cloth with a neutral detergent. Once dried, it can be used as fabric for making clothes.
Jennis: Would you let me know what plans you might have for the future? Master Jung: I think it is my calling to take old traditions and transform them into new culture suitable for the present era. It is my wish that many people use our traditional dyes and dyeing methods, which make for a healthy life, instead of using chemical dyes that pollute the environment. I am looking forward to the day when people wear jjok-dyed blue jeans.
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18 Blast from the Past
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September 2021
blast from the past
▲ Mt. Halla crater. (Hallasan National Park)
The Secrets of Jeju Everyone on the peninsula is familiar with Jeju-do – Korea’s largest island but smallest province. We are all familiar with Jeju’s dol haleubang (stone statues) and its juicy hallabong (oranges). It is known for its wind and rocks and women. For numerous couples, it was their honeymoon destination. In the minds of many, Jeju is to Korea as Hawaii is to the U.S. But what far fewer people are aware of is the story of its founding or how great a place Jeju is to visit in the wintertime. For this reason, the Gwangju News brings you two articles from its archives: “The Three Founders of Jeju” by Bradley Weiss and Shim Kyu (October 2014) and “An Island in Winter – Jeju in the Cold Season” by Seth Pevey (March 2011). — Ed.
JEJU’S THREE PROGENITORS On Jeju Island, one can visit a shrine and complex in the heart of Jeju City centered around three holes in the ground, known as Samseonghyeol (삼성혈). According to legend, this is the site where three demigods emerged in the era before the island was inhabited. The three, referred to with the honorific title eulla (을라, “head of clan,”) are known as Go (고/高), Yang (양/梁), and Bu (부/夫), and are also seen as the progenitors of those three family lines, which bear those same three family surnames and remain prominent on the island today. The legend continues that the three lived by hunting and gathering until the arrival one day of a ship to Jeju’s shore. On board were three princesses from the kingdom of Byeongak, who were to be brides for the three demigods. The princesses brought with them cattle and horses as well as five different seeds to help establish agriculture on the island. From that time onward, the three families established Jeju’s Tamna Kingdom and an agrarian way of life. No solid evidence establishes the time of these legendary events, but they have been conjectured to have coincided with the Three Kingdoms Period on the mainland (57
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BC – 668 AD). Other legendary history lends support to the idea, as three brothers – including a certain GoHu, also known as Go Deuk-jong – were purported to have been received by the Silla court. They are said to be 15th-generation direct descendants from Go Eulla, and it was at this time that the name “Tamna” was officially recognized for the island. The title used for the three demigods, eulla, might provide another indication as to the antiquity of the legend. The word comes from the language of the small Buyeo Kingdom, which existed from the 2nd century BC up until 494 AD, pre-dating the beginning of the Three Kingdoms Period. However, maybe we can draw more significance from the story’s symbolism. The tale seems to be a fairly straightforward allegory, a microcosm of the transition from a hunter-gatherer lifestyle to that of sedentary agriculture, which the vast majority of humanity has undergone since the Neolithic. Note also how the emergence of the three eulla from the earth to marry seaborne women clearly reflects the maritime geography of the island, diverging from the mainland’s more typical
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19 identification of men with the sky and women with the earth. In the end, perhaps the purpose of this legendary history is simply to reflect and justify the position of a few prominent families on the island. If we compare the frequency of the three family names with that of the mainland, we see that even today Go, Yang, and Bu are far more heavily represented on Jeju. Even today, they continue to collectively own and operate the Samseonghyeol shrine, where rites are held every spring and autumn.
“On board were three princesses from the kingdom of Byeongak, who were to be brides for the 'three demigods.'" JEJU IN WINTER Although the two places are quite distinct from one another, Jeju is sometimes referred to by those in the tourism industry as “Korea’s Hawaii.” Folks drawing this parallel may be somewhat guilty of hyperbolizing the beauty and variety of the 1,845 square kilometers of Jeju, yet it is not without its own powerful charms – charms worthy of being lauded simply on their own merit, rather than being wasted in comparison to those of any other locale.
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The weather was a refreshing change. As Gwangju’s streets and alleyways remained permafrosted in the black-soot ice of our recent snows, the premature but welcome smells of spring that warm Jeju in this bleak season created an appealing atmosphere for hiking, which was the happy order of the day. Starting slow, our group made several constitutionals across Jeju’s various Olle Trails. No problems here: a simple stroll through the countryside, skipping across stone-strewn beaches, and traversing the seaside highways dotted with quiet and somber coastal villages where the smells of freshly caught fish pervaded every wind. An enjoyable experience by anyone’s reckoning. The main event, so to speak, was Mt. Halla, which is quite a different animal. A grueling hike of some 20 kilometers rewards those strong enough for the journey with a beautiful crater and the right to boast of conquering the Republic of Korea’s loftiest peak, no mean feat. In all honesty, and as painful as it is to admit in such permanent and damning ink, no Gwangju News member was among those who made it to the summit! However, another group member described the trip to the top: “The first thing I did when I got to the top was look back in the direction I had climbed to get a better view of the scenery I had seen as I ascended. Then I turned around, took a few steps forward and was awestruck by the sight of the crater in front of me. It looked immense and, being the first proper volcanic crater I’ve seen, was somewhat surreal. It was so spherical it looked more like a huge meteoriteimpact crater than a volcano. The trees inside the crater added a sense of scale as they looked so tiny they could have been mistaken for patches of moss.” In addition to the Mt. Halla climb, there were also other small day trips to the ginseng farms, to a traditional Jeju village, and to a Buddhist temple. Consider a wintertime trip to Jeju. From the three holes of Samseonghyeol to the crater peak of Mt. Halla, it is a travel destination you are sure to enjoy. Arranged by David Shaffer.
September 2021
In legend, three gods emerged in three eggs from three holes in the ground at Samseonghyeol to give birth to the Jeju people. As in the myth, Jeju natives are their own breed – separate in dialect and custom from mainland Koreans. As a foreigner, you can simply toss aside all those Korean lessons you took or those Rosetta Stone sessions you hammered out: Jeju mal is as distinct and original a local tongue as any far-flung English dialect. Just as two
The trip was led by a hiking club called “Korea’s International Outdoor Recreation and Tour Group,” which took multiple sojourns to Jeju yearly, along with visits to the various mountain tops dotting the landscape of mainland Korea. The pittance they charged (300,000 won) covered airfare, accommodation, and six meals over the weekend, making it a bargain-bin jewel of a jaunt.
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That said, the connection to Hawaii comes, no doubt, from the island’s often tropical weather, its flora, its lushness, and its abundance of honeymoon resorts. The mention of Jeju evokes palm trees waving welcome in the sea breeze, the smell of orange groves enclosed in hand-built basalt walls, and romantic walks by newlyweds through blossoming flowers in their flip-flops. Its reputation as a warm and beautiful paradise is well deserved, yet it may dissuade many from venturing there during the greyskied snowy season’s tenure. Thus, it was with a stalwart heart and a thick jacket that members of the Gwangju News visited the volcanic island this Lunar New Year [2011].
people from Mobile, Alabama, and Manchester, England, may find it hard to communicate properly, Koreans from Seoul to Busan find it difficult to understand the thick island-speak of Jeju.
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▲ Only the sabbath could put a stop to this apartment’s breakneck demolition in Unamdong. ◀ The tailor’s glorious “iron lady” press in Gyerim-dong.
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September 2021
TRAVEL
20 Lost in Gwangju
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21
And on the Seventh Day, the Economy Rested By Isaiah Winters
T
he City of Light seems to have more evicted neighborhoods, urban wastelands, and towers of concrete than ever before. It’s gotten to the point where spindly construction cranes, now just another familiar part of the cityscape, are rivaling the ubiquitous red crucifixes in number and visibility. The new god muscling His way through our urban environment is, of course, "the Economy" – so, same as the old god, really. From the rubble of old neighborhoods that struggled to pay their tithes, He resurrects new taxes, consumption, and debt. This redevelopment process is hard, relentless work that requires a break now and then – every Sunday, in fact.
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A second casualty was found atop the mostly barren redevelopment heap in Gyerim-dong. Unlike the previously mentioned complex, this area has gotten the slow treatment, with some buildings still standing years after eviction. Today only a church, a motel, and an especially tenacious kindergarten are holding
September 2021
On a few recent sabbaths, I took some friends from out of town to a pair of redevelopment sites in the city. Both sites were in quite an advanced state of demolition with little left to see; however, these often yield the starkest
One such casualty was in Unam-dong. There, Unam Jugong Apartment Complex 3 offered us a half-demolished apartment building that stood surreally alone where over 60 similar buildings used to be. Featured in this year’s March edition of Lost in Gwangju, said complex was unique in that each five-story housing unit had a gabled rooftop covered in hanok-style tiles. This plus its dense grid of cherry tree-lined roads seemed like a decent compromise between local and imported aesthetics as well as between highdensity urban housing and lush green spaces. Now that the neighborhood is already midway through its transformation, it’s ripe for some of the best contrast photography in the city. Looking back at the photos taken that sabbath, the lone apartment we shot reminds me of some poor, hastily half-eaten zombie victim.
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Sunday is when I’m busiest in urban redevelopment zones, as that’s when the wrecking crews all go home and the derelicts they destroy are left wide open. The same sites that are normally better surveilled and buzzing with activity the other six days a week suddenly become porous and poorly guarded, giving observers like me the chance to slip in and spot anything evincing neglect or nostalgia. The aim is to digitize these finds through writing and photography so that demolition processes don’t remain so obscure and so that Gwangju’s past attains a sliver of immortality online. This is the voodoo I work on the demolition economy’s weekly day of rest.
contrast shots. There’s something about a lone building bearing the scars of some awful process that hits home hardest. For instance, today the Gerhardt Mill stands as a battered testament to the Battle of Stalingrad, while the Genbaku Dome in Hiroshima reminds us of the trauma of nuclear war. These two buildings were sacrifices made to another destructive god known as War. Similarly, our sabbath tours through Gwangju centered on casualties of the Economy.
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22 out against all odds. One hilltop apartment building in the area offered a particularly striking living room view of encroaching redevelopment. The reclining chair, turned away from the hubbub outside, indolently faces where the TV used to be, while outside the window, the faded turquoise kindergarten holds on for dear life. When shooting this scene, the phrase “armchair optimist” sprang to mind to describe those who always consider redevelopment a win-win despite never really seeing it for themselves.
