Gwangju & South Jeolla International Magazine
Gwangju and South Jeolla International Magazine I December 2020 #226 Christmas Around the World
December 2020 #226
Christmas Around the World
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Gwangju & South Jeolla International Magazine
December 2020, Issue 226 Published: December 1, 2020 Cover Photo
Christmas mulled wine (Photo by Hannah Pemberton, Unsplash)
THE EDITORIAL TEAM Publisher Editor-in-Chief Managing Editor Production Editor Layout Editor Photographer Sta Writer Communications Proofreaders Online Editor Researchers
Dr. Shin Gyonggu Dr. David E. Shaffer William Urbanski Isaiah Winters Melline Galani Kim Hillel Yunkyoung Cami Ismanova Jeong Jiyeon David Foster, Di Foster, Elisabeth Loeck, Joseph Nunez, Stephen Redeker Melline Galani Hwang Daeun, 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.
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
From the Editor Shuffling across many of the tree-lined sidewalks of Gwangju is the golden glow of lost leaves from the ginkgoes’ bared branches. The chill in the air sends us to our long-closed sweater draw as the thermometer’s mercury teases the 0-degree mark. It must be December! “The End Is Near!â€? proclaims this month’s offering in our Blast from the Past column, discussing the namings of Korea’s end-ofyear get-togethers. But before the end, what’s that tune I hear‌ đ&#x;Žľ đ&#x;Žľ You better watch out / You better not cry / You better not pout / I’m telling you why / Santa Claus is coming to town‌đ&#x;Žľ đ&#x;Žľ
Coming may be Santa Claus, maybe Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, or Sinterklaas, or even Svyaty Mikalaj or Mos Nicolae. There are many different manifestations of the holiday, as related in our cover feature, “Christmas Around the World,� contributed to by over two dozen members of the community hailing from different geographic coordinates on our globe. Our additional features this issue are an interview with the “Messenger of Poetry Delivery,� artist Lee Maelee, and an account of the spreading of love by the Suncheon Medical Mission Team. Lost in Gwangju takes us on a historical tour connected with Gwangju’s waterways. Then we go to Plan B to check out their chic clothing styles, and from there, it’s over to some fancy dining in the Sangmu area: Tate Modern. Or if you wish, you can follow our special recipe for glazed fried chicken at home. Let’s hit the road. Our first stop is at the Suncheon Drama Film Set, where we can observe what Korea was like in decades past. Next, we set a course due east to Geoje Island, where one can spend a relaxing vacation at its beaches and cafes. One Gwangjuite takes us off the peninsula to describe her time as an intern in the diversity of Washington, D.C. A native of Armenia introduces us to her homeland, the first Christian nation, and a native of Serbia introduces us to the Slava celebration. What is “Thrasher?� Our managing editor gives us the lowdown on the magazine and its associated merchandise. Our resident book reviewer is saying au revoir with a review of two books this month. Our Korean expert talks about banking in hangukmal. Our music expert relates the story of the “Goryeo people� pushed into Central Asia in the final installment on the life of Jeong Chu. And a group of resident expat English educators reveal the challenges of teaching in Korea. What about living in Korea? Our self-proclaimed minimalist tells us how. As you spend your December days and holidays, we hope you spend a portion of them with us, reading the articles above, as well as the Gwangju City News, and solving this month’s crossword puzzle.
For volunteering and article submission inquiries, please contact the editor at gwangjunews@gic.or.kr.
Stay COVID smart, stay COVID safe, have a very merry Christmas, and enjoy the Gwangju News. David E. Shaffer Editor-in-Chief Gwangju News
Special thanks to Gwangju City and all of our sponsors.
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December 2020
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Copyright Š 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.
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Photo of the Month
Reflection Ssangam Park
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The Photographer
Originally from Belgium, Aline Verduyn has lived in Korea for four years. She is currently earning a master’s degree in Korean language education at Chonnam National University. She has previously lived in Busan, Suwon, and Daegu, but has found Gwangju to be her favorite city. Her goal is to visit every notable site in Korea. Instagram: @gwangjumiin
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CONTENTS December 2020
Issue 226
MONTHLY NEWS 04. Gwangju City News FEATURES 06. Christmas Around the World 14. Lee Maelee – Messenger of “Poetry Delivery” 18. Love Is an Action Word BLAST FROM THE PAST 20. The End is Near! TRAVEL 22. Around Korea: Old Uniform Experience 24. Around Korea: A Chuseok Adventure in Geoje 26. Lost in Gwangju: Water Over the Bridge 30. From Abroad: Exploring Armenia 33. From Abroad: Celebrating Slava COMMUNITY 38. Gwangju Abroad: Life in the U.S.A. 40. Local Entrepreneurs: Plan B 49. Expat Living: Being Minimalist
FOOD & DRINKS 43. Recipe: Dakganjeong – Fried Chicken with Soy Glaze 44. Restaurant Review: Tate Modern TEACHING & LEARNING 29. Everyday Korean: Episode 36 – 은행 업무 (Banking) 51. Language Teaching: The Challenges of Teaching THOUGHTS & OPINION 48. What Is Thrasher? CULTURE & ARTS 02. Photo of the Month 13. Crossword Puzzle 36. Jeong Chu's Song of Goryeo 55. Book Reviews: Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 and If I Had Your Face
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December 2020
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Gwangju City News Reprinted with permission from Gwangju Metropolitan City Hall
Gwangju to Have First Indoor Playground for Disabled Children
MONTHLY NEWS
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wangju Metropolitan City and Save the Children (international relief and development NGO) have completed the nation's first playground for children with disabilities in the interior of the Gwangju Community Rehabilitation Center and the Gwangsan-gu Welfare Center for the Disabled to promote the healthy development of children with disabilities and the right to play. At the completion ceremony held at the Municipal Welfare Center for the Disabled on November 19, Kim Kwanghwi, director-general of the Planning and Coordination Office; Chung Tae-young, secretary-general of Save the Children; and Kim Mi-ran, director-general of the Gwangju Community Rehabilitation Center participated. As for the playground for children with disabilities, Save the Children signed a business agreement with Gwangju City Hall on April 20 and provided the entire project cost (153 million won per institution, total 306 million won) to the Gwangju Community Rehabilitation Center and the Gwangsan-gu Welfare Center for the Disabled.
The project is all the more meaningful as it was created through an online survey (182 people) for children and guardians from May through July this year, five workshops involving disabled welfare officials and parents of disabled children, and a public contest for names of amusement parks (82 entries) were conducted by Save the Children. The city’s general welfare center for the disabled, "La La Dream Site," means a playground where people can play and dream, and the welfare center for the disabled in Gwangsan-gu is a space for children to grow up well while playing and resting. “Creating a play area for disabled children is a project that reflects the opinions of parents of disabled children and their right to play in a stable playing environment,” said Kim Kwang-hwi, head of the city’s Planning and Coordination Office. “We hope that this play space will help disabled children in the region play more freely and grow healthfully.”
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December 2020
The play area consists of a video movie facility, a trampoline, climbing, net play, and block play, which are
based on ICT (information communication technology) that provides emotional stability and enjoyment for disabled children.
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Gwangju to Select 5G Open Test Lab Project
wangju City Hall announced that it was finally selected as a Honam-based operator in the 5G Open Test Lab Operation contest, hosted by the Ministry of Science and ICT, and by the National Information Society Agency.
Gwangju City is equipped with the optimal environment for using open test labs through collaboration with KOREN (the National R&D Network) already established in the Honam Regional Research Center of the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute, and the Daejeon and Pangyo bases. This project will invest 3.6 billion won in national expenditure to build a 5G open test lab at the Honam Research Center at the Korea Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute, and support commercialization by creating a 5G test network for local companies in such areas as optical communication parts and content development.
“In order for Gwangju to become a representative city that leads the convergence industry in 5G and artificial intelligence, a test bed that can test, verify, and support 5G convergence services and equipment
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Selection criteria is based on excellent results in smooth communication with customers determined by conducting quantitative evaluation, such as customer response and customer utility, based on a survey method and a big data method for public institutions and companies. Gwangju City was evaluated to have served as a tour guide for Gwangju travel by providing vivid on-site information on the tourist blog “Omae Gwangju” for recommended touring courses, gourmet restaurants/cafes, and festivals/ experiences. In addition, information using the cute and familiar tourism mascot, Ohmena, was uploaded every week to induce steady visits by users and to showcase differentiated content reflecting brand characteristics such as timely events and viral videos. Especially this year, amid the difficulties of traveling due to COVID-19, it has gained favorable reviews for introducing content in a non-face-to-face manner, such as through “7 Untact Destinations in Gwangju Introduced by Ohmena.” Through Ohmena, which was developed in a contest held for the entire nation, various communication attempts have been made to promote social networking services (SNS) as well as develop various goods and spread information about Gwangju throughout Korea, including to its international community. In this regard, Gwangju City was also awarded the Grand Prize in the local tourism category at the Internet Communication Awards last year.
December 2020
Based on this, Gwangju City is also planning to steadily prepare public offering projects for quantum information communication and 5G convergence services, and provide a foothold for the realization of Gwangju as a leading ICT-based city in 2021.
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wangju Metropolitan City has won the grand prize in the regional tourism category at the 13th Korea Internet Communication Awards held in Seoul on November 11. Organized by the Korea Internet Communication Association and sponsored by the Ministry of Science and ICT, and the Korea Communications Commission, the Korea Internet Communication Awards are given to companies or public institutions that have shown excellent results in communication with customers through the internet communication index, the content competitiveness index, expert evaluation, and operational evaluation.
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So far, Gwangju City has secured a total of 14.4 billion won in state funds from the government’s digital New Deal public offering project, 1.8 billion won in quantum information and communication, 9 billion won in MEC-based 5G convergence services, and 3.6 billion won for the construction and operation of the 5G open test lab.
Gwangju Wins Korea Internet Communication Award
MONTHLY NEWS
The 5G open test lab operation business is a project to create a 5G (5th generation mobile communication) environment and to establish both a government office network mobilization test room and a 5G optical component test room, as well as a 5G convergence service for small and medium-sized ventures and start-up companies in the Honam area (i.e., the Jeolla Provinces). It will serve as an outpost to support all commercialization-related processes.
is essential,” said Sohn Kyung-jong, director of the city’s Artificial Intelligence Industry Bureau. “With the successive selection of digital New Deal public offering projects, we have established a foundation to become a leading city in the global 5G industry by strengthening the competitiveness of local companies and creating new convergence services."
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Christmas Around the World Christmastime is a season recognized around the globe – in wintertime in the Northern Hemisphere, in summertime in the Southern Hemisphere. It is observed in different ways by different people: For some, it is a religious holiday; for others, it is a time to gather with family and friends; and for others still, it is a time for shopping, gift-giving, and dinner dates. Some of us at the Gwangju News started life out believing that Christmas was the time of year that Santa Claus came flying through the sky with a sleigh and reindeer, slid down the chimney at night, and placed gifts under a decorated pine tree in the living room and in stockings of only good girls and boys. For this Christmas article, the Gwangju News asked 28 individuals in our diverse international community how Christmas is observed in their home countries. — Ed.
