Gwangju & South Jeolla International Magazine
Gwangju and South Jeolla International Magazine I May 2020 #219 May 18: Photos, Timeline, Interviews
May 2020 #219
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Gwangju & South Jeolla International Magazine
May 2020, Issue No. 219 Published: May 1, 2020 Cover Photo
The May 18 Movement painting [detail] Courtesy of The May 18 Memorial Foundation ⓒ 5·18 기념재단
THE EDITORIAL TEAM Publisher Editor-in-Chief Managing Editor Production Editor Layout Editor Photographers Communications Proofreaders
Online Editor Research
Dr. Shin Gyonggu Dr. David E. Shaffer William Urbanski Isaiah Winters Melline Galani Kim Yunkyoung, Oh Eun Ah Jeong Jiyeon Timothy Berg, Elisabeth Loeck, Jonathan Moffett, Ynell Mondragon, Joseph Nunez, Tara Kulash, Di Foster, David Foster Melline Galani Lee Younny
The Gwangju News is the first English monthly magazine for the general public in Korea, first published in 2001. Each monthly issue covers local and regional issues, with a focus on the roles and activities of the international residents and local English-speaking communities. Copyright © 2020 by the Gwangju International Center. All rights reserved. No part of this publication covered by this copyright may be reproduced in any form or by any means – graphic, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise – without the written consent of the publisher.
Registration No. 광주광역시 라. 00145 (ISSN 2093-5315) Registration Date: February 22, 2010 Printed by Join Adcom 조인애드컴 (+82)-62-367-7702
Special thanks to Gwangju City and all of our sponsors.
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These are not the best of times, as the scourge of the coronavirus spreads across the globe, snuffing out the breath of so many of those who inadvertently step into its path. Korea, however, and Gwangju and Jeollanamdo in particular, have fortunately been spared the full wrath of this formidable foe, due to the expeditious, deliberate, and innovative countermeasures taken by our local and national administrators. For this we can be grateful. In the midst of this villainous virus, the Gwangju News has been sparing no efforts to continue to provide our readers with new, interesting, and informative content. Our pages this issue, however, are not filled with COVID-19 stories. Only two (other than Gwangju City News) are obliquely related: our opinion piece, which is about journalistic practices, and “Corona Blue,” which is about the arts. This issue has a different focus this month. It is May, it is 2020, and this magazine comes to you from Gwangju. For those of us old enough to remember the events of 40 years ago, and for many who are not, the mere mention of “May,” evokes memories of the Gwangju Uprising – the May 18 Democratic Movement. As this May is the 40th anniversary of “May 18,” the bloody events of four decades ago are the center of this May issue’s attention. You may wish to begin by viewing our 18-photo May 18 Photo Essay, and then follow our timeline through Gwangju’s ten days of upheaval (May 18: Violence, Blood, Sorrow). Next, we bring you interviews with two individuals who were at “ground zero” in May 1980 (May 18: Participant Recollections). And “Democracy Trail” is a present-day tribute marking the 40th anniversary of May 18. This issue, of course, offers you much more. An additional feature is an interview with Dr. Robert Grotjohn, who offers a comparison of Gwangju in the 1980s with the city today. Travel around the city to its hidden corners in Lost in Gwangju, and visit Jungoe Park. Go to Hankki-masissda for a tasty meal, or prepare your own soybean sprout rice soup with this month’s recipe. We then sweep you off the peninsula for “Three Days in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia.” How are Korea and Tamil culture alike? Find out in Expat Living. Find out what a master teacher does in Language Teaching. And discover how to self-publish in Local Entrepreneurs. Check out our product review of a moneymanaging app, and check out our book review: A Gentleman in Moscow. Gwangju Writes presents “Magnify.” And as usual, there are our Korean lesson and crossword puzzle. Enjoy.
David E. Shaffer Editor-in-Chief Gwangju News
May 2020
For volunteering and article submission inquiries, please contact the editor at gwangjunews@gic.or.kr.
From the Editor
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
The Gwangju News is published by Gwangju International Center: Jungang-ro 196-beon-gil 5 (Geumnam-ro 3-ga), Dong-gu, Gwangju 61475, South Korea Tel: (+82)-62-226-2733~34 Fax: (+82)-62-226-2731 Website: www.gwangjunewsgic.com Email: gwangjunews@gic.or.kr GwangjuNews gwangjunews
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ARTS & CULTURE
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Photo of the Month “Though at different stages, all are aiming for the top.” The Photographer
Yunkyoung (Hillel) Kim is a priest in the Anglican Church and also a portrait photographer. More of his pictures can be
found at www.instagram.com/hillelkim.
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CONTENTS May 2020
Issue # 219
MONTHLY NEWS 04. Gwangju City News 56. Community Board BLAST FROM THE PAST 12. May 18: Violence, Blood, Sorrow FEATURES 19. May 18: Participant Recollections 22. Democracy Trail: Illuminating the Past, Connecting to a Bright Future 24. Gwangju Now and Then: An Interview with Robert Grotjohn TRAVEL 28. Lost in Gwangju: Odds and (Dead) Ends – Spring Cleaning Edition 32. Malaysia: Three Days in Kota Kinabalu 34. Around Gwangju: Jungoe Park COMMUNITY 42. Local Entrepreneurs: The How and Why of Self- Publishing 44. Expat Living: Korean and Tamil Cultural Similarities
PRODUCT REVIEW 36. Money Manager App FOOD & DRINKS 38. A Delicious Hankki 40. Recipe: Kongnamul Gukbap – Soybean Sprouts Rice Soup EDUCATION 07. Everyday Korean: Episode 29 – 재택근무 (Work from Home) 46. Language Teaching: On Being a Master Teacher OPINION 50. Beware the Juggernauts of Journalism ARTS & CULTURE 02. Photo of the Month 08. Photo Essay: May 18 23. Gwangju News Crossword Puzzle 52. Book Review: A Gentleman in Moscow 53. “Corona Blue” 54. Gwangju Writes: Magnify
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May 2020
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Gwangju City News
MONTHLY NEWS
Reprinted with permission from Gwangju Metropolitan City Hall Photographs courtesy of Gwangju Metropolitan City Hall
Mayor Lee Requests Prompt Payment of Emergency Living Expenses and Intensive Budget Restructuring
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May 2020
• On the first day of the budget reduction program, progress was checked through a video conference with the five heads of Gwangju’s districts. • Throughout the region, 1,096 personnel have been assigned, and dedicated reception desks are ready. • The first floor of City Hall will also have ten exclusive counters that will be open until May 8. • The living expenses application forms for public servants, the unemployed, and those on unpaid leave are being accepted as of April 13 over the internet, and direct visits to City Hall started on April 20. • Requests are being made to stabilize citizens’ lives and concentrate on jobs through drastic restructuring of the local districts’ budgets. • Mayor Lee asks to “concentrate on applications for living expenses and prompt payment within two weeks.”
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wangju Mayor Lee Young Sup and the heads of Gwangju’s five districts held a video conference on April 6 to discuss the response to COVID-19, including the self-quarantine of those who have recently returned from overseas, as well as preparations for each district related to the application for emergency living expenses. Marking the first day of City Hall’s third measure to protect the local economy from COVID-19, the meeting was held as a video conference in accordance with the social distancing policy in place, and its aim was to check the readiness of facilities in reducing inconvenience to citizens when visiting the administrative welfare center.
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First of all, Gwangju City was concerned with the status and management system of foreign immigrants. Then starting with the agenda, the status of preparation for receiving emergency living expenses for public servants, the unemployed, and those furloughed was explained, and it was requested that the districts thoroughly prepare for this. In addition, the head of the city’s autonomous administrative department, in charge of coordinating with the safety departments of each district, established a special self-quarantine management group consisting of 289 people. Another 586 prospective employees were assigned to take care of the self-quarantine procedures due to the recent increase in the number of people
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5 entering the country. Next, the mayor explained the second supplementary budget plan, saying, “In view of the difficult financial conditions of the districts, we are not sharing the government’s emergency disaster support funds with them.” In particular, city hall asked the districts to make efforts in supporting the citizens affected by COVID-19 through investing heavily in projects to stabilize their lives and create jobs by drastic budget restructuring, such as reducing current expenses and canceling or reducing some projects.
MONTHLY NEWS
The reports on the progress of each district included the management status of self-quarantine procedures for foreign entrants; the application forms for emergency living expenses for public servants, the unemployed, and those on unpaid leave; and the assignment of human resources for rapid support. According to the reports, the districts have deployed a total of 1,096 personnel to support the procedures for emergency living expenses, including visits to 95 neighborhood (dong) administrative welfare centers as well as checking incomes and selecting recipients for payment. Visitors could also register on the first floor of City Hall, where ten exclusive counters are set up in the lobby and application forms will be received until May 8. Applications for living expense support for public servants, the unemployed, and those on unpaid leave will be accepted from April 13 to May 22, and visits to the administrative welfare centers will be possible from April 20 due to the extension of the social distancing policy. Seo-gu requested additional support for its workforce as the district expects to have many difficulties in supporting living expenses and supporting the National Assembly elections.
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▲
The four companies which donated for easing the COVID-19 crisis.
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Mayor Lee Young Sup encouraged the participants, saying, “As the first confirmed case of COVID-19 occurred in our city two months ago, employees on the frontlines and our public officials have been working hard without weekend breaks,” adding, “Let’s go through these difficult times by working hard together in a spirit of sharing and solidarity.” Next, the Mayor repeatedly asked the heads of the city’s districts to pay special attention so that citizens are able to apply for livelihood support and quickly make payments within two weeks as promised. Moreover, he said, “Now, as we are in an emergency state where citizens are suffering, we will carry out intensive budget restructuring by cutting 10 percent of the established budgets, 10 percent of the operating expenses for events canceled or reduced due to COVID-19, overseas travel expenses, and unnecessary budget items, and will focus on creating jobs for our citizens.”
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“Though separated by social distancing, we are closer in our hearts.” Community donations for overcoming COVID-19 continue. • City Hall holds a donation ceremony. • Bodywise Asia Co. contributes 24,000 female hygiene products. • Nanoom Tech Co. donates 10 million won and Hanbaeknyeon Inc. donates 600 bottles of natural vinegar. • The Jeonnam Provincial Council of the Korean Pork Producers Association donated 20 tons of pork with plans to deliver it to the underprivileged. • Mayor Lee Young Sup states, “Strong solidarity and civic awareness is a great force in overcoming COVID-19.”
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May 2020
MONTHLY NEWS
A
mid the campaign of social distancing to prevent the spread of COVID-19, donations from all sectors in the region are constantly being made. On April 2, a donation ceremony was held at City Hall with Bodywise Asia Co., Nanoom Tech Co., Hanbaeknyeon Inc., and the Korean Pork Producers Association. Bodywise Asia Co., a Seoul-based company specializing in importing and selling women’s hygiene products, delivered 24,000 packs of absorbent products for the disadvantaged and teenagers. Kim Yoo-jin, CEO of Bodywise Asia Co., said, “Many people are having a difficult period as the COVID-19 situation continues, so we have donated women’s hygiene products to deliver strength to those less fortunate around us,” and added, “We will continue to donate to Yeosu, Jangheung, and other areas in South Jeolla, hoping to overcome this crisis.” The products offered by Bodywise Asia Co. will be delivered to local facilities for the disabled and the youth through Gwangju and Jeonnam branches of the Korean Red Cross. Hanbaeknyeon Inc., an agricultural corporation, donated 600 bottles of naturally fermented vinegar to help Gwangju and Daegu overcome the COVID-19 crisis. Choi Sun-hee, CEO of Hanbaeknyeon Inc., said, “We delivered natural fermented vinegar made with traditional manufacturing methods for three generations to help overcome COVID-19,” adding, “We hope that both Gwangju and Daegu citizens overcome the coronavirus crisis as soon as possible and recover their healthy daily lives.” The 600 bottles of naturally fermented vinegar will be delivered to underprivileged people in Gwangju and Daegu through the Gwangju Volunteer Center.
Songjeong Station Market in support of revitalization of the local commercial area and to support Daegu citizens. Choi Moo-jin, CEO of Nanoom Tech Co., said, “We are happy that the donations we made to help citizens overcome the crisis also helped merchants in this region,” and added, “We are also planning to provide support for Gwangju citizens to overcome the coronavirus crisis.” The Jeonnam Provincial Council of the Korean Pork Producers Association donated 20 tons of Korean pork worth 150 million won. For the underprivileged across the country who are having a hard time due to the COVID-19 pandemic and economic recession, Korean pork farmers have made a united effort to help. The nationwide donation of pork worth three billion won will be delivered to low-income families and social welfare facilities. Chairman Oh Jae-gon of the Jeonnam Provincial Council of the Korean Pork Producers Association stated, “There are many people who have difficulties in their lives due to the economic slowdown and anxiety caused by the spread of COVID-19. We especially thank public officials, medical staff, and volunteers who work hard day and night to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and hope that this pandemic will end as soon as possible.” Mayor Lee Young Sup stated, “With the high-intensity social distancing campaign underway, warm hands are bringing the distance closer despite difficulties for everyone. He added, “A stronger sense of solidarity and a mature civic consciousness are helping us overcome the COVID-19 crisis.”
Nanoom Tech Co., a manufacturing company specializing in medical devices, donated 10 million won as COVID-19 support to Daegu last month; they also took part in the donation ceremony. The donations delivered by Nanoom Tech Co. to the Gwangju Volunteer Center in March were 500 sets of seaweed snacks and 500 sets of handmade noodles purchased from young merchants at the 1913
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Everyday Korean Episode 29: 재택근무 (Work from Home) By Harsh Kumar Mishra
Grammar ~기로 하다: Use this with verbs to express a made decision, i.e., when you’ve “decided to do something.” Ex: 한국 정부가 농협마트에서 마스크를 판매하기로
~기는 하지만: Use this when you want to acknowledge what was said in the first part of the sentence but also want to put contrastive emphasis on the second part. Ex: 한국 음식은 맵기는 하지만 맛있어요. Korean food indeed is spicy, but also very tasty.
Vocabulary 수업 class 회사 office/company work 근무 편하다 to be comfortable 출퇴근 commute 일어나다 to wake up 게으르다 to be lazy 집중 concentration 여우롭다 to be relaxed drawback/negative point 단점
화상 회의 video conference 보고서 report 신입사원 new employee 퇴직 retirement 사대 보험 Korean insurance system (4 types) work experience 경력 academic background 학력
정민:
우리 학교에서 코로나 때문에 모든 수업을 온라인으로 하기로 했어요. [Uri hak-kyo-eseo corona ttae-mu-ne mo-deun su-eo-beul ol-lain-ro ha- gi-ro hae-sseo-yo.] Due to the coronavirus, our school has decided to do all classes online.
우리 회사도 다들 재택근무하고 있어.
[Uri hwe-sa-do da-deul jae-taek-geun-mu-hago is-seo.] Jeongmin: Even all our company employees are working from home.
데지:
좋겠네요. 재택근무가 편하죠? [Jo-khen-neyo. Jae-taek-geun-mu-ga pyeon-ha-jyo?]
Daisy:
It must be nice. Working from home is comfortable, isn’t it?
정민:
출퇴근을 안 해야 해서 편하기는 하지만 단점도 있어.
[Chul-twe-geu-neul an hae-ya hae-seo pyeon-ha-gi-neun ha-ji-man dan-jeom-do is-seo.] Jeongmin: It sure is comfortable not to commute, but it also has its drawbacks.
데지:
어떤 단점이 있어요? [Eot-teon dan-jeo-mi is-seo-yo?]
Daisy:
What kind of drawbacks?
정민:
집에서 일하니까 늦게 일어나고, 게을러. 그리고 일하는 데 집중도 잘 안 돼. [Jib-eseo ir-ha-nik-ka neut-ke ireo-nago, ge-eul-leo. Geu-rigo ir-ha- neun de jip-jung-do jal an d-wae.]
Jeongmin: As I work from home, I get up late and feel lazy. And I can’t concentrate on work well.
데지:
그래요? 저는 집에서 수업하는 게 여유로워서 좋아요.
[Geu-rae-yo? Jeo-neun jib-eseo su-eop-ha-neun ge yeo-yu-ro-weo-seo jo-ayo.] Daisy: Really? I like taking classes from home because I feel free.
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May 2020
TOPIK GUIDE (topikguide.com) is the most comprehensive website devoted to the TOPIK exam. It has been helping Korean language learners pass the TOPIK (Test of Proficiency in Korean) for more than eight years. On our website, you can get all the TOPIK updates, grammar and vocabulary material, and study tips.
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Vocabulary Terms Related to Work
Daisy:
EDUCATION
했어요. The Korean government has decided to distribute masks at Nonghyup Mart.