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September 2021
There was a third redevelopment zone we tried to visit – the massive jutaek village in Singa-dong, featured in the October 2020 edition of Lost in Gwangju. For context, it’s long been the most tightly surveilled and best protected eviction site in the city for some odd reason. A few Fridays before our revisit, I noticed that redevelopment tarp had already enveloped the entire neighborhood and the main traffic arteries in and out had manned checkpoints where visitors had to sign in. This didn’t bode well for our upcoming visit, but surely the sabbath would ensure our deliverance, right? Wrong. It turns out that the redevelopment zealots in Singa-dong are such firm worshipers of the Economy that their demolition services run seven days a week. Knowing I’d never part the tarp sea in Singa-dong, I returned to Gyerim-dong once more with another friend one sabbath to see what little remained. We scoured every nook and cranny of the street-front businesses hidden behind the redevelopment tarp hoping to find something of interest. What stuck out was just how dense the neighborhood’s network of failed businesses was. A hanbok shop with its mannequins – one sporting a traditional Korean manbun or sangtu (상투) – resided under a second-story pool hall with one remaining table. Nearby, a tailor shop filled with buttons, fabrics, and a clunky overcoat press we called the “iron lady” shared a building with a soju bar still proudly sporting a “2002 World Cup Korea” signboard outside. Adjacent to these was a lingerie shop scattered with granny panties and sultry paperbacks with hunky tales like Dances with Wolves and The Private Life of Chairman Mao.
▲ A view looking out at the wasteland that Unam Jugong Apartment Complex 3 has become. ▶ The “armchair optimist” scene found in Gyerim-dong. ▶ Inside the abandoned lingerie shop in Gyerim-dong.
Given that these and many more mom-and-pop shops surely contributed to the Economy, isn’t it a paradox that they fell victim to redevelopment anyway? I guess the Economy works in mysterious ways. Photographs by Isaiah Winters.
The Author
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Born and raised in the shadow of an infamous Californian prison, Isaiah Winters is a pixelstained wretch who loves writing about Gwangju and Honam, warts and all. When he’s not working or copyediting, he’s usually driving through the countryside on the way to good beaches or mountains. You can find more of his photography on @d.p.r.kwangju.
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September September 2021 2021
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24 Around Korea
▲ Cypress Woodlan d
Destination: Jangheung TRAVEL
June 19−20, 2021 at Borimsa. ▲ The author
By Richard Pennington
A
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September 2021
s if to prove that my days as an American-Korean traveler are not over, I went to Seoul’s express bus terminal on Saturday morning, bellied up to the counter, bought a ticket to Jangheung, and hit the road. About 320 kilometers later, we arrived. I paid 50,000 won for one night at the Ivy Hotel and ascertained that the air conditioning worked; the summer solstice was two days away, and Korea’s southwest corner had begun to heat up. I found a couple of tourist brochures and noted that this city of 40,000 has a catchy slogan – “Jangheung, a town like a mother’s warm hug.” Whatever PR man came up with that deserves a raise. The Tamjin River, which bisects Jangheung, is clean enough for swimming because I saw a number of kids cavorting in it. Among the annual events I missed were a marathon, the Mountain Azalea Festival, the Water Festival, and the Buckwheat Flower Festival. While cruising through the Jeongnamjin Saturday Market, I encountered a lady in red whose job it was to sell produce. She had no qualms about saying hello to the rare foreigner (I saw almost no others during this trip), and she soon brought me to another lady across the way. There I was talking to both of them, asking about Cypress Woodland, a place highly recommended by some friends in Seoul. We were having trouble communicating when a third lady, walking by with her teenage daughter on her arm, turned and asked if she could help. I said with delight that she could, and the other two went back to peddling vegetables and fish.
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Kim Kyeong-hee, to whom I gave a signed copy of book number 23, is a 44-year-old government officer. Understanding my desired destination, she called a taxi, told the guy where I wanted to go, and got an estimate of the cost (7,000 won). Before I entered his cab, Kyeonghee informed me that she was available if further help was needed. I spent less than an hour at Cypress Woodland. It consisted of a forest with hilly paths, log cabins built with ecofriendly materials, a cypress sawdust sauna, a botanical garden, and other facilities. Sure, there were lots of trees, and I trust that the air abounded with health-promoting anions and phytoncides. But I failed to perceive just why the place had won so much fame. Truthfully, I needed a Korean guide. Back in the city, I walked everywhere, sometimes traversing the same streets repeatedly. I watched a woman tend her garden between a couple of aging apartment complexes. She took no note of me, but I wondered, “Who is she? Has she been here long? Does she have a family?” Somewhat overheated, I was happy to find a sikdang (restaurant) that was cool, a waiter with a hearty smile, and galbi-tang on the menu. I pointed at it and exclaimed, “Galbi-tang, my dear sir!” While consuming this tasty meal, I perused the photos I had taken at the Jeongnamjin Saturday Market and Cypress Woodland, and talked to Kyeong-hee on the phone. This kind hostess – born in
2021-08-26 �� 10:36:52
25 Gwangju but a resident of Jangheung for the past 17 years – offered to escort me on Sunday. We agreed to meet in the parking lot of the Ivy Hotel at noon. The remainder of Saturday consisted of more strolling the streets, a bit of shopping, and reading Robert Caro’s 1974 Pulitzer Prize-winning biography of Robert Moses at the hotel. I got up the next morning after almost 11 hours of muchneeded sleep and found a Paris Baguette two blocks away. Around 9 a.m., I was nursing a café latte, chewing on a bagel, and reading about Moses when Kyeong-hee came traipsing in! This was quite a coincidence. She was there to buy sandwiches for a group to which she belongs – people studying to pass an exam for landscaping certification.
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Borim-sa, set low on Gaji Mountain, is quite significant in Zen Buddhist lore. So, I was more than a little surprised to see no historical plaque out in front. Some of the buildings did have such markers, but the main one did not. Strange. My own research, however, revealed that Iryeon (1206−1289), the primary author of Samguk-yusa, studied at this temple. Samguk-yusa is a collection of folk tales, legends, and biographies from early Korean history. (Jangheung takes pride in its literary heritage, including other writers such as Baek Gwang-hong, Song Gi-sook, Yi Chong-jun, Han Seung-won, and Lee Seung-u.) In the center of Borim-sa was a spring, the water of which was said to be good for the skin, prevent cancer, and aid digestion. What the heck – I took one of the ladles and drank deeply.
Photographs by Richard Pennington. Richard Pennington, a University of Texas graduate, has been living in Korea for nearly 14 years. Among his 23 books are Travels of an American-Korean, 2008-2013 and Travels of an American-Korean, 2014-2020. He works as an editor at an intellectual property law firm in Gangnam.
September 2021
It was Kyeong-hee’s first visit to Haedong-sa, and we learned a lot together. For one thing, this shrine opened in 1955 adjacent to Mansu Temple with President Syngman Rhee in attendance. At the ceremony that day, An’s daughter carried his portrait and his cousin’s son carried his enshrinement tablet. A memorial ritual is performed there every March 1.
Kyeong-hee and I got back into her car and headed to Borim-sa, a Buddhist temple dating back to the late Silla Dynasty. During that ten-minute drive, we passed Eokbul-san, a mountain with a strange formation halfway up. It is a boulder called Daughter-in-Law Rock, which supposedly bears a likeness to the Maitreya, a bodhisattva who will someday appear on Earth, achieve complete enlightenment, and teach the pure dharma.
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▲ An Jung-geun calligraphy piece written in Lushun Prison, 1910.
Three hours later, at the wheel of her white Hyundai, Kyeonghee asked me where I wanted to go. I had a specific place in mind: Haedong-sa, a shrine dedicated to patriotic martyr An Jung-geun. In 1909, this native of Haeju (now part of North Korea) had chopped off the tip of one finger to indicate his determination to get revenge on the colonizing Japanese. He disguised himself as one of them and made his way to the platform at Harbin Railway Station. Equipped with a pistol, he plugged Ito Hirobumi, former ResidentGeneral of Korea, and sent him to the cemetery. An yelled “Long live Korea!” and started waving the Taegukgi. Taken into custody on the spot, his conviction and execution were all but certain. An, a member of an armed Korean resistance group, demanded to be treated as a prisoner of war. The judge brushed this aside, and he was hanged on March 26, 1910. His grave has never been found.
▲ Jangheung Bus Terminal
A kind man outside had some Buddhist-oriented things for sale, and I spent 10,000 won on three packages of lotus-leaf cookies. I handed one to Kyeong-hee. She took me back to Jangheung’s bus terminal, where we had a fond farewell. Unfortunately, I left the other cookies there. Perhaps the Awakened One would say this was my gift – however unintended – to some other traveler.
The Author
2021-08-26 �� 10:36:53
26 Language Teaching
Of Many Tongues Speaker, Learner, Teacher An Inter view with Aline Verduyn
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
September 2021
TEACHING & LEARNING
It is not very often that we run into a person who is a speaker of many languages. It is even rarer to meet a polyglot who has had formal instruction in not only learning languages but also in teaching. Our interview here is with one such person living amongst us here in Gwangju: Aline Verduyn. She has much to offer on speaking, learning, and teaching multiple languages. — Ed.
I
nterviewer: Thank you, Aline, for consenting to do this interview for the Gwangju News, especially since I know how busy your schedule is. To begin with, could you tell us a little about yourself in your pre-Korea life? Aline: My pleasure! I always like to make time for the Gwangju community! Born in Belgium, I took my first flight at 10 weeks! I had attended 18 schools in six countries (Nigeria, Egypt, Cameroon, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, and Belgium) by the time I graduated high school. We speak Dutch at home, but I attended international schools (taught in English), hence my native-like level of English. I have been an expat most of my life, a third-culture kid. Growing up, my family moved for my father’s job; now, I get to choose the countries I live in. My first choice will always be Korea. Interviewer: Having lived in so many other countries around the world. What was it that attracted you to Korea? Aline: A question so often asked! And yet, it is so hard to put my finger on it. I have had Korean friends in almost every school I attended. It was only in 2001 that I had the chance to land at Incheon Airport myself. My father had started working in Busan, which gave me the chance to discover Korea in all its glory. For me, Korea was not a strange, far-away country; rather, it felt like coming home. So, what did attract me? The snazziness of the technology, the cacophony of lit-up signs on every floor of every building, the bright green and red colors of the temples, the hanok houses, the cherry blossoms, the convenience of life in general (including 300-won coffee vending machines, clean subways, and free public restrooms), and then there is just… the universe pulling me towards Korea. So in a nutshell, and this answer I give to most Koreans, “I think I was Korean in a previous life.”
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Interviewer: I have heard that you are quite a polyglot. What languages do you speak, and how did you come to know them? Aline: Dutch is my mother tongue, which I only speak with my family. Since we lived abroad, school, friends, and the environment required me to speak English. Then there is French, another official language of Belgium, and a language I love. Besides learning it at school, we always had at least one French friend in every country to keep up our conversation skills. Living in Cameroon (a French-speaking country) as a teenager for two years also helped. In every country we lived in, we would pick up the basics of the local language. In Egypt, I learned to sing the national anthem in Arabic, and in Sri Lanka, I could sing it in Sinhala. In Vietnam, we learned the names of the fruits by going to the market, etc. We always knew our stay in each country was limited, so we could never fully learn a language, much to our regret. In high school, I studied German, which is not difficult for Dutch speakers. Spanish was my personal self-study project. When coming to Korea, I really challenged myself in learning a language that was in no way even remotely similar to any of the languages I had learned until then. But the previous languages helped. Some grammar reminded me of French, the sounds are almost all the same as Dutch, etc. When working in Dubai, I challenged myself yet again to study Arabic academically. So, that has given me “awareness” of seven languages. Three years ago, I returned to Korea in order to master Korean once and for all. Interviewer: So many languages you have learned, and from a young age! That brings me to my next question. When English was first being introduced at the elementary school level (Grade 3) in Korea in the late 1990s, there
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27
▲ Aline teaching about Belgium to middle school students. ◀ Aline in Grade 7 at American School of Yaounde in Cameroon (back row, third from left).
was a large group of parents and academics who opposed this, as they contended that learning a second language so early would interfere with their learning of Korean. You have learned second languages from a young age, so do you think this contention has any merit? Aline: I have noticed it to be unique to Koreans to fear the intrusion of a new language. This concept was foreign to me before coming here. Used to a multilingual environment, languages were always considered a plus, and the more the better. I once read that we create language-learning brain space until we are five years old, so the more languages you are exposed to by then, the better. Although there could be a delay in speech acquisition due to bilingualism, it is by no means a concern. It all straightens out before you reach adulthood, so if it is a consolation for Koreans, please do not worry! The earlier you start, the better.
Interviewer: In a situation where you and the person you are speaking with each speak two languages quite fluently, do you find that the two of you often mix those two languages in your conversation? Or do you ever find that you will use one of those two languages, and the person you are speaking with will use the other? Aline: Coming from Belgium, which is already a bilingual country to begin with, we are indeed used to hearing a certain language and responding in a different one. My hometown is close to Brussels, (officially bilingual) so both languages are used. To our neighbors on the left we spoke Dutch, and to the neighbors across the street we spoke French. At the store, the cashier will greet you in two languages, and you respond in the language you want to be addressed in. The cashier will then continue in your desired language. When conversing with friends,
September 2021
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Some cultural words and expressions are only possible in the local language, and so I do use the occasional word in a different language. For example, in Dubai all expats say Insh’allah instead of “fingers crossed,” and here in Korea, we all talk about ajumma and ajeossi to give an exact description of a character!
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Interviewer: That has always been my position as well. Next question: Korean is the only second language that I can say I “know,” and I am still struggling with it. Do you think you were born with a talent for learning languages? Or are you just super motivated and super devoted to putting in the time required? Or is it more about being in the language-speaking community of the language you were learning? Aline: When people are surprised to hear my list of languages, I just say, “Yes, I talk a lot!” I do believe some have more affinity towards languages than others. Some languages are acquired without choice, but for the ones we choose to learn, motivation goes a long way. As for me, I was surrounded by multiple languages all the time, and I enjoyed it. Impersonating accents, learning foreign words from friends, even watching TV I could not understand! I think this has prepared me for the Busan saturi (dialect), which I could somewhat imitate. I have yet to master the
Gwangju dialect, though! Interviewer: 할 수 있겠지라우. With so many languages in your speaking arsenal, do you ever get mixed up when speaking one foreign language and unintentionally add a word or phrase from a different foreign language? Aline: I do not get confused when juggling different languages, as my brain matches languages with faces. I could be speaking three different languages to three different people in the room, as long as I face the right person. Having said that, I do bring in some words from another language, and it does get tricky when not everyone is on board.
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28
▲ Aline teaching about Belgium for the Gwangju International Center in 2019.
▲ Aline in Grade 5 at Colombo International School in Sri Lanka (second row, fourth from left).
we speak one same language and stick to it. However, the occasional cultural expression could be taken from another language. I speak English to my scholarship friends here, however, since we all studied Korean, we often use Korean expressions that cannot be translated, like sugohaesseoyo or michigetta.
Radio. How is that working out? Is the program useful for listeners in learning either English or Korean? Aline: Absolutely. Listening skills contribute to speaking proficiency. Koreans often feel shy about their English level, so I encourage them to start with listening. Our program, Way Back With U, discusses current news, which exposes listeners to another set of vocabulary than what they are used to from their schoolbooks. We do not repeat every fact in both languages, but listeners get the gist of every story in either language. Even I am gaining Korean vocabulary every day!
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
September 2021
Interviewer: Over the years, I think you have been in many different language learning classrooms in many countries, both as a student and as a teacher. How does the Korean student compare or differ from others you are familiar with? Aline: Korean students, in my experience, are the most well-behaved and eager to learn! It is thanks to working at hagwons in Korea that I have nurtured my love for teaching English. I commend their parents who understand the importance of learning English. Interestingly, I have experienced very chatty and spontaneous students under the age of 11. I am not sure what happens then, but suddenly my students become quiet, shy, and selfconscious of their English-speaking ability. Could it be that all the memorization of grammar rules, which starts at that age, takes away from their speaking confidence? Interviewer: It could in part be due to the type of instruction they receive at that age; it could also in part be due to their cognitive development. I would like to ask you what your opinion is on establishing an English-only classroom as opposed to allowing Korean, or even using Korean in teaching, in the EFL classroom in Korea. Aline: Being able to speak Korean always gave me an advantage when teaching English to Korean students, especially the younger learners and beginners. For one, I could verify if they understood me, and also, it let me build rapport with the students. Without speaking Korean, time is lost explaining things in English, or misunderstandings could occur. On the other hand, for adults, it is indeed possible to conduct a class completely in English. That is how I was taught Korean. Interviewer: You have recently become involved in cohosting a bilingual English–Korean program on GFN
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Interviewer: Me too – both Korean and English! Well thanks, Aline, for giving so much time to this interview. I wish you the best with your radio program and also with the languages next on your language learning list! Photographs courtesy of Aline Verduyn.
The Interviewee Aline Verduyn just passed the two-year mark in Gwangju. She is determined to finish her master’s thesis this year while cohosting the evening show at GFN, Way Back With U. @gwangjumiin
The Interviewer David Shaffer has been involved in EFL and TEFL in Gwangju for many years. As GwangjuJeonnam KOTESOL vice president, he invites you to become involved in the chapter’s activities. He is also the editor-in-chief of the Gwangju News.
GWANGJU-JEONNAM KOTESOL UPCOMING EVENTS Check the Chapter’s webpages and Facebook group periodically for updates on chapter events and online activities. For full event details: Website: http://koreatesol.org/gwangju Facebook: Gwangju-Jeonnam KOTESOL
2021-08-26 �� 10:36:55
29
Everyday Korean By Harsh Kumar Mishra
Episode 45
운전할 줄 알아요? The Conversation 정민:
아르준 씨, 운전할 줄 알아요?
Jeongmin: Arjun, do you know how to drive?
아르준: 네, 알아요. 왜요? Arjun:
Yes, I do. Why?
정민:
제가 다음 주에 이사하는데 혹시 도와줄 수 있어요?
Jeongmin: I’m moving next week. If it’s okay, can you help me?
아르준: 당연하죠. 어떻게 도와드리면 돼요? Arjun:
Of course. How can I help you?
정민:
고마워요. 차로 짐 나르는 것을 도와주세요.
Jeongmin: Thank you. Please help me move the luggage by car.
Arjun:
Okay. But I don’t have a car.
정민:
렌터카를 빌릴 거예요. 아르준 씨는 면허증이 있죠?
Jeongmin: I’m going to rent a car. You have a driver’s license, right?
아르준: 네, 있어요. Arjun:
Yes, I do.
Grammar Points know how to do something” (알아요) or “to not know how to do something” (몰라요). If the verb stem ends in a vowel, use “~ㄹ 줄 알아요/몰라요,” and if it ends in a consonant, use “~을 줄 알아요/ 몰라요.” Ex: 한국어를 읽을 줄 알아요. I know how to read Korean. 기타를 칠 줄 몰라요. I don’t know how to play the guitar.
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Vocabulary Items 운전하다 이사하다 도와주다 혹시 짐 렌터카 빌리다 면허증
to drive to move (into a new place) to help maybe / perhaps / by chance luggage rental car to borrow driver’s license
Moving-Related Expressions 이삿짐 새집 보증금 월세 이동하다 전세 짐을 싸다 짐을 풀다 청소하다
things to be moved new place/house deposit money monthly rent to move / to travel lease to pack things to unpack things to clean
The Author
Harsh Kumar Mishra is a linguist pursuing his PhD in Korean linguistics at Chonnam National University. He is also a freelance Korean translator/ interpreter, content creator for TopikGuide.com, and does online Korean teaching through the same organization.
September 2021
~을/ㄹ 줄 알아요/몰라요: Use this with a verb stem to express “to
with verbs and adjectives to express a tag question. When using this ending, you already know about the point in question but just want to confirm it with the listener. In English, it’s similar to saying “Right?” at the end of a statement. Ex: 오늘 날씨가 시원하죠? The weather is refreshing today, isn’t it? 한국 음식을 좋아하죠? You like Korean food, don’t you?
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아르준: 좋아요. 근데 저는 차가 없어요.
~죠 : This sentence ending is the short form of “~지요” and is used
TEACHING & LEARNING
Do You Know How to Drive?