SPECIAL FEATURE
Taiwan
Christmas is not a national holiday in Ta i w a n ; however, almost all of the Taiwanese children know about Santa and do gift exchanges or hang out with family or friends on Christmas Eve. Before Christmas, every large department store has a special Christmas sale and every shop sells Christmas items, such as big Christmas trees, Santa decorations, and Christmas cards. You can also get a festive feeling by visiting “Christmasland in New Taipei City,” which is one of the largest Christmas Festival events in Taiwan. — Yiwen Gong, Taoyuan, Taiwan
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December 2020
Romania
Christmas in Romania is a onemonth long celebration starting on December 1 – when the Christmas Sarmale (@Chef Scarlatescu) lights are lit all over the country – and ending on January 8, on Saint John’s Day. Even if we are Orthodox, we celebrate Christmas on December 25, rather than on January 7, as do many other adherents to the Orthodox Church in Southeast Europe. Popular among children, Saint Nicholas is celebrated on December 6 with great fanfare and lots of gifts. On the eve of Saint Nicholas’ Day, all children clean their boots,
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place them at the door (or window), and go to sleep waiting for "Mos Nicolae" to fill them with presents. In the morning, the most obedient of them will discover lots of little surprises, mostly sweets, tucked into their shoes, while the naughty ones will only find a symbolic rod (actually, no one gets the rod these days). One particular aspect of Christmas in Romania is related to the pig sacrifice, since pork is the main ingredient in all the traditional dishes. Each household in the countryside sacrifices a pig on Ignat Day (St. Ignatius, December 20) to prepare all the delicacies necessary for the Christmas Day celebration. The day of the sacrifice starts early in the morning with the killing itself and continues with a series of proceedings through which all the meat is carefully prepared. Food is probably the main part of any holiday in Romania, but Christmas is a true feast for the senses. With the slaughtering of the pig, a good portion of the meat is turned into smoked ham, bacon, sausages, liver sausage, pig’s trotter, and other delicious Romanian dishes such as sarmale (delicious meat-and-rice rolls wrapped in cabbage/sauerkraut, served with polenta, hot pepper, and sour cream), cozonac (a sort of sponge cake with nuts, cocoa, and Turkish delights) and, of course, mulled wine. — Melline Galani, Bucharest, Romania
USA – Pennsylvania
As a firstgeneration American, Christmas in my house when I was growing up was a very interesting time. It certainly looked nothing like any American Christmas
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7 movie I had ever seen. When I was a child, it meant getting to Philadelphia to my maternal grandparents’ home in time for the Christmas Eve German church service. During the service, Santa Claus would stop by and fill the Christmas stockings. When we would get home from services, family and friends from the area would pass through and share stories, laughter, gifts, and joy. No one was turned away. Dinner was buffet style with foods that did not require a table to eat. (For example, meatballs or sausage and peppers steeping in slow cookers and cold sandwich fixings.)
Indonesia
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The Christmas season is the one period where all major cities in Belgium light up. Christmas markets in the form of little villages with over 200 wooden chalets selling mulled wine, hot chocolate, waffles, and festive ornaments occupy the market square. The ice rink
USA – Midwest
Christmas in the American Midwest is, at least for my family, always a special time on the day of and in the lead-up to Christmas. Like most families, we usually bought a Christmas tree shortly after Thanksgiving in late November. That weekend, we would all get together to decorate the tree, which my mother was always meticulous about. My father would decorate the outside of the house with Christmas lights around this time, and actually won a local award one year for this. On Christmas Eve, during the day everybody is usually running around. My father and/or my siblings and I typically have to do a bit of last-minute shopping. That night, we usually get visits from relatives on my mother’s side of the family, typically my grandfather, grandmother, and my aunt. We have a big dinner and afterwards go to the late night mass at our local church. Late Christmas
December 2020
Belgium
For most Uz b e k s , Christmas has no religious content and its celebrations blend with those of the New Year. Christmas symbols and decorations like those found in Europe or the U.S. adorn the streets of Uzbekistan’s main cities, including the capital Tashkent, but for most people, Christmas, which the Orthodox celebrate on January 7, is just part of the New Year celebrations. Around Christmas, you can encounter people who are dressed as Santa, and kids take pictures with them, exchanging gifts as well. — Baha Komilov, Fergana, Uzbekistan
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More than 80 percent of the population in Indonesia is Muslim. But December 25 is a national holiday, so department stores and public places are decorated in the Christmas spirit. Because we do not have a winter season, we put cotton on our Christmas trees to make them look like they are covered with snow. — Emmanuela Sabatini, Jakarta, Indonesia
Uzbekistan
SPECIAL FEATURE
Kids would fall asleep watching the shadows on the ceiling cast by the Christmas pyramid. As the twinkle from the candles on the tree would flicker until they would almost burn to nothing. Christmas music, mostly in German, would play quietly in the background, and laughter filled the evening. Looking back, the memories carry a holiday filled with joy, fellowship, warmth, and love. It was not very religious, and many of the friends that stopped by were other than Christian. At the Meissgeier home, Christmas Eve was about friendship and family and sharing. — Christina Bleeker, Philadelphia, Pennsilvania
set in the center of the market is the highlight for the young, while the parents enjoy the festive ambience. The Grande Place comes to life at night, when the giant Christmas tree is lit up, and the sound-and-light show displayed on the city hall leaves spectators in awe. The nativity scene is always present (along with sheep!) to keep with tradition. — Aline Verduyin, Grimbergen, Belgium
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8 Eve and Christmas morning were always agony when we were young because we did not get our gifts until the morning of the 25th, and my parents would lay out our gifts like Santa had come and arranged them just so, no wrapping. After a bit of play, we would eat a deluxe breakfast prepared by my mother, then unwrap gifts from relatives and stuff we had bought for one another. So, early morning on the 25th was always magic, especially when we were young. For the rest of the week leading up to New Year’s, we typically have a big get-together with all the relatives on my father’s side of the family somewhere around or in Chicago, which was also very fun because we had a lot of cousins and uncles around to play games and create mischief. And then it would be Happy New Year once again, and it would all be over. — Daniel Springer, Midwest, USA
SPECIAL FEATURE
Kyrgyzstan
Most people in Kyrgyzstan are Muslims, but they still celebrate Christmas. However, half of the country’s Christians are Orthodox and celebrate Christmas after the old-rite, on January 7. We decorate the streets and Christmas trees. Restaurants have special menus and entertainment. It is a great chance to spend time with family and friends! — Elena Pan, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
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December 2020
Australia
Christmas in Australia is in the middle of our summer holidays. Since we are a country of indigenous peoples and immigrants, Christmas is different for everyone. Most areas have a “Carols by Candlelight” event leading up to Christmas, where people bring picnics to the park and sing carols. My family holds onto a lot of European traditions, like Christmas trees, a big family luncheon, and plum pudding! But we also start Christmas Day with a play on the beach (in fact, in my hometown, Santa sails onto the beach on a boat and hands out lollies to children on Christmas morning!). Our lunch is a spread of turkey, ham, and seafood salads to suit the climate. Many people have outdoor barbecues,
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and picnics, and the beach is always popular! Beach cricket, anyone? — Elizabeth Tedge, Victoria, Australia
Russia
In Russia, we celebrate Christmas on January 7 due to our Orthodox origins. For many Russians, Christmas is a strictly religious holiday, while the most important day of the year is New Year’s. According to the Russian Orthodox Church tradition, believers are supposed to visit a church and stay there all night long praying; however, most Russians do not celebrate Christmas this way anymore. Instead, most of the families watch a nightlong vigil on TV and have a festive dinner together. For many regions of Russia, Christmas is the darkest time of the year, with the sun setting at about 3–4 p.m. That is why it is a tradition to illuminate the streets brightly. Also, another tradition is fortune-telling on Christmas Eve. Even though it has deep pagan roots, the tradition is still loved by many Russians. — Aleksandra Mikhailova, Saint Petersburg, Russia
Canada – Alberta
In Western Canada, a white Christmas is not guaranteed, but there is a good chance of one. Early evenings and freezing temperatures mean we like to stay inside, maybe warming up by baking cookies that we will later eat with some hot chocolate or eggnog while admiring the Christmas tree. Presents are a big part of the holiday, as are the days off from school, but it is the time with family that many are thankful for. Christmas memories like singing songs together and enjoying a delicious turkey at dinner mean a lot more when you cannot make it back for the holiday. — Arlo Matisz, Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada
Belarus
There are two main denominations in Belarus – Christian Orthodox and Roman Catholicism. Orthodox believers celebrate Christmas on January 7 based on the Julian Calendar, whereas Catholics celebrate Christmas on December 25 as per the Gregorian Calendar. The way my Catholic family celebrates Christmas in western Belarus
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9 is as a family holiday. The main Christmas celebrations start on December 24. Customs for “Kućcia,” or Christmas Eve, are similar to those in neighboring countries. Christmas Eve dinner, also known as “Wigilia,” starts when the first star appears in the sky. Bits of hay are spread beneath the tablecloth as a reminder that Christ was born in a manger. One old tradition states that when one removes a piece of straw from under the tablecloth, its length indicates one’s luck for the coming year.
Caroling, or “Kaliadavanne” in Belarussian, is also a part of Belarus Christmas traditions. Groups of dressedup people move from house to house, singing Kaliady songs. The head of the house visited during Kaliadavanne is supposed to treat the group with money or snacks and sweets. But what about Santa and gifts? In Belarus, kids wait for “Svyaty Mikalaj” (Saint Nicolas) and find presents under the pillow or Christmas tree in the morning on December 25. — Viktoryia Shylkouskaya, Lida, Belarus
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Usually, the celebration starts on Christmas Eve, January 5. Many people go to church not only on Christmas Day but also on Christmas Eve, and then come home with candles. On this day, Armenians usually greet each other with “Christ was born and revealed,” and the reply is “Blessed is the Revelation of Christ,” and “It is great news for you and for us!” People usually celebrate Christmas with their family. Armenians prepare traditional meals for this day. The main dish is rice with raisins, fish, and also wine. Despite the date difference, Christmas is a happy family holiday that everyone enjoys. — Christina Ghevondian, Yerevan, Armenia
Serbia
Similar to Koreans celebrating holidays by the lunar calendar, in Serbia, we celebrate holidays following the old church calendar (Julian Calendar), since we belong to the Orthodox Christian Church. Therefore, our Christmas Day is on January 7. Christmas in Serbia is most like
December 2020
Christmas is a little different for every family all over the USA. For my family, we enjoy c o m i n g together to eat a large meal, share stories, and exchange gifts. The holiday itself is a spiritual celebration of the birth of our savior Jesus Christ, who was born of the Virgin, Mary, and sent by God to die for everyone’s sins. We celebrate His gift by giving each other gifts, singing Christmas songs of worship, and attending church as a family to thank God for His love and provision. Like most holidays, Christmas is a chance to see family, feast,
Many people are surprised by the fact that Armenians celebrate Christmas on January 6. Until the 4th century, all Christian churches celebrated Christmas on January 6. There are some stories about the reason for this, and one of the most common ones is related to a festival dedicated to the sun god. There was a Roman festival called “Solis Invicti” that was celebrated on December 25. Thus, many churches decided to move Christmas to December 25 to prevent people from celebrating the pagan festival. However, Armenia did not have such a solstice tradition – that is why the date was not moved and they kept on celebrating Christmas on January 6.
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USA – Georgia
Armenia
SPECIAL FEATURE
Traditionally, the Christmas Eve dinner is served without meat and consists of at least 12 fish, mushroom, and vegetable dishes. The number twelve signifies the Twelve Apostles. During the meal, all of the guests should taste a bit of everything, all 12 dishes. The Christmas Eve supper may last for a couple of hours. After the dinner is eaten, the table remains as it is so that the ancestral spirits may partake of the meal at night.
and celebrate life. For every family, it is a little different, but just as important to them all is being surrounded by loved ones and taking a moment to thank God for His many blessings. This is what my family strives for every Christmas celebration. — Stephanie Carney, Woodland, Georgia
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December 2020
SPECIAL FEATURE
10 Korea’s Chuseok holiday – it is the time of the year when we go back to our parents’ homes, feast, and celebrate only with our family while following many unique traditions. On Christmas morning, we bake traditional bread – česnica. Česnica is a round bread eaten only at Christmas. Before the bread is baked, the woman of the house places as many tiny “gifts” in the dough as there are members of the family, for example – a penny that symbolizes money, corn that symbolizes success at school, wheat that symbolizes success at work, and dried herbs that symbolize health. Before the Christmas feast, the whole family prays together, holds the round bread, slowly rotates it sideways three times, and breaks it so that every member gets one piece. In each piece, a family member finds their “gift” that represents what their next year will be like. If you find the penny, you will be rich (this person is considered the luckiest!). Find the corn and you will be good at school, while finding wheat will make you successful at work – and if you find the herbs, you will always be in good health. — Jana Milosavljevic, Belgrade, Serbia
Hong Kong
S t r o n g l y influenced by British culture, Christmas is considered one of the most important festivals in Hong Kong. If you get a chance to visit Hong Kong in December, you will definitely be surprised by how much the people love Christmas. You will see vivid lights and shiny ornaments across the skyscrapers, and extravagant installations and displays in the shopping malls. The festive vibes seem to take over the entire city in the winter season. Since Christmas Day and the weekday after (December 25 and 26) are both public holidays in Hong Kong, people also tend to utilize their free time to attend winterfests, go Christmas shopping, and enjoy fine dining with their loved ones. — Chloe Chan, Hong Kong
Greece
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Greek Christmas is full of local celebrations, traditions, and of course, must be spent with family and friends. Lots of regions use Christmas trees
as decorations, but little sail boats were first decorated before trees appeared from abroad. In the olden days, the wives and children of sailors would craft decorative boats themselves during the holiday period. Santa Claus is Saint Basil (Agios Vasilis), but he does not visit homes on December 25, he arrives a week later, on New Year’s Day, when we traditionally exchange the Christmas presents. And we always choose someone to enter the house first, usually the one who seems to be the one with the most good fortune. — Babis Tsilivigkos, Athens, Greece
South Korea
The way Koreans spend Christmas is a bit different from Americans. Since most Koreans live in apartments, few people decorate the outside of their homes or have a Christmas tree inside. However, churches, shopping malls, and streets are lit up during the season. Young Koreans spend Christmas Day with their partners, while Americans spend the day with their families. You can easily find a lot of couples downtown on that day, making it somehow similar to Valentine’s Day. Well, even I spent last Christmas with my girlfriend in America. – Lee Woo-seob, Gwangju, South Korea
The Netherlands
In the Netherlands, December 25 and 26 (the second Christmas) are two national holidays, and children get two weeks off from school. Christmas is a family holiday. Our family would go to grandma’s place on Christmas Eve to have a big Christmas dinner with all the relatives. We do not give each other presents on Christmas today. That is reserved for December 5th, Saint Nicolas’ Day. Saint Nicolas (Sinterklaas, for Dutch speakers) really looks like Santa, but I suspect Santa looks more like him, as the Americans just mixed “Sinterklaas” (Santa Claus) with Christmas in 18th-century New York. — Thomas Adriaenssens, Kortgene, The Netherlands
Mexico
There are many special traditions surrounding Christmas in Mexico. Some of these originated in Spain, and others developed due to Mexico’s particular history.
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over until February 2.
The festivities surrounding Christmas last through much of the month of December, but in fact, the Christmas season isn’t truly
Scotland
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Ecuadorians are very Catholic. For this reason, on December 24, we go to church with our families. We have dinner at home, eat turkey, and have hot cocoa. We wait for Santa Claus at 12:00 midnight. Every kid writes a letter to the Baby Jesus, but everybody knows that Santa is the courier. — Cinthya Torres, Guayaquil, Ecuador
Canada – Vancouver
Vancouver does not get as much snow as the rest of Canada, but we still celebrate Christmas in a big way. There is the Santa Claus Parade, Christmas Market, Grouse Mountain Christmas Village, Christmas concerts, and so many houses around the city that are decked out with lights and decorations. Every winter, people enjoy the Christmas music, shopping, delicious foods, or just spending time with their families and friends. And of course, we enjoy doing winter sports like skiing, snowboarding, and hockey. — Kevin Patton, Vancouver, Canada
Denmark
Christmas in Denmark means Christmas trees, decorations, h o m e m a d e Christmas sweets and cookies, and family dinner on the evening of the 24th. We have a special Christmas dessert that we eat on Christmas evening, a sort of pudding with chopped almonds inside. One whole
December 2020
Christmas Eve was nine lessons and carols at church before going home and eagerly awaiting gifts from Santa and trying to sleep. Christmas Day consisted of waking early, being forced to eat some breakfast, then dressing in our best clothes before being allowed to open the main presents. Around 11:00 a.m., we would go to a neighbor’s house for the community spirit and finger foods. Normally, we were back home by 1:00 p.m. for a three-course Christmas dinner, most of which had been cooking while we were out. After washing up, we would play board games and then open small presents and have an evening meal. Then, we would go to bed feeling stuffed and contented. Boxing Day, December 26, was a special family day when we would usually go over to my dad’s
For Ecuadorians, December is the Friday of the year. This is a month where we celebrate Christmas every weekend with your friends from school, college, or work. It is a great time to see friends whom we have not seen for a long time.
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Christmas always seemed to be snowy in my mind, though I believe it was probably mostly wet and cold. Christmas really started when the tree, a real one, was went up. Parents also put up other decorations, too. Also, the writing and receiving of Christmas cards played an important part. My mother made sausage rolls, mince pies, Christmas cake, and Christmas pudding, so December had a house full of glorious smells.
Ecuador
SPECIAL FEATURE
Three of the most important Christmas traditions in Mexico are nacimientos, Christmas posadas, and pastorelas. The nacimiento nativiety scene is set up on December 16, the Baby Jesus is added on Christmas Eve, and the three Wise Men are added on January 6. The posadas (processions) take place over the nine days prior to Christmas as re-enactments of Mary and Joseph’s search for a place to spend the night in Bethelem. Similarly, the pastorelas represent the sheperds’ journeys to see the Baby Jesus. In the pastorelas, the shepherds encounter various obstacles on their journey, with devils and angels making appearances, trying to convince the shepherds of the way they should take. — Elisabet Ramirez, Queretaro, Mexico
parents’ home around lunchtime and spend the day with his side of the family. I always remember the build up to Christmas being exciting, a feeling of wonder, and a special feeling in the crisp fresh air. — Jonty Trelfer, Drumnadrochit, Scotland
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12 almond is hidden inside it, and whoever gets it receives an extra present. We have special Christmas stamps for sending Christmas cards to friends and family, and the profit from the sales goes to helping children in need. It is always very important to be the one who gets to put the star on top of the Christmas tree because he or she gets a special Christmas treat for doing the job. Our kids used to take turns doing it. Next time, we will have a real tree and my husband will not have to lift them anymore. Of course, there should be lots of presents underneath the Christmas tree. — Pia Jensen, Tange, Denmark
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December 2020
SPECIAL FEATURE
Canada – Ontario
Christmas in Ontario revolves around traditions that change from family to family. In my own, each Christmas was like the chocolates in an advent calendar, different but similar enough. Some years, we would join with other neighborhood families to line the roadside for our city’s Santa Claus parade, enjoying free hot chocolate and candy canes while waiting for Santa’s motorcade to wind its way to us. Other years, my father and uncles would pour their souls into building uneven ice rinks in our backyards, more mindful of the bumps in the ice than those it caused us kids. Hosting family, usually grandparents from far in the country, was a role traded between the families – same as hosting the annual Christmas gathering, which is the only family reunion you could set a watch by. My favorite Christmas tradition was leaving a carrot out for Santa’s reindeer. As a child, the animal-lover inside me cherished this. As an adult, I loved knowing my father had to gnaw up all those carrots for us to find Christmas morning. One year, I left out a dozen carrots. He was sick all day. Merry Christmas! — Brad Andrews, Oshawa, Ontario, Canada
Vietnam
The Christmas holiday in Vietnam is a great opportunity to dress up and go out with friends and partners. Various retail outlets and entertainment facitities in big cities invest in festive decorations and majestic performances. In Hanoi, families and groups of
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friends tend to congregate in the shopping malls, areas near Hoan Kiem Lake, and St. Joseph's Cathedral. In Ho Chi Minh City, people gather in the Western Union Bui Vien and the Christian neighborhoods in District 8. — Nong Thi Nghi Phuong (Fiona), Thai Nguyen, Vietnam
Switzerland
The Christmas season in Lausanne begins with beautiful lights illuminating all of its streets. A few days after these beautiful decorations go up, we all know that the Christmas market will appear with its warm (mulled) wine and the roasted chestnuts, where we can always warm our cold hands. You can visit the whole city under the starry sky with its Christmas markets, and share some wine with your newly found or old friends. During the day, you can enjoy the pleasure of buying gifts for your loved ones and taste some Swiss chocolate. You can also enjoy some live music and street artists. Ideally, you finish your day in the balcony of the Beaurivage Palace Hotel with a glass of Swiss red wine admiring the silver reflection of the moon on the lake. — Lila Miehlbradt, Lausanne, Switzerland
Estonia
Just as in other countries in N o r t h e r n Europe, Medieval Estonians were celebrating the Jul by dancing around a big fir tree in the dark, winter solstice night. You have to thank them for coming up with the idea of having lights decorating your Christmas tree. Nowadays, Tallinn takes pride in winning for two consecutive years the Best European Christmas Market award. As for Christmas traditions, Estonians eat blood sausage, pickled cabbage with cranberry jam sauce, and drink warm wine on Christmas Eve. — Cata Lee, Talinn, Estonia Compiled by Melline Galani.
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13
CROSSWORD PUZZLE Created by Jon Dunbar
Look for the answers to this crossword puzzle to appear in January in Gwangju News Online (www.gwangjunewsgic.com)
DOWN 1 “Starcraft” genre 2 Britney Spears song “___ La La” 3 John Lennon’s wife Yoko 4 Damyang’s ___ Provence 5 Larger than a mart 6 “Cool ___ cucumber” (2 words) 7 UK comedian Ricky 8 Iconic marathoner Kee-chung 9 Goes with pad and muay 10 “___ Misbehavin’” 11 Intrusively curiousw 19 Van Sant or Grissom 21 Hot __ balloon 22 Finger noise 23 Zeus’ wife 24 Cheonan neighbor
ACROSS
26 1590s war 28 Seoul City radio station 36 UAE leader
5 Droop
37 Korean narrative music
8 K-pop extreme fan
39 Type of stone monument
12 Drawing Cafe ___
40 “Heavenly Father” Choi ___
13 Utilize
42 Opposite of old
14 Nuclear submarine class
43 Gwangju building riddled with
15 A__ in the dark
bullet holes
30 “The best is ___ to come” 31 Prayer ender 32 African river 33 Matured 35 Nutty confection 38 ___-Wan Kenobi 39 What to do at Muju Deogyusan Resort
47 Replacement of KCIA
41 Floor heater
17 Canada and Denmark’s Dokdo
49 US instant waffle brand
43 Korea’s Hawaii
18 Number of birthdays
50 Incheon FEZ’s Songdo ___
44 Jeonju KCC ___ basketball club
20 US magazine ___ Fair
52 Chapters, in a play
45 Mythical monster
22 Pentagon's song “___ La La”
56 Mother of mountains in Korea
46 Goes with film or pinot
25 ___ Maeum Forest (2 words)
57 Keanu Reeves’ role
48 Tegan’s twin
27 Instructors of 60 across
58 President Syngman
51 US rapper Big Body
29 Location of 25 across
59 Person logging in
53 The “Black-Haired Tchaikovsky” Jeong
34 Middle Easterner
60 Language course
54 Four plus six
35 Bedtime outfit
61 Cousin’s mother
55 Meal, at a Korean fast food place
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December 2020
16 Average golf score
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1 F5 Hair ___
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14
Lee Maelee:
Messenger of “Poetry Delivery”
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December 2020
FEATURE
Interview by Jennis Kang
W
olchul-san (월출산), a national park, has been called a spiritual mountain due to its many quaint rocks and cliffs. The mountain encompasses the villages of Yeongam and Gangjin. “Wolchul” (月出) means “moon rising” in Chinese characters. If you see the moon rising from the Yeongam side, you might feel like you are viewing the beauty of a traditional Korean painting. With just a 50-minute drive to the south from Gwangju, you can see the rocky peaks of Wolchul-san in Yeongam. If you pass by Yeongam and go through the Pulchijae Tunnel, you come to Gangjin, which provides another beautiful view of the mountain. To me, Wolchul-san viewed from the Yeongam side is like a majestic father, while the mountain from the Gangjin side is a soft mother. People say that Wolchul-san used to have 99 temples cradled within its peaks and valleys. About a thousand years ago, there was a large temple complex called Wollam-sa (월남사) on the Gangjin side. Now the temple site has only a single stone pagoda to attest to its majesty of years gone by. When I first visited Wollam-sa more than a decade ago, this three-tiered granite pagoda stood alone in the temple ruins. I was touched by the large pagoda standing firm with mysterious-colored moss residing harmoniously on the granite and with the heights of Wolchul-san towering in the distance. It occurred to me that the pagoda had been watching all kinds of lives coming and going by that very spot for a thousand years. I could feel the sacredness of the tencentury-old pagoda. Since then, I have often gone back to the ruins of Wollam-sa. In 2017, according to the Cultural Heritage Administration’s assessment, the pagoda had to be repaired to prevent it from collapsing. The Cultural
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Artist Lee Maelee
Heritage Administration also excavated the area in search of artifacts. For this purpose, several houses built on the ruins needed to be removed. This fall, after a three-year absence, I met the threetiered stone pagoda once again. I discovered that there is someone who loves the pagoda and temple ruins as much or more than I do. She is Lee Maelee (이매리), a contemporary artist. I had previously seen her “Red Shoe” sculpture at the Gwangju Museum of Art. I also found that Lee has been working with the ruins of Wollamsa. I wondered why she, as an artist, was attracted to the temple ruins, and how ancient temple ruins found expression in contemporary art. So, I went to her recent exhibition. Luckily, I was able to meet Lee at the exhibition. We talked about the pagoda and the temple ruins for over an hour, and I felt so lucky to be able to interview her for the Gwangju News. She said the ruins of Wollam-sa were the location of her mother’s hometown. Her mother was born and grew up right on the temple site. For over 400 years, there existed a small village that formed on the site of Wollam-sa after its temple buildings had been burned down during the Japanese Invasion (Imjin-waeran, 임진왜란) of Korea in 1592. Here is how our interview went. Jennis Kang: When you were young, did you live in the town of Wollam-ri?
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15 Lee Maelee: My mother was pregnant with me while she lived there. Wollam-sa is where my ancestors lived and where I was conceived. My mother left the village with my father when he started working as a teacher. My original residence was 931 Wollam-ri, Gangjin, South Jeolla Province. I used to visit the site of Wollam-sa, where my parents’ families lived. After getting off the bus, I would pass the three-tiered stone pagoda to go to my relatives’ place. In those days, I always wondered about my ancestors: what they looked like and what their lives were like. I wanted to draw their faces if I could. On one rainy day when I was about six and on my way to my grandparents’ place, I walked behind my father, and there were footprints in the spots where he walked. This caused me to suddenly think that my ancestors had also left countless invisible footprints on this land – this land that represented my ancestors.
Jennis: Poetry Delivery [시 배달] – what does this mean? Lee Maelee: As a visual artist, I borrowed the literary genre of poetry. The space and time that I remembered has disappeared, and I thought about being born and
Jennis: When did you start working on the Wollam-sa ruins, and do you have any projects in process? Lee Maelee: Since 2012, I have been working on the Poetry Delivery project. I have often traveled to the excavation site in Wollam-ri to take pictures. During the excavation, the ground was covered with huge plastic tarpaulins. But on the very day that I took a drone to take my last photos, all the ground was suddenly exposed because they were planning to cover the site with topsoil and sow it with grass seed the next day. It was amazing to see the bare ground; I felt that the land itself was giving me a chance to deliver its stories.
FEATURE
So, it was sad for me to think that the traces of my ancestors were disappearing. Restoring the ruins of the 1,000-year-old temple is important, I know, but where can we find the history of the people who lived on the site for five centuries? So, I express it in my works called Poetry Delivery.
disappearing in layer after layer. People record history in text to deliver the past to someone in the future. So, I incorporated parts of the “Diamond Sutra” and the “Book of Genesis,” which contain the origins of mankind, on photos of the Wollam-sa ruins. I also incorporated William Blake’s epics in the painting of Homo erectus, the being who walked upright and used fire. I thought that there were many similar stories in the world like those of the Wollam-sa ruins, so I made videos with people from all over the world delivering poetry in their own languages containing the creation and extinction of their own histories.
Jennis: You say you felt like you were chosen as a messenger. Do you have any stories to deliver to us? Lee Maelee: Well, while I was growing up, I heard many
▼ “The Red High Heel.” Gwangju Museum of Art.
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December 2020
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16
FEATURE
stories from my parents. My mother lost her father when she was 11. My grandfather, who was a landholder, suffered the same fate as that carried out by the Red Guards of China: He and his brother were killed. His young daughter, my mother, was also summoned four times to stand trial, and each time, her schoolteacher asked them to save the little child’s life. After she lost her father, she saw her father’s bicycle standing in front of her neighbor’s house, but she could not say anything. Jennis: How tragic! I think a family’s history can represent an era. My husband’s father also hid in a well to save his life, but he lost his father, who was killed by his neighbor. These painful happenings occurred only a few decades ago in this land. And yet, life should be continuous? Maybe this is why you incorporate a continuous “And And And…” in several of your works. Lee Maelee: Right. We have many sad histories. The Yeosu-Suncheon Incident, the Jeju 4.3 Uprising, the Korean War, and Gwangju’s May 18 Incident are the stories of our parents and stories that we are still a part of. So, I wrote on canvas these epics of where I came from and where we are heading. Sometimes the writing was in the poetry of Ezra Pound; sometimes it was in the song lyrics of Bob Dylan. But I hoped that the people would
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December 2020
▼ “And…” Layers of Time Exhibition, 2020.
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▲ “And And And.” Poetry Delivery 2020.
not be too obsessed with the text itself. So, I convey the past, present, and future through “And And And...” in this exhibition. Jennis: How did you start out in contemporary art, in conceptual art? Where did you study? I think you are an uncommon artist in the Gwangju area. Lee Maelee: I learned from Wollam-ri. I think I would have lost myself if I had studied abroad. I stayed here in Gwangju and the Jeolla area my whole life. So, I have been able to keep myself intact, and I think that this was also the source of the dramatic upsurge in my works. Jennis: I have seen your red high heel sculpture at the Gwangju Museum of Art. How did you get invited for an invitational exhibition in Manhattan, New York?
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17 Lee Maelee: A curator who had majored in Asian art in New York came to Korea to look for an artist to invite. She came to the Gwangju Biennale and asked the Gwangju Museum of Art for recommendations of local female artists. Fortunately, I was selected from among the artists who submitted portfolios to the curator.
Jennis: As a Gwangju citizen, I am so proud of you. I heard that you have been teaching at Gwangju University and Chosun University. How long have you been lecturing? Lee Maelee: I have been giving lectures for the past 25 years. I wanted to give my students a chance to study contemporary art in Gwangju without having to go abroad. I feel rewarded in helping young students create newness and seek change.
Jennis: I was able to think about my ancestors, my life, and the next generation while viewing your works. I hope many people will be able to experience the same through your works of poetry. Thank you for your time. The Interviewer
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Photographs courtesy of Lee Maelee. Lee Maelee’s Individual Exhibitions 2020. Poetry Delivery 2020 (Muan Seungwoo Oh Museum of Art) 2020. Portraits of Shoes (Hosim Art Museum, Gwangju) 2019. Cantos Space (Woo Jaegil Art Museum, Gwangju) 2019. The Book of Life (UM Gallery, Seoul) 2017. Poetry Delivery 2017 (Gwangju Art Museum) 2015. Walking the Truth (Museum of Contemporary Art of Crete, Greece) 2015. Expanding the Paradigm (Donopoulos International Fine Arts, Greece) 2014. On the Road to Wisdom (Korean Assembly Building) 2013. Portraits of Shoes (Eunam Museum of Art Invitational, Gwangju) 2012. Into Great Silence (Space Inno, Seoul) 2011. Infinite Space (Chelsea Art Museum Invitational, New York, U.S.) 2011. Down and Space (Fei Gallery Invitational, Guangzhōu, China) 2010. Melange (Elga Wimmer PCC Invitational, New York, U.S.) 2009. Feminine Power and Lee Maelee (Tenri Cultural Institute, New York, U.S.) 2005. Lee Maelee’s Paintings (Yi Kang Gallery, Beijing, China) 2004. Communication and Desire (The IMC Lab + Gallery, New York, U.S.)
December 2020
Kang “Jennis” Hyunsuk is a freelance English tutor and once-in-a-while interpreter. She worked for the Asia Culture Center during its opening season and likes to grow greens and walk her dog. Every weekend, she goes to the countryside with her husband and takes photos of nature.
▲ Layers of Time Exhibition, 2020.
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Jennis: Going forward, what plans or goals do you have in the field of art? Lee Maelee: I plan to continue to express the history of the strata and the people who lived in them through poetry that inspires me as a messenger of Poetry Delivery, and to continue giving lectures to the next generation.
FEATURE
Jennis: You must have been very pleased with the invitation to exhibit in New York. How did the New York invitational affect your career? Lee Maelee: At the time, in the early 2000s, there were several support programs for young artists, but I was considered too old to qualify as a young artist. At this time when I was a bit depressed, the New York invitation brought about a big change in my life. Through the exhibition in New York, I received encouragement and praise from several art critics. Surprisingly, Kim Bo-hyun (a.k.a. Po Kim), who founded Korea’s first art college at Chosun University, came to my exhibition. He was still working on large canvases even though he was almost 90 years old. (I felt shameful in thinking that I was old.) After the New York exhibition, I was invited to exhibit in other cities. Thanks to Gwangju, the international city of art, I could step out into the world.
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Love Is an Action Word The Luke TLC Medical Mission Team of Suncheon City
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December 2020
FEATURE
Written by Arlyn Creus Sim
A
s the family was driving to my in-laws, I heard my husband saying, “How I wish I could have much more time to just rest, play, or sleep!” I wonder how many Koreans think this way as they anticipate Chuseok and Seollal, the much-awaited Korean holidays spent relaxing together with family.
individual dental, ophthalmology, internal medicine, pediatric, orthopedic, and acupuncture teams were all very busy. The largest team is the dental team. We usually have around three to four dentists (one Korean and the rest Filipino) with their assistants. This team also needs volunteers for the sterilization of tools and equipment.
To most Koreans, such holidays are a time of rest and enjoyment, but there are some Koreans who choose to be away from their families and render free services to unknown people. The Luke TLC Medical Mission Team of Suncheon City is a church-affiliated group committed to reaching out to different countries through free medical and dental services. The team is under the supervision of Nambu Presbyterian Church in Geumdang, Suncheon City, and it has helped people in countries such as Cuba, Thailand, Pakistan, Russia, and the Philippines, to name a few.
Some of the patients had minor colds or light orthopedic problems. In some cases, minor surgical procedures were also carried out. Last year, we had an operation that lasted for maybe 15–20 minutes. In another case, a man had a boil on his back for more than two years and finally had it opened. Without a doubt, the pharmacy team is always the busiest, for they are the last station for all patients.
Most recently, the team finished its eighteenth overseas medical mission in the Philippines last year (from September 11 to 14). The team went to the United Christian Church in Trece Martirez City, Cavite, and a church in San Pedro City, Laguna. Composed of 23 Koreans, a pastor, doctors with one to three family members, and some volunteers, the latest team rendered free medical and dental services to Filipinos for two days. It also provided free medicine and reading glasses as well. This year, if not for the COVID-19 pandemic, the team would for sure have done its next volunteer mission in the same country.
Some of the mission team doctors had their own private clinics while others were employed in public hospitals, so after completing their duties, they traveled for about six hours (two hours and 30 minutes to the airport and more than three hours by plane) at night to reach their destination. The team always started each mission with a joint worship service with the Filipino team of volunteers from the churches they visited. Two days of hard work and a day of relaxation while visiting some beautiful scenery in the country before going back home completes their four-day, three-night trip. Early the next day, they are all back to their own personal jobs again. Even though they have a very hectic schedule from Day 1 to Day 4, you cannot hear any word of complaint from the team members. They still manage to share a smile with everyone and just ask for a cup of coffee as an energizer.
In the Philippines, most of the patients needed tooth extractions and were asking for free reading glasses. The
Their dedication and devotion are unbeatable. Their determination has inspired a lot of people. Their precious
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19 time and exerted efforts are really priceless evidence of love in action. Personally, I can say that they are the good Samaritans of today. Their limitless service is enviable. For them, happiness is found in serving others. I salute these people for their unselfish love for service, especially since during the Chuseok and Seollal holidays they go and reach out to the needy in foreign lands. There are also Sunday afternoons when they offer free treatment to Koreans in churches nearby. Along with free treatment and medicine, they also offer free perming for elderly women. For them, serving is not out of duty but out of love.
FEATURE
I have been with this team for almost eight years now. From my first involvement until now, I have really been amazed by their devotion as they serve during the missions. I personally witnessed their dedication; heavy rains, floods, hot weather, and blisters on their hands have all failed to stop them. Last year, because of a flood, a bridge was closed, blocking their bus from entering a small street. So, they all walked across the closed bridge and rode tricycles to reach the designated place. Being with this team has taught me many things. Money is not the real source of happiness. They also exposed me to lots of beautiful and memorable experiences one cannot learn from books. I was also able to teach my daughter the realities of life without even saying a word. The moral values I could not fully explain because of language deficiency were learned by her personally as she witnessed it in the mission field.
The Author
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Not all of us can do the same sacrificing services like the mission team does, but there is one thing we can learn: The motive of our service, not its scale, is what really matters. It is love in action that is needed. No matter how small our acts of kindness are, they are important. As I have said, the size of our kindness does not matter. What matters is the amount of love sprinkled on our actions. Your sand-like small services can build a castle. Practice small acts of kindness every time an opportunity arises. Radiate and give love, and it will come back to you.
▲ An operation conducted on the floor.
▲ Everyone is busy but you can see the happiness in their faces.
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December 2020
Arlyn Creus Sim is a Filipina who has been married to a Korean living in Suncheon City for almost 20 years now. She is currently a part-time English teacher at Eie Amy Academy and Yoon English School. Instagram: @lcreus24
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Blast from the Past
blast from the past
20
▲ Figure 1. The various names for Korea’s end-of-year parties.
The End Is Near! Mangnyeon-hoe
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December 2020
A
As the end of the year approaches in Korea, it is customary for groups of friends to gather around a table for dinner, conversation, remembrances, gaiety, and often alcoholic beverages. Over the years, as Korea has transformed as a nation, the name by which these get-togethers have gone has also experienced change. Prof. Shin Sang-soon wrote about this in his The Korean Way column in the January 2006 issue of the Gwangju News. That article, “Mangnyeon-hoe, the Year-End Party,” with some additions, has been resurrected for this end-of-year issue of our magazine. — Ed.
s the end of a year nears, many Koreans, especially those in the 20–50 age bracket, will feel obliged to attend several social gatherings at which some kind of alcoholic beverage, strong or mild, depending on the occasion, is likely to be served. The meeting will be of school classmates, alumni, colleagues, or of business associates, friends from the same childhood village or town, or other affinity group. If the get-togethers take place in the latter half of December, one may have something scheduled for almost every other day. By their nature, these meetings may be generalized as yearend gatherings to reconfirm friendship with each other. These end-of-year events have gone by various monikers in Korea. The first of these was mangnyeon-hoe (망년회; see No. 1 in Figure 1), whose Chinese characters give it the literal meaning “forget-the-year meet.” This name was widely used in the colonial days when times were tough for Koreans while under the heavyhanded rule of Imperial Japan. Almost immediately after the end of colonial rule, the Korean War (1950– 1953) broke out and devastated much of the alreadyimpoverished peninsula. With all of the hardships that
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Koreans had to endure throughout any single year in those times, there is little wonder that people wanted to forget the bad times that they had endured, and the name for these year-end get-togethers stuck: mangnyeon-hoe. As Korea was transforming from the underdeveloped nation of the 1950s and 1960s into a developing nation in the 1970s, industrialization was taking hold and the decade began to record double-digit annual growth rates. Life was not as harsh – indoor plumbing was no longer unheard of and portable TV sets were appearing in living rooms for the first time. People began to have a more positive outlook on life, and this positivity began a trend to change the Chinese characters for mangnyeon-hoe (see No. 2). With a single character change for mang, the moreupbeat meaning of mangnyeon-hoe was transformed into “looking-forward-to-the-coming-year meet.” Since the two terms (No. 1 and No. 2) were homophones and their meanings referred to the same year-end event, the only real discrepancy came when writing them. At the time, Chinese characters were still widely used in the print media – instead of the Hangeul alphabet (especially
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21 for nouns) – and the trend was to use the No. 2 written form, capturing the more optimistic mood of the times.
As the new millennium rolled in, so did some new terminology: yeongshin-hoe (영신회, “welcome-thenew-year meet”). This term, however, lacked the staying power of any of its predecessors, losing out to its firmly established predecessor, songnyeon-hoe. A variant of yeongshin-hoe does live on, though, in the term for the early morning Christian worship service on the first day of the new year: yeongshin-yebae (영신예배).
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May your songnyeon-hoe this year be a responsible and a safe one. Original article written by Shin Sang-soon. Adapted from the original by David Shaffer.
December 2020
Considering the aftermath of such drinking bouts, it is said that a law enforcement officer introduced a quite novel term for the year-end occurrences (No. 5), which is pronounced the same as Nos. 1 and 2 (mangnyeonhoe) but has Chinese characters that give it the meaning “spoil/ruin-the-year meet.” He warned against drinking excessively during this festive time of the year even though it was not customary to leave drink out of the
Over the years, as more and more people have become car owners, the amounts and frequency that car owners drink appears to have been decreasing. After drinking, the responsible car owner may leave their car in the parking lot and take a taxi home. Or they may call a driver service to come and drive the car, and its owner with a high blood alcohol level, home safely.
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Another recent attempt at changing the event’s name has also been undertaken due to the problem arising from the way in which some year-end party participants consume alcohol. At some of these get-togethers, the attendees take pride in downing strong drink. As a starter, they gulp down what is called poktan-ju (폭탄주, “bombdrink,” i.e., a bomb shot or depth charge), a glass of beer with a shot of soju, or whiskey, added. In turns, everyone at the drinking table is often required to scarf down their “bomb.” The atmosphere is such that no one can resist. Some males fear that their failure to comply would put their manhood into question. A few rounds of drinking these “bombs” is enough to make the party-goers intoxicated. After the party, it is common to proceed to a nearby norae-bang (노래방), a karaoke singing room, to vent any and all pent-up frustrations or express their joys by singing loudly to give the culminating year a thunderous send-off.
The law enforcement officer disclosed his anguish in having to deal with traffic accidents and the suffering they caused. He had a philosophy of his own, saying that punishment alone was not a sufficient remedy to the problem. Along with strict enforcement of the traffic laws related to drinking and driving, the officer suggested a measure that would permanently reflect the offender’s evolvement in a traffic accident (similar to the registering of sex offenders in the U.S.). After all, one should be aware of the dangers of falling into the temptation of driving under the influence and thinking that one will manage to avoid any police checks. Irresponsible drinking and driving in connection with year-end parties can turn the jubilant event into a mangnyeon-hoe in the ruinous sense of No. 5!
blast from the past
While the written form of mangnyeon-hoe had changed in Chinese characters, when written in Hangeul, which was gradually replacing Chinese characters in newspapers and elsewhere, form No. 1 and form No. 2 were pronounced the same. This made it difficult to dispel the negative connotation connected to mangnyeon-hoe No. 1. This situation initiated another name change, again changing only the first character of this year-end affair. Mang was changed to song (see No. 3), newly naming the long-established event as songnyeon-hoe (송년회). This new label, literally meaning “send-off-the-year meet,” no longer carried the negative connotation or the original denotation of mangnyeon-hoe, and better represented the more sanguine times Korea was experiencing as it began its metamorphosis into an advanced nation.
jovial occasion. According to him, out of the annual traffic accidents caused by drinking, the accident rate at the end of the year and at the beginning of the new year was the highest. Statistics issued by the Traffic Security Administration bore this out. Although the Gwangju area marked the lowest traffic accident rate among the major cities in 2004, out of the total traffic accidents of 220,755 in Korea that year, 25,150 (11.4%) cases were caused by drunken diving. Out of these, fatal cases were 875, comprising 13.3% of the total traffic deaths of 6,563 for the year. Korea had notoriously been a world leader in traffic deaths. [In recent years, however, Korea’s traffic deaths have dropped significantly, falling to 3,349 in 2019.]
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Around Korea
Old Uniform Experience
TRAVEL
On the Suncheon Drama Film Set
Suncheon Dram Film Set
Written and photographed by Emmanuela Sabatini
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
December 2020
T
he Korean Wave is real! As a foreigner who loves to watch Korean dramas and movies, I have become interested in visiting filming locations. Fortunately, I have had the chance to pursue my master’s degree in Korea since 2018. While studying, I have also spent some of my time visiting filming locations in Korea, and one of those places is the Suncheon Drama Film Set (순천드라마촬영장) in South Jeolla Province.
available at the film set. There are various uniforms to rent, including black and blue school uniforms and also military and training uniforms for men. Women can use the men’s uniforms if they want, and my friends chose to wear the military training uniforms. I chose a black
The Suncheon Drama Film Set is a film set creating a background of Korea in the 1960–1980s. This place is divided into three villages, Seoul Street in the 1980s, Seoul Bongcheon-dong in the 1970s, and Suncheon in the 1960s. The Suncheon Drama Film Set has become popular as a tourist attraction after many Korean dramas, movies, variety shows, and K-pop MVs (music videos) were shot there. Among them are Gangnam Blues (1970), Love and Ambition (2006), East Eden (2008), Running Man (2012), Ode to My Father (2014) and Monsta-X MV (2016). As Korean drama and movie lovers, my friends and I decided to visit and experience wearing Korean uniforms
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▲ Wearing a Korean school-girl uniform.
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23 school girl’s uniform, which was the general uniform worn at school in Korea in the 1970s. The rental price is 2,500 won for 1.5 hours; the use of other accessories such as bags, hats, and headbands are subject to an additional charge. The uniform rental building is located in the Seoul Street of the 1980s village area, right after the entrance. There is also a big theater in the center where scenes of dramas and movies filmed there are shown, creating a feeling of nostalgia. We also went to the game center and House of Disco, where we felt the sensation of old disco from the 1980s!
It is very easy to visit the Suncheon Drama Film Set because it is located in Suncheon City. After arriving at Suncheon Bus Terminal or Suncheon Station, take buses 71, 777, or 991 to the film set. It will take about 30–40 minutes to arrive there. So, would you like to feel the sensation of Korea in the old days?
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. 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
Send the Gwangju News to your loved ones back home!
The Author
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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
December 2020
Emmanuela Sabatini is originally from Jakarta, Indonesia. She graduated with a master’s from Keimyung University, Daegu, and is currently doing an internship at the Gwangju International Center. Meanwhile, she is enjoying her new life in Gwangju and is ready to visit many places in South Jeolla Province. You can follow her travels at www.emmasabatini.com
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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!
▲ Suncheon Dram Film Set display.
FOOD & DRINKS
As a highlight of the Suncheon Drama Film Set, we went to the Seoul Bongcheon-dong village area of the 1970s. There we could see a hill of housing. We also did a little bit of hiking to get to the top where you can see all the areas of the film set from above! Finally, do not forget to visit the village representing Suncheon of the 1960s, which is used as the set for South Korea after the Korean War.
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11/24/2020 4:51:05 PM
24
Around Korea
A Chuseok Adventure in Geoje
▲ Inside Oedo Nursey Café.
▲ Wahyeon Beach, a view of our pension and favorite coffee shop, Blanc Blu.
Written and photographed by Maria Moschini
W
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
December 2020
ith summer very quickly coming to an end, we decided that we absolutely had to get a beach vacation in before that. We looked at the map and did some research on a road trip-worthy place and found Geoje Island, which is in the province east of Jeollanam-do, called Gyeongsangnam-do. Geoje is the second biggest island in South Korea and is easy enough to get to by bus or car. From Gangjin, armed with loads of snacks and a road trip playlist, it took us just under three hours to drive there. The drive was easy with only a handful of tollgates, hardly any traffic, and beautiful scenery. We arrived around lunchtime and went straight to Oedo Nursery Café, which is located in an area called Irun, close to Gujora Beach. This was one of the most picture-perfect cafés that I have been to here in Korea. It had plants everywhere, wooden beam ceilings, and loads of windows, giving you the feeling that you are in a greenhouse. The window at the counter was filled with some interesting-looking rainbow cakes, but I decided to go for a simple slice of lemon cheesecake and an iced Americano. We decided to take advantage of the sunny day and beautiful view of Gujora Beach and went outside where there were ample seating and umbrellas for those looking for a bit of shade. We met up with some friends there and spent ages sitting outside, catching up, and enjoying the view. Next on our list was Okpo, which is the downtown area filled with loads of shops, restaurants, clubs, and bars. We
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were headed for a Western-style restaurant called Spoons, which we learned was known for delicious sandwiches and paninis. What I really liked about this place was that there were lots of options on the menu and the food was super fresh. After lunch and a quick grocery stop at Lotte Mart (also in Okpo), we decided that it was time to head for our pension. Our pension was called Sun Mind Pension, located right across the road from Wahyeon Beach. We managed to book it through Airbnb quite easily. The host was really accommodating and her response time was good. It accommodated eight people and had two balconies – one of which was equipped with two outside tables, two barbecues, and a good view of the beach across the road. Since most of our group was South African, we decided that it was necessary to have a South African style braai, so we spent most of our first evening on the balcony with some good food and music. Geoje is a well-known holiday destination among Koreans and foreigners alike, so it was not long before we found some other foreigners and spent the rest of the evening sitting on the beach, watching the fireworks. The next morning, we were up early and visited a café close to our pension called Blanc Blu, which was run by the friendliest English-speaking family and had really great cappuccinos. These became our morning staple for the rest of the time we spent there. For our first morning there, we decided to go to the Prisoner of War Camp and do the rollercoaster zipline but, since it was Chuseok, it
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▲ Okpo Park
was closed, so we made our way to Hakdong Mongdol Beach. It was the first time that I had visited a pebble beach and, although I found it underwhelming and quite difficult to walk on, it is one of the things that Geoje is well known for. Next on our list was The Windy Hill, which is a grass-covered hill that is famous for its giant windmill, views of the sea, and surrounding islands, and which has become a popular tourist spot since its appearance in more than one Korean drama. After some great photo opportunities, we headed back to our pension for some dinner and a second night on the beach.
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The next day, after a delicious morning fry-up and one last visit to our favorite coffee shop, we hit the road. We stopped in Tongyeong on the way back, which is a little fishing town that is about thirty kilometers back in the direction of Jeollanam-do. After a quick bite to eat, we took a stroll through Dongpirang Mural Village, which reminded me a lot of the Gamcheon Cultural Village in Busan. It had some wonderful murals and some charming little coffee shops along the way. With that came the end of our adventure. We never expected to enjoy Geoje as much as we did; there is plenty to do on the island, and since we did not get to a lot of it, we are heading back soon. I definitely recommend taking a few days to explore it, as it is an absolute must-see while you are in Korea.
The Author
Maria Moschini is a high school English teacher living in Gangjin. Originally from Johannesburg, South Africa, Maria moved to South Korea in April 2019. Instagram: @mariamoschini
December 2020
We decided that we wanted to spend our last night indoors with some takeaway and a movie. There is a delivery service called Max Delivery on the island, which is super easy and convenient. We picked up a Max Delivery booklet on our first afternoon there (at Spoons) and saw that it had all sorts of food options in it. We decided on Indian food and ordered, in English,
via Kakao Talk. It was fast and efficient, and the driver brought it straight into our kitchen for us – we were well impressed. Depending on where you are staying, the delivery fee varies, but it ultimately is not that much, especially when splitting the cost equally among your group. We made ourselves a “Christmas bed” on the floor of the lounge and spent the evening eating good food, watching a movie, and recounting our favorite moments from the trip.
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
The next day, after our morning visit to Blanc Blu and a nice, relaxing morning on the beach, which included some kayaking, we were off in search of some lunch and our next adventure. We drove back to Okpo and went to a restaurant called Ciao Bella, which was a bit pricey but so worth it. There were so many options on the menu that it made it difficult to choose, but everyone eventually chose different pastas, and none of us were disappointed with the portion size or taste. After lunch, we jumped back in the car and saw that Okpo Park was close by and, knowing that Geoje has one of the largest shipyards in the world, we hoped we could catch some good views of it. We managed to get some spectacular views of the sea, surrounding islands, and some of the ships.
▲ Hakdong Mongdol Beach
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26
Lost in Gwangju
n
Water Over the Bridge Written and photographed by Isaiah Winters
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
December 2020
T
he year 2020 has offered several powerful reminders of how thin the veneer of stability can be. One such reminder was seen in how the city’s waterways could ripple with tranquil beauty one day and then rip through neighborhoods the next, as demonstrated by this rainy season’s deluge. As an homage to the city’s waterways, the year’s final Lost in Gwangju will begin in one particularly hard-hit area of the city, where normally subterranean streams reared their ugly heads to devastating effect. As this is the exception rather than the rule, the remaining balance of this article will feature the placid allure of two historically significant waterfront sites. One is a longstanding bridge spanning the 70 years between the Korean War and today, while the other is a stunning riverside pavilion that’s been faithfully restored atop the same hilly outcrop again and again for over four centuries. This careening between beauty and chaos perfectly encapsulates the past year and makes for a great send-off.
Circling the Drain (Sinan-dong)
Gwangju has many underground streams that were simply paved over in the city’s ongoing mad rush to develop. Of course, they still flow today, though largely out of sight several meters beneath the city streets. Two of particular interest are the Seobang and Yongbong streams that run along Chonnam National University before merging beneath Sinan-dong. These humble tributaries to the larger Gwangju Stream eventually spill out from beneath a large three-way intersection in the
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area, though you can usually smell their confluence long before you see it. During the especially heavy rains of this summer, their malodorous coupling brought far more to the surface than just the usual reek of sewage and sulfur. After a few days of incessant downpours, the traffic juncture above the two streams’ confluence – normally one of the busiest parts of the city – became severely flooded with a thick, muddy morass that brought the neighborhood to a standstill. In no time, videos emerged online showing abandoned cars sloshing around in the muck. Possibly the greatest losses occurred underground, where in a single parking garage, 63 cars were destroyed in minutes. Not long after the announcement was made to remove all cars from the apartment complex, the waters rose so high that several of them wouldn’t even start. Among those that did, two stalled at the entrance, trapping the other vehicles inside. All the owners could do was watch in horror as their cars were completely submerged[1]. As of now, a few local businesses located right near the worst of the flooding still sit vacant with their windows smashed to bits. The day after it all happened, I remember walking by the shops and wondering whether it was the churning waters or sloshing cars that shattered their storefronts. Everything in the area was left covered in a thick layer of earthy silt that spread across the road like an alluvium. Even the local Starbucks wasn’t spared from the torrent – it had to close down for a few weeks until it
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27 infantry. Apparently, these made their way easily across the river, which is often quite shallow in that area, and began firing on the defenders in the direction of the city. The defenders held out for an hour before withdrawing, which gave civilians and refugees precious time to evacuate ahead of the invaders. In the end, about 30 of the city’s defenders were killed and 50 wounded[2].
Gwangju’s Longest Hour (Dongnim-dong)
Though rebuilt since its wartime demolition, the Sandong Bridge’s latest incarnation still looks quite rough by modern standards. Made of concrete, the footpath rests on old piles that even now bear debris scars from the summer inundation. During my last visit in November, I was impressed to see an entire tree still lodged high between two of its support pillars. Today, it’s all part of a very nice riverside park named after the bridge. If you visit, a placard on the bridge explains more about the hour-long battle for Gwangju, including some of the most notable casualties of the fight. To pay homage to the war’s anniversary, I recommend visiting soon while the reed plumes still blanket the banks. You wouldn’t have to stay long – an hour should do.
With this year marking the 70th anniversary since the start of the Korean War, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the site of Gwangju’s only battle during the entire conflict. At 4:00 in the morning on July 23, 1950, the Sandong Bridge in Dongnim-dong was detonated ahead of the advancing Korean People’s Army, which had arrived in nearby Jangseong the day before. The bridge was part of National Route 1, which connected the southern port city of Mokpo to Sinuiju bordering China. This made it a crucial thoroughfare for refugees, soldiers, and supplies as communist forces drove south with remarkable speed. It’d taken them just under a month to reach Gwangju since the war’s start on June 25, so the remaining soldiers and policemen charged with defending Gwangju must have been painfully aware of how every minute counted. The predawn roar that brought the bridge down marked the beginning of what would be an extremely short-lived battle for Gwangju. In the hours following the detonation, the joint military-police unit formed a battle line along a ridge near the Yeongsan River and waited for the enemy to arrive. Poorly manned and underarmed, the unit was comprised of soldiers who’d retreated from the frontlines, police officers, and even some middle school students. They were no match for what showed up across the river just before noon: three tanks accompanied by enemy
A Place for Lovers, Loners, and Literati (Singadong)
TRAVEL
dried out enough to be remodeled. If you need an even better symbol of how quickly civility can cede to nature, during my post-diluvian walk, I spotted a Bentley with mud in its tailpipes and an empty plastic drink sitting on the hood. Evidently, someone had walked by it and, figuring it was ruined, set their trash down on it before walking away.
One of my favorite viewpoints in the city sits nestled in a bend along the Yeongsan River in Singa-dong. It’s where one Kim Eon-geo built a pavilion over four and a half centuries ago after retiring from the civil service. He named it Pungyeong Pavilion (풍영정), which roughly translates to “enjoying nature and reciting poetry,” and just so happens to sound a lot like the Korean word for scenery/view (풍경, punggyeong). Enjoying his golden years like a sort of mid-Joseon Dynasty hipster, there Kim would meet up with other creative literary types
▼ The Sandong Bridge today, where the Korean People’s Army crossed the Yeongsan River to take Gwangju 70 years ago.
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
December 2020
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▲ Some parts of the Yeongsan River are almost beach-like in appearance. .
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
December 2020
TRAVEL
▲ Kim Eon-geo’s Pungyeong Pavilion has survived (in one form or another) along this bend in the Yeongsan River for over four centuries.
to discuss whatever 16th-century literati talked about back then. As the pavilion is made mostly of wood, it’s of course been rebuilt time and time again over the centuries in roughly the same spot. Today, it’s a great hideaway for a date or a simple walk – that is, if you can get past the guard. Since I used to live close by, I’d visit Kim’s pavilion from time to time on late-night walks. Because of COVID-19, however, the place has been closed to individual visitors without reservations since summer. On a recent revisit in preparation for this article, I didn’t know that fact and so slipped in through the usual back gate where I always used to enter. I got the feeling that it was closed once I saw an official-looking elderly man enjoying the place all to himself. Immediately sensing I’d get kicked out, I figured I’d snap as many photos as possible before he inevitably approached me, which he soon did. (As they say, it’s better to do first and ask for permission later.) While answering all his gruff, pointed questions about why I was there and how I’d gotten in, I figured he’d kick me out any second – but to my surprise, he didn’t. Rather than send me off with my tail between my legs, the hoary, old security guard began to take an interest in me, my job, and my relation to Korea. I took this opportunity to ask about the pavilion and then nodded knowingly as he answered at length – despite not understanding half of what he was saying. After listening intently to his detailed history of the pavilion, what I came away with was that it was really old and nobody should ever hire lonely security guards because they talk a lot, even with trespassers. Fortunately, there’s a placard just outside the pavilion that explains most of what he said in both English and Korean. In the end, he never actually had to kick me out of the place; instead, he talked me out of it. I hope regular visits resume next year, as it’s an amazing spot anyone can enjoy.
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▲ The combined Seobang and Yongbong streams make their smelly way through Sinan-dong to join the Gwangju Stream.
With that, dear readers, we can wrap up another year of being utterly Lost in Gwangju. I truly love this city and writing about all its peculiar places and people, which I hope to do a lot more of next year. Now that a few effective coronavirus vaccines are on the horizon, it’s my hope that at least some of 2021 will be far better than most of 2020. So, everyone, until then stay safe and get lost. Source Seo, C. (2020, August 11). 지하주차장 잠긴 북구 아파트 차량 보상 어떻게? Mudeung Ilbo. http://m.moodeungilbo.co.kr/detail/ c3QycN/610679 2 Song, G. (2020, June 18). [6.25전쟁 70년] 1시간 버티며 피난 도와…광주 유일 전적지 산동교. Yeonhap News. https://www. yna.co.kr/view/AKR20200615108900054 1
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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Everyday Korean Episode 36 은행 업무 (Banking) 데지:
언니, 제가 점심시간에 은행 좀 다녀올게요. [Eon-ni, jae-ga jeom-shim-si-ga-ne eun-haeng jom danyeo-ol-kke-yo.]
Daisy:
Eonni (literally, “older sister”), I’ll go to the bank during lunchtime.
정민:
그래. 모바일뱅킹 덕분에 은행을 방문한 지 오래됐네. [Geu-rae. Mo-ba-il-bang-king deok-bun-e eun-haengeul bang-mun-han ji o-rae-dwaen-ne.]
Jeongmin: Okay. It’s been a long time since I last visited the bank, thanks to mobile banking.
진짜요? 저는 자주 가야 해요. [Jin-jja-yo? Jeo-neun ja-ju ga-ya hae-yo.]
Daisy:
Really? I have to go there often.
정민:
왜 자주 가? [Wae ja-ju ga?]
Jeongmin: Why do you go often?
데지:
고향으로 송금해야 해서요. [Go-hyang-eu-ro song-geum-hae-ya hae-seo-yo.]
Daisy:
I need to send money back home.
정민:
그거 모바일뱅킹으로도 가능해. 그리고 요즘 해외송금 제공하는 어플(앱)도 많아. [Geu-geo mo-ba-il-bang-king-eu-ro-do ga-neung-hae.
Geu-ri-go yo-jeum hae-we-song-geum jae-gong-haneun eo-peul(ae-p) do ma-na.] Jeongmin: That’s also possible by mobile banking. And these days there are many apps that offer overseas transfers.
그래요? 언니, 고마워요. 덕분에 많이 알았네요. [Geu-rae-yo? Eon-ni, go-ma-woyo. Deok-bune ma-ni a-ran-neyo.]
Daisy:
Really? Eonni, thank you. Thanks to you, I’ve learned a lot.
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. You can also visit our TOPIK Guide YouTube channel.
~ 덕분에: This grammatical construction is similar to “thanks to (noun)” and is followed by a noun in Korean. Ex: 선생님 덕분에 한국어를 잘하게 됐어요. Thanks to my teacher, I have become this good at Korean. ~ 은/ㄴ 지: This is attached to a verb stem to express the period of time it’s been since you’ve done something. Ex: 한국에 온 지 2년 지났어요. It’s been two years since I came to Korea.
Vocabulary 점심시간 은행 다녀오다 모바일뱅킹 방문하다 오래되다 자주 고향 송금 가능하다 요즘 해외송금 제공하다 어플/앱 알다
Banking-Related Vocabulary 계좌이체 자동이체 체크카드 신용카드 입금 출금 수수료 공인인증서
account transfer (money) automatic withdrawal debit card credit card deposit withdrawal service charges an online-issued certificate for verification, money transfer, etc. issue renewal
December 2020
발급 갱신
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lunchtime bank (to go somewhere and return) to be back mobile/internet/online banking to visit to have been long often hometown remittance to be possible nowadays overseas remittance to offer/provide a mobile application to know
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
데지:
Grammar
EDUCATION
데지:
By Harsh Kumar Mishra
11/24/2020 4:51:25 PM
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From Abroad
TRAVEL
Exploring Armenia
▲ Noravank Monastery, 13th century. (Anahit Samsonyan)
The First Christian Nation
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
December 2020
Written by Christina Ghevondian Where is Armenia located?
Armenia is located at the crossroads between Europe and Asia in Transcaucasia, on the Armenian Highlands. It is bordered by Iran to the south, Georgia to the north, Azerbaijan to the east, and Turkey to the west. Next to Armenia, in the South Caucasus, there is a breakaway state, much of whose territory is closely integrated with Armenia and functions as de facto part of Armenia. It is called the Republic of Artsakh and is populated by ethnic Armenians. Once, Armenia was a huge empire, however, over the ages it lost most of its former territories. During the reign of one of the greatest kings of Armenia, Tigranes the Great (95–55 B.C.), the boundaries of Armenia were expanded from the Caspian Sea to the Mediterranean. Thus, “From Sea to Sea Armenia” is a popular expression
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among Armenians that describes the great kingdom that Tigranes the Great created.
About Armenia
Armenia is a small country, and the territorial area is approximately 28,000 sq. km., and its population is around three million. However, more than 10,000,000 members of the Armenian Diaspora are spread throughout the world. The diaspora was formed largely after the Armenian Genocide that was carried out in 1915 by the Ottoman Empire. At that time, more than 1,500,000 people were massacred, and many were deported. The official language of Armenia is, of course, Armenian. The Armenian alphabet was created in 405 by Mesrop Mashtots. It is an Indo-European language with an
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31 independent branch. However, as Armenia was part of the Soviet Union from 1922 to 1991, Russian is the most spoken foreign language in Armenia. The majority of Armenians have a good command of Russian. Armenia consists of eleven administrative divisions, including the capital city Yerevan. Being the capital city, Yerevan has a special administrative status and is the economic and political center of the country, as well as a cultural center. Yerevan is also one of the oldest cities in the world. It was founded in 782 B.C. It is a beautiful city with a number of historical buildings and monuments. It is also known as the “pink city” because there are many pink buildings that were erected with Armenian tuff stones. Gyumri is the second largest city and the cultural capital of Armenia. Unfortunately, in 1988 there was a strong earthquake that greatly affected the city by destroying homes and taking the lives of thousands of people.
The biblical Mount Ararat where Noah’s ark landed used to be part of Armenia. It is considered to be the symbol of the Armenian nation. Mount Ararat is a symbol of Armenia not only because it is a historical site. Armenia was the first to adopt Christianity as its state religion in 301 A.D. Moreover, before adopting Christianity, two of the twelve apostles – Saints Thaddeus and Bartholomew – were the first to bring Christianity to Armenia in the 1st century. Christianity is not just a religion; by blending with the local culture, it became the national identity of Armenia.
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Sadly, not all traditions and historical sites have been so well preserved. For example, a region called Nakhijevan
▲ Dadivank Monastery, 9th–13th century. (Anahit Samsonyan)
December 2020
▲ Sevanavank monastic complex (9th century) on the shore of Lake Sevan. (Anahit Samsonyan)
A unique cultural heritage can be found in the country’s carved memorial cross-stones, called khachkar in Armenian, which first appeared in the 9th century and then reached their peak as a form of stone carving in the 12th–13th centuries. Nowadays, there are still khachkar carvers in Armenia. It is a great manifestation of how Christianity is firmly rooted in Armenian culture. www.gwangjunewsgic.com
It is impossible to describe Armenia without mentioning Christianity. The Armenian national church is part of Oriental Orthodoxy and is officially called the Armenian Apostolic Church. The overwhelming majority of Armenians are Christians of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Armenia is also considered to be the “land of
One of the most magnificent cathedrals is the Etchmiadzin Cathedral, the first cathedral built in Armenia and the mother church of the Armenian Apostolic Church. It is also considered to be one of the oldest cathedrals in the world. There are many churches and cathedrals in Artsakh as well, one of the most famous of which dates back to the 9th–13th centuries (Dadivank Monastery). Artsakh is a wonderful place with not only many churches and monasteries but also some marvelous sights. One of those places is Hunot Canyon, a natural-historical reserve. Hunot Canyon is surrounded by beautiful nature and caves. Around there you can find the waterfall called Mamrot Kar. People also call it Zontikner, which means “umbrella” because it looks like an umbrella.
TRAVEL
Did you know that Armenia is an ancient nation and the first Christian nation in the world?
churches” and is home to many of the oldest churches in the world, some of them dating back as far as the 4th century. Christianity had a great impact on Armenian culture as well. After adopting Christianity, most of the pre-Christian cultural relics were destroyed. One of the rare pre-Christian legacies preserved is the Garni Hellenistic Temple, built in the 1st century. Hellenistic culture, which started to spread after Alexander the Great’s conquests, had a great influence on Armenian culture as well. However, later Christianity started to take root in Armenian culture, so many pagan temples were turned into churches. Also, many new churches and cathedrals were built. As a result, Armenia developed its own distinct style of church architecture.
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TRAVEL
▲ The singing and dancing fountains in Republic Square, Yerevan. (Anahit Samsonyan)
In spite of many occupations, population losses, territory losses, and cultural heritage losses, Armenians have existed, exist today, and will always exist in the world because we have a creative and strong spirit inherited from our ancestors. Armenia is like an open-air museum. We welcome everyone to discover it. ▲ Holy Savior Cathedral, or Ghazanchetsots Cathedral, in Shushi, Artsakh, 19th century. (Hasmik Badalyan)
Christina Ghevondian is an Armenian student at Chonnam National University. She is doing a PhD in Korean language and literature. Even though Christina is Armenian, she considers Gwangju and Korea as her second homeland and has the big dream of contributing to the development of crosscultural ties between Korea and Armenia. Email: christinaghevondian@yahoo.com
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
December 2020
was part of Armenia for centuries. In 1921, after World War I, Nakhijevan became an autonomous territory of Azerbaijan. It was home to thousands of khachkars and tombstones dating back from the 9th–16th centuries in Julfa Cemetery (Nakhijevan City), the number of which was reduced from 10,000 (in 1648) to 5,000 (in 1904). By 2006, thousands of khachkars were destroyed in Julfa Cemetery, thus causing irreplaceable losses for not only Armenian cultural heritage but for world heritage as well.
The Author
References Tchilingirian, H. (2008). The Armenian Church: Brief introduction. Western Diocese of the Armenian Church. Haghnazarian, A. (2006). Julfa: The Annihilation of the Armenian Cemetery by Nakhijevan’s Azerbaijani Authorities. Samuelian, T. J. (2004). Armenian origins: An overview of ancient and modern sources and theories (2nd. ed.). Petrosyan, H. (2001). Symbols of Armenian identity: The Khachkar or Cross-Stone. Armenian Folk Arts, Culture, and Identity. ▲ Khachkars at Noratus Cemetery, the largest surviving cemetery with Khachkars. (Anahit Samsonyan)
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Celebrating Slava The Serbian Patron Saint Day
S
Now, let us have a look at how Slava is celebrated. Once a year, on the day of their saint (according to the official
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Fun Fact: On the day of their Slava, employed people usually take a day off from work, and children are allowed to miss school. The symbols of Slava are slavski kolač, žito, red wine, and a ceremonial candle. These four elements are the essentials of any Slava. Slavski kolač translated from Serbian actually means “Slava’s cake,” but it is actually not a cake – it is a special type of ceremonial bread. The recipe for the bread differs from region to region, but the important thing is that this bread is baked at home on the evening before the day of the Slava. Of course, in modern times when most families are too busy to prepare their own bread, there are alternatives on offer in the bakeries. Nevertheless, many people still make the effort to bake their own special bread for this special day. Žito, boiled wheat with honey and walnuts, is also prepared before the Slava day and is an essential dish for the celebration, as it signifies the resurrection of Jesus Christ and ancestors. On the morning of the Slava, the immediate family gathers, and while some families go to church to bless the bread, others prefer to do it at home. Once the bread
December 2020
Looking way back in history, many believed that the tradition of celebrating Slava first started when the Serbian people were still pagans. The cult of ancestors and familial legacies were considered the holiest things among the old Slav people, among which were the Serbs. Each family had a protector among the many pagan deities whom they especially respected and celebrated. When the Serbian people were Christianized in the 9th century A.D., in order for the transition to be smoother, the missionaries encouraged families to transfer the role of their protector from a pagan deity to a Christian saint, which ultimately remains as the custom that is celebrated to this very day.
church calendar), the family gathers and celebrates with lots of food, drinks, relatives, and friends. The guest list usually gets quite long and the feasting can sometimes even last up to three days, but even if a family decides to keep it simple and not prepare a lavish feast (one can guess that this might be the case this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic), there are certain traditions that must be kept on this special day.
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
erbia is traditionally a country of Orthodox Christians, with around 85 percent of the population declaring themselves as such. Churches in Alexandria, Bulgaria, Jerusalem, Antioch, Russia, Georgia, Romania, and the Ecumenical Church of Constantinople follow the same Orthodox ways; however, the custom of Slava is unique and only present in the Serbian Orthodox Church. So, to begin with, what is Slava, actually? By tradition, every family has a patron saint that they especially respect and celebrate, and in return, the saint is believed to protect the family and grant them good health throughout the year. The custom of Slava is passed through generations from father to son, and after a daughter is married into a new family, she accepts the Slava of the husband’s family.
CULTURE & ARTS
Written by Jana Milosavljevic
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CULTURE & ARTS
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www.gwangjunewsgic.com
December 2020
▲ The four symbols of Slava: slavski kolač, žito, red wine, and a ceremonial candle.
is blessed, it is cut, the family prays to the saint together (usually a couple of words are said by the eldest member of the family), everyone drinks a sip of red wine, which symbolizes the blood of Jesus, and then they all take a tiny bite of the slavski kolač, which represents the body of Jesus. They also take a spoonful of žito and light the ceremonial candle that has a small sticker-like image of the saint glued to it. Once the candle is lit, it must be kept burning throughout the entire day until midnight. After this small ceremony, which is reserved only for the family members, is completed, the bread, wine, wheat, and candle are all placed as centerpieces on the table that is then to be filled with delicacies prepared for the Slava guests. Although the core meaning of Slava focuses on family bonds and remembering ancestors, the celebration grows outside of this circle. The spirit of one family’s Slava is shared by spreading love, positivity, and hospitality through feasting; Slava is all about celebrating the joy of life and the sharing of good spirits. Therefore, when it is Slava time in a household, as mentioned above, it can get a bit crowded because, basically, anyone is invited: a colleague from work, a friend of a friend, or even a casual
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traveler who accidentally finds themselves in the house. The latter is no joke: I have had backpackers that were traveling through Serbia whom I met the day before in my house on my Slava. Also, one important thing to know is that the custom is to be invited to Slava officially only once. If you have been to a Slava celebration at a Serbian house once, every following year you are welcome without an invitation. So, if you happen to find yourself in a Serbian household on their Slava, what should you expect? Upon arriving at the house, each guest is first offered to try the žito, ceremonial bread, and wine. These should not be refused, and one should say “My host, I wish you a happy Slava!” and in this way observe Slava at that moment. It is customary, though not absolutely necessary, to bring small gifts for the host family: a bouquet of flowers or coffee for the lady of the house, a bottle of wine for the men, and a chocolate or any other sweet treat for the children, which you can present upon entering and recognizing the Slava. After this, you will be seated at the table where you will socialize with other guests and enjoy the abundance of
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35 food starting with different cold appetizers, such as dried meat, cheese, cornbread, and such, followed by a warm appetizer usually in the form of a soup. The main dish will often be meat of some sort, as Serbian people love to eat meat, accompanied by many other traditional dishes, among which the most popular, especially in winter, is sarma (sour cabbage rolls filled with minced meat and rice). However, there are exceptions in the menu if Slava happens to be on a day when, according to the church calendar, people should be fasting.
Truly last, but definitely not least, no feast in Serbia is complete without the presence of the traditional alcohol – rakija. If you are trying rakija for the first time, be very careful; it is very strong! It is a brandy-like, clear-as-water kind of drink, made by distilling fermented fruits with a percentage of alcohol that can range from approximately 40 to 65 percent. Rakija can be made from any kind of fruit and is therefore tasty and sometimes even sweet, but it will nevertheless burn your throat. Some honest advice would be to not try to compete in drinking rakija with your Serbian hosts, because Serbian people are really experienced at drinking it.
CULTURE & ARTS
On such days, Slava dishes are prepared without any meat or dairy products, and the main dish is replaced with fish, while the side dishes are all vegetable-based. In both cases, though, the desert is what completes the feast. Some households prepare an actual cake as a desert, while it is custom in most cases to prepare several types of bitesize, cake-like desserts so that the guests can try as many different tastes as they can handle. ▲ Homemade food for a Slava celebration.
Photographs by Jana Milosavljevic.
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▲ Traditional small bottle (čokanjčić) used to serve rakija.
The Author
Jana Milosavljevic was born and raised in Serbia. She currently lives in Gwangju, and she loves exploring and learning about new cultures and meeting new people. In order to be able to communicate with as many people as possible, apart from Serbian, she has learned English, Japanese, Korean, and German. Instagram: @janemiya
December 2020
Finally, if you visit Serbia, especially in winter, and make some Serbian friends, do ask them about their Slava. They will for sure be amazed by your knowledge of Serbian culture and traditions, and if their Slava happens to be around the time when you are visiting, you will most probably be invited and get to experience one truly unique Serbian tradition.
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
Fun Fact: There are hundreds of saint days on the church calendar in Serbia; however, there are some Slavas that are more “popular” than the others. Even though one cannot choose their Slava, certain saints just happen to have a way larger number of people celebrating their day. Also, it is said that the winter in Serbia is the “season of Slava,” as most people’s Slava day is in winter.
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36
Jeong Chu’s Song of Goryeo Forgotten at Home, Famous Abroad (III)
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
December 2020
CULTURE & ARTS
Interview by Jeong Jiyeon
This article aims to shed new light on the life of Gwangju’s forgotten musician, Jeong Chu, a Gwangju-born emigrant caught up in Korea’s turbulent modern-day history. His life was reconstructed through an interview with Mr. Jeong Heon-ki, a culture and arts planner. This concluding article continues from “The Black-Haired Tchaikovsky” in the November issue of the Gwangju News.
D
uring his studies at the Moscow Conservatory in Russia (then the Soviet Union), a warrant to arrest Jeong Chu was issued by the North Korean authorities with the accusation that he was promoting a movement against the idolization of Kim Il-sung. In response to this, Jeong Chu wrote a letter to Khrushchev, First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, to seek political asylum. Consequently, instead of being forced to return to North Korea, he was deported to Almaty, Kazakhstan. It was not until 17 years after being deported, in 1975, that Jeong Chu was able to receive Kazakhstani citizenship. Jeong Jiyeon (JJ): It is said that Jeong Chu was deported to Almaty, Kazakhstan, for demonstrating against Kim IlSung's idolization in Russia. We are curious to hear what his life was like in Kazakhstan and what he did while there. Jeong Heon-ki: In 1958, after arriving in Kazakhstan, he came across the “Goryeo people” (Koreans in the Soviet Union who were exiled to Central Asia by Stalin). However, as you probably are very well aware, Stalin committed many atrocities against the Goryeo people in Central Asia, which deeply shook Jeong Chu. It left such a big impact on him that there is even a symphony he created, inspired by the deportation of the Goryeo people to Central Asia called “September 11, 1937, Stalin.” Another great achievement of his during this time was that he recorded the musical oral heritage of the Goryeo people. He took a state-of-the-art portable recorder of
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the time, which had just been released, and got on board the Trans-Siberian Railway. He recorded, as well as wrote down, musical scores of the songs he heard from the Goryeo people he met along the way. In this way, he collected over 1,000 traditional songs. I truly believe that the reason why he was able to immerse himself in this way in studying folk music was because, as a musician, but also as an immigrant himself, he could, like no other, feel the sorrow and grief that the Goryeo people experienced due to alienation. Interviewer’s Note: The early days of Jeong Chu’s exile in Kazakhstan gave birth to all of his most representative orchestral music pieces. Following that, starting at the end of the 1970s all the way until the year 1990, he focused mainly on his research as a folk music scholar, as well as on educational activities as a university professor. What is more, about 60 of his works were featured in Kazakh music textbooks, and in 1988, he was awarded the title of "Honored Cultural Worker of Kazakhstan" by the Kazakh government. JJ: We would like to hear your opinion, as a descendant of Jeong Chu, about what kind of musician you would like him to be remembered as. Jeong Heon-ki: It seems to me that people tend to, more or less, take an eventful approach to Jeong Chu’s life. When researching about his life and achievements, one cannot help but think about their sociological, economical, and political effect. However, reflecting on the circumstances of the era, I hope that more light is shed on what kind of life he lived as a Korean born during the Japanese colonial
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37 era, as a post-war (both of World War II and the Korean War) musician when the ideologies of the day were sharply opposed to each other.
CULTURE & ARTS
Also, apart from Jeong Chu, there are many more amazing people from Gwangju in modern history. Among them we could mention the poet Dahyeong Kim Hyeon-seung, or the painter Bae Dong-shin, as well as Jeong Jun-chae, Jeong Chu’s older brother. However, the people of Gwangju are not really familiar with them. I firmly believe that in order for Gwangju to further strengthen its identity as a cultural and artistic city, as well as to strengthen its citizens’ sense of identity, more and deeper research on these important people should be done. For example, in France, the place where the famous painter Monet used to dwell has been developed into a tourist destination and has become a place that many people visit. So, it is my opinion that we as Gwangju citizens ourselves should first and foremost recognize the values of these amazing Gwangju people who all have made a great mark in recent Korean history. Only then will we be able to compare to cultural and artistic cities in other countries. Interviewer’s Note: During his lifetime, Jeong Chu longed for the reunification of Korea and hoped that his song “My Homeland” would become the national anthem of his country. Unfortunately, he passed away in Almaty, Kazakhstan, at the age of 90 on June 13, 2013, without being able to witness either. Photographs courtesy of Jeong Heon-ki. ▲ Jeong Chu's grave.
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The Interviewer Jeong Jiyeon studied piano in university and is now working as a coordinator at the Gwangju International Center.
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December 2020
▲ Jeong Chu's house in Kazahstan.
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38
Gwangju Abroad
COMMUNITY
Life in the USA
United States Capitol Building
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
December 2020
Experiencing the Most Diverse World
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Written and photographed by Kim Sohee
ast year, I had an opportunity to stay in the United States for about eight months for my scholarship program. I knew nothing about the States when I first arrived. Soon after, however, I began to learn about the country while encountering new cultures and perspectives. The process of understanding, accepting, and blending into this new world inspired me in many ways and made me fall deeply in love with the country. In particular, if somebody were to ask me what I liked most about the States, my answer would be “diversity,” without any doubt. The United Sates is the most diverse and dynamic place I have experienced in my whole life in terms of its ethnicities, cultures, behaviors, and values. I realized the power of diversity that can be transformed into inclusivity and tolerance, which helps you to be your true self and the society to be more dynamic. In this article, I would like to share my life in the USA, focusing on the power of diversity. Above all, the world of diversity helped
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me to understand and define myself. For the first three months, I stayed in Washington, D.C., the capital city of the United States where various people from all over the world gather, making the place the most diverse and vibrant place in the world. Being surrounded by people of different races and with different languages and cultures inspired me every day and broadened my perspectives. Moreover, I felt that people were not afraid of expressing themselves and showing their own unique identity even if it might sometimes being regarded as different or even abnormal from a conventional view. I still remember the day when I witnessed countless people riding bikes naked as part of a protest. It was so surprising to me in that it was socially and legally acceptable, and people seemed to have so much freedom to choose their own way to express themselves. Overall, these experiences made me more open minded and tolerant. They even encouraged me to no longer be afraid of trying something new in many areas. For example, I learned skateboarding, which
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39
COMMUNITY
▲ IRC Office in San Jose.
I assume I would not have learned if I had not been there. In addition, I realized that diversity is one of the most essential factors to make a society livelier and more dynamic. After spending those three months in D.C., I got an internship in San Jose, California, with the International Rescue Committee, an NPO which helps refugees settle in and move toward self-sufficiency. I worked directly with refugees from diverse backgrounds while assisting in the running of various programs. There were so many well-structured programs designed to help refuges to get through their immediate struggles and prepare for a new life.
minorities, let alone creating similarly good, quality programs and infrastructure. I believe now is the time to bring these issues to the table, embrace them, and build a more diverse society.
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The Author
Kim Sohee is a coordinator at the Gwangju International Center who enjoys learning different cultures and languages, traveling, and watching movies. She is interested in getting involved in social or human rights issues as a global citizen and contributing to making a better world.
December 2020
Later, I discovered that many of the employees and interns were from immigrant families in the community. It was impressive to find that they grew up to serve the community with what they had learned and experienced. Of course, I know there is still a long way to go in the United States regarding the issue of immigration, but it is certain that all different communities have been forming different environments, and these are the source of the county’s strengths and creativity. Korea has not even started discussing the issue of immigration or of
Diversity can bring a lot of things to a society. Sometimes, it might cause oppression and exclusion of minorities or provoke conflicts between groups. However, I strongly believe that diversity has the potential power to make the world a better place with inclusivity and tolerance where everyone can live together and fulfill their dreams regardless of race, ethnicity, beliefs, religion, or sexual orientation.
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
▲ Protest outside Trump Tower in Wasgington, D.C.
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COMMUNITY
40 Local Entrepreneurs
Where Fashion Meets Art Interview by Melline Galani
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
December 2020
For many of us, style or fashion can be trends that we choose to follow or not. But for some, fashion is a lifestyle, and clothes are a means of artistic expression. Moreover, we know that many expats here have difficulties in finding their style and in the right sizes. Recently, I met with the owner of Plan B, a clothing store that sets itself apart from others. We hope this interview is not only interesting but also helpful for those in search of a distinct clothing style.
Gwangju News (GN): Hello and thank you for taking time to participate in this interview. Please introduce yourself to our readers. Park Sang Won: Thank you for having me. My name is Park Sang Won, I am 28 years old, and currently I am working in the apparel and restaurant industries. I moved from Gyeonggi-do to Gwangju and have lived here since I was in the sixth grade. