34 Gwangju Abroad
How I Found Gwangju in a Swiss City
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
July 2020
GWANGJU ABROAD
Written by Cho Namhee
W
hile I was working for the organizing committee of the FINA World Championships in Gwangju last year, the delegates of the Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA), the counterpart of the host city Gwangju, often shared with me that Gwangju gives them the back-home feeling of Lausanne, Switzerland, where their headquarters is situated. Whenever they spotted similarities between Gwangju and their city of residence, I only thought that it was their effort for the sake of formality. But in less than six months of my stay in Lausanne, even though I spent most of that time staying at home, I admit that their comparisons were rational yet very humble.
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After roughly fourteen hours of multiple flights from Incheon and a 40-minute drive along the shores of the grand Lac Leman from the nearest Geneva airport, I could finally see the sign “Bienvenue à Lausanne, Capitale Olympique.” The moment I rotated myself 360 degrees, I was captivated by the panoramic Alps across the lake. It was the first similarity between Gwangju and Lausanne. Though the Alps might be more widely known than Mudeung Mountain, I felt the same strength as when I had the peak of Mudeung behind my back. It was the feelings of warmth, comfort, and protection that transcend the difference between the East and the West. As we all admire and love Mudeung Mountain, it
6/25/2020 12:43:35 PM