데지:
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Photo Essay
May 18
ARTS & CULTURE
Text by Dr. David E. Shaffer Photographs courtesy of the 5.18 Archives
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May 2020
ay 18, 1980 – a date etched in the memories of those who lived through this dark spot in the history of this city and the nation, and a date readily recalled by many others in Gwangju and Jeollanam-do, in the Republic of Korea, and beyond. These eighteen photographs are but snapshots in ten continuous days of turmoil in the “City of Light,” a city that had its light dimmed and its communications cut off to the outside world by the merciless implementation of martial law. These photos depict the initial protests against the announcement of martial law and the arrest of pro-democracy figures, followed by the “capture” of protesters by martial law troops. The wrath of the citizenry against the brutality of troops is witnessed in the magnitude of the rallies and the street procession of buses and taxis. The firing on crowds by martial law troops led to the citizens arming themselves, which led to more bloodshed on the streets of Gwangju. Many lives were lost, culminating in the martial law troops’ final assault on and taking of the Provincial Office building, where armed protesters made their last stand on Day 10. What
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remained was to bury the hundreds who had perished during those ten turbulent days of May. But Gwangju remembers. Gwangju remembers what took place during those ten days of tumult. Gwangju remembers those lives lost and buried in the May 18 National Cemetery. And Gwangju takes great pride in being a spark that has ultimately led to the democratization that present-day Korea enjoys.
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ARTS & CULTURE www.gwangjunewsgic.com
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12 LBlast from the Past
MAY 18
blast from the past
Violence, Blood, Sorrow
One of the ten mural sculptures at Memorial Hall. (Kürzel Ulanwp / CC-by-sa 3.0/de)
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May 2020
At the mention of “May,” the first thought that still comes to mind for many residents of Gwangju is the “Gwangju Incident” (광주사태, Gwangju-satae), as it was called at the time (aka the Gwangju Uprising, aka May 18 Democratic Uprising, aka May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement). But here at ground zero, it is most commonly referred to as O-il-pal (오일팔, 5-1-8), May 18, the start of ten days of bloodshed and violence in the streets of Gwangju in the spring of 1980. This year, on the 40th anniversary of the event, the Gwangju News provides the following chronology of what took place. This incorporates in part an article carried in this magazine ten years ago (“May 18 [5.18] Gwangju Democratic Uprising,” May 2010) written by Prof. Shin Sang-soon (1922–2011) and is amply complemented with additional material. — Ed.
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n the wake of President Park Chung-hee’s assassination on October 26, 1979, the collapse of the Yushin system was to soon follow. The Yushin system (aka “the October Reforms,” 시월유신) was a constitutional change instituted in October 1972 that made President Park’s despotic grip on power even tighter. In the sixmonth political and social vacuum that ensued following President Park’s death, the so-called New Military Faction gradually made its appearance, attempting to wield political power as Park’s Republican Party had done before. There was much student unrest during this time. On May 17, student activists met in the capital; 95 student leaders from 55 universities were detained by police. The Gwangju Democratic Uprising broke out on May 18, 1980, as an attempt to thwart the New Military Faction’s political ambitions. While the Uprising was, in one sense,
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a failed event in that it was brutally put down by the government’s martial law troops, it left an indelible mark in the minds of the citizens of Gwangju and Jeollanamdo. The following is a chronology of the main events, as they have been pieced together over the years, that shook Gwangju during those bloody ten days of May 1980. Chronology of the Uprising May 18, 1980 (Sunday): Emergency martial law is declared nationally at the stroke of midnight, and Kim Dae-jung and 25 other antigovernment political leaders are arrested. The 33rd and 35th Battalions of the 7th Airborne Brigade are deployed in the darkness to Chonnam National University and Chosun University, respectively, taking control of the two universities, where antigovernment demonstrations, often violent, had
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13 been taking place regularly throughout the spring. (The “airborne brigades” are also known as “special warfare units,” and more commonly as the army’s elite “Special Forces.”)
The students, unable to enter the campus, turn around and take to the street, demonstrating. The MLT are also deployed at strategic locations throughout the city, and clashes ensue between them and the demonstrators. As Special Forces, the MLT dispatched to Gwangju were supposed to be well trained for dealing with demonstrators. But in Gwangju, in carrying out their duty, they overstep their bounds and mistreat the demonstrators with unnecessary brutality. Gwangju citizens are alarmed, agitated, and angry at witnessing the Special Forces’ harsh and merciless repression of the demonstrators. This is why citizens joined forces with the students. The midnight-to-4 curfew is expanded to begin at 9:00 p.m. May 19, 1980: The Special Forces are reinforced by their 11th Brigade, who arrive at Gwangju Station, and suppression of demonstrations continues. This day takes the Uprising’s first casualty – a deaf young man, who
After witnessing the atrocities of the MLT, drivers of about 200 taxis, city buses, and trucks congregate at Mudeung Stadium and create a procession of vehicles that rolls down Gwangju’s main thoroughfare, Geumnam-ro. With horns blaring and headlights beaming, and protesters filling the vehicles, the procession heads towards the Provincial Office. In an effort to stop the caravan, the MLT pull some of these “drivers for democracy” from their vehicles and beat them. The procession is stopped by police and the MLT as it turns towards the Labor Office (to the immediate left of the Provincial Office); a one-hour standoff ensues. In an attempt to break through the roadblock at the start of curfew, buses of protesters charge the police line, killing four officers. Outraged by the lack of media reports on the brutality of the MLT, protesters set fire to the MBC building (Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation building, near the Labor Office) at 10:00 p.m. Meanwhile, at approximately 11:00 p.m. at the Gwangju Station plaza, the MLT open fire on the unarmed civilians protesting against the bloodshed. Many are wounded and killed, bringing some protesters to the conclusion that they needed to arm themselves for self-defense. May 21, 1980: This is Buddha’s birthday, a national holiday and a normally tranquil day. After midnight, confrontations between the MLT and crowds estimated of up to 20,000 continue in the Labor Office area. Around 2:00 a.m., telephone lines are cut for all out-of-city service. At the Gwangju Station plaza, two corpses from the previous day’s incident are put into carts and paraded
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May 20, 1980: High schools are closed citywide. Additional deployment of the Special Forces’ 3rd Brigade increases the number of martial law forces in Gwangju to 3,400 troops. Confrontations between protesters and the MLT continue and escalate. About 30 male and female protesters are captured, forced to strip down to their underwear, and severely beaten.
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▲ City Bus with Protesters. (Mar del Este / (CC BY-SA 4.0))
City officials and agency directors go into discussions and request that the MLT take a more lenient approach to crowd control. Protesters surround an MLT armored vehicle and are fired upon. A Chosun University Affiliated High School student becomes the first to be wounded by MLT gunfire. As this news spreads, more protesters take to the streets. Late afternoon rain quells the violence.
blast from the past
In the early morning hours of May 18, there are not many students on either campus. Some students in the libraries and research institutes are told by the martial law troops to go home because martial law decreed the closing of the universities for some time. This becomes the first day of the Gwangju Uprising. The school gates are blocked by the martial law troops (MLT), and students coming to school are told to disperse and go home, but they do not comply. At Chonnam National University, the number of students who cannot enter the school because of the closure increases by the hundreds, and students start shouting demonstration slogans: Lift the martial law! Down with Chun Doo-Hwan! (Chun Doo-Hwan was the military strongman in control of government, who later became president and created the Fifth Republic.)
did not seem to comprehend what was happening, was clubbed to death by the MLT. Citizens act out against the brutality of the MLT by setting two police stations ablaze, in Im-dong and Numun-dong. The number of gathering citizens increases and stone-throwing clashes occur. The MLT unit that had retreated to their Chosun University staging area is put back into action.
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blast from the past
up Geumnam-ro until they are stopped by police and the MLT at the Catholic Center. Hearing of this, thousands of protesters are readied for further action. At 4:30 a.m., the KBS broadcasting station (then located adjacent to Sajik Park) is set ablaze. Communications with the outside world are now cut off. (There were no cell phones or Internet at the time.) At 8:00 a.m., protesters clash with the MLT of the 20th Division at the entrance on the Gwangju Industrial Park (which was then in Nongseong-dong, the edge of town at the time). The MLT are issued live ammunition and are rotated to the front lines. Protesters take control of the Provincial Office building. The Gwangju Tax Office, an old, Japanese-style wood-frame building, is set ablaze and burns to the ground (located just down the street from the Labor Office). Near noon, a large helicopter lands in the plaza in front of the Provincial Office for a short period of time. At 1:00 p.m., an armored vehicle taken by protesters from the Asia Motors factory makes an unexpected appearance at the plaza (Asia Motors was a government contractor for military equipment). With the national anthem blaring from Provincial Office loudspeakers, the MLT open fire. Receiving concentrated fire, protesting youths on Geumnam-ro continuously fall. Soon afterwards, the provincial governor’s call for protesters to disband is broadcast from a police helicopter (at the time, Gwangju was a part of the province). Protesters take control of several dozen military trucks and armored vehicles from the Asia Motors factory. Meanwhile, with the assistance of coal miners, other protesters take possession of TNT from an ammunition storage area in Jiwon-dong. Positioning themselves on the rooftops of the main downtown buildings, the MLT fire on protesters below. Groups of protesters arm themselves with firearms acquired from armories in Hwasun. Other protesters raid police station stores. Students install two machine guns on the rooftop of the Chonnam University Hospital (located near Chosun University) for use against the MLT. Confronted with
▲ Former Provincial Office in downtown Gwangju. (kayakorea & Brandon Butler / (CC By-SA-3.0))
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▲ 5.18 Memorial Monument. (Salamander724)
this unexpected turn of events, the MLT make a strategic withdrawal to the nearby Chosun University campus and the outskirts of town elsewhere to avoid further clashes with the now-armed protesters, who become known as the “Citizens Army” (Simin-gun, 시민군), and await MLT reinforcements. Thus ends the heaviest day of violence. MLT are issued live ammunition and are rotated to the front lines. Protesters take control of the Provincial Office Building. The Gwangju Tax Office, an old, Japanesestyle wood-frame building is set ablaze and burns to the ground (located just down the street from the Labor Office). Near noon, a large helicopter lands in the plaza in front of the Provincial Office for a short period of time. At 1 p.m., an armored vehicle taken by protesters from the Asia Motors factory makes an unexpected appearance at the plaza (Asia Motors was a government contractor for military equipment). With the national anthem blaring from Provincial Office loudspeakers, the MLT open fire. Receiving concentrated fire, protesting youths on Geumnam-ro continuously fall. Soon afterwards, the provincial governor’s call for protesters to disband is broadcast from a police helicopter (at the time, Gwangju was a part of the province). Protesters take control of several dozen military trucks and armored vehicles from the Asia Motors factory. Meanwhile, with the assistance of coal miners, other
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15 protesters take possession of TNT from an ammunition storage area in Jiwon-dong. Positioning themselves on the rooftops of the main downtown buildings, MLT fire on protesters below. Groups of protesters arm with firearms acquired from armories in Hwasun. Other protesters raid police station stores. Students install two machine guns on the rooftop of the Chonnam University Hospital (located near Chosun University) for use against the MLT. Confronted with this unexpected turn of events, the MLT make a strategic withdrawal to the nearby Chosun University campus and the outskirts of town elsewhere to avoid further clashes with the now-armed protesters, who become known as the “Citizens Army” (Simin-gun, 시민군), and await MLT reinforcements. Thus ends the heaviest day of violence.
Mindful of the unusual turn of events, a Citizens Settlement Committee composed of about 20 religious leaders, lawyers, and professors is formed to manage this urgent situation. In the early afternoon, eight representatives of the committee visit the MLT headquarters at the Sangmudae military base, presenting their seven demands, which included the release of arrested citizens, compensation for victims, and prohibition of retaliation in exchange for disarming of the protestors.
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Negotiations with the MLT have reached a deadlock as the MLT insist that the protestors disarm and surrender. There is disagreement between the students’ and
▲
Sculpture at the 5.18 National Cemetery. (Kürzel Ulanwp / CCby-sa 3.0/de)
May 2020
May 23, 1980: In the uneasy quiet that hangs over the city, the MLT block all civilian movement into and out of the city. In the morning, students and citizens begin cleaning up the debris in the Geumnam-ro area. By mid-morning, about 50,000 citizens congregate at the Provincial Office plaza. The Students Settlement Committee begins retrieving arms from protesters, and lists of the names of the dead are posted around the plaza area.
May 25, 1980: Cardinal Stephen Kim Sou-hwan sends a message and ten million won to aid the Gwangju resistance. The MLT, forced to withdraw from the city, form a blockade of the city and kill civilians attempting to cross the blockade, including residents of the province coming to the aid of the protesters. The third citizens’ mass rally is held in mid-afternoon. Later in the day, Father Kim Seong-yong and other prominent prodemocracy activists adopt four articles for control and management. In the evening, the Students Settlement Committee discusses measures for food distribution, debris removal, and crime prevention.
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In mid-afternoon, 18 corpses arrive at the Provincial Office plaza and a citizens’ mass meeting is held. Later, a representative of the Citizens Settlement Committee reports the results of their visit to Sangmu-dae. Another 23 bodies arrive at the plaza. In the evening, the rest of Korea gets its first news from the government about the situation in Gwangju: The new premier states that “there is an absence of order in Gwangju.” On this day, protests spread to four other cities in the province: Mokpo, Naju, Hwasun, and Haenam.
May 24, 1980: The MLT spot a group of boys swimming in the Wonjae village reservoir and fire on them. A firstyear middle school student is hit in the head and dies. A martial law unit withdrawing to Songam-dong exchanges fire with other troops concealed in the area, resulting in numerous troops killed and wounded. In the anger that is vented afterwards, several innocent residents of the neighborhood are also killed. Later in the afternoon, the second citizens’ mass rally is held at the Provincial Office plaza, at which the city is declared to now be “liberated.”
blast from the past
May 22, 1980: Around 9:00 a.m., citizens assemble in the Provincial Office area and down Geumnam-ro. A military helicopter overhead scatters fliers “To the Rebels,” urging them to turn in their weapons. Meanwhile, a call for blood donations goes out from the Red Cross Hospital’s bloodmobile and a protesters’ van traveling around town. From the rooftop of the Provincial Office, the national flag, accompanied by a black ribbon, is hoisted to halfstaff.
Though there is a lull in the fighting this day, the MLT in Jinwol-dong, Junam Village, open fire on a mini-bus trying to break out of the city. Of the 18 passengers, 17 are killed, two of whom are dragged to a nearby hilly area, beaten, and hidden in a shallow grave. Back at the Provincial Office plaza, an all-citizens’ rally is held to discuss the leaflet air-dropped around the city urging the citizenry to put down their weapons. In the evening, the first 33 prisoners to be released by the MLT arrive at the Provincial Office plaza.
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16 citizens’ settlement committees as to whether to comply. Eventually, those in favor of continuing the resistance win out.
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
May 2020
blast from the past
May 26, 1980: At dawn, the MLT advance from the Hwajeong-dong area to the Rural Development Office in Nongseong-dong, poised to re-enter the city; protesters lie down on the street to thwart their advance. News of an imminent MLT assault on the city spreads; the Citizens Settlement Committee resolves to proceed with a “March of Death” to prevent the MLT from entering the city center. This is followed by a mid-morning all-citizens’ rally for the preservation of democracy. Armed protesters begin to gather in the Provincial Office area to make their final stand there. In the afternoon, the Students Settlement Committee urges the city mayor to provide them with daily necessities. A fifth all-citizens’ rally is also held. Later in the afternoon, the Students Settlement Committee briefs the foreign reporters who have been able to reach the city on the present situation. At 7:00 p.m., the Citizens Army announces that “There is a high probability that the martial law forces will invade tonight” and tell young students and females to return to their homes. At midnight, all intra-city telephone lines go dead. May 27, 1980: At 3:00 a.m., the MLT begin to enter the downtown area with tanks. From the Provincial Office area, a female voice can be heard broadcasting, “The martial law troops are gaining the upper hand. Gwangju citizens, please help us!” The MLT secure the major buildings around the Provincial Office building. By 4:00 a.m., the MLT have the Provincial Office area encircled, as dozens of armed protesters have decided to make their last stand from inside. The protesters are urged to give up resistance and surrender. Clashes break out on Geumnam-ro and sporadic gunfire comes from within the Provincial Office building. At 4:10 a.m., the MLT begin their final assault on the building, as the armed protestors inside did not put down their weapons and surrender. It is at this time also that military helicopters
fire over 200 rounds into the tenth-floor offices of Chonil Broadcasting (VOC) in the Chonil Building (just across the plaza from the Provincial Office). One hour later, the MLT take control of the Provincial Office building; the city in its entirety is now under MLT control. The MLT announce that citizens are not to come out into the streets. There is a massive movement of the 20,000 troops from the 20th Infantry Division into the downtown area and other parts of the city. Control of the area is transferred to them from the Special Forces who carried out the assault on the Provincial Office. It is 7:00 a.m.; the ten-day, bloody and tragic Gwangju Uprising has ended. The Dead and Wounded The figures for the number of dead and wounded in the Gwangju Uprising have been challenged from the beginning when the Martial Law Command announced that 144 civilians died, along with 23 soldiers and 4 policemen. Figures for those wounded were set at over a hundred for each. Many of the MLT casualties occurred in the Songam-dong friendly-fire incident. Seventy-six civilians are still missing, according to reports from the May 18 Bereaved Families Association. They are presumed dead, and it is often suggested that they may have been killed and concealed in shallow graves by the MLT. However, the records for deaths in Gwangju during the month of May 1980 were over 2,000 above the monthly average, highly suggesting that the spike was due in large part to the violence in the city. Figures quoted by the foreign press and by those within Korea critical of the government’s officially announced figures often put the actual death toll at somewhere between 1,000 and 2,000. Interment The civilians who were lost in the Gwangju Uprising were taken to the Mangwol-dong Public Cemetery for burial. Some of the bodies were brought on trucks, some on carts, and some even on garbage trucks. A special section of the expansive cemetery was set aside for the creation of the May 18th Cemetery and the interment of those who lost their lives in the Uprising.
The 5.18 Memorial Hall. (Schlarpi / CC BY-SA 3.0)
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Orig
17 With a change of governments and the democratization of Korea, attitudes and actions also changed. May 18 was proclaimed an official memorial day in 1997. A ceremony to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Gwangju Uprising and honor those who lost their lives in defense of the city is to be held at the May 18th National Cemetery this May 18. Original 5.18 Cemetery in Mangwol-dong. (Rhythm / CC BY-SA 3.0)
As Korea democratized, the national government approved in 1994 the creation of a new “May 18th National Cemetery” also in the Mangwol-dong area. Bodies from the original cemetery were moved to the new location and the new national cemetery was opened in a May 18 commemorative ceremony in 1997. There are now over 480 buried at the cemetery with the capacity to accommodate 300 more. The May 18th National Cemetery includes a large memorial hall with exhibitions, a portrait enshrinement tower, an additional exhibition hall, numerous statues and sculptures, and three memorial gateways. Last December, over 40 unidentified bodies were discovered at the former Gwangju Prison in Munheungdong while excavating a known graveyard there (Gwangju News, February 2020). Holes, believed to be bullet holes, were found in skeletal remains, suggesting that they are victims of the Gwangju Uprising, something long rumored in the neighborhood. The remains are now being examined for identification. If confirmed to be victims of the Uprising, there will be a place for them in the May 18th National Cemetery.
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Gwangju Uprising. (2020, February 20). In Wikipedia. http://libcom. org/history/1980-the-kwangju-uprising Katsiaficas, G. (2006, September 19). The Gwangju uprising, 1980. libcom.org. http://libcom.org/history/1980-the-kwangju-uprising May 18th National Cemetery. (2019, December 3). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_18th_National_Cemetery The May 18 Memorial Foundation. (n.d.). 5.18 타임라인 [May 18 Timeline]. http://www.518.org/sub.php?PID=010102 The May 18 Memorial Foundation. (n.d.). The May 18 Democratic Uprising. http://eng.518.org/sub.php?PID=0201
▲ The 5.18 National Cemetery graves of the fallen. (Ulrich Lange / CC BY-SA 3.0)
The editor / contributor
David Shaffer is a resident of Gwangju and has been since the early 1970s. In May 1980, he was a young professor at Chosun University and a newlywed living near the university. Many of the events of that period remain as vivid impressions etched into the memory 40 years later. Dr. Shaffer is now board chair at the Gwangju International Center and editor-in-chief of the Gwangju News.
May 2020
The government, for its part, originally labeled the affair a “rebellion.” Over 1,300 people were arrested, over 400 indicted, and over a dozen sentenced to life imprisonment or death. It was also made illegal to “spread false rumors” about the Gwangju Uprising by deviating from the government’s official version of the casualties.
5.18 민주화운동기록관 [5.18 Archives]. (n.d.). 광주 시민의 함성 [Gwangju Citizens’ Outcry]. http://www.518archives. go.kr/?PID=004 Cheon, J. (2019, December 20). 옛 광주교도소 발굴 유골에 구멍 뚫린 흔적 발견 [Hole discovered in skeletal remains excavated at former Gwangju prison]. Yonhap News. https://www.yna.co.kr/ view/AKR20191220156851054
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
The Significance of the Uprising The uprising started as a small-scale demonstration by students in front of a school gate, but the Special Forces’ countermeasures were unnecessarily harsh and brutal, angering and enraging the Gwangju citizenry. Even though the citizens managed to arm themselves for self-defense, they were of course no match for the welltrained regular army and its Special Forces. The civilians were like a cornered mouse biting a cat. During those ten days, the maintenance of law and order was in the hands of citizen groups, but there were no reported incidents of looting or thievery. No crime was reported. Gwangju citizens became one unit of solidarity, a fact in which Gwangju citizens take great pride.
Sources
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www.gwangjunewsgic.com
May 2020
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May 18: Participant Recollections Interviews with Park Young-sun and Ahn Giljeong Interviews by Jeong Jiyeon and Melline Galani Photographs by Yunkyoung (Hillel) Kim “May 18” or “5.18” is shorthand for the Gwangju May 18 Democratic Movement, the ten-day “incident” that took place in Gwangju in May of 1980. As part of the Gwangju News’ recognition of the 40th anniversary of this event, we bring you two interviews by two individuals who took a stand against the brutality of the martial law troops – two individuals who were occupants of the Provincial Office and apprehended by the troops, two individuals imprisoned for their stand against tyranny and who have lived to tell their stories. The first of the two interviews is with Ms. Park Young-sun whose loudspeaker voice was heard throughout much of Gwangju during the bloodiest days of the uprising. The second is with Dr. Ahn Giljeong, a student protester at the time, who has now devoted himself to unveiling the truths about May 18. — Ed.
INTERVIEW WITH MS. PARK YOUNG-SUN
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The next day, I woke up at the Sangmu Gymnasium across from the Provincial Office. Among those arrested, I was the only woman. Later, I found out that senior citizens, women, and children were ordered to leave the Provincial Office plaza area at a citizen’s rally the day before, on May 26. I was later sent to the Gwangsan Police Station, where I met Cho Mi-ran, Lee Hye-shin, Cha Myung-soo, and Jeon Ok-ju. I was taken to a general hospital with Jeon Ok-ju due to the deterioration in my physical condition, but the interrogations continued at the hospital. The policeman, who oversaw the investigation at the time, told me that it would be difficult to reduce my punishment because of the last broadcast I had made from the Provincial Office. In a subsequent military trial, I was sentenced to one year in prison for “violation of the martial law and rebellion,” I was released on parole on October 31 of that year.
May 2020
GN: Could you describe in detail the situation at the time of your last broadcast? Ms. Park: From May 21 to 26, I made street broadcasts from the loudspeaker van, driving around Gwangju and its outlying areas, telling about the situation around the Provincial Office, including returning firearms, making blood donations, and scheduled street events. Normally, I would return home in the broadcasting vehicle
All the people from the building, including me, were taken to the plaza in front of the Provincial Office with our hands and feet tied. I was briefly awakened by the sounds of soldiers’ voices verbally abusing me and then immediately fainted again.
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GN: Could you please describe you own experience during the events of May 1980 and how you got involved? Ms. Park: At the time, I was attending Songwon University and worked as a gayageum teacher at Gwangju Girls High School, and we were preparing for the Honam Arts Festival in May. On May 20, I remember there were only rumors that protests had taken place in Gwangju, but I had never actually witnessed any. So, every day my students and I practiced through the afternoon and returned home by bus. Then on the 21st, I finished practice in the morning to let the girls return home because all the bus service had stopped that day. At about 1 or 2 p.m., I was in the area of the Provincial Office trying to go home, when I suddenly heard gunshots and screams from every direction. At that moment, a van approached me, and I was asked by a male student riding inside to make a street broadcast to the people. Without a second thought, I got in the speakerequipped van and started the street broadcasts.
FEATURE
Gwangju News (GN): Thank you for agreeing to do this interview for the Gwangju News about the events surrounding the May 18 Democratic Uprising. To start off, could you please briefly introduce yourself? Park Young-sun: My name is Park Young-sun, and I am the woman who did the last broadcast of the Gwangju Uprising on May 27, 1980.
before sunset, but on the 26th, I was about to leave the Provincial Office after sunset. However, I met a middle school girl who hadn’t gone home in the hallway near the broadcasting room, and I stayed up all night with her in the building until the martial law forces assaulted the building at around 2 or 3 a.m. In order to spread the news, I sent out the last broadcast through the building’s rooftop speakers so that all of Gwangju would be aware of what was happening. After that last broadcast, random gunfire hit the transmission room as soldiers yelled at us to come out on our knees with our hands raised. As soon as I left the room, I was crushed by boots and fainted.
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20 people, dying in front of my eyes. Anyone, would have done the same as I did.
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
May 2020
FEATURE
Park Young-sun
GN: How did your life change after this experience? Ms. Park: In 1982, I married my husband and left Gwangju. Later, I hid my identity and stayed quiet, never telling even to my family about May 18. Then, in 1990, for the first time, I made my voice heard to the world through an interview and documentary, “Mother’s Song.” I had been particularly furious about the distortions and misinformation put out by MBC Broadcasting Corporation and the print media company, The Hankyoreh, and after that, I was booked for interviews with various media for six months to correct the truth about May 18 and to fight against the false reports.
GN: There are still various falsehoods circulating about the events of May 18. What do you think about this? Ms. Park: Conservative parties are still distorting the May 18 events over several issues, including that the uprising was a conspiracy and an organized protest against the military government, and that the protesters were spies brought down from North Korea, but all of these are obvious lies. The reason why the May 18 pro-democracy movement seemed to be a series of democratization protests and have continuity is that there had been demonstrations and protests taking place intermittently against the policies that suppressed Gwangju at the time. Also, the rumor that the uprising was instigated by North Korean spies is absurd because almost every citizen of Gwangju participated in the fight and sacrificed themselves. It was only a continuation of unrest due to the situation of the times, a series of pro-democracy protests that took place before May 18. It was a pro-democracy movement to defend Gwangju against the martial law troops who ruthlessly slaughtered innocent citizens. I think all Gwangju citizens deserve respect – not only those who fought in front of the Provincial Office but all those who had helped in the movement, including women who donated blood and made rice balls for the protesters, and those who made and distributed masks – all the citizens of Gwangju who helped in the prodemocracy movement.
GN: What are the most vivid memories that you have of your ordeal? Ms. Park: While I was detained at the police station, I was subjected to interrogations, torture, verbal sexual violence, and deceptive talk about whether to sentence me to death or life in prison. I have lived not only with physical pain due to head and back injuries but also with emotional pain due to the public controversy over the midnight broadcast and regrets over my life that was changed completely due to that last broadcast. I witnessed several scenes of fellow citizens being severely assaulted and tortured, and I am still traumatized by those images. A total of 147 people were arrested by provincial authorities, were subjected to military trials and imprisoned, and were then branded as criminals after release from prison, causing them to suffer extreme living difficulties and mental distress. Eventually, about 60 of them chose to commit suicide. GN: Do you think you would make the same choices if you could go back to that time? Ms. Park: Without a doubt. I saw citizens, innocent
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21 GN: What would you say to the younger generation of Koreans? Ms. Park: Forty years after the event, people can still easily find distorted accounts on the internet. However, people do not think that even this freedom of speech can be enjoyed by the nation’s democratization. Had it not been for Gwangju’s May pro-democracy movement in 1980, there would have been no democratic society like we have today. I hope that young people are aware of the Gwangju Democratic Uprising with factual information and remember this heartbreaking incident in which innocent citizens were beaten and slaughtered by the military of their nation. GN: Thank you, Ms. Park, for your vivid recounting of your traumatic experiences during and after the Gwangju pro-democracy movement. It has been most enlightening.
INTERVIEW WITH DR. AHN GILJEONG
GN: How did your life change after the experience? Dr. Ahn: I’m not the only one who experienced physical and mental pain at the time of the incident, so I shouldn’t even mention this, but of course, I’ve had trauma since I was in prison. And since the social atmosphere towards the participants in the May 18 Democratic Movement was not favorable at the time, it was difficult for me, too, to live a normal social life for about three years. GN: Have you ever thought about what life might have been like if it hadn’t been for the May 18 events? Dr. Ahn: I don’t know. I only responded spontaneously to an unexpected situation. I think I’ve gotten to where I am today by bumping into unexpected situations. GN: Thank you, Dr. Ahn, for sharing with us your firsthand account of the May 18 events and for your ongoing efforts to uncover the still concealed truths about the May 18 Democratic Movement.
May 2020
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GN: What are the major falsehoods about the Gwangju Uprising that are still widely spread and believed? Dr. Ahn: One of the most widely known facts is the distortion of the cause of death of Yoon Sang-won, a symbolic figure of the May 18 Democratic Movement. Yoon Sang-won is one of 16 people who died during the martial law troops’ dawn assault on the Provincial Office building [the location of the protesters’ last stand] on May 27, and the exact cause of his death has been hidden with false information such as suicide, grenade suicide, and suicide by setting himself on fire. Based on Yoon Sangwon’s death report, witnesses’ statements, and fabricated statements by soldiers, I want to reveal the true cause of Yoon’s death and further prevent other 5.18 victims from having their deaths distorted. I think there is still a lot of work left to do regarding this fact-finding, especially for the sake of the country, so that the facts can be properly known for future generations.
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GN: Please describe your own experience during the May 1980 events and how you became involved in them. Dr. Ahn: To talk about the Gwangju’s May 18 Democratic Movement, firstly you need to know about the Yushin Constitution. President Park Chung-hee had the Yushin Constitution adopted in December 1972, which made it possible for him to stay in power for the rest of his life. It was a system that repressed democracy. There were nationwide campaigns against him, centered around the universities. I also participated in the anti-Yushin protest at Chonnam National University on June 29, 1978, and as a result, I was imprisoned for about a year and two months. Even after the incident, major events in Korean history continued – the assassination of Park Chung-hee on October 26 [1979] and the military coup of December 12 [1979] by Chun Doo-hwan – and in March 1980, there was a massive anti-government protest in Gwangju. Then in May, the government ordered the nation to expand its martial law to subdue the protests. The May 18 (5.18) democratization movement can be said to have been an inevitable outbreak under these unacceptable
GN: What has driven you to devote so much of your life to uncovering the facts of the Gwangju Uprising? Dr. Ahn: Actually, I didn’t come to this with a sense of mission. Rather, I was naturally interested in the events in my personal history, and the research activities of the 5.18 Memorial Foundation are also related to my career as a researcher. We have mainly focused on unveiling the truth about who fired first on May 21 and the identification of the victims in the process of suppressing the protests. There are still many truths left to be revealed, such as debunking the martial law forces claim that they only returned fire because citizens shot first.
FEATURE
Gwangju News (GN): Good day, Dr. Ahn, and thank you for agreeing to talk with the Gwangju News about the May 1980 Gwangju Uprising. Could you first briefly introduce yourself? Dr. Ahn Giljeong: Well, I’m not from Gwangju originally, but I attended school here, from elementary school and finishing with university. For over fourteen years, I worked as an editor for a children’s book publishing company. In 2007, I conducted research on Korea’s middle ages and the Joseon Dynasty. And from next month [May], I’m planning to start as a researcher for the May 18 Memorial Foundation’s Truth Investigation Commission.
circumstances. At the time of the uprising, I was in charge of recruiting students to our cause, which was part of the protesting students’ management committee based in the Provincial Office.
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Illuminating the Past, Connecting to a Bright Future Written by Cami Ismanova “Democracy is never a thing done. Democracy is always something that a nation must be doing.” — Archibald MacLeish
The May 18 Democratic Uprising is the name of the popular pro-democracy movement that occurred during May 18–27 of 1980, in Gwangju, South Korea. It was caused by several events: the 1979 assassination of President Park Chung-hee, the December 12 coup d’etat and Chun Doohwan’s authoritarian rule, and the May 17 imposition of martial law, as well as social and political dissatisfaction in the Jeolla provinces. The Uprising started with protest marches that surged into later armed rebellion. Official records suggest that the Uprising left approximately 606 people died, among them many students of Chonnam National University.
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
March 2020
FEATURE
H
istory has always been the subject that has fascinated me the most. You can imagine my interest rising when I discovered that I had actually gotten accepted to the university with a tragically great historical heritage. Three years ago, when I saw the Gwangju campus of Chonnam National University for the first time, I could not even think that such a peaceful, green place had ever lost hundreds of young lives. As a brand-new spring semester begins, I would like to shed light once again on the May 18 Gwangju democratization movement so that both the local and international community can pay respect, by reading this article, to those who fought for the democracy that we enjoy in Korea nowadays.
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Photographs courtesy of the Chonnam Tribune, Chonnam National University.
In 2018, Chonnam University decided to create the Democracy Trail Project. “Going Together Happily” was the winning design among the six finalists in the bidding competition. The design connects three roads: Justice Road, Human Rights Road, and Peace Road. In total, the Trail includes a dozen commemorative spaces and stretches out over five kilometers. Construction on the project began with a ceremonial kickoff in December of last year so that it could be completed before this year’s 40th anniversary of the May 18 Democratic Uprising. The goal of constructing Democracy Trail on the Yongbong-dong campus is to create a space where students, regardless of their nationality, background, and differences, could unite into powerfully unique democratic communities. The Author
Cami Ismanova is a student at Chonnam National University majoring in economics. She loves writing, listening to jazz, reading non-fiction books, and traveling around. She can be found on Instagram @camidisman.
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CROSSWORD PUZZLE Created by Jon Dunbar
Look for the answers to this crossword puzzle to appear in June in Gwangju News Online (www.gwangjunewsgic.com)
DOWN 60 CD-based internet provider 1 1 1 1 Cartoon explorer 2 Sandler or Lambert 3 Exit an email account 4 Korea’s top universities 5 Actor Daniel ___ Kim
ARTS & CULTURE
6 Rough it in comfort 7 ___ the Little Penguin 8 Computer owner 9 ___ of the tongue 10 Goes with Gil-dong or Kong 11 Seoul English radio station 18 Pie ___ mode (2 words) 20 Scary or Sporty Spice 22 Santa or Gasteyer 23 He loves Bess 24 Similar to an apron 25 Troop entertainer
ACROSS
26 Intimate friends 34 Sadness
4 Global 2030 objective
35 Tsar ___
7 Opposite of pull
38 Chunhyang’s job
11 Type of list 12 Hanjin ___ Corporation
41 Legal support group ___ City Gwangju
13 Norway capital
43 Honam provincial name
14 Boast
46 City Hall district
15 Opposite of nay
50 Hippie’s affirmative answer (2 words)
16 Restrain 17 Lapita island 19 Interactive video game
51 Eric or Bo-ra 54 Korean health insurer
28 Female sheep 29 Opposite of pro 30 Large beer container 33 Hyundai sister company 36 ___ Cockle Festival 37 Get sick 39 Social media 40 Schedule 42 Traditional house 43 Goes with pungsu or Mount 44 Garden of ___
55 Depend
45 Goes with essential or vegetable
24 Goes with water or wings
56 Are you a man ___ mouse? (2 words)
48 Goes with Scouts or group
27 Proofreader Elisabeth 31 A penny saved ___ a penny earned (2 words) 32 Biblical ship
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47 Columbus state
57 Desperate
49 Utilize
58 Not ___ many words (2 words)
52 Painting or statue
59 Bullet train
53 Korean malt beer
May 2020
21 ’20s girl
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
1 K-pop group ___ Shabet
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24
Gwangju Now and Then An Interview with Robert Grotjohn
FEATURE
Interviewed by by Melline Galani
Dr. Shin and Dr. Grotjohn (right) saying their last goodbyes in front of the Gwangju International Center.
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
May 2020
Robert Grotjohn has spent a considerable number of years living in Gwangju in two different decades – separated by a gap of twenty-five years! These disconnected experiences of Gwangju make Dr. Grotjohn a perfect person to ask to compare life in the Gwangju of the past with that of present-day Gwangju. Much of the following is devoted to this. Dr. Grotjohn’s involvement with the Gwangju International Center (GIC) has been considerable, including a period as editor-in-chief of the Gwangju News as a member of the board of directors of the GIC. — Ed. Gwangju News (GN): Let us begin with a selfintroduction. Could you tell us a little bit about yourself? Dr. Robert Grotjohn: I grew up in the small town of Brainerd, Minnesota. I attended university at the University of Minnesota, Morris, where I majored in English. I first came to Korea in 1981 to teach English conversation and composition to the sophomore English majors at Chonnam National University. While
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I was here, I was married and we had a son, born at the University Hospital and baptized at the missionary compound chapel across the street from Gwangju Christian Hospital. In June of 1984, I returned to the U.S. to study for my MA and PhD at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where I specialized in American poetry. While studying, my wife and I were blessed with a baby girl, an event that completed our little family of four. After a three-year position as a visiting assistant
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25 professor at Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio, home of the legendary John Legend, I taught for 17 years at a small college in Staunton, Virginia – Mary Baldwin College, now “University.” In 2009, I returned to teach in Korea as a Fulbright lecturer at Chonbuk National University. While teaching there, I met with faculty members in the English Department whom I had known in the 1980s. One of those was Dr. Shin Gyonggu. Tenure-line faculty positions at Korean universities were first opened to international scholars in 2010, and I was invited to return to Chonnam University to teach American culture and poetry. So, I took early retirement from Mary Baldwin, and returned again in August 2010. I stayed until my mandatory-at-65 retirement at the end of February 2020, and I now live in Madison, Wisconsin again, where my son lives with his wife and two small children. I look forward to becoming a doting grandfather.
time, Incheon was most famous for MacArthur’s landing, not for its world-class airport. As the plane dropped in the fairly abrupt descent to Gimpo, I was struck by the colorful roof tiles of the houses – blue, red, and orange. Nowadays, tall buildings dominate the skyline of Seoul, but, in 1981, the most notable thing to me were the roofs of traditional houses. Indeed, when I made my way to Kwangju (yes, spelled with a K in those days) and took up residence in an apartment on the Chonam campus, I often took a morning run through a neighborhood that still had several choga-jib, the thatched-roof houses of old Korea, and no apartment buildings at all. A group of grandfathers sat in front of a small store every morning and would often offer me a raw egg to drink as I passed by.
My first experience of actually, or almost, being in Korea was on my first descent into Gimpo Airport – at that
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When I got off the plane and met Tim, who was waiting for me, we went out into Seoul. My first impression then was olfactory. Korea was still a developing country, and the smells were much livelier than those in the sanitized, underground-sewer and plastic-wrapped food of my limited Midwestern American upbringing. The traditional markets of Korea are still some of my favorite places to take in the smells of human activity. Another first-day reaction I remember is thinking, “I want to play basketball.” Because of the nutritional limitations of the post-war period in Korea, the average height of a Korean male was a few inches shorter than that of an American male. My height was just average in America, but in Korea, I was tall. When I returned in 2009, that was no longer the case; Korea had become fully developed, nutrition had improved, and the average height of a Korean male was about the same as that of an American male for the people who had grown to adulthood since my departure in 1984. American noses were also “taller” than Korean noses. It was not at all unusual in those early days to hear strangers refer to a foreigner as a ko-jaengi, a “big nose.”
May 2020
Having grown up with images of protest in the Civil Rights and Anti-Vietnam War movements, images that inspired me to the leftish politics I hold still, I was deeply impressed by the willing sacrifice of Gwangju citizens in the struggle for democracy. When Tim returned to Korea and learned of the opening to teach in Korea through his Korean tutor, a graduate student in the English Department of Chonnam University, he asked if I was interested. I was, and I was hired. My first encounter with Gwangju, in other words, was in the storytelling of my friend Tim before I had ever set foot in Asia.
▲ Dr. Shin (left) and Dr. Grotjohn (center) in a picture taken 40 years ago.
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
Grotjohn: My first personal encounter with Gwangju was in the summer of 1980. One of my college roommates had joined the Peace Corps and been assigned to Gwangju. He experienced the May 18 Uprising up close – if you have ever seen the photo of a Westerner in a plaid shirt walking alongside a stretcher holding a person injured in the Uprising, you have seen my old roommate, Tim Warnberg, a minor hero of the first days of the Uprising for rescuing a handful of injured people and helping them get to local clinics around Geumnam-ro. He was sent home to Minnesota that summer, and he spent a lot of time telling me and our other friends about his experiences in Korea, especially his traumatic experiences during May 1980. I remember his horrified description of the soldiers mercilessly beating an old woman who had been in the vicinity of the demonstrations, and his inspiring description of the taxi drivers’ charge on the soldiers at the Provincial Office Building.
FEATURE
GN: How were your first encounters with Gwangju and South Korea?
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26 When I first arrived in Gwangju, the semester was already several days old, as my visa had not been issued in time for me to arrive for the first couple of days. On the morning of my first class, about an hour before that class was to begin, I walked into the Chonnam Language Center, was introduced to the director, and was handed a textbook. “What should I do?” I asked. “Listen and repeat,” I was told. That is about what I did for the first semester, when I taught conversation to all the sophomore English majors. I became a more adept instructor in that sink-or-swim situation as the semesters progressed.
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
May 2020
FEATURE
GN: Could you please describe the difference between the Gwangju and Korea of the 1980s and what they were like when you returned? Grotjohn: I have already noted a few – height, houses vs. towering apartment complexes, aroma. Basically, Korea was just beginning to really explode as an economic tiger, and old Korea, like the choga-jib, was still an obviously essential part of Gwangju’s nature. In 1981, there was a lot of construction in Gwangju (that has not changed), and the materials were often brought to construction sites by horse-cart rather than by truck. By the time I left in 1984, trucks had replaced the horses in a concrete demonstration of economic development. I never saw a tractor in Honam, at least not to my recollection. The fields were all plowed by oxen. I remember once being struck by seeing a tractor out the bus window as I neared Seoul because I never saw one near Gwangju. The students were much more politically active. Every spring, the Chonnam campus would be filled with pepper gas as the students demonstrated for democracy. By 1984, I often heard “Yankee go home” as I walked through the campus, something that had never happened when I first arrived. Koreans had come to understand that the U.S., which they had imagined as a champion of democracy and human rights, had turned a blind eye to Chun Do-hwan and his military thugs, even given tacit approval for troop movements to Gwangju in May 1980. I did not resent it when people shouted at me. Rather, I sympathized with their anger and frustration, as well as their sense of betrayal. Had I been a Korean student, I may well have shouted at me as well. While the comments were not all negative, Westerners were open to frequent comments and greetings. One was always a remarkable presence in public, while nowadays, one is barely noticed. Other than Western missionaries, whom one rarely encounters these days, the white people living in Gwangju that I knew were the person teaching the sophomores in the English Education Department, two English teachers at Chosun University (one of whom was the venerable Dr. David Shaffer, editor of this magazine), and two German teachers at Chosun University. There may have been others, but I never met them. We were
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rarities and to be remarked upon wherever we appeared. One could not walk along Chungjang-ro without being invited to a tea room by someone who wanted to be your best friend in order to practice their English. There were many tearooms, the place one arranged to meet friends, and no coffeeshops at all. The only coffee was Korea’s famous mix coffee, which I am missing very much here in America. There was no pizza, no American fast food franchises. I was excited to eat at Korea’s very first McDonald’s and very first Pizza Hut, and I had to go to Seoul to eat at either. The society has become much more open to individual differences. While Korea still has some well-documented gender inequities, in the 1980s, women had little freedom to be individualistic at all. There is much more freedom to be oneself these days. There is much more openness about sexuality, for instance. In the 1980s, one would see men holding hands with their male friends but never with their female friends. Society was much more divided into gendered groups. Nowadays, “couple culture” is everywhere around us. Many more students are much better at speaking English than they were in the 1980s. Most of the students in my recent literature classes could follow the lectures and discussions pretty well. In the 1980s, it would have been a small fraction. Seoul was not so much the center of the academic universe in the 1980s. Many more good students stayed at their regional universities. Korean professional baseball had its inaugural season in 1982. The Haitai (not Kia) Tigers won their first championship in 1983, with many more to follow. I saw the first Tigers game at Mudeung Stadium in 1982 and their last game there in 2013. In the 1980s, we sat on the cold concrete. In the 2010s, there were seats.
GIC Director Shin presents Dr. Grotjohn (left) with a plaque of appreciation for his contributions to the GIC and the Gwangju News.
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27
GN: How did you enjoy your life and teaching after you came back to Gwangju in 2010?
GN: How did you start working for the GIC and the Gwangju News, and how did you enjoy your involvement with them? Grotjohn: Dr. Shin, how else? When Dr. Shin [Gwangju International Center director] calls, I usually answer. He is my seonbae from the old days in Gwangju. When I first arrived, I was much more involved, but life got busier and commitments more diversified as I stayed here. I have been very happy with my experiences at the GIC. I learned a lot while editing the Gwangju News, including the fact that being an editor may not be my greatest talent. As the editor, and now as an interested reader, I was and am most impressed by the dedicated volunteers, both international and native, who make the magazine a production of which all Gwangju can be proud.
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Grotjohn: Go on a diet (this is not going well) – too many people took me to eat too much good food as we said our goodbyes, including my last culinary pleasures with Korean fried chicken with the staff of the GIC. I will miss the eating culture of Korea, and the food. I like to joke that I will start a Naju Gomtang restaurant in my retirement – not because I want to own a restaurant but because it is impossible to find gomtang in most of the U.S., and I love my gomtang. I think I will dote on my grandchildren, read books, travel through the American West, find a good Korean church so I do not lose my already limited Korean language skills. We almost decided to stay in Korea because as Korea has begun to get control of the coronavirus and pushed the curve downward, the virus is skyrocketing in America and the turn of the curve seems far too distant. Korea’s healthcare system looks better and better. Maybe the most pressing thing we can do in the U.S. is look for a way back to South Korea. Photographs courtesy of Dr. Grotjohn and the GIC.
The interviewer
Melline Galani is a Romanian enthusiast, born and raised in the capital city of Bucharest, who is currently living in Gwangju. She likes new challenges, learning interesting things, and is incurably optimistic. Instagram: @melligalanis.
May 2020
Grotjohn: The GIC creates a comfort zone for the international community, whether or not an individual has much contact with the Center and its activities. It helps give the international community a feeling that Gwangju is home, and many have made it their home. The GIC gave me a foothold in the community outside the university, and that is very important in making the city become a home and not just a stopping point. If we did not have two grandchildren in the U.S., my wife and I probably would have stayed in Gwangju permanently. As I tell people who ask, “I want to stay in Gwangju, and I want to live in the U.S.” The GIC has been a significant
GN: What are you planning to do now that you are back in the U.S.?
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
GN: How did the GIC help you during your stay in Gwangju?
factor in creating those divided feelings. I am glad the GIC is here even though I have not spent as much time in recent years doing GIC things as I once did. FEATURE
Grotjohn: Outside my family and my faith, my life and work in the 2010s were some of the greatest blessings of my life. I would make the same decision to return over again in a second.
The Gwangju International Center team bids farewell to Dr. Robert Grotjohn (front, center).
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28
Lost in Gwangju
Odds and (Dead) Ends Spring Cleaning Edition Written and photographed by Isaiah Winters
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
May 2020
TRAVEL
It’s time for a special spring cleaning edition of bizarre leftover photos crowding my desktop. Like in the July 2019 edition of “Odds and (Dead) Ends,” these stories don’t quite pass muster as full articles individually, but together they don’t disappoint. I hope you share the same cornucopia of unwanted emotions I got when discovering them.
The New Testament (Yang-dong).
The New Testament (Yang-dong)
Gwangju’s very own “Heavenly Father” has updated his doomsday business card, and as his humble servant, I feel like it’s incumbent upon me to spread the news. The good news is that it seems there’s still time to avoid perishing in the rapture. You see, according to “Heavenly Father,” the Republic of Korea is possessed with evil demons
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and sprits, so on a day of his choosing, the Earth will be destroyed and those who haven’t changed their addresses to the random rice field addressed on the back of his new card will perish. Graciously, “Heavenly Father” has prepared a new world for all registrants, which I’m sure will come in handy. There’s one major condition though: The world awaiting us unfortunately isn’t for people who
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29 In one of the farthest-flung corners still technically within Gwangju Metropolitan City limits is an abandoned poultry farm with a kinky secret. In a garage adjacent to one of the farmhouses, I found a headless Santa Claus, a child’s spring horse, and a full-sized topless statue of a woman in a G-string. (Whichever you consider to be the kinky secret is your business.) Arms akimbo, the highly detailed and proportionate mannequin bears some resemblance to the original Wonder Woman, though with a darker complexion. I’ll never know what role this titillating effigy played on a farm otherwise strewn with poultry cages, asbestos paneling, and bird bones. The only detail I could glean about the owners was that they were Jehovah’s Witnesses (based on the panoply of religious materials from the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania found in the house). The stark cleavage between stacks of pious literature and a plaster temptress is another one of Gwangju’s many riddles, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma. TRAVEL
The updated card from “Heavenly Father” bears more literary manna overleaf, and it couldn’t have come at a more opportune time. Apparently, if you want to be healed of any illness by his blessed hand, all you have to do is call the number listed – toll free! Now that such a trusty panacea exists, we can all get back to coughing in each other’s faces like it’s still 2019. I know I have. Speaking of faces, there’s one final detail I managed to divine from his New Testament card regarding why he has “Heavenly Father” (cheonbu, 천부) marked in red on his forehead. On one side, he quotes Revelation 22:4, which reads, “They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.” It turns out that in New Jerusalem, God’s servants will actually be able to see him, and in a godly alternative to the mark of the beast, witnessing him will cause his name to be marked on their foreheads. I guess this means “Heavenly Father” has actually seen God for himself in New Jerusalem, which is all a bit confusing. If you’re similarly unsure who the real God is, then why not make the call and find out for yourselves?
Farmstead Kink (Samgeo-dong)
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love money, so registrants would presumably have to forfeit their assets beforehand, though to whom I couldn’t possibly venture a guess.
Farmstead Kink (Samgeo-dong).
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
May 2020
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www.gwangjunewsgic.com
May 2020
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TRAVEL
30
A Watershed Moment (Yongyeon-dong)
It took a pandemic for me to acknowledge the gelatinous muffin top cascading over my beltline. So, with nothing but time on my hands for endless self-ridicule, I decided to skimp on lunches and go hiking five days a week, each time at a different spot. There’s a lot of good hiking within the city limits if you break routines and know where to go. For example, I’d always heard that there were waterfalls in Mudeungsan National Park, but I never bothered to seek them out until this spring. Pictured is the trail along Yongchu Falls, which is an easy hike (more like a walk, really) that crisscrosses the falls multiple times for almost three kilometers. The grand finale is a series of falls that, at least when I was there, was completely bereft of anyone but myself. A similar experience happened when I visited the far higher Shimujigi Falls on the backside of Mudeung Mountain – the only difference being that I didn’t see a single soul along the latter trail.
A Watershed Moment (Yongyeon-dong).
future pandemics, I don’t think there will ever be a better time than now to get out and explore our surroundings with as much serenity. Ultimately, like the reemerging wildlife, introverts like yours truly are thriving in this new environment. Monumental Hate (Mudeung Mountain).
Interestingly, in the absence of hikers, regional wildlife has become braver. For instance, over the course of two separate hikes in nearby Jangseong-gun, I spooked at least seven deer in places where I’d never seen them before. (I got into a staring contest with two of them, but lost.) Similarly, the usual squirrels, mice, woodpeckers, and pheasants are all getting easier to spot, too. Eventually, I’ll probably run into wild boar as well and so always try to keep in mind which nearby tree might be best to climb if charged. Still, the region’s burgeoning wildlife presence is a nice respite from the herds of makgeolli-swilling sapiens and their techno-trot mating calls. Barring
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31 Monumental Hate (Mudeung Mountain)
“To the owner of this building: Don’t get conned by Messrs. Kim and Yun and their gang. Call the district architecture office at 010-****-**** and ask. Don’t regret getting f**ked over.” This is the stern warning scrawled in red paint on the inner wall of this unfinished building along the backside of Mudeung Mountain – an area I like to call the “dark side of the Mu.” It seems the “gang” referenced may have seen the message because someone later spray painted over its most sensitive details in red. The only reason the message can still be read today is because someone else (likely the original writer) returned and sanded off the spray paint in certain parts, especially where it mentions Mr. Kim’s full name. All this deduction suggests a vitriolic tit-for-tat playing out on the otherwise sleepy back slopes of Gwangju’s fairest mountain.
Chairman Cha’s Death Beds (Yongsan-dong).
About two weeks before COVID-19 began to take off in Korea, I stumbled upon this defunct wedding hall with working electricity. Otherwise useless until demolished, each individual wedding hall within has been repurposed as a showroom for different events, with the one pictured being by far the most unique. Lining the aisle where nervous brides once mincingly crossed into matrimony – with proud grooms in awe and all eyes moist with tears of joy – are rows of hospital gurneys that apparently served as seating for some macabre speaking engagement. The stage bore a banner welcoming Cha Jun-heon, pastor of the Work of Jesus Church and chairman of El Goal In pharmaceutical company. It seems he visited Gwangju last August for a seminar of sorts and, I guess, the gurneys were used as prop seating, maybe as a way to make the audience feel like they were sick and in need of Chairman Cha’s meds. His website slangs all sorts of detox products from soap and toothpaste to salt and water – and, of course, pills, pills, pills. Today the foyer of this particular wedding hall remains stocked with some of Chairman Cha’s merchandise under the banner, “In a low, humble manner of service.”
TRAVEL
Eventually, these husks of rusted rebar and chipped concrete become monuments to so many untold stories of hate, debt, and bankruptcy. I’m fascinated by these overlooked disputes and all the rancor and financial ruin left in their wake. In this case, the intended seven-story convalescent hospital remains forever stillborn and, according to a dingy signboard at the entrance, has had a lien on it since 2013. Nothing about the row seems to exist online, but the person who wrote the warning and the “gang” alluded to are nevertheless somewhere out there today with one hell of a story to tell about who owes whom what. Though admittedly morbid, my only hope is that whoever finally gets stuck with the debt doesn’t opt for felo de se.
Chairman Cha’s Death Beds (Yongsan-dong)
And that’s how I’ll finish this overlong article, dear readers: in a low, humble manner of service. The Author
Originally from Southern California, Isaiah Winters is a Gwangju-based urban explorer who enjoys writing about the City of Light’s lesser-known quarters. When he’s not roaming the streets and writing about his experiences, he’s usually working or fulfilling his duties as the Gwangju News’ heavily caffeinated chief proofreader.
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www.gwangjunewsgic.com
May 2020
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32
From Abroad
Malaysia
TRAVEL
Three Days in Kota Kinabalu
Written by Sesetu Holomisa
O
ne of the reasons I decided to live and work in Korea was because of its close proximity to other beautiful Asian countries, one of them being Malaysia. On February 10, I had the privilege of traveling to Kota Kinabalu, the capital of Sabah, Malaysia. I decided to travel to this seaside city because of the spacious, solitary islands it boasts and its warm beaches. I arrived in the early hours of Tuesday and, because I could not check into my hotel until 2:00 p.m., I wandered around Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA), had a McMufffin with orange juice at 4:00 a.m., and eventually asked the airport staff if there was anywhere to rest before I actually began my journey. I was kindly told that there was a rest area on the first level of the airport called NapZone. I made my way to NapZone, stored my luggage, and napped in a hostel-like cubicle in a dorm room. The facility had a bathroom, a shower, and a charging dock as well. So, if you ever need to kill time at KKIA, I highly recommend taking a rest there. After resting, I made my way to the arrivals and tried to download Grab, an app similar to Uber that is used in Malaysia. However, I was led to a version of the app
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that required a Malaysian number and, as I had not purchased a SIM card upon arrival, I just got a cab. In hindsight, it was not the best idea because they charged me 30 Malaysian ringgits (30 RM), which I thought was reasonable, as it is around 8,500 Korean won. However, I later discovered that I would have only been charged 8 RM had I downloaded the internationally friendly version of Grab. We live and we learn! Regardless, I made it to the Inkk Hotel, a cozy and clean boutique hotel just a couple of minutes from the airport. The hotel had a friendly staff, and they were willing to help me when it came to sightseeing and navigating around Kota Kinabalu. The hotel is in a shared building that has a convenience store, restaurants, and a massage parlor. After cleaning up and unpacking for my three-day stay, I decided to raid the convenience store on the first floor of the building and bought some Malaysian snacks. I love spicy food, so I tried their ramen and crisps, along with some other stuff to satisfy my sweet tooth. I was overwhelmed by having traveled alone outside of Korea and decided that I had done enough for the day so that I could ease my anxiety.
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33 On Wednesday, I decided to visit a mosque, namely, the Kota Kinabalu City Mosque, and I booked a sunset beach experience through Airbnb at Tanjung Aru Beach. I had managed to download Grab and used the service to make my way to the mosque. Unfortunately, based on what the Grab driver told me, the mosque was closed and he recommended we go to the Universiti Malaysia Sabah Mosque (UMS) instead. I agreed and we made our way there. On the way to UMS, I was able to take pictures of the exterior of the City Mosque, and it was breathtaking even in passing. I made it to UMS, but when I asked the front desk how I could book a spot for the next tour, the language barrier proved too difficult to overcome. So, I took some pictures of the structure instead and walked around the campus. The heat, however, prompted me to order my next Grab to a shopping mall I saw across the university campus. I then went to a restaurant and enjoyed some delicious Malaysian cuisine: a chicken and noodle broth with a spicy sauce.
After watching the sunset, I went to the night market on the beach, where there was a wide variety of Malaysian foods, drinks, and desserts made by locals. There were also musicians busking at the market. The atmosphere was very vibrant and warm, as good food and good music
I ended my last full day by going to a highly recommended restaurant, Welcome Seafood Restaurant, where I enjoyed a spicy crab and the most amazing stir-fried noodles I have ever tasted in my life. If you are ever in Kota Kinabalu, you have to have these noodles!
The author
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May 2020
Sesetu Holomisa is 22 years old and a political science graduate working as an English teacher for a gap-year experience. She loves listening to all kinds of music, eating food from around the world, and reading. These are the things that distract her from drowning in her thoughts of how meaningless everything seems sometimes.
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
If it were not for the overpriced cab, I would have finished off with a back massage at the massage parlor near the hotel; however, I was off to Singapore the next day, and I had a budget to stick to. Even so, I had an incredible time in Kota Kinabalu and I would definitely go again.
TRAVEL
After lunch, I wandered around the mall. After window shopping, I made my way to Tanjung Aru Beach where I met a local photographer, watched the sunset, and took some pictures. She told me that the beach was one of the main attractions in Sabah, but she had never seen it so empty as fewer people were traveling due to the outbreak of COVID-19. The ocean was calm and the sunset was spectacular, so much so that pictures would never do it any justice. Nevertheless, I took some.
always create a wonderfully soul-lifting experience. On my last full day, I decided to go island hoping. I went to Jesselton Point and paid for a ferry to two islands: Sapi Island and Manukan Island. I found that travel sites only offered packages that included lunch and water activities such as parasailing, banana boat rides, etc. I simply wanted to go to the islands, swim, and sunbathe, so it was more affordable to book a ferry at Jesselton Point. The islands had crystal-blue waters and white sands. You could see the fish swimming from the decks and enjoy snorkeling there, too. In fact, going to these stunning offshore islands was the highlight of my trip.
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34 Around Gwangju
Jungoe Park A Hideaway in Gwangju
TRAVEL
Written by Yoo Su-yeon and Han So-young
Jungoe Park
I May 2020
We used public transportation to go to the park. There are three bus stops near the park, and it takes about 10–15 minutes to walk from any of them to the park. The bus stops are named Physical Education High School / Korea Polytechnic V (체육고등학교/한국폴리텍5대학), Culture and Arts Center Back Gate (문화예술회관 후문), and Unam Byeoksan Blooming Apartment (운암벽산블루밍 아파트). You can arrive easily by taking buses 29, 95, 58, 51, or 29 to these stops.
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
n the spring, when the air is full of fragrant flower scents, we would like to introduce Jungoe Park, in the center of Buk-gu, Gwangju. Jungoe Park is a wellknown attraction to Buk-gu residents, but unfamiliar to people living in different districts. So for these people, we would like to introduce one of Gwangjus best-kept secrets.
You can see a rainbow bridge on the way to the park after getting off at the bus stop. This rainbow bridge was erected just over the highway. It is said to have been created to symbolize the purpose of the Gwangju Biennale, to connect the separated Jungoe Park and cross the boundary to become one. If you cross this bridge, which has a beautiful meaning, you will meet a large lake, Unam Reservoir. As there is a track around this reservoir and a sports facility, it is a good place to take a stroll. Also, there is a cherry blossom path where we entered
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the amusement park. It brought back memories of my childhood when I held my mom’s hand and went to the amusement park. Jungoe Park generally has a lot of family visitors, but due to the influence of COVID-19, there were very few visitors when we were there. This park is a place where people can relax in beautiful nature with many rides such as Viking rides, bumper cars, merry-go-rounds, and sky bicycles. We took the park’s must-try sky bicycles. The picture shows you why you must take this ride. The ride has its tracks along the cherry blossom path, so you can feel as if you’re walking on cherry blossoms as you get on board. Also, you can take a selfie surrounded by cherry blossoms while riding a sky bike. It will be a very interesting picture because it will be different from those photos you have of yourself taken under cherry trees in bloom. In addition to the rides, you should not forget to visit the various performance and exhibition facilities near Jungoe Park, including the Gwangju Museum of Art, the Gwangju Culture and Arts Center, the Gwangju Folk Museum, and the Gwangju Biennale Exhibition Hall. There is also an area with a lawn where you can enjoy a picnic outside the amusement park. Every spring, many people come here to spread out their mats and eat packed lunches with their families. It is located next to the art museum, so it is quite scenic with beautiful sculptures
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35
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Jungoe Park’s sky bicycle tracks.
next to it. At night, the sculptures light up, so you can enjoy a picnic even in the evening. It also has a big swing to have a good time with the kids. Now is the time to keep social distance to prevent the spread of COVID-19, but when the virus situation stabilizes, it would be great to visit Jungoe Park with your family or partner.
The Author
Yoo Su-yeon is an intern on the Planning and Management Team at the GIC. She is very interested in eating delicious food and visiting famous restaurants. She always gets a lot of satisfaction out of cooking with fresh ingredients on her days off.
The Author
Han So-young is an intern on the Planning and Management Team at the GIC. Her happiest moments are when eating delicious foods with people she likes. She likes to spend time with people but sometimes also enjoys cooking at home by herself and eating what she makes while watching Netflix. That’s the time she truly meets herself.
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Annual Membership Fee: General: 40,000 won; Student: 20,000 won; Group: 20,000 won (min. 10 persons). Inquiry: member@gic.or.kr / 062-226-2733
FOOD & DRINKS
The Gwangju International Center (GIC) is a nonprofit organization established in 1999 to promote cultural understanding and to build a better community among Koreans and international residents. By being a member, you can help support our mission and make things happen! Join us today and receive exciting benefits! • One-year free subscription and delivery of the Gwangju News magazine. • Free use of the GIC library. • Free interpretation and counseling services from the GIC. • Discounts on programs and events held by the GIC. • Up-to-date information on GIC events through our email newsletter.
Send the Gwangju News to your loved ones back home! The Gwangju News has been serving the community since 2001 by delivering news and information to the international communities of Gwangju. Send the Gwangju News to your family and friends back home, and let them know about Gwangju! Annual Subcription Rates: • Asia and Australia: 40,000 won (US $40) • Europe: 50,000 won (US $50) • America, Africa: 60,000 won (US $60) Payment can be made through bank transfer, cash, or Paypal. Bank Transfer: Kwangju Bank (사)광주국제교류센터: 134-107-000999 Paypal: gic@gic.or.kr Inquiry: gwangjunews@gic.or.kr or 062-226-2733
4/24/2020 4:15:39 PM
36 Product Review
This handy and free little app will help you make sense of your financial shenanigans.
Written by William Urbanski
PRODUCT REVIEW
A
h, the eternal question: “What happened to all my money?” Most people reading this have probably spent a large part of their life pursuing money and yet feel they have precious little to show for it. It’s also probably fair to say that most people would like to hang on to more of their hard-earned bucks. Common knowledge suggests that in order to have a little more left over at the end of the month, what you need is a budget. Well, if you’ve worked for more than five years and are constantly running out of money or don’t have at least a few grand at your disposal, what you really need is a swift kick to the back of your pants. You also need to start tracking where all you money goes.
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
May 2020
Tracking personal expenditures is important for a number of reasons, the most important being that you can’t manage what you can’t measure. The second reason is that it elevates spending to a conscious, deliberate act rather than just a habit. By adding an extra step (such as writing down each and every purchase) it also acts as a barrier to spending. That is, you’ll take one extra second to consider a purchase because you’ll know there’s an extra little thing you’ll have to do. As well, forcing yourself to take a cold, hard look at your financial exploits at the end of every month is antithetical to self-deception. For many, many years, I followed a simple but rustic (and dare I say, rugged) system of tracking my purchases. I paid cash, kept the receipt, and then logged it manually into a notebook under an assigned category. Then at the end of each month, I’d tally up all the expenses by category, which would give me a very clear picture of where my money went. This process may seem tedious, and at times it certainly was, but I don’t regret doing it. That being said, after keeping on the straight and narrow for a number of years, I noticed a number of problems arose, mostly due to my own laziness. The biggest problem was that often, I simply wouldn’t record my expenses every day and seemingly every week, I would have a big stack of receipts that had to be logged. This was time-consuming. The other major problem was that I was actually keeping two separate records: one for logging the
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day-to-day expenditures and one for summing them all up. Eventually, I did switch to using Excel to do some of the work (there were reasons why I stuck with pen and paper for so long), but logging the receipts and busting out the calculator to do some good old-fashioned number crunching was just taking too much time away from burning my eyes out on Instagram and YouTube. So, the search for a new system was afoot. It was around this time that I remembered that smartphones exist and someone had probably solved this problem already. And so, it came to pass that I found and tested a number of apps that use a newfangled technology called Optical Character Recognition (or OCR). Using OCR, the apps could take a picture of a receipt, extract the financial information and log it automatically. Deus ex machina! Actually, not quite, because pretty much all these apps were steaming piles of odorous excrement. The biggest problem was that to use the OCR technology in the first place, the user has to pay per picture and it is not cheap, in the range of 20 cents. Paying that kind of money basically undermines the whole point of me tracking expenses in the first place, so the search continued. Ultimately, I stumbled upon one of the best, simplest, and cleanest little apps ever. Money Manager is brilliant in its simplicity and extremely intuitive. Not only is the app free to use, it’s also free of banner ads or any other advertising. After opening the app (which takes up less than 30 MB), you see your running total for the month. To add a purchase you just have to click the yellow plus sign at the bottom. From there, you can choose from a plethora of pre-determined categories (or even make your own) to which you add your purchase. Next, you enter the amount of the purchase, add a memo (if you want), hit the check mark and, voila – the amount is automatically logged and added to the running total. All these purchases are input into a pie chart that neatly and simply summarizes your expenses, both by aggregate total and percentage, so you know, to the won, exactly how much you’re spending.
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37
Graphics by William Urbanski
As alluded to above, you have the choice of creating your own categories, a feature that you should definitely take advantage of. I’m not going to get into the exact reasons why, but when tracking your expenses, the more numerous and precise the categories, the better. Being able to personalize the app this way (with cool, bold icons) really makes it fun to use. Probably one of the best features is that, unlike certain apps that require you to link up all your bank accounts and credit card information, Money Manager needs nothing. There’s an option to connect it to Google or Facebook, but you can still enjoy most of the benefits without doing so. And why would you want to give this information away (or indirectly make it available) anyway?
The Author
William Urbanski, managing editor of the Gwangju News, has an MA in international relations and cultural diplomacy. He’s married to a wonderful Korean woman, always pays cash, and keeps all his receipts. Instagram: @will_il_gatto
May 2020
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Think for a moment about how much of your daily routine involves getting ready for work, commuting to work, being at work, and sitting on your rump because you’re so tired from work. Even if you get paid for being at the office for 40 hours a week, it’s likely that your job is really sucking up somewhere in the neighbourhood of 50+ hours per week, far more than you spend with your friends and family. For all the trouble you spend making your money, doesn’t it make a little sense to figure out where it all goes?
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
In his amazing book Homo Deus, Yuval Noah Harari draws an interesting parallel between the natives of the New World hundreds of years ago and the modern people who so readily give away their data to the tech giants. The natives traded away vast tracks of land in exchange for trinkets from the visiting Europeans. Even though the mirrors and shiny combs were things that natives couldn’t produce themselves, nobody in their right mind today would say that they got the best of the deal. As we steadily transition into a knowledge-based economy, where knowledge and data are the most valuable assets, understanding the value of your personal information and thinking twice before giving it away is paramount. A large contingency of people resists financial planning
out of fear that it will make them look cheap. Or worse yet, they subscribe to platitudes such as “keeping track of money takes the fun out of spending it” or “YOLO, baby!” Well, there’s something worse and more painful than spending a few minutes each day to click an app – and that something is constantly running out of cash. Tracking your spending definitely won’t solve all your money problems, but it’s the quintessential first step.
PRODUCT REVIEW
Enter your expenses in four simple steps. • Step 1: Open the app and tap on the yellow plus sign. • Step 2: Choose a category, enter the value, and tap the check mark. You can also add a memo if you’d like. • Step 3: The expense is automatically recorded in an easy-to-read chart. Tap the plus sign to repeat. • Step 4: All the expenses are displayed as percentages, totals, and in a pie chart.
4/24/2020 4:15:39 PM
38 Restaurant Review
A Delicious Hankki
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
May 2020
FOOD & DRINKS
Written by Seon Su-yeon, Yoo Su-yeon, and Han So-young
T
Interior of Hankki-masissda.
hese days, Western food is becoming more universal in Korea. Unlike in the past, you can find Western restaurants everywhere and anytime. But when you go to a Western restaurant, the dishes are often oilier than you’d like, and there are no special differences distinguishing them from those of other Western restaurants. That’s why we went to a Korean-style Western restaurant called “Hankki-masissda” (한끼 맛있다), which serves fusion food combining Korean and Western cuisine. The “kki” (끼) in the name means “meal.” Because food culture has developed a lot in Korea, there are many expressions related to meals when meeting people. For example, Koreans often ask, “Have you had lunch/dinner?” (밥 먹었어?). Therefore, we figured this is why the restaurant also has such a name, which incidental translates loosely as “One Fine Meal.” This restaurant is in the center of downtown Gwangju. Located across from Chungjang Lotte Cinema, it was easy to find at its second-floor location. However, since there are many other restaurants nearby, it might be more convenient to do an internet search for the restaurant before you go. There were a lot of bright lights inside, so we felt very warm and cozy when we entered. Also, the many small plants made us feel refreshed, and because of the wide spaces, it was convenient to put our bags on a seat.
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We ordered a lunch combo that consisted of steak, your choice of rice or pasta, and a fruit drink (By the way, lunchtime is from 11:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.) We ordered the Leek Pork Belly Steak (부추 통삼겹 스테이크), the Rosé Pane Pasta (로제 빠네 파스타), and a green-grape drink. Still hungry for more, we ordered the Kimchi Pilaf (김치 필라프) as well. The waiting time was short, as it took only about ten minutes for the food to be served. The Rosé Pane Pasta came out first. So-young, one of us three at the table, prefers Korean food more than Western food because she doesn’t like oily foods. But this pasta was a bit spicy unlike normal rose sauce, so it seemed to be perfect in taste not only for her but also for Koreans in general who like spicy flavors. When we asked about the sauce to the waiter, he said that the spicy flavor is buldak (불닭, a popular spicy sauce in Korea) sauce, made using their own recipe. Also, the bread served on the side was crispy and moist, matching well with the sauce. The second dish to arrive was the Kimchi Pilaf. There were kimchi and meat inside, but it tasted like ordinary kimchi fried rice (김치 볶음밥). If you want to experience a more fusion-like dish, we recommend you try a different kind of rice. The last dish was the Leek Pork Belly Steak. As the signature dish of this restaurant, it was plated nicely and looked very tasty. It came with ricotta cheese salad, cloves of roasted garlic, pineapple, and rice, making the
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39 Leek Pork Belly Steak
Kimchi Pilaf
dish even more plentiful. The pork belly (samgyeopsal, 삼겹살) was as good as expected. It was tender, not tough or smelly, and the soy sauce with red pepper powder that came out with it tasted sweet and salty. Also, the salad contained a really big chunk of ricotta cheese and the vegetables in the salad were fresh. The combination with meat was good as well. Besides, since we had ordered the main dish, we could get refills of rice and salad for free! We’d like to recommend this place to those who don’t like oily foods but want to experience a unique Korean-style of Western cuisine. Even though we had pasta, pilaf, and steak, we felt like we had eaten Korean foods. Besides, every dish was a big portion. You’ll be able to enjoy a variety of foods if you order a combo menu item and a single dish for three people. The price is midrange, so it would be a nice and easy place to go with friends, for couples, and as a family.
Rosé Pane Pasta
The Author
Seon Su-yeon is an intern on the International Support Team at the GIC. She’s majoring in mass communication at Chonnam National University. She loves editing videos, listening to band music,
If you’re thinking about whether to go out to have Western food or Korean food, why don’t you go to this restaurant and have both?
and cooking.
Tip: In addition to a ricotta cheese salad and rice refills when you order the steak, you can also refill your drink at the self-service bar. There is also a promotion that offers free fruit drinks for each table if you post a picture on your SNS account, such as Instagram or Facebook, with the tag that the restaurant requests.
Yoo Su-yeon is an intern on the Planning and Management Team at the GIC. She is very interested in eating delicious food and visiting famous restaurants. She always gets a lot of satisfaction out of cooking with fresh ingredients on her days off.
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Han So-young is an intern on the Planning and Management Team at the GIC. Her happiest moments are when eating delicious foods with people she likes. She likes to spend time with people but sometimes also enjoys cooking at home by herself and eating what she makes while watching Netflix. That’s the time she truly meets herself.
May 2020
Address: 312-1 Jungang-ro 160-beon-gil, Dong-gu, Gwangju Hours: 11:00–22:00 daily (30 minutes different from the time posted on the internet) Telephone: 062-222-7779 Website: https://0622227779.modoo.at/ Services: Group seating, reservations, take-out, and delivery services are available. Parking, however, is not.
The Author
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
Hankki-masissda (HANKI COOK)
The Author
4/24/2020 4:15:44 PM
40 Recipe
Kongnamul Gukbap Written by Joe Wabe
One of the dearest and closest dishes to Koreans’ hearts (as well as to the hearts of foreigners) is gukbap (국밥) or hot soup with rice. This savory and filling dish is ideal for breakfast or lunch, and one of my favorites during the chilly months of the year. Although there are many varieties, for most of them, the base broth is the same: seasoned boiled pork bones. There aren’t many facts written about the origins of this popular dish, but one of the theories places it during the Korea War in the 1950s when food was scarce and peasants made the best use of every part of the animal for sustenance. Over time, the soup’s popularity grew from a poor man’s meal to a very popular dish, especially in Busan where dwaeji gukpab (돼지국밥) ) became a local specialty that still attracts many people every year.
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
May 2020
FOOD & DRINKS
Soybean Sprouts Rice Soup
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4/24/2020 4:15:50 PM
41
FOOD & DRINKS
Kongnamul gukbap (콩나물국밥), or soybean sprout soup, is attributed to the Jeolla provinces, specifically to Jeonju, and it’s well known as a “hangover soup” for its soothing spiciness and nutritional characteristics. This soup is usually prepared and served in traditional individual-serving pots, or ttukbaegi (뚝배기), that retain their heat even after being removed from the stove, allowing the soup to maintain a warm temperature longer. Although many kinds of gukbap use bone broth, this is not the case for kongnamul gukbap, which traditionally uses anchovy stock. This variation makes it easier to prepare and cook, as it can be enjoyed in no longer than 30 minutes. The freshness and crispiness that the sprouts bring into this dish matches with the happy and fun mood of spring. Whether you want it for breakfast or lunch, I hope you enjoy the experience as much as I do when I prepare it.
INGREDIENTS (Serves 2) 1 package of soybean sprouts 1 sliced medium onion 1 tablespoon of minced garlic 1 sliced green onion 1 cup of chopped kimchi 1 teaspoon (ts) of salt 2 ts of red pepper flakes 1 ts of sesame seed oil 2 ts of anchovy stock 2 ts of sesame seed powder 1 sweet, chopped red pepper 1/2 cup of chopped wild radish 1-2 cups of cooked white rice
Joe Wabe is a Gwangju expat, who has been contributing to the GIC and the Gwangju News for more than ten years with his work in photography and writing.
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May 2020
The Author
1. Warm some water and put it aside, then add the soybean sprouts. Let them sit for about five minutes, then rinse well with cold water and let them drain. 2. In a pot, add eight cups of water and bring it to a boil. Once the water is boiling,add the radish and the anchovy stock, and let it all boil for five minutes. 3. Add the chopped kimchi, garlic, onion, and salt, and reduce the heat. Let it all cook for another five minutes. (Taste for flavor and add more salt or anchovystock as needed.) 4. Add the sprouts, red pepper, and sesame seed power, and let it all cook for another three minutes. Then add the sesame oil, green onion, and red sweet pepper, and let them cook for the final two minutes. 5. Turn off the heat and let everything sit for at least five more minutes before serving. 6. In a bowl, add the rice first and top it with the soup. Finally, enjoy!
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
• • • • • • • • • • • • •
PREPARATION
4/24/2020 4:15:53 PM
42
Local Entrepreneurs
The How and Why of Self-Publishing Written by EJ Asare E.J. Asare is an English teacher at a public elementary school in Suncheon. It has not been long since E.J. self-published a children’s picture book, Johnny and Joshua Coming to Korea. The Gwangju News asked her to describe the experience. — Ed.
COMMUNITY
Summary of the Book
Johnny and Joshua Coming to Korea (JJCK) is a story based on my son and his pet bird, Johnny. This beautiful picture book tells the story of a Ghanaian-American boy who lives in Ghana with his father and bird. The boy eventually has to move to South Korea and leave Johnny behind. JJCK highlights vibrant aspects of South Korean society and emphasizes the similarities between the Ghanaian and Korean cultures, for instance, the use of drums and dance during celebrations. JJCK is about celebrating the humanity of different cultures. It is the first in a book series that will explore different countries, languages, and food through the eyes of a child.
Inspiration for the Book
I realized I had to do something to counter the negative narrative of people of African descent in Asia. South Korea has a great need for English books with diverse and international characters. It was important to me to create a young Black character that was the age of my elementary students. The young readers would see a diverse character doing familiar things, such as playing soccer, having a pet, and traveling.
Importance of the Book
The only images of Blacks and people of African descent that the students (and adults) here in Korea see are rappers and musicians, or poor and needy images of Africans in the international and domestic media. Negative aspects of the African continent are always highlighted. Africans are shown as diseased, poor, and always needing to be
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
May 2020
The idea for this book came from the experiences I’ve had as an expat in Korea.Two years ago, one of my thirdgrade students told me she used to be afraid of me when I became her English teacher. She had never seen a Black person before and was scared of my physical differences. My long braids, dark brown skin, and height frightened her. Eventually she warmed up to me and became my “best
friend” at the school. The older students were curious and also in awe of me. A sixth-grade student once asked me, “Why are you so Black?” I explained to his class the absolute beauty of possessing so much melanin, but that was not enough.
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4/24/2020 4:15:55 PM
43 saved. Blackface is also still used in entertainment in South Korea. Blackface is a caricature of Black people that exaggerates physical appearances and shows the Black character as a buffoon. It is a popular comedy gag in South Korean entertainment. There is a cycle of blackface shown as comedy, an uproar from Black expats, an insincere apology from the Korean entertainer, then blackface again a few months later. This cycle is rinsed and repeated each year. I wanted to create a positive image of a young GhanaianAmerican boy and his family to counter the negative stereotypes of Blacks and people of African descent. At the end of the book, there are questions for parents and teachers to initiate discussions with young readers. Representation matters, and if the younger generation is exposed to positive images, then they’ll be more open to accepting people who are from other countries and look different. Writing the book and creating the storyboard was not difficult because the story was drawn from my son’s real life experiences. Transitioning to South Korea was not easy for my son who was used to familiar surroundings and friends in Ghana. Leaving his pet bird behind was particularly devastating. I found a great editor and illustrator on Upwork.com, a consultant site. This site allows you to create a contract, specify your skill and English-level requirements and payment amount. The best part about the site is a candidate’s portfolio can be previewed online prior to hiring. My illustrator formatted the text and artwork of this book.
Financing the Book
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Vision for the Book Series
I eventually want Joshua and his family to visit many different countries and share their experiences with young readers. Each book will explore a new country. Johnny and Joshua will explore Japan, Brazil, Ethiopia, Australia, and Alaska in their future adventures. I would love for this to become an animated series and to be available in schools around the world. My wish for this book series is to connect with a major book publishing company that shares my vision. Johnny and Joshua Coming to Korea teaches children not to be afraid of other people but to recognize and embrace our similarities. My hope is for young readers to become interested in one day traveling to other countries and exploring new languages, food, and cultures. Only through exploration of different cultures and languages will they come to understand that we are all the same, one human race.
The Author
E.J. Asare is a graduate of Rutgers University and has an MBA from Saint Peter’s University. E.J. previously worked in the securities industry specializing in retirement plans. She is currently an assistant teacher at a public elementary school in Suncheon. Instagram @johnnyandjoshuadventures.
May 2020
Financing this book project was 100% from my savings. Initially I printed twenty books and requested feedback from my coworkers and friends. Then the larger order was submitted. There was no fee for uploading the book onto the Amazon platform.
Marketing the book is more important than writing it. Use giveaways to promote your book. Reach out to local schools, churches, and libraries to offer free readings to generate interest and increase sales. If you can, provide an e-book version to reach a larger audience. Allow your book to be sold in many countries to expand visibility and profits. Create various social media platforms to market the book project. Don’t order too many printed copies because you will have to store the units before sales. Review any contracts very thoroughly. Calculate your financial return on all joint ventures. Remember to copyright your intellectual property.
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
At the time, I had a helpful co-teacher who assisted in the search for a publisher. The Korean publishers were either not interested or did not have an English division. We then decided to search for a printing company and found Yeolim Printing. This company provided their printing standards, reviewed our files, and provided pricing based on paper quality and quantity requested. Their pricing was reasonable and the quality was good. The colors on the pages are vibrant and eye-catching for a young reader. The price for each unit was reduced by quantity purchased.
I made so many mistakes as a new author! Please remember to edit, edit, and then edit again! Join author groups to learn from others’ mistakes. Be careful when choosing your illustrator. Be very specific with your artist and provide image samples so their work matches your story. Order a draft printed copy of your book to preview how the words and drawings fit on the pages. Always have your book professionally edited. Research how to market your book once it is available online.
COMMUNITY
Writing and Publishing the Book
Tips for New Authors and Self-Publishers
4/24/2020 4:15:55 PM
44
Korean and Tamil Cultural Similarities Written by Bala Krishnan Ganesan
COMMUNITY
H
i this is Bala – a not-so-nerdy freshman PhD student from India, specifically, Tamil Nadu. The reason for being specific about my state is that in India, we Indians are so different in each state but proud to have unity in diversity. For example, we Tamils don’t greet with “Namaste” but with “Vanakkam,” a smile, and a bow. In terms of food, generally we make sambar, a lentil stew with rice and vegetable salad with some pickles, and not Indian curry with flat wheat bread (i.e., chapati and naan, which are common in the northern parts of India). So, I hope these examples have convinced you that we are a little different. But wait! I said my region is very different in culture when compared to the rest of India; but is Korean culture so very different from that of the Tamils? In Korea, people often bow when greeting and a common meal is rice with stew and some kimchi. Upon learning this, I couldn’t help but notice that Korean culture has some interesting similarities with Tamil culture. So, let’s explore how much alike we are.
Now let’s talk about food. Generally, Indians eat a lot of spicy foods. We Tamils also eat spicy food, but not always. An everyday home-cooked meal consists of some boiled rice with a lentil stew (sambar) and a watery stew (rasam)
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
May 2020
Let’s begin from the very moment I set foot in the country at Incheon and called mom back home to tell her that I’d reached Korea safely! In Tamil, we call mom “amma” or, “ma” for short. I was surprised to see a small Korean kid using the same word “omma” (엄마, mom). Though a different word in a different language, they sound almost identical!
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Oorugai (pickle)
with some vegetable salad and pickles. Pickles (oorugai) in Tamil Nadu are fermented or soaked in red pepper paste and some sesame oil, unlike in Western countries, where they’re soaked raw in vinegar. Additionally, a common breakfast in my region is rice soaked overnight in water and eaten the next morning, which is called pazaya soru, meaning “old rice.” Having just said that, now I’m hungry. On one occasion, my friend, being vegetarian by choice, ordered some bap (밥, rice/a meal) at a Korean restaurant. To my surprise, the bap that my friend ordered for me was the same as the Indian platters I’m familiar with: a bowl of boiled rice, a stew with some spinach, some salad, and above all, kimchi, which is like pickles. Sounds yummy, right! I was surprised to see a food platter so similar to what’s served in my country thousands of kilometers away. Though my Korean lab mates were shy to speak in English at the beginning, within a few days, we found great connections over shared interests in K-dramas and alcohol. In another instance, I along with my friends went to a bar to get some drinks. I wanted to try something specific to Korea, so my friends ordered soju (소주), makgeolli (막걸리), and jeon (전) with sides. Starting with the makgeolli, after a few rounds, I noticed the taste and texture were so similar to my region’s liquor, sundakanji. Though I was a little too drunk then to explain the similarities to my friends, at least now I can mention it. One difference in drinking culture is that in Tamil Nadu, drinking is not as socially acceptable as in Korea. In fact, it’s quite a private affair, much like romantic relationships. Despite the social taboo, this doesn’t stop people in our region from having their own liquor recipes. We produce large amounts of rice, so naturally, we produce liquor also by fermenting it. Sound familiar? Yes, it’s much the same as the recipe for making makgeolli. With drinks flowing, it was time to eat kimchi-jeon (김치전). My first thought was “Wow, this also tastes familiar. Doesn’t it taste like adai dosai?” Indeed it does. Adai dosai is a recipe made with lentil flour, oftentimes onion, and spinach toppings. It’s almost the same as yachae chon (야채 전). It doesn’t stop there, because we
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45 coconut or other sweet filling stuffed inside rice cake that we serve on festive occasions.
Sundakanji
Let’s move on to festivals and celebrations. Indian calendars usually have a long list of national holidays, at least 20 days a year. But sadly, in Korea, we get only two main holidays: one is Chuseok (추석), the other Seolnal (설날). Within a few days of starting my PhD program, we had Chuseok vacation to celebrate the harvest season. “So, what’s the tradition?” I asked curiously to my friends. “We celebrate the year’s harvest by having a family gathering, saying thanks to the moon, and eating a variety of food together.” Then my friends asked me, “Do you have such a celebration?” Of course, ours is the same. In Tamil culture we celebrate Thai Pongal, but we celebrate in the month of January. On that day, we thank the sun for the good harvest, feed our cattle for helping in our farming, and go to our grandparents’ and other relatives’ homes to eat. On top of all this, we also share gift bags with rice, fruit, and homemade sweets and candies.
Thai Pongal
I learned these similarities based on events that happened around me over the past year and a half. It shows that though Korea and India are far apart geographically, we are so close with our culture and values! That’s the magical reason why I feel comfortable like I’m at home while staying here in Gwangju and fulfilling my dream of pursuing a PhD. I hope to explore Korea even more and learn its culture so I can share more in future articles. I would like to use this opportunity to thank my professor, lab mates, and all my other Korean friends who helped me and patiently explained their culture and practices. Also, I would like to thank the Gwangju News team for giving me this opportunity.
The Author
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May 2020
Bala Krishnan Ganesan is a chemical engineering PhD student at Chonnam National University. His weekends are mostly spent playing cricket and cooking Indian food. When he’s not traveling around the country or busy with his studies, he loves hanging out with friends and, once in a while, writing about his experiences. Instagram: @nano_balki.
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
During that first Chuseok in Korea, I got a gift bag that, to my surprise, contained fruit and some Korean handmade sweets and candies. I really enjoyed them all, with my favorite being songpyeon (송편, rice cakes). We do have a similar food called kozhukattai, which is a savory
Once, during a casual chat with my friends, I learned that Korean tradition was also the same, but the culture has changed with the current generation. I further learned that Korean even has a term for it: seon (선). The ideology behind both customs is the same. Marriage is not just a matter of brides’ and grooms’ wants, but also their families’ interests. In addition, arranged marriages in both cultures were traditionally far more common. In my opinion, though it’s old-fashioned, these arrangements created strong family bonds. Other familial practices, like elder sons taking care of their parents after retirement or not drinking in front of parents, are also similar.
COMMUNITY
also have foods like yeot gangjeong (엿강정), namul (나물), and others. At the time, all I was thinking was whether I was still home or at my home away from home. Nothing creates a stronger bond with people than food and language. So, these have brought me closer to Korea and my Korean friends.
So, having discussed in detail about food, let’s explore family and relationships, which are key parts of any culture. In Tamil Nadu, there are certain groups of people who call their husbands “anna” or “ayya” (meaning brother), which is much like the tradition of Korean ladies calling their husbands “oppa” (오빠). Having learned more about marriage and relationships, I learned that Korean ancient tradition is much like that of Tamils. In India, until recently, many men got married after only their fathers had met their potential brides. It is still considered a sign of respect for sons to ask their parents to meet their girlfriends. But now this culture is slowly changing, with love and dating followed by marriage becoming more common.
4/24/2020 4:15:57 PM
46 Language Teaching
On Being a Master Teacher
EDUCATION
Interview by Dr. David E. Shaffer
Billie Kang conducting an “open class” open to parents, teachers, etc.
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
May 2020
We all know what a postmaster is and what a headmaster is, and we’re all familiar with “master of ceremonies” and “master craftsman.” But what about “master teacher” in the Korean educational context? The Gwangju News recently approached Master Teacher Billie Kang during her school break to tell us a little about herself, her teaching, and becoming a master teacher. Billie is an active member of the Gwangju-Jeonnam Chapter of Korea TESOL and has been for quite some time. — Ed. Gwangju News (GN): Thank you, Billie, for granting us this interview. We know how busy you are. Well, to begin with, would you tell us a little about yourself? Billie Kang: I’ve been an elementary school teacher in Gwangju for over 20 years and have been a master teacher for nine years now. I’ve enjoyed most of my teaching career, especially since I became a master teacher, because a master teacher’s sole focus is on teaching itself. Other than teaching, I love traveling and meeting people from different language and cultural backgrounds for growth through sharing. GN: Could you tell us a little about your educational background? Where did you go to school and what did you study? I hear that you also studied abroad. Could
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you tell us about that experience, and why you decided to study abroad? Billie Kang: I graduated from GNUE [Gwangju National University of Education], majoring in elementary education and minoring in music education. English has always been my favorite subject – to both teach and learn – but GNUE didn’t have an English education major while I was studying there. Therefore, after graduation, it just seemed like a natural decision for me to further my studies in English teaching. With a bit of an adventurous spirit, I applied for my master’s degree in the United States. I started at SUNY-Buffalo [the State University of New York at Buffalo] in 2001 and came back with an MA in TESOL after a year and a half.
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47 GN: In just a year and a half, that’s exceptional! I’m sure our readers are curious about your name, “Billie.” I don’t know any other Korean with that name. Could you tell us how you got it? Billie Kang: My parents had such a sense of humor as to name me after the typhoon that crossed the peninsula at about the time I was born. I appreciate the uniqueness of this name more now than in my childhood; it was just too weird of a name for a Korean kid to have when I was young. I’m not saying I had a hard time growing up with this name, but it was certainly quite different from the Chinese character-based names everyone else had. The most frequent question I get is either “What’s your real name…your Korean name?” or “How did you get this name?” – just as you asked.
GN: What was it about English that you liked most? Billie Kang: Mainly, I like the musical aspect of it: the pronunciation, intonation, and stress. For me, speaking English feels exactly like singing a song. Plus, there are so many fun ways to study English; English study materials are abundantly accessible through various media.
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GN: Building a school culture doesn’t sound like an easy task. What specifically does a master teacher do to create an improved school culture? Billie Kang: True, it isn’t an easy task that one master teacher can do. You cannot expect that one day there’s a new master teacher at school wanting to change the school culture and it happens overnight. It can take a year or the full four years of the master teacher’s tenure at a school, or it might not even happen. All we as master teachers can do is “try” – try to open opportunities for others to see and experience more and hopefully better ways of doing things. It’s eventually up to the teaching staff to decide on what school culture they’re willing to build. GN: As an elementary school master teacher, what are your main duties? Billie Kang: The first and most important responsibility for a master teacher is to teach. Master teachers’ classes are supposed to be open at any time for any teacher to observe, and twice a year, they’ve scheduled open classes that are open to any teacher who wants to observe, even to teachers from outside the school. Other responsibilities include supporting teachers with consulting, ranging from lesson planning to class management and to developing and publishing class materials.
May 2020
GN: You’re an officially designated “master teacher.” When did this government program begin and what’s the purpose of it? Billie Kang: It had its trial period starting in 2008 and received final approval in 2012. Its purpose is to provide a second career track for teachers to pursue: One was promotion to vice-principal and then to principal, and the second to become a master teacher. Promotion to vice-principal and principal has really been competitive, and even more so now than in the past. The master teacher concept was conceived of in part to lessen the burden on the existing promotion system but more importantly to help build a school culture centered on teaching and research to improve teaching expertise.
Billie Kang, Master Teacher.
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
GN: Did you have a favorite English teacher? Billie Kang: I’ve been extremely blessed with my English teachers since middle school. I cannot remember any teacher who taught me English who wasn’t a big help. They were all great in their own ways. I’m most thankful to Son Okyeong of Speer Girls High School, Mark Murdaugh at CNU, Dr. Yang at SUNY-Buffalo. They all served as role models for me to become a good teacher, never ceasing to become a better one the next day.
EDUCATION
GN: What made you decide that you wanted to be an elementary school English teacher? Billie Kang: Honestly, it was more of a compromise than a choice or commitment that I applied to GNUE. I was considering applying to an English department in Seoul, but GNUE was a safe and guaranteed plan for my future that my parents approved of.
4/24/2020 4:15:58 PM
EDUCATION
48
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
May 2020
Discussion after Billie’s open class as part of a guest master teachers’ workshop.
GN: Developing and publishing class materials – could you tell me more about what this involves for a master teacher? Billie Kang: In my personal experience as a master teacher, I’ve made good use of the school webpage. There I uploaded my lesson plans and lesson materials for each lesson. I took my open classes as a chance to introduce and promote my lesson plans and materials uploaded to the school webpage. This has been working well and receiving positive feedback and appreciation. GN: What are the most rewarding aspects of being a master teacher, and also, what might be the most difficult aspects? Billie Kang: The most rewarding aspects have been finding a new passion in teaching regarding non-violent communication and restorative justice, and sharing what I learned with other teachers during mentoring or consulting time. The challenge still is to establish one’s position as a master teacher at school; there are only about two dozen elementary school master teachers in Gwangju now, which makes us a newly made minority
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with difficulty becoming safely rooted in the pre-existing school system. GN: You mentioned non-violent communication and restorative justice. Is dealing with bullying an important part of mentoring as a master teacher? Billie Kang: This is the area that I started with personal interest and has become the biggest part both of my teaching students and mentoring teachers. Bullying can be a part of this but mainly it’s about keeping the connection between speakers and listeners; there are meaningful techniques and activities to support these ideas, but it’s mainly the paradigm that matters – a paradigm that values the connection, or the “effort” to connect, the most. GN: Do you find that other teachers are, in general, receptive to the advice you as a master teacher have for them? Billie Kang: It’s been more about sharing ideas and figuring things out together with other teachers than to merely give advice, and it’s worked out pretty well in
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49 that many of the teachers showed their appreciation later on. There’s an official activity called “master teachers’ mentoring” that most master teachers voluntarily do; we advertise at the beginning of the school year and mentor throughout the year the teachers who apply. A public document goes out listing each master teacher’s mentoring areas; for example, my mentoring areas included English education, non-violent communication, and restorative justice. If teachers find any master teacher’s area that interests them, they can apply and set up a mentoring program for the year with the master teacher they want. I’ve mentored 5–6 teachers each year for the past four years, and it’s been one of the most rewarding experiences that I’ve had as a master teacher. It’s never been just a one-way teaching or lecturing experience; it’s always been a mutual growth through exchanging ideas and helping each other.
GN: All teachers aspire to be better at what they do, and I’m sure you’ve been of immeasurable help to many as a master teacher. Thank you, Billie, for sharing so much with us about yourself and what you do as a master teacher. It’s been quite informative.
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
The interviewer
May 2020
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David Shaffer has been a resident of Gwangju and professor at Chosun University for many years. He has been with KOTESOL since its early days and is a past president of the organization. At present, as vicepresident of the Gwangju-Jeonnam Chapter of KOTESOL, he invites you to participate in the teacher development workshops at their regular meetings (presently online). Dr. Shaffer is currently the chairman of the board at the Gwangju International Center as well as editor-in-chief of the Gwangju News.
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
GN: You’re a member of the Gwangju-Jeonnam Chapter of KOTESOL. Do you think that KOTESOL has in any way helped you as a master teacher or as a teacher in general? Billie Kang: KOTESOL has always been helpful to me as one of my learning resources and as a community
▲ Billie facilitates a workshop for master teachers.
EDUCATION
GN: Do you find at times that, rather than giving out teaching advice, you’re being asked to be more of a general counselor, that is, being asked for help on personal matters? Billie Kang: Yes, it happens a lot. Master teachers have their own office, which makes personal communication easier space-wise. Also, I might add that a master teacher’s job responsibilities vary from case to case. For example, some master teachers are asked to do more administrative work than others; teaching hours vary as well. This job title was created to promote a healthy school culture, where the master teacher’s teaching and research can inspire other teachers. So, one purpose of having master teachers in schools is to help build a better workplace culture to improve teachers’ teaching and voluntary research work.
for all aspects of my life as a teacher. I like KOTESOL especially for its good balance between the formality and the “casuality” – is that even a word? I mean professional development is certainly a formal activity where teachers share useful information and all, but I still feel very comfortable and safe about speaking up and participating. Different ideas are presented; they’re accepted or challenged at the workshop sessions, all for mutual benefit. And there are great community leaders in our chapter who keep Gwangju KOTESOL moving forward. It’s such a comfort to be reminded that KOTESOL is always there to help me to become a better teacher.
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50
Opinion
Beware the Juggernauts of Journalism Written by William Urbanski
Wearing a mask is more than a way to stop germs: It is a badge of civic pride.
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
May 2020
OPINION
A
mong all the information, misinformation, memes, and videos about this whole coronavirus situation, one piece that stuck out to me was a certain article from Forbes magazine that encouraged people to not wear masks because they will not protect against the coronavirus and may even increase a person’s chances of contracting it. The article actually put forth some pretty convincing arguments to bolster its case and was written in a way that sounded, if nothing else, like the ultimate authority on the whole matter. But, as it turns out, it is not some big-time American juggernaut of journalism that will have the last word on this issue but rather a renegade English teacher, a rebel who plays by his own rules and who also happens to be the managing editor of Gwangju’s finest English-language news magazine. While the Forbes article reached a conclusion that I basically agreed with, it arrived at it by citing a number of apocryphal ideas employing faulty logic and served as an example of why it is so important to evaluate any source of information. Most importantly, the article missed the bigger picture, completely overlooking the societal functions that wearing a mask plays. The article in question makes a number of factual and logical errors. Most heinously, its interpretation of science and physics would shock the entire Nobel Prize committee, and make physicist Richard Feynman, Isaac Newton, Copernicus, Marie Curie, Rene Descartes, and Albert Einstein, collectively turn over in their graves. It explains, at length, that common, disposable masks are ineffective in stopping the coronavirus because they are designed to stop germs from being spread outward, not stop them from coming inward. That is to say, people who are sick should wear masks to keep others from getting sick but wearing a mask will not stop others from spreading their germs to you. Setting aside all considerations about who should wear a mask and why, this implies that masks are made with a hitherto undiscovered, physics-defying material that acts as a oneway barrier to germs. The materials that masks are made of simply do not and cannot work this way because oneway barriers are impossible. If you take a piece of tissue
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and sneeze a germ at it, it does not matter which side of the tissue the germ hits – it will either block the germ or not. That being said, certain semi-permeable membranes do exist in nature, and they allow objects with very specific molecular properties to pass through a barrier in one direction only. These membranes exist at the cellular level and, without exception, need an external energy source to work. So, unless there has been a recent, ground-breaking discovery in the field of nanotechnology that allows for these semi-permeable membranes to work without an energy source and that very same technology has been magically inserted into all masks worldwide, Forbes’ little theory is dubious at best.
Exhibit B (right) shows Forbes’ novel postulation that magical substances exist that allow objects to pass through in one direction but not the other.
Next, let me jump aboard the fashionable bandwagon of criticizing the logical validity of arguments. The most egregious logical fallacy committed by the article is known as an “appeal to authority.” Forbes, because they are so well known and because the magazine took the time to include in the article some hyperlinks with some pretty spiffy graphics, are appealing to their own reputability. Nobody could really deny that Forbes is a household name, but that does not mean they should be taken at their word. Even though the journalist who put together the article may be a fine writer, he or she certainly lacks the prerequisite specialized expertise in microbiology to pontificate to the masses about the best course of action
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51 during a pandemic. As well, let’s all just keep in mind that Forbes is not a scientific, peer-reviewed journal and, at the end of the day, the article was just something that showed up on my Facebook feed.
Allow me to explain. As a foreigner in Korea, I understand there are certain rules, some stated outright, and some implied, that have to be followed. The clearest example of a set of directives that have been explicitly communicated to me about the ongoing coronavirus situation are from the Canadian Embassy here, which told me to cooperate with local authorities. So, if the word on the street is that I have to (or should) wear a mask while out in public, so be it.
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Graphics by William Urbanski
The Author
William Urbanski, managing editor of the Gwangju News, has an MA in international relations and cultural diplomacy. He is married to a wonderful Korean woman, always pays cash, and keeps all his receipts. Instagram: @will_il_gatto.
May 2020
Getting back to the pernicious concepts circulated by the article, there is a story in Ray Dalio’s fantastic book Principles that beautifully illustrates why we should always question information and its source. In fact, the
Just because some Wikipedia Warrior writes a blog or some big-time news agency puts forth a bunk and rambling assembly of disjointed commentary and inflammatory jargon that amounts to nothing, that does not mean it is true. And, by the way, I am fully aware of the irony of using a news magazine as a platform to rally against untruthful (or misinformed) media. But there is a big difference between making outlandish and scientifically unverified claims that attempt to influence mass behavior and reminding people to not believe everything they read on the internet.
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
On a more theoretical note, it is my personal belief that as a foreigner here, I have a duty to set a good example or, at the very least, not set a bad example. This means that I very consciously “play along” with what is happening in Korea. I observe certain customs and often do things not because I want to but because I understand that they are important through the eyes of Koreans. Wearing a mask falls squarely into this category. So, even though I feel that wearing a mask does not really reduce the risk of me contracting COVID-19, it serves other functions, the most important of which is as a form of social signaling. It is a declaration that I do not mind walking around with a ridiculous-looking piece of tissue on my face if it is for the greater good. A mask, therefore, is akin to a badge, an emblem, something adorned for the very same reasons that people wear sports jerseys when their local team makes the playoffs: It is a form of civic pride. But make no mistake: Even though the conclusions of the Forbes’ article align with my practices, this should not be mistaken for validation of their ideas – only mere happenstance.
Dalio, not one to accept the opinion of any expert without first triangulating opinions with other believable people, set up appointments with four other experts on his condition. One specialist told him that specific type of cancer was in fact treatable but basically required disembowelment. Another doctor recommended quarterly endoscopic examinations to monitor for abnormalities and metastasis. Two other doctors agreed that the regular examinations would do no harm, so that is what Dalio decided to do. During one of these procedures, a tissue sample was taken and, lo and behold, it turned out that there was no high-grade dysplasia at all! Now, imagine what would have happened if Dalio had let panic take over and gone with the disembowelment option. It is this very level-headedness and tendency to check and double-check claims that not only prevented him from becoming an invalid, but allowed him to successfully ignore herd mentality and market noise, resulting in him becoming one of the richest men alive.
OPINION
Now, as much as Forbes’ bogus article is nothing but thinly veiled pseudoscience for entertainment purposes only, you may be surprised that I actually share the belief that masks will not protect me from coronavirus any more than a pair of sunglasses from Daiso will protect my eyes from a solar eclipse. Let’s face facts: If someone with COVID-19 sneezes in your face, it does not matter if you are wearing two masks and earplugs because you are heading straight for a two-week quarantine. You may be further surprised, shocked, and all around flabbergasted to learn that despite this belief, I dutifully wear a mask almost every day. This practice may seem hypocritical or even paradoxical, but I would suggest that it has less to do with an inherently contradictory belief system and much, much more with the ability to hold two conflicting ideas in my head at the same time.
higher the stakes, the more time we should be willing to invest into investigating the validity of claims and suggestions. For those who are unfamiliar with Dalio, he is the founder of Bridgewater, one of the biggest and most important investment firms in the world. He also has a net worth of approximately 18 billion USD more than you or I ever will. During a routine medical checkup, a doctor informed Dalio that he had a precancerous condition called Barrett’s esophagus with high-grade dysplasia. Since Dalio was not a candidate for treatment, there was a good chance of him developing inoperable esophageal cancer.
4/24/2020 4:16:00 PM
52 Book Review
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
Reviewed by Kristy Dolson
ARTS & CULTURE
W
hen COVID-19 spread around the world, many countries went into lockdown, advising their citizens to stay at home to lower the infection rate and save lives. In South Korea, where the citizenry already shares a strong communal mindset, this was a sacrifice most people shouldered for the greater good. In countries where the citizens have more individualist mindsets, such as England, Australia, and the USA, many were slow to heed their governments’ warnings and protocols. This necessitated stricter and more extreme measures as infections mounted. In my home province of Ontario, the governor closed restaurants, bars, and cinemas to keep people from going out.
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
May 2020
Since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, I have been content to stay in my home. I miss going to cafés and movie theaters – which have remained open despite the rise in cases – but sometimes a clear conscience takes precedence. During this extended self-isolation, I have been doing a lot of reading and reflecting. I know it is tempting to fall into the anxiety trap of endless “What if?” thinking in a time of crisis. I have had my share of low moments in the past few months. But to process and endure these extraordinary circumstances, I turn to books. This month, I share a charming and uplifting book perfect for these trying times. A Gentleman in Moscow, written by Amor Towles, is a masterful piece of fiction set in 1920s Russia. To begin, Count Alexander Rostov appears before a Bolshevik tribunal that sentences him to indefinite house arrest. But instead of his current residence, a glamourous suite of the Metropol Hotel in Moscow, he is marched into an attic storeroom barely 10 feet in length. It is from this tiny room, stripped of his title, luxuries, and freedom of movement, that the gentleman witnesses the next three decades of Russian progress. Along the way, many pleasant surprises await him, some of which would certainly not be possible had he not been a permanent resident of the Metropol. I adored this novel. Towles sketches vivid and animated characters and paints the Metropol in loving detail. Count
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Rostov is a protagonist for the ages, and the friends he gathers within and without the hotel are delightful. The pacing of the narrative is perfect: It pushes ahead when needed and lingers when necessary, but it never overstays its welcome or jumps too far ahead. The dialogue and prose are marvelous. I could have easily read a book double the page count and still wanted to spend more time with the count and his close friends in their blissful bubble. This is one of those books that nestles into your soul, keeping you company through life’s storms. I found inspiration in the optimism that Count Rostov embodies through his house arrest. Here was a man who had everything taken from him without warning. He could have easily succumbed to depression and taken his life. But instead, he lifts himself up and maintains a positive outlook, choosing to make the best of a difficult situation – a much-needed reminder that as long as there is life, there is hope. We are so fortunate to live in a time and place where communication can continue in the face of physical distance. In the absence of physical connection, we still have ways of maintaining relationships without putting ourselves at risk. Hopefully, when spring warms to summer, the government guidelines and lockdowns will lift. But in the meantime, I urge you all to stay positive. Unlike Count Rostov, we are still free citizens. We can choose to heed or disregard the government’s warnings and guidelines. But your decision to stay home saves lives. And hopefully, this will only last a few months, not a few decades. Thank you.
The Reviewer
Kristy Dolson lived in South Korea for five years before taking a year off to travel, read, and spend time with her family in Canada and Australia. She holds a Bachelor of Education and now lives in Yeosu.
4/24/2020 4:16:01 PM
53
The More Tragic, The More Beautiful
T
In this situation, which has affected nearly every field of endeavor, the striking response by the art world is noteworthy. In March, pianist Valentina Lisitsa held a recital as scheduled, and the audience enjoyed the show in accordance with the rules of social distancing. In addition, not only the entire audience but the pianist herself performed wearing a mask. To take another example, in MBC’s entertainment program “Hangout with Yoo” (놀면 뭐하니?), a music concert that was previously intended to be performed in front of a live audience was recorded as an unattended performance and later broadcasted on TV. Creators of the show received great praise from the public, calling it a change in broadcasting trends appropriate for the current situation.
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Some may say that art and music are made for disaster situations like this. But there is pain in art, and there is art in pain. When people look back on their lives, some realize that there were more painful and difficult things than joyful and happy ones, and artistic pieces remain like wounds of glory, containing all the difficulties of life. Through the general feelings of every human being, we are comforted by pain, and gain the strength to live each day. In short, art and pain are coexistent. I hope that one day soon we will overcome this darkness and regain our precious, ordinary lives. The 18th May Concert: Love of Country Date: May 24, 2020, Sun, 5 p.m. Venue: Theater2, Art Theater, A.C.C Free admission with pre-registration
The Author
Jeong Jiyeon studied piano in university and now is working as a coordinator at the GIC. She spends her free time in bed with her best friends Netflix and Youtube.
May 2020
The current pandemic, which no one had expected, makes us depart from ordinary life. One might think that
everything is running smoothly and maintaining a calm appearance thanks to the government and the medical field’s efforts. But sometimes this appearance of smooth sailing obscures the people who have experienced the stress caused by the coronavirus, including those who have lost family members and friends, students studying abroad who have had to return to Korea due to scheduling chaos, young people who have had to wait endlessly for employment notices, and the people who have lost their jobs due to the cancellation of events. The neologism “corona blue” represents these psycho-emotional situations. That is why the art industry has endeavored, even in these adverse circumstances, to reach audiences who may not even be aware of the emotions caused by “corona blue.”
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
In addition, the performing arts group Seoul Performing Arts Company provided a live broadcast of popular works, while the classical music label Deutsch Grammophon broadcast a live performance of world-famous pianists such as Seong-jin Cho, Evgeny Kissin, and Danil Triponov in celebration of World Piano Day on March 28. I am grateful for these efforts made by musicians and the art world to raise people’s spirits with music in today’s unfavorable circumstances. Also, it seems to suit the humor of our nation (haehak, 해학), where the more difficult a situation is, the more we smile.
Written by Jeong Jiyeon
ARTS & CULTURE
he coronavirus outbreak that once seemed like it might end soon has continued for four months. It has gotten to the point where it feels weird to not be wearing a mask – something that used to feel uncomfortable. In spring, I want to enjoy the warm weather and the flowers in full bloom while going to festivals and watching performances as was usual, but in this situation that is getting worse all around the world, just about everyone feels that this would not be proper, including myself.
“Corona Blue”
4/24/2020 4:16:03 PM
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
May 2020
ARTS & CULTURE
54 Gwangju Writes
I
t was wild and cold outside. Lake stood at the kitchen window shivering even as the mug she clutched to her chest warmed her hands. The wind was bitter, and the cold raked her bones, sinking deeper even under the thin layers and blanket she had wrapped herself in. The window rattled at times, mocking her shivering. City lights glittered faintly in the distance, pushing through the blue-black night. The section to the west was in complete darkness; she imagined not a single soul stirred in those depths. A single neon church steeple hung in the dark west like Damocles’ sword.
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Magnify Written by Boipelo Seswane
4/24/2020 4:16:05 PM
55 It had been two hours since Lee had yelled from the door on his way out, “Lake! Heading down to the store, do you need anything?” She had poked her head around the door shaking her head. He had nodded and closed the door from where he stood in the corridor. The window rattled. Lake held the blanket closer to her. The wind and rain had come out of nowhere, cutting through the sunlit kitchen, across the floor and walls like cloaked horsemen of the apocalypse riding out of the heavens.
It was not exactly that they had recorded it together – Lee had been recording it and Lake had distracted him, causing them both to burst out laughing with Lee midlaughter yelling, “Not available right now! Call back in five!” Where was he? He had not changed it. She called again. Lake glanced over at the clock on the wall. She needed to settle back down and do some more work before dinner. It was not the time to be thinking of deadlines. She looked back at the window dotted with lights trapped in window ravines lashing outside.
A dream she had had years before rose to her mind. She was not sure why she was thinking about it, but it announced itself into the folds of her mind stealthily like the rain crashing outside.
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Lake pressed the grey button and spoke into the system: “Hello, I wasn’t expecting any...” A voice carried through to her: “Hello, do you have food or clothes, please?” She stared at the system; the voice promptly repeated itself: “Hello, do you have food or clothes, please?” Lake mumbled something about not being able to help and released the grey button. She turned and leaned against the door. She went and sat back at the counter, contemplating calling Lee again. “Prepare yourself for the worst,” she told herself. “Even if nothing happens, you will be hardened and will barely flinch when something bad happens. You will be okay. You will be able to carry on.” The door moaned at the disturbance of the key sliding into the keyhole from the other side of the apartment. The key clicked twice and the door heaved open. “Hey! I’m home. This deluge is ridiculous…” Everything Lee was saying drowned out, muddled into nothing. She could hear him setting the keys in the key bowl – clank. Lake sat in the kitchen, fingers gripped tightly around her cup of tea, and simply cried.
The Author
Boipelo Seswane is a Seoul-based South African artist. She is a teacher, performer/creator (actor, model, and painter), and a writer with experience in multiple facets of creativity, including writing, editing, theater, and film. Boipelo has always been interested in interrogating life through words and other forms of expression. She can be found on Instagram @bopzybee.
May 2020
In the dream, she was standing at the edge of a swamp. The water was dark and rich like coffee, yet smooth like chocolate of the highest quality. As she stood there, something began moving in the water. The water broke and a horse rose up from the depths. The horse was dark and smooth as if dipped in liquorice – high on its back, a cloaked rider. His cloak looked heavy, weighed down by the liquorice water, but it seemed to flow as if it were both light and heavy, flowing in some unfelt breeze. The
Impatient,
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
It had been pelting down for an hour and with every howl of the wind, bucket after bucket of the wet unloaded onto the roof and streets. Lake thought she could hear the water rush down sidewalks catching up to each bucket unloaded before it in a tumultuous crash that pushed everything in its path out of the way.
The doorbell rang, making Lake jump. She stood perfectly still as if moving, breathing – anything she did – would make it ring again, which it did. She screwed her face up in utter confusion. She was not expecting anyone – Lee would also not ring the bell; the person on the other side of the door rang it two more times.
ARTS & CULTURE
Lake had been on the phone with her mother and watched the last, stronger rays of sunshine clinging to the floor as the curtains of darkness were drawn; hanging up the call with her mother, she called Lee but was greeted by the automated voicemail they had recorded together.
cloaked figure and his horse rose out of the water to stand atop their mysterious liquorice body of water. They stared back at her through gleaming black eyes and did not move or speak – and then she awoke.
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56
Community Board
Have something you want to share with the community? The Community Board provides a space for the community to announce activities and special events. Please contact gwangjunews@gic.or.kr for more information.
Gwangju Art Class
Hello, Gwangju Art Lovers! Do you have experience with arts and crafts, and are you itching to get involved in the community? We are looking for volunteer instructors who are interested in inspiring creativity around them. Visit www.facebook.com/groups/GwangjuArtClass/ for more info!
Weekly Flea Market
One-to-one counseling services hosted by GIC for international residents in Gwangju. Due to the COVID-19 situation the counseling sessions are currently available online.
For more information and application registration visit www.facebook.com/gwangjuic/ or http://eng.gic.or.kr.
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
May 2020
The Gwangju International Center hosts a Flea Market every weekend from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the center’s Lounge, starting on April 18. Donations of items are accepted from the same date and at anytime during GIC operating hours. Everyone is welcome to come. For more information contact jjy@gic.or.kr.
Talking Helps
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KONA English Center
KONA Storybook Center The KONA English Center (KEC) is an educational center for English reading and culture exchanges. The KEC will guide any family and their children to develop a love for reading and to explore foreign cultures.
KONA English Center 코나영어센터 KONA Storybook Center 영어독서교육연구소 UNESCO KONA Volunteers 유네스코 코나 자원봉사단
The KONA Storybook Center (KSC) is a non-profit organization that helps disadvantaged children to learn English independently through storybooks and storymaps with UNESCO KONA Volunteers (UKV).
Programs: 1. 영어독서멘토링 (Mentoring in English Reading) 2. 영어로 배우는 과학 (Science in English) 3. 영어로 배우는 위인전 (Biography in English) 4. 코나비전특강 (KONA Vision Talk) 5. 외국인과 함께하는 문화교실 (UNESCO CCAP)
Tel: 062-434-9887 광주광역시 서구 상일로 37 37 Sangil-ro, Seo-gu, Gwangju
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