2021-08-26 �� 10:36:55
30 Gwangju Abroad
The Humanity in Humiliation:
양심 The Search for Yangsim in National Disasters
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
September 2021
COMMUNITY
By Ashley Sangyou Kim
T
he book Nokdu Bookstore’s May (녹두서점의 오월) combines three family members’ accounts of their roles in the May 18 Democratic Movement (5.18). In the epilogue, researcher Kim Jung-han finishes the book with a section titled “The Humanity in Humiliation”: In Nokdu Bookstore’s May and other 5.18 testimonies, the words humiliation, embarrassment, and shame reappear. These words describe the emotion people feel when they receive inhumane treatment and sense an urge to become inhumane themselves. These three witnesses, who endured in the boundary between the humane and inhumane with every fiber in their bodies, have maintained a human-like shame within themselves. This is the wisdom of normal folks. The senseless violence the three authors witnessed only emphasizes the bravery and empathy in the city’s response. Their shame is testament to the fact that the violence has not numbed their ability to feel remorse and responsibility for the deceased. These survivors knew what comfort and stability complacency could offer, but ultimately rejected the every-man-for-himself mindset that could have quieted their nightmares. Here, Kim acknowledges the undying yangsim (양심) in the three authors who survived 5.18 – even when the military used brutal force in an attempt to destroy it. The closest English translation of yangsim is “conscience,” but it does not have the same everyday ring to it like yangsim. It is the ultimate guard against selfishness, a mentality that relentlessly checks the consequences of one’s actions on others. In the 5.18 demonstrators’ case, yangsim is used in the most profound sense: Can you risk your life for the freedom of future generations? In other situations, the meaning is light-hearted, such as refusing the last cookie after you have had “almost the entire tray.” Thus, the word
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良心
yangsim means both the bare minimum ethical standard and the most ferocious demonstration of selflessness. Depending on one’s action, it can be worn as a cloak of shame or a badge of honor. As the political prisoner in Han Kang’s 5.18 novel Human Acts states: Do you know what that feels like, Professor? How invigorating it is to feel as if your whole being is thoroughly clean and benevolent. A marvelously clean jewel of yangsim entering my forehead and embedding itself there, the splendid spark of light. Yangsim is a double-edged sword. People with the most impenetrable yangsim fought on the streets until the very last battle and met their death. Additionally, what does it mean for the survivors to live after the disaster with yangsim? There comes a moment when the survivor’s own breath appears as proof of incompetence and selfishness – if they had sacrificed a little more, would they still be alive? Perhaps some recall leaving the civilian soldiers in the Provincial Office knowing what would happen to them in a few hours. Perhaps others remember their bent knees in front of the perpetrators. Or the shame could be triggered by the memory of something much more subtle, such as a detained protester’s desperation for the last rotten bean sprout in a starved prison cell. The weight that these witnesses carry for the rest of their lives is at times selfdestructive, but it is also a sign of the responsibility humans feel to each other. This responsibility gestures toward a possibility for a safe and thriving community in which people take their neighbors’ safety as their own. It is a feeling that triumphs over one’s own survival instincts – in fact, it is most pronounced when survival instincts are on high alert. Without the capability to share this yangsim at all levels of society, death on a mass scale is always possible. Understanding yangsim – its origins, ramifications, and altogether common absence – is the beginning of the
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31 necessary philosophical work to prevent all national disasters, not just deadly protests that marked South Korea’s turbulent past. At the end of all these events, it surprisingly matters little whether the deaths were caused by direct violence or neglect. From 5.18 to the Sampoong Department Store collapse of 1995, wails from people mourning their family members’ preventable deaths eerily sound the same: painful shrieks with bursts of words speculating on the victim’s last thoughts, regretting the moment of separation, and mourning what the future had held for them. These families share another commonality: They see the perpetrators walk away without any consequences, a light sentencing at best. Many families never even learn the full details of what caused the calamity, especially when the crime implicates powerholders. The most hurtful and common justification following one of these incidents is to blame the victims. This happened during the Icheon warehouse fire (April 29, 2020). After the disaster took 39 lives of construction workers, many news articles attributed the fire to employees’ irresponsible disposal of cigarette butts. However, the fire department firmly disagreed as the cause of the fire turned out to be an explosion of inflammatory material in the basement. There was no construction safety officer on site, which is required under Article 12 of the Occupation Safety and Health Act. Experts claim that the presence of a safety officer could have reduced or prevented the casualties.
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Ashley Sangyou Kim (김상유) is a senior at University of California at Berkeley studying rhetoric. She loves reading Toni Morrison, hiking, and baking with her little sister. She currently lives in Brea, California, but spent her early childhood in Gwangju. Her hope is to return to the city after graduation and work with the youth there.
September 2021
On the surface, 5.18 and the rest of the country’s postdemocratization national disasters look nothing alike. However, they tell the story of ordinary people thrown in extraordinarily difficult situations. Everything about the deaths, from the cause to the reactions, reveals multiple contradictions within Korean society that will never go away unless the citizens confront them head-on. Most significantly, these catastrophes demonstrate both the
The Author
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
Narratives like those about the cigarette butts in the Icheon fire always serve to hide the reality of a moneyover-safety mentality, inaction from people in positions of authority, or both. Most incidents fade from the public consciousness or are swept up in political battles before anybody can ask: Where was the yangsim? Where was it in the captain who escaped the sinking Sewol ferry, leaving the students behind? Where was it in the construction company that ignored a civil rights commission’s complaint about an unsafe building demolition in Gwangju’s Hak-dong just two months before the structure collapsed onto a busy street? Even after democratization, which made yangsim much less costly, South Korea still struggles with conscience – and no one knows who the next people might be to pay the price.
incredible strength and the pathetic lack of yangsim: The fabric of a society withers away every time people move on to the next disaster.
2021-08-26 �� 10:36:56
COMMUNITY
32 Expat Living
A Home Unexpected By Ashley Johnson
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
September 2021
J
uly 17, 2015. It was warm, even for so early in the morning, and dark outside. I can still remember the harsh, almost clinical lights of the airport as dawn and my departing flight to Incheon crept closer. My mother and father hugged me close, said their tearful goodbyes, and watched me funnel through the nearly deserted San Diego Airport security. After hours in the air, I remember the older Korean man who saw me sleepily struggling to make sense of the airline bibimbap and kindly mixed it all for me with a quiet smile. We hadn’t even landed yet, but his kindness was comforting, and I thought, even as my nerves bounced along on the tarmac as we descended, “Well, this whole thing is gonna be okay.” You know, I really thought I’d be back home in a year.
Can you still remember it? Was it that long ago for you? Do you remember your plane touching down, the confusion and the thrill of nervous excitement as you managed to get a bus ticket to Gwangju somehow, the bone-deep exhaustion of being brought to a tiny room, your tiny one-room apartment that immediately felt like a safe haven after your travels? Those first days of meeting bright-eyed students, adjusting to life as a teacher, putting on that role in the morning or afternoon and tailoring yourself to fit it. Those first nights out downtown, flashing red neon signs and red crosses, the sharp soured punch of tequila and lemon drowned out and sweetly chased by the crooners lining up behind the open mic, the comforting camaraderie of new friends seeking connection just like you.
I think most of us naively thought the same, too. “It’ll just be a year,” we think, “Two tops,” and then it’s back home, of course – back to everything that’s familiar to us – when we step on the plane, before we fly off into the unknown. But what no one ever prepares for, or can ever prepare for, is how deeply, irrevocably, and fundamentally Gwangju will change you.
The ebb and flow of newcomers, the shifting dynamics – the instant best friendships and the little tribes that form, as if by magic, all on their own. Camping trips and late nights, soju and noraebang and hoeshik (karaokes and dinner parties), the surprise of catching another sunrise, trips to jeweled ocean islands, endless river crossings, and tunneling through the very hearts of mountains. You’re so
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2021-08-26 �� 10:36:57
33
very new in the beginning, like someone wholly lost and grappling in the dark, but it’s the people of Gwangju, the spirit of this place, that manages to always illuminate your way forward. And before you know it, a year seems far too short to be in such a place. Others agree. You can’t leave yet. Two years should be enough. You grow more and move in closer to the heartbeat of the city. You feel protective of this little Village of Light, the community here. Proud of the sacrifices the people of Gwangju made in the past. Proud to live in the cool shadow of Mudeung-san, to make art here, to sing, to give back, to really live, it feels, for the first time.
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And when it’s time to go – you’ll know. I don’t know exactly when it hit me, but it did all at once. The deep-knowing of it’s time to leave. That’s the way it is, isn’t it? But, even as I say goodbye to the town I loved so well, to the City of Light that brightened my own, I know that it’ll always be a home for me wherever I go, and that that light resides in me, and in all of us who settled here, even if only for a little while. Gwangju is home. Your home. And it always will be a home in time where you really, truly, incandescently lived. Photographs courtesy of Ashley Johnson.
The Author
Ashley Johnson has been an English teacher in Gwangju since 2015. She’s a California native and resident hippie in the tight-knit music and arts scene, always endeavoring to bring a little burst of sunshine wherever she goes. @wildheart_haven
September 2021
Each year, a unique, distinct era, it seems. And those eras morph and evolve slowly over time, a constant trickling in and out of people who mean so much to you and don’t mean anything to you – at least not yet. Someone in passing one year, a mere acquaintance, a year later, the love of your life. Friends you’d die for one year, the next year hardly speaking. Walking for the first time past the places that will eventually hold deep significance for you, and then walking past them, walking through them, unknowingly for the very last time. An ever-changing landscape that feels rich and vibrant and full of life one moment, then cold and lonely and isolating the next, only to cycle back and renew itself all over again.
Whether you stay and grow old here, or become new and leave here, what I’ve found to be true about Gwangju is that it’s not simply a bubble of reality from the home before or the home that comes after. It’s not an in-between limbo that exists solely as a layover between one life and the next. No one era outshines the others. Each year, each season, each change here changes you.
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And then, somehow, you don’t really know when, maybe there was never a big “Aha” moment that signaled it for you, but at some point, Gwangju became more home to you than the home that came before it. The home you left feels so far off and quietly sitting on a forgotten shelf inside, a dusty relic to who you were and who you aren’t anymore. Gwangju is home now. Who are you without Gwangju?
But, always, Gwangju holds its own, throughout all upheavals, in its soft, encouraging glow. The backbone of the mountains the stability you need, and the river, the lifeblood, the nourishment needed to grow and expand. And always, that light is there to guide you.
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34 Opinion
The Rise of SuperBin
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
September 2021
COMMUNITY
By William Urbanski
◀ SuperBin machines are in various locations in Gwangju. Visit www.superbin.co.kr to download the app and find out where.
W
hen I was a boy in Canada, certain convenience stores had marvelous machines outside that resembled giant slot machines. Inserting empty recyclable aluminum pop cans into a special slot would activate the reels of the slot machine, and if they came up as a jackpot, you would win a certain prize like an ice cream or another can of pop. Besides unwittingly grooming adolescents to become future gamblers, these machines also got kids excited about recycling, to say the least. As I recall, I was not the only kid on my soccer team who begged his mom to take him to the recycling machine with the faint hope of winning a sugary snack. This initiative took place roughly in the early 1990s, just around the time that Canada began to ramp up its domestic recycling program as the country as a whole was coming to terms with the fact that recycling was not just a nice, optional thing to do, but an absolute necessity. In the last ten or so years in Korea, I have seen some big improvements in recycling programs and generally a greater overall awareness of the importance of the three Rs (recycling, reducing, and reusing), but after moving to a new area of the city, I am happy to report that the future of beverage container recycling is now because SuperBin has arrived in Gwangju. PRETTY, PRETTY PLEASE, DO NOT EVER THROW A BOTTLE IN THE GARBAGE. Around the world, there are many interesting systems that encourage people to never throw away a bottle, and I would like to talk about two in particular: Ontario,
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Canada, and Germany. In Ontario, all alcohol bottles can be returned to a retailer for a refund that ranges between ten and twenty-five cents. Given the Canadian tendency to consume, ahem, bountiful amounts of booze, these refunds add up so quickly that to toss bottles away (or more aptly, place them in the recycling bin) instead of bringing them to the store is literally throwing money away. Besides ensuring that virtually all alcohol bottles are brought back to be used again, this has some interesting social ripple effects. One positive one is that school classrooms and often sports teams (among other groups) routinely hold “bottle drives” in which kids go around asking for people to donate their empty bottles. After the bottles are refunded, the money is used for school supplies, jerseys, or whatever. On the other side of the social spectrum, certain individuals use recycling days (the days on which households put their recyclable materials by the road so that they will be collected) to walk the streets collecting booze bottles as a means to earn some quick cash. This may sound like a hard way to make money, but if done properly, it is not difficult to collect a hundred beer cans, which equals a quick ten bucks. I even knew one garbage man who set aside all the booze bottles people would throw away and at the end of his shift would stop by the store, return them, and make himself and extra couple of dollars. Brilliant! On a side note, some cities, including my hometown, actually have “anti-scavenging laws” to discourage this kind of behavior because it is seen as an invasive nuisance. More on that later.
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35 Germany takes it a step further by offering refunds on all plastic, glass, and aluminum beverage containers. For plastic and aluminum products, an individual just has to take the empties into a grocery store, insert them into a machine and – voila! – they get a coupon that can be redeemed for cold, hard cash or used as a discount against a grocery purchase. What I really like about this system is that the deposit on plastic bottles is quite high at 25 cents (in Euros, of course). In some cases, the deposit is even higher than the beverage inside! What this means is that if you bring back just four measly pop cans, you just earned yourself a Euro. Needless to say, you do not see many plastic cans or bottles in the garbage in Germany. In fact, one summer day in Berlin when I refused to give money to a panhandler, he practically demanded the plastic bottle I was holding, because he knew how much money it was worth! Unfortunately for him, I also knew how much it was worth and kept it.
Here is how it works.
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The really interesting this about this system is what happens to the bottles after they have been collected by the machines. The SuperBin company makes sure these materials are recycled properly and are turned into other consumer goods. Overall, I would give this system an enthusiastic two thumbs up. It encourages recycling, is easy to use by people of all walks of life, and even gives them a little money. A COUPLE OF SMALL DOWNSIDES Now that I have been using SuperBin for a good couple of weeks, I have noticed a few downsides, or things that some people may not like. The first is the way the plastic bottles must be prepared. Each bottle’s label must be removed and the bottle must be rinsed out. This process only takes a few seconds per bottle, but it is still a little bit of work. Secondly, in my opinion, the amount of points allocated per bottle (remember, these points can be redeemed for money) is far too low: only ten points (i.e., ten won) per bottle. That means there is not a realistic prospect of using this system to make money (at least in the same way that individuals and groups in Canada do). On top of this, there is a maximum of two hundred bottles that can be entered into the machine per person,
September 2021
First of all, a user has to download and register with the SuperBin app. This process is very simple and basically just requires providing a phone number. Then, a user has to take some bottles or aluminum cans to a SuperBin machine and enter them one by one. When all the empties are deposited, the user just has to punch in their phone number and the points are registered to their app. Using the machines is very easy, intuitive, and even kind
▲ Cut off the label, remove the cap, and place it in the machine to collect points. Easy and fun!
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DOMESTIC RECYCLING IN GWANGJU Until recently, there were relatively few options for disposing of plastic bottles and aluminum cans in Gwangju. Those who live in apartment buildings generally have a recycling station where papers, metal, plastic, and cardboard are separated into appropriate bins. For the many people who do not live in one of these well-managed and organized apartments, the best option is to collect recyclable materials into some sort of bag and put it by the side of the road on recycling day. Both of these systems work well enough but it is hard to deny that there are countless bottles and cans that find their way into garbage cans anyway. Clearly, the message that recyclable materials should never, ever get mixed with garbage has not hit home quite yet. Enter SuperBin: This clever system, based around devices resembling vending machines, not only provides another option to recycle but also incentivizes it by giving points that can be redeemed for cash.
of fun, as there is a certain satisfaction with seeing how many points you can collect. The other fantastic thing is that, at least at the SuperBin by my house, there is a booth with staff members who are eager to help. This easy-touse system is already proving extremely popular to the point that the machines have on more than one occasion become too full! (Incidentally, when this happened to me, the staff members just took my number and bottles, and then put them in the machine after it had been emptied out).
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36 per day. This means that even if a person were willing to collect and prepare a massive amount of bottles, the maximum financial gain is fourteen thousand won per week (two thousand won times seven days a week). I am not sure why the points are so low and why there is such a strict limit on the number of bottles, but I can speculate on two possibilities: First, the company does not want to encourage “scavenging,” which as I mentioned above, leads to people digging through recycling bins and garbage bags, annoying everybody in the process. Incentivizing “scavenging” tends to create a very small percentage of individuals who refund a disproportionally high number of bottles, overburdening the system. Again, the SuperBins are already popular enough that even regular use jams them up from time to time. So, it appears that SuperBin is designed just to encourage households to recycle their beverage containers and earn a little bonus while they are at it. The second reason for the two hundred per day limit and scanty reward per bottle is, from what I was able to find off the website (and app), SuperBin is only in the first stage of a much larger plan. They may be “testing the waters” so to speak and decide to up the deposits and limits later. I cannot wait to see.
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
September 2021
SUPERBIN FOR THE WIN! I would just like to make perfectly clear that this system is awesome. It encourages recycling and also cleverly leverages big data and its app to give people real-time feedback on how much they have recycled. Some people may say that taking the label off a bottle and rinsing it out is too much trouble, but the truth is that these are things you should be doing anyway. Interestingly, the Korean government has picked up on this and introduced legislation that strongly encourages manufacturers to not include these wasteful labels in the first place, saving them money and reducing hassle for the consumer at the same time. Perhaps the greatest achievement of SuperBin so far is that it has people looking at bottles and cans differently: not just as a nuisance but as things of value.
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Photographs by William Urbanski.
The Author
William Urbanski is the managing editor of the Gwangju News. He is married to a wonderful Korean woman and can eat spicy food. He can be found at @will_il_gatto
The Magic to Creating Toilet Paper By Chung Hyun-hwa
THE MAGIC A magic trick to get toilet paper out of “almost” nothing? All you have to do is collect. Collect what? Just collect milk, juice, and drink cartons or used batteries. How? I will tell you. A milk carton is not just paper. It is paper, but coated with thin PE plastic inside and outside, and batteries contain heavy metals, so they should be collected separately. To promote the recycling of these, each local community service center (주민센터, jumin senteo) will give you points toward toilet paper. Some centers just measure the weight to check the amount (e.g., two rolls for 1 kg or 100 points towards toilet paper). This is the magic! Too simple? One tip for collecting cartons is that you have to cut them open, and wash and dry them to prevent foul smells. Check your nearby jumin center for your “almost” free toilet paper! ALMOST ANYTHING Almost anything can be recycled, technically speaking. For instance, in a spaceship, everything is recycled because the resources are absolutely limited. Then why is the recycling rate so low in our life? One reason is because recycling is done only as long as it is cost effective. Then, what makes it so cost ineffective? Products are made with multiple materials, and unless they are already separated, recycling companies do not put in the effort to separate them. Of course, if the material is rare and expensive, such as gold, and the value surpasses the cost of the labor, it will turn into a gold mine. If the trash is “dirty,” which means it is not a single material, it is not going to be recycled because pre-treatment is going to be costly. TRASH OR RESOURCES? What should we do to get everything recycled? Rinse, dry, and detach labels before taking them out for recycling collection. At the sorting factory, separation is done manually on a conveyor belt. From the flood of collected items, only the items that are clean and easy to distinguish get recycled. Because of COVID-19, more trash is pouring
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Environment 37 out and even fewer portions are being recycled. What happens to the rest of the collected items that were not picked out for recycling? They are mostly incinerated. According to Dr. Suyeol Hong, a trash specialist, “Newly built incinerators dramatically reduced the release of hazardous gases, including dioxin, to a level 10 times lower than the standard. They leave only 4 percent of the input trash for landfill, generate electricity with the heat, and leave 15 percent of solid recyclable material. However, burning plastic still releases much greater amounts of carbon into the air than natural materials.” This is the main reason we should reduce the amount of trash, especially of plastic, in the first place. Recycling should be mandatory to minimize the carbon from incinerators. We should remember almost anything is technically recyclable. To Recycle or Not to Recycle – That Is the Question Items
Where to Recycle
Remarks
Soju, beer bottles
Convenience stores To get money back and supermarkets
Plastic
Transparent PET bottle recycling section
Rinse, squash, and put the cap on.
Other plastics section
Rinse and dry.
Shaving foam, spray cans
Can recycling section
Punch a hole in these to release gas to prevent explosion.
Bubble Wrap
Vinyl recycling section
Icepacks
Regular recycling section, if there is a separate collection bin.
Wrap it up with a towel and use it as a cooling pad during heat waves.
Styrofoam recycling section
White only
Styrofoam
To avoid soil contamination
If not sure, follow the recycling mark on the product, and always rinse first.
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Resources Gwangju Metropolitan City. (2021, August 9). 쓰레기 분리배출 이것만 기억하세요! 카드뉴스 http://www.gwangju.go.kr/ boardView.do?boardId=GR_0302000000 &pageId=www802 &searchSn =605# 2021.08.09 Kim, G. (2021. August 3). 소각은 재 4%와 탄소를 남기고. The Hankyoreh. https://h21.hani.co.kr/arti/society/environment /50728.html
The Author
Chung Hyun-hwa is from Gwangju and is currently leading Gwangju Hikers, an international eco-hike group at the GIC, while getting ready to teach the Korean language. Previously, she taught English in different settings, including Yantai American School and Yantai Korean School in China, and she has worked for the Jeju school administration at Branksome Hall Asia in recent years. She holds a master’s degree in TESOL from TCNJ in the U.S.
September 2021
PVC transparent Trash section food wrap, laminated paper (business cards, receipts, pictures), broken glass, broken florescent lights, porcelain goods, hard food waste (bones, eggshells, seashells, nutshells, and dried garlic cores)
ONE BIG BONUS TIP! Free home appliance pick-up service for recycling does in fact exist. (You can reserve pick-up on http://www.edtd. co.kr/ 폐가전제품 배출예약시스템). Big items such as refrigerators, washing machines, ACs, TVs, ovens, vending machines, treadmills, dishwashers, copy machines, electric water purifiers, electric water dispensers, air purifiers, microwave ovens, and dehumidifiers can be picked up individually. Five or more items, other than those mentioned above, can be picked up as a group. If you have one big item reserved to be picked up, it is possible to add other small items on the side. This is important because freon gas in air conditioners and heavy metals in appliances should be collected properly so as not to affect the environment.
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Phamacy
COMMUNITY
Medicine
▲ Dong-gu District’s recycling station with planter on top in its residential areas.
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www.gwangjunewsgic.com
September 2021
CULTURE & ARTS
38 Culture & Arts
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39
Experience Gwangju’s ACE Fair Korea’s Most Comprehensive Cultural Content Exhibition By Melline Galani
I
f you have lived long enough in Gwangju and you are into animation, games, and characters, then you definitely know about ACE Fair (Asia Content and Entertainment Fair), Korea’s most comprehensive cultural content exhibition. The fair includes broadcast, audiovisual, animation, character, game, edutainment, and VR/AR content, as well as all types of licensing content.
While living here, I have taken my children to ACE Fairs several times, and we have loved them. The event brings together various bigwigs and top-notch companies in the broadcast and audiovisual spheres and allied industries,
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Photographs courtesy of Kimdaejung Convention Center and Melline Galani.
GWANGJU ACE FAIR 2021 Dates: September 9–12, 2021 (Thur.–Sun.) Venue: Kimdaejung Convention Center Address: 30 Sangmunuri-ro, Seo-gu, Gwangju Website: https://www.acefair.or.kr/ Email: os@acefair.or.kr Phone: (062) 611-2247
The Author
Melline Galani is a Romanian enthusiast, born and raised in the capital city of Bucharest, and is currently living in Gwangju. She likes new challenges and learning interesting things, and she is incurably optimistic. Melline loves living life as it is, and she is looking forward for this year’s ACE Fair. @melligalanis
September 2021
ACE Fair is one of the UFI-certified exhibitions. UFI is the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry. The UFI “Approved Event” label is a global stamp of authority ensuring high-quality exhibitions. Strictly complying with UFI’s international standards, Approved Events provide exhibitors and visitors with a sound basis for business decisions.
In earlier years, there were many activities and experience events for children of all ages. There was a board game area where parents could enjoy time playing games with their kids, and there have been other hands-on activities, photo zones, and drone and VR experiences. If you have not been to an ACE Fair yet, do not miss it this year. Though some extra safety measures will be taken, not even COVID-19 can keep us away from the most awaited fair of the year. See you at the 2021 ACE Fair! www.gwangjunewsgic.com
Since its beginning in 2006, ACE Fair has become the largest specialized exhibition held annually at the Kimdaejung (Kim Daejung) Convention Center. It is enjoyed by global media professionals as well as everyday consumers. The fair has grown each year, and is now a mega cultural event consisting of key players from all over the world along with some local mid-size companies. Varied service providers to the content and entertainment industry are also participating, displaying and promoting their services. In addition, manufacturers and suppliers of various hardware and software are also present at the fair. For example, in 2018, 400 companies from 32 countries participated in the event. If you are curious about specific data on each year, please visit the fair’s website (www.acefair.or.kr) offered in English, Korean, and Chinese.
showcasing numerous national and international companies. Moreover, this is the place where you can buy anything related the the exhibition – from stickers to games, character figurines, toys, books, clothes, and so much more. It is also the only place where you can enjoy some cosplay – and trust me, it is really great to take pictures with those people.
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40 Culture & Arts
The Land of Hats
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
September 2021
CULTURE & ARTS
By Diane Dooley
W
hen the drama Kingdom first aired on Netflix in 2019, international viewers were fascinated by the “fancy hats” worn by its male characters: Joseon scholars, royalty, and soldiers. These wide-brimmed hats, embellished with feathers and beaded strings, as well as the actors who wore them, attracted domestic and international media interest for several weeks. Why hats? Today, hats are primarily seen as a fashion accessory, but hair has always held a great deal of symbolic significance in societies. Joseon Korea (1392–1897) was no exception: Hairstyles and the various accessories used to maintain and decorate them during the Joseon Dynasty were imbued with sociocultural meaning. Men’s headwear, in particular, became an emblem of the Joseon Dynasty to the extent that foreign missionaries frequently referred to Korea as “The Land of Hats” in their writings. HAIR AND NEO-CONFUCIANISM Joseon society was, of course, dominated by neoConfucian ideology. Hats and hairstyles played a significant role in maintaining Joseon’s strict hierarchical structure. While it is difficult to define neo-Confucianism because it meant different things to different intellectuals, kings, and individuals at different points throughout the Joseon Dynasty’s long history, the nature of neoConfucianism as practiced during the Joseon Dynasty can be broadly characterized by the maintenance of a strict social hierarchy in which relationships were inherently unequal. These relationships were maintained through various, highly ritualized behaviors and ceremonies. And what behavior is more ritualized than personal grooming? Various hairstyles and headgear were imported to Joseon Korea from Ming China, but with the demise of Ming in 1644 and the rise of neo-Confucianism in Korea, various changes occurred to styles of dress. This was a gradual process: Customs and traditions from the preceding Goryeo Dynasty did not disappear overnight, nor did
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people always accept new government regulations on dress enthusiastically. Much like today, personal preferences sometimes won the battle against ideologically or socially accepted modes of dress. The relationship between parent and child – an important relationship to neo-Confucian ideologues – is particularly significant in assessing the significance of Joseon hairstyles. Confucianism proscribed the cutting of hair as it was said that the entirety of a man’s body – including the hair on his head – belonged to his parents. Hairstyles during the Joseon Dynasty were therefore based on uncut hair; long hair, maintained correctly, functioned as a conspicuous marker of filial piety. Therefore, all males typically tied their long hair up in high, tight topknots (sangtu, 상투), which James Scarth Gale described in his writings on Korea as being tied “tight enough to squeeze tears from the eyes.” As Gale’s description vividly highlights, these hairdos were severe, almost restrictive – a reflection of Joseon’s rigid social order.
“It is clear that hat and hair etiquette were taken seriously by Joseon gentlemen.” Age was an important marker of relative status in Joseon, as it is in contemporary Korean society, and the topknot represented male adulthood. The capping (gwallye, 관례) of the groom was a preliminary wedding rite in which hair played a prominent role. It was known as the “adding of the three things” (samga, 삼가): First, the groom’s washed hair was tied up in a topknot in front of family members and guests. After that, a hat known as the gat (갓) was adorned, and this was secured by a third item, a practical headband (manggeon, 망건). This ceremony
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41
▲ Sangtu-gwan (topknot covers) worn by yangban men and used to cover the topknot and secure it to one’s head. (National Folk Museum of Korea)
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September 2021
▲ Gat (left) and a gat-jib (hat case). (National Folk Museum of Korea)
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42 initiated the groom into adulthood prior to his nuptials.
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
September 2021
THE GAT The wide-brimmed gat is the representative hat of Joseon Korea. This hat became an extension of men’s bodies during the Joseon Dynasty. Not only did these hats indicate social status, age, rank, and function as a conspicuous marker of filial piety, but they also represented the neo-Confucian idea of decorum: Maintaining one’s hair in the correct way was considered a key aspect of proper gentlemanly behavior. “Gat” is a general term used for any hat with a brim; several different styles of gat were made. The heungnip (흑립), as the representative hat for officials over the centuries, was the frontrunner in men’s headwear during the Joseon Dynasty. This hat was worn exclusively by yangban (양반) men who had passed the civil service examinations. Yangban men would not dare be seen outside without wearing one of these dapper hats – a tangible representation of their social status.
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HEADWEAR AND PROPRIETY Many changes to the gat occurred throughout the Joseon Dynasty: in shape, size, brim width, as well as the materials used to construct and decorate them, fluctuating with the economic and fashion trends of the day. For example, philosopher Yi Mun-deok considered widerbrimmed gat to reflect an “indolent and arrogant disposition.” Styles also differed according to rank – only members of the royal family were allowed to use gold and only officials from the first to third rank were permitted to use silver for the embroidery of their hats. ◀ Top: Two hat straps. (National Folk Museum of Korea) ◀ Bottom: Heungnip hats in different shapes and sizes. The accepted shape of the hat, and the width of its brim, changed significantly throughout the Joseon Dynasty. (National Folk Museum of Korea)
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43 It is clear that hat and hair etiquette were taken seriously by Joseon gentlemen. In fact, yangban men considered showing their bare topknot hairstyle to be “indecent” – even in the privacy of their own homes. Unless they were sleeping, their topknots remained covered at all times. For this reason, various types of comfortable headwear intended for use in the home were introduced. Joseonstyle loungewear, in a sense. Various types of geon (건) and gwan (관) were used for this purpose. Men also wore headbands, typically made from horsehair underneath their gat. This headband was worn around the head and tied at the back: Its purpose was to prevent disheveling of the topknot and to secure other headgear in place. Upperclass men were rarely seen with loose hair. Paintings and written accounts of corporal punishment from the Joseon Dynasty depict images of disheveled topknots, which suggests a link between loose hair and loose morals: Only those from the lowest social strata or criminals would be seen with even a single hair out of place.
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Sources
Ch’oe, U., et al. (2012). Gat: Traditional headgear in Korea. Kungnip Munhwajae Yŏn’guso. Chung Y. (1998). The art of the Korean potter. In J. Smith (Ed.), Arts of Korea. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Cumings, B. (1997). Korea’s place in the sun. W. W. Norton. Deuchler, M. (1992). The Confucian transformation of Korea. Council on East Asian Studies, Harvard University. Gale, J. S. (1909). Korea in transition. Young People’s Missionary Movement of the United States and Canada. Nelson, S. M. (1998). Bound hair and Confucianism in Korea. In A. Hiltebeitel & B. D. Miller (Eds.), Hair: Its power and meaning in Asian cultures. State University of New York Press. Paik, H. I. (2000). Constructing “Korean” origins. Harvard University Asia Centre. Park, H. (2010). (Ad)Dressing Joseon portraiture: The British Museum’s portrait of Chae Je-Gong. Orientations, 41(8).
The Author
Diane Dooley is originally from Glasgow, Scotland, and has a BA in Korean and an MA in Korean literature. She enjoys reading, coffee, and talking about Korea to anyone willing to listen. She currently lives and works in Gwangju as an English teacher and is passionate about education. dianedooley@naver.com
September 2021
BEYOND FASHION The tightly bound topknots preferred by Joseon men,
Photographs courtesy of National Folk Museum of Korea.
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
TOPKNOT RIOTS As a result, over time, the topknot hairstyle itself became as much a part of Joseon male masculine identity as the Confucian principles of which it was symbolic. Towards the end of the Joseon Dynasty, during the Kabo Reforms (1894–1896), the topknot became the subject of much debate and even led to riots. The Kabo Reforms were a set of Japanese-backed reforms introduced during the reign of King Gojong primarily as a response to growing civilian unrest, specifically the Donghak Peasant Rebellion, a series of civilian struggles against oppressive tax and labor laws. These civilian struggles originated here in Jeolla-do, near Jeong-eup, and spread throughout the country. One of the reforms, introduced in 1895, was an edict stating that all adult men must cut off their topknots (danbal-lyeong, 단발령, or “Short Hair Edict”) for reasons of “hygiene and efficient transaction of business.” This edict caused social and even economic turbulence for several months. James Scarth Gale made note of one man who committed suicide to avoid cutting his hair: “As a lad, this young prince had been taught to count every hair on his head … a link that bound him to his father and mother.” This was a common sentiment: Prominent Confucian scholar and politician Choi Ik-hyeon stated, “I would rather have my head cut off than my hair.” The resulting chaos even caused inflation: Farmers were afraid to enter the capital because they thought they would have their hair cut off. In fact, the fear of having one’s topknot cut off even featured in folklore: Mischievous creatures known as dokgebi (독개비) were said to cut off men’s topknots while they were walking in the street “unawares” – and thus one must ensure that one’s hair is tightly bound at all times!
secured in place and covered by various hats and accessories, reflect various neo-Confucian principles: filial piety, decorum, propriety, adherence to a strict social hierarchy, and knowing one’s place in society. However, hats and hairstyles meant more to Joseon men than a mere physical representation of Confucian principles. They also came to symbolize Joseon as a nation. These hats became the representative image of Joseon abroad as a tangible manifestation of Joseon male masculine identity as well as national identity – especially when Joseon began to gradually lose its sovereignty to its more powerful neighbors.
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www.gwangjunewsgic.com
September 2021
CULTURE & ARTS
44 Photo Essay
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Tobacco Farming in Muan County By Isaiah Winters
A
s farmers, my in-laws are industrious people. But hard work alone doesn’t guarantee a steady income in such an unpredictable market. Fortunately, my in-laws are also highly adaptive people. So, in order to ensure steady returns on the side, they’ve recently switched to farming a cash crop with a guaranteed buyer – in this case, tobacco bought by the government. Since last fall, I’ve gotten a few opportunities to help out with the air-curing and bundling processes, which are featured in this month’s photo essay. www.gwangjunewsgic.com
So far this year, I’ve helped hang heavy strands of tobacco harvested from the lowest parts of the tobacco stalk. If the internet is to be trusted, these lower sections are often referred to as the bote and volado portions, which have the lowest oil content and thus are mostly used for combustion. As you go up the stalk, you get to the seco, viso, and ligero portions, each of which increases in oil content and potency. Later this year, I’ll take a few of the higher leaves home and share them with a few friends to see how Honam-grown tobacco tastes.
September 2021
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www.gwangjunewsgic.com
September 2021
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Pages 44–45: After a few weeks of air curing, the leaves turn a lovely golden brown. Facing page: ◀ Upper left: Local and foreign day laborers help tie up each leaf. ◀ Upper right: Although it was hotter than Hades in this greenhouse, the aroma alone almost made me a cigarette addict. ◀ Lower left: By harvest’s end, four of these large greenhouses will be filled end to end with hanging tobacco. ◀ Lower right: The end of a hard day’s work.
www.gwangjunewsgic.com Born and raised in Southern California, Isaiah Winters is full-time English teacher and volunteer writer, photographer, and copy-editor for the Gwangju News. More of his work can be found on @d.p.r.kwangju.
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September 2021
The Photographer
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48 Book Review
Isaac’s Storm by Erik Larson
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
September 2021
CULTURE & ARTS
Reviewed by Michael Attard
I
read this book after reading three of Erik Larson’s other books, which I had enjoyed immensely. Otherwise, a history/science book about a hurricane would probably not have drawn my interest. I was not disappointed, although I found myself less punctilious when reading some of the scientific passages. But for those interested in science, particularly the weather, the discussion of isobars, barometric pressure, centrifugal force, and ocean swells may be appealing.
multitude of other characters depicting an optimistic life at the end of the 19th century. Everyone in Galveston had experienced storms, but for the most part, the citizens, including Isaac, did not fear that a hurricane could hit Texas.
The central character is the real Isaac Cline, born in 1861. Like most people of his time, he was born on a farm. But unlike others, Isaac pursued education and his love of science. He said, “I made up my mind that I would seek some field where I could tell big stories and tell the truth.” He chose the weather. In 1889, he took over the Galveston, Texas, weather station. The city is built on an island off the Texas coast in the Gulf of Mexico. The highest point was 8.7 feet or 2.65 meters above sea level. We do not generally think about it, but all of our institutions had a beginning, including the weather service. In the United States it began under the auspices of the U.S. military’s Signal Corps in 1880. It may seem strange to us today, but at the time, its founding was controversial. Consider, this was a time when lightning was barely understood, tornadoes not at all. “Some critics argued men should not try to predict the weather, because it was God’s province.” Also, weather predictions had a poor record. It was a time when captains regularly sailed their ships into the worst of storms and weather forecasting was a list of probabilities. Along with Isaac, the author introduces his wife Cora, their three daughters, Isaac’s brother Joseph, and a
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In the first part of the book, there are many stories about earlier hurricanes, some of which had profound effects upon history. The author relates experiments by scientists such as Galileo, the results of which astonished the leading scientists of the day. In one such experiment, Galileo proved that air had weight. The significance of this was not immediately recognized, but it would have an immense meteorological significance.
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Much of the story revolves around the politics and bureaucracy of the weather bureau. Larson does not directly conclude that the loss of life in Galveston in 1900 was due to mismanagement, but I think he makes it easy for the reader to connect the dots.
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I do not know why Erik Larson chose to write this book, but reading it reinforced my belief that life is fragile, the unexpected does happen, and we need to respect nature in all its forms. Isaac died in 1955 at the age of 93.
The Reviewer
Michael Attard is a Canadian who has lived in Gwangju since 2004. Though officially retired, he still teaches a few private English classes. He enjoys reading all kinds of books and writes for fun. When the weather is nice, you may find him on a hiking trail.
September 2021
It took a few days for help to arrive and even longer for most to comprehend the magnitude of destruction and death. While many “bore their losses quietly,” and “grieved without demonstration,” there was no escaping the “scent of putrefaction.” With intense heat, it became clear that burning of the bodies was necessary.
We do know, however, that Isaac wanted to have his say but could not. Would an acknowledgement of failure change anything? Did Isaac have a responsibility to protect the credibility of the weather bureau? There was evidence, however, that Isaac quietly disputed claims that hurricane warnings had been raised. Then of course, there was one simple, all-encompassing question: “If the bureau had done such a great job, why did so many people die?” It appears that at least 6,000 people died, but estimates are more than 10,000 if those who perished in low-lying towns on the mainland are included.
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
In the U.S., there was a long-standing disregard for information gathered and disseminated by the Cuban weather service. The sentiment was that the Cubans were too quick to use the word “hurricane,” thus leading to unnecessary panic. Authorities went as far as to ban all cables about the weather sent over Cuban-owned telegraph lines. It is important to note that this was at a time when Galveston was in stiff competition with Houston for becoming the major port city in the gulf. Hurricane worries were counter to Galveston boosterism. But the hurricane did come. And Larson gives us an account of the devastation it wrought upon the community. The sturdiest of homes were swept and blown from their foundations, pulled apart by wind and wave, and sent on by the forces of nature to crash into and destroy other structures, striking and killing man and beast along the way. St. Mary’s orphanage looked like a fortress of brick. Would the 93 children and ten nuns survive? On a train carrying 95 people, 85 decided that it was best to stay put. Ten decided to leave. Who made the correct decision? Isaac had his daughters, but where was his wife? Large ships anchored when the storm hit. Were they still there the following morning?
In the aftermath, how did Isaac feel? He was the respected weatherman, but he had obviously not seen what was coming, at least not until it was much too late. Was he responsible in some way? He may have felt so, but this did not stop him from taking credit for saving thousands of lives. Larson, the author, does not act as judge. He simply does not know enough to conjecture what Isaac thought, knew, should have known, or should have done, or at least he does not say so.
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50 GFN Radio
Face2face A Heart-to-Heart from GFN
CULTURE & ARTS
As this radio program is in an interview format, I took the liberty of writing the article as an interview as well. — Arlo
A
rlo, the Host: Please tell us about the show. Arlo, the Interviewee: Face2face is a one-hour talk show that airs at 7–8 p.m. on GFN every Sunday night. I am the host, which means that I interview the guests. The show has a great writer, Jang Mi-rang (장미랑), who writes insightful questions as well as books interesting people to come on the show. The show is produced by Kim Mi-young (김미영), who is GFN’s chief producer as well as the person who first hired me seven years ago! I was very excited to work with her again, as she was my producer for my first years at GFN.
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
September 2021
Why is it named “face2face”? The first and most obvious reason is that it is meant as a joke. Describing humor, Kant wrote, “Laughter is an affection arising from the sudden transformation of a strained expectation into nothing.” I think that perfectly describes my intention. Radio is by definition only audio and over distance. It is the opposite of face-to-face. This is the paradox. Then there is the implied meaning of the phrase. If you tell someone you want to do something “face-to-face,” it has a serious connotation. It might be a date, it might be a breakup, or it might be a meeting with your boss. I think it also suggests authenticity, maybe because it has a parallel structure with “heart-to-heart.” Finally, there is the pandemic. I miss seeing people’s faces, smiles on the street, and responses to my exaggerated expression when I am trying to make a joke. A lot of foreigners I know are quite homesick, and all of the Zooms and messengers in the world cannot make up for the feeling of being in a room with your family and friends. I think that a year and a half of mask-wearing and long-distance communication has left us all wishing for a little more face-to-face. This show is meant to make you feel closer, in distance as well as in empathy and understanding.
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Stylistically, I chose lowercase letters to make it less pretentious, and the number “2” is a transparent attempt to seem hip. Also, it is a play on the fact that the episodes are generally a conversation with two people: host and guest, though at times there are multiple guests. Who do you interview? Are they mostly foreigners or Koreans? The tagline for the show is “These are the great stories of ordinary people.” They are people from different walks of life and different countries, telling us their story of how they got here, what they are doing, and where they will go next. We try to invite guests that are related to something topical in the news. Our first guest was the representative of the local Myanmar community who spoke about resistance to the coup. When there was news of changing tattoo laws in Korea, we invited a local tattoo artist. Other guests come in because they are visiting Gwangju. Two students and a professor associated with the Critical Language Scholarship Program were recent guests. They are here for a short time for an intensive language program. Gwangju is a city of art, and so we also try to have a lot of local content creators as well. Local musicians, YouTubers, puppeteers, and actors have appeared on the show. Finally, some of our guests are people who we think have an interesting story to tell. It could be because of their interesting work, such as a funeral director or a veterinarian. Or it may be that they are involved with something important, like domestic adoption or environmental preservation. What do listeners get from the show? Like any of GFN’s programming, we are serving two
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51 different groups of listeners. Of course, anyone can listen to enjoy our entertaining and informative programming, but some listeners are also listening to improve their language ability. This program offers some candid conversation with guests for whom English may be a first or second language. In either case, it is a great opportunity to pick up natural speaking patterns. Diverse guests with different cultural backgrounds offer diverse perspectives and experiences that all listeners can benefit from learning about. Sometimes I hope a guest can really change some minds. For example, a group of guests who had adopted children domestically may have given some listeners a completely new perspective of something that has been traditionally stigmatized in this society. A Korean high school student who studied in schools in four different countries offered words of inspiration to students and teachers, as well as contrasting education and learning styles. Also, I think foreigners living here in Korea can definitely benefit from interviews with Korean guests. Whether it was a professor giving advice about learning the Korean language, or a Korean veterinarian giving tips on raising pets here, there is plenty of informative content that can help expats learn and adjust. What do you enjoy about this job? I think it is a lot of fun to interview people. I do not like small talk. I would prefer to learn something interesting about someone. The truth is that most people enjoy talking about themselves, so with a little coaxing, the shyness of being in the studio melts away, and it becomes a natural dialogue. The longer format of the show gives a chance to break the ice as well as an opportunity to get into more depth with the interview subject.
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
Are there any changes to the show format for its second season? Starting this fall, we are hoping to book more interviews with people outside of the city. Of course, we would like to have guests that offer our listeners a special opportunity to learn about something new. The pandemic has made this kind of thing more difficult, but hopefully as the country opens back up, we will have more opportunities for high-profile guests. How can listeners get involved? First and foremost, by listening! Also, if someone is interested in coming on the show or knows someone who would be a great guest, they can contact us through social media or personally. This is community radio, so it is important to have that kind of direct engagement, face-to-face.
The Host
Arlo Matisz is an economics professor and the host of GFN’s face2face. He is big-headed and big-hearted.
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From Top: Dr. Kim Eun Kyung, a veterinarian; Funeral Director Choi Giwon; Arlo, the host; Myonayzar, a representative of Myanmar in Gwangju.
September 2021
Photographs courtesy of Arlo Matisz.
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52 GFN Radio
Top of The Drop By Daniel J. Springer If you are a lover of music, especially of new releases, keep ahead of the curve with Top of the Drop. Each month, Daniel Springer, “Danno,” picks his favorite newly released tunes and gives a heads-up on upcoming albums and EPs that you might want to keep on your radar. — Ed.
CULTURE & ARTS
Joan As Police Woman (feat. Tony Allen & Dave Okumu) – “Take Me To Your Leader”
For those unfamiliar, Joan Wasser is a long-time (read: since the 90’s) veteran singer-songwriter who has released under the Joan As Police Woman moniker since 2004. This is the lead single to her upcoming album, due out in early November. If this is any indication of the quality within, this is going to be a superlative record. Accompanied by the late father of afrobeat Tony Allen and The Invisible’s Dave Okumu, this is a restive, choppy, borderline jarring piece held together with a deep baritone piano line and the smooth vocals of Joan and company. The Solution Is Restless, Joan As Police Woman’s ninth career LP, drops November 5.
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
September 2021
Silk Sonic – “Skate”
After the release of “Leave the Door Open,” the ultrasensual soul-dipped initial single to Anderson. Paak and Bruno Mars’s upcoming album An Evening with Silk Sonic, it was rather hard to conceive how they could possibly come close let alone best that perfection. Well, no worries there as the second single “Skate” is another retro soul dance gem that is absolutely pitch perfect on the production side. For those who are more optically oriented, the video is a street-level rollerskating afro-puffed rainbow of a visual that is just as good.
Alice Russell – Heartbreaker (Sefi Zisling Remake)
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One of the best soul singers in the UK is back with a deluxe edition reissue of To Dust, which is her 2013 introduction to the world for most fans out there. This tune sees a jazz-centric version with a good bit more than a hint of afrobeat tossed
in from Tel Aviv-based veteran producer and multiinstrumentalist Sefi Zisling.
Khruangbin – “First Class” (Soul in the Horn Remix)
The band that says they are from Houston, Texas just for cover of their true intergalactic heritage here on earth are back with one of the best collab remix albums of the past couple of years. While this remix album has become a huge phenomenon for major artists like Khruangbin over the past couple of years, this remix LP of 2020’s Mordechai is set apart by not only having some great known names like Quantic and Soul Clap on there, but also giving true underground DJ’s and producers like NYC’s Natasha Diggs and Chicago vet Ron Trent a shot in the major limelight. Mordechai Remixes is available everywhere now.
Nemo Cee – “Sunday Afternoon”
This is the opening tune to the artist’s three track EP called simply A. Born in Tijuana, Nemo has bounced between Mexico and California during his life and is now based in Oaxaca. While he may not have a huge profile by any stretch, the beats as evidenced here are almost as righteous as his political side, which he puts right in his bio.
IDER – “cbb to b sad”
One of our tunes of the week for August, this is a lovely lamentation on the dishonesties that occur internally between couples on an everyday basis, which the London femme duo call “the ick.” Explaining further, they state, “It’s a confession to staying in a relationship that you know isn’t right for you because you
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53 don’t want to deal with the inevitable sadness that comes with ending it.” IDER’s sophomore LP shame dropped August 6 and is a very quality listen front-to-back.
MF Robots – “Brand New Day”
You might get thrown off by the “MF” in the moniker, but it only means “Music For,” ya dig? This is the new project founded by Brand New Heavies originator Jan Kincaid and former band vocalist Dawn Joseph. “Brand New Day” is the lead single to their upcoming Break The Wall LP, which drops November 26, so definitely do mark it.
PawPaw Rod – “Thin Lines”
PawPaw Rod is Rodney Hulsey, a singer and rapper hailing from Oklahoma City, who blends ’60s soul with the cadence of hip hop — like a woozier Bill Withers or Gil ScottHeron. A PawPaw Rod EP is out September 17 on Godmode, which is the label behind Channel Tres, Yaeji, and JPEGMafia amongst others.
Alanna Royale – “Fall In Love Again”
Bicurious – “Palapalapa”
Paul & The Tall Trees with Adrian Quesada – “Love Doesn’t Need To Be Heavy”
Lead man Paul Schalda and his famed band are back
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Jungle – Loving In Stereo (August 13) Davendra Banhart and Noah Georgeson – Refuge (August 13) Junior Mesa – Cirque du Freak (August 13) Lorde – Solar Power (August 20) Villagers – Fever Dreams (August 20) Big Red Machine – How Long Do You Think It’s Gonna Last (August 27) Chvrches – Screen Violence (August 27) Steve Gunn – Other You (August 27)
Watch Out for These
Little Simz – Sometimes I Might Be Introvert (September 3) LANY – gg bb xx (September 3) Manic Street Preachers – The Ultra Vivid Lament (September 3) Amyl and the Sniffers – Comfort To Me (September 10) James Blake – Friends That Break Your Heart (September 10) Park Hye Jin – Before I Die (September 10) The Vaccines – Back In Love City (September 10) Jose Gonzalez – Local Valley (September 17) Brittany Howard – Jaime Reimagined (September 24) Poppy – Flux (September 24)
The Author
Daniel J. Springer (aka “Danno”) is the creator, host, writer, editor, and producer of The Drop with Danno, broadcasting nightly on GFN 98.7 FM in Gwangju and 93.7 FM in Yeosu between 8 and 10 p.m. Prior to this, he was a contributor to several shows on TBS eFM in Seoul, along with being the creator and cohost of Spacious and White Label Radio on WNUR in Chicago.
You can find “The Damyang Drop,” his monthly collaborative playlist with The Damyang House, on YouTube and Spotify. @gfnthedrop
September 2021
For those of you unitiated, this is an absolutely thrashing two piece band out of Ireland that first came to our attention in 2019 with the release of “I Don’t Do Drugs, I Just Sweat A Lot,” which was a smashing epic of metal, jam rock, and just general cheekiness. Now comes the band’s debut LP (re) constructed, which dropped July 30 and has nine songs that clock in at a hefty, shape-shifting 46 minutes and change.
August Releases
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
This is part of an as-yet unsigned LP that is getting majorly touted by everybody who’s heard it in full. Nonetheless, this single was dropped in July by Colemine Records and, like the rest of the album, was produced by Monophonics maestro Kelly Finnigan. The artist herself hails from Boston and is now based in Nashville, hitting the road on the West Coast leg of the delayed-due-to-Covid Monophonics “It’s Only Us” tour, which kicks off in September.
as of August 6 with their latest EP, I Understand. While obviously not as long as 2019’s So Long fulllength, this one is also stylistically different, with an even more pensive and pausing approach to the arrangements punched in by Paul’s own sensical pleadings and explanations to facilitate a far better life and world.
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www.gwangjunewsgic.com
September 2021
CULTURE & ARTS
54 Webtoon
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September 2021
Yun Hyoju was born and raised in Gwangju, and is married to an Irish guy named Alan. For some time now, she has been working on her short comic, Alan and Me, which is about her daily life. She publishes a new comic every week on Instagram. It can be found at @alan_andme.
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
The Author
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CROSSWORD PUZZLE Created by Jon Dunbar
ACROSS 1 5 9 10 11 12 13 15 17 18 19 20 21 23 24 25 26 28 29 31 33 34
Play area (2 words) Palindromic Swedish pop group Homer Simpson’s exclamation Type of skate park ramp Make the engine race Hedgehog of video games 1237 rebel Lee 1988 box office bomb “___ and Me” Alternative to Casses Served with yunhoe-mae Borrower’s promise Opposite of nay What a cow chews Animal doctor The night before Planner Desert drinking hole Michael or Guevara The babies in Shilpa Rani’s book Painter Baek-ryeon Wine flavor Equipment for “extreme sports facility”
DOWN 1 2 3 4 6 7 8 10 12
Look for the answers to this crossword puzzle to appear in October in Gwangju News Online (www.gwangjunewsgic.com).
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14 16 22 23 27 30 32
“The Man Who Owned ___” One of the Samhan states Overnight flights Hooting creature “The Bulldozed Future” creator Ryan Explorers Royal Asiatic Society Korea’s journal Whole financial system for the country The special military unit of the musin government Opposite of in Artist Kim, also known as Da-eum Inter-Korean area Jury’s decision ___ Angels House Type of Korean soup Unusual
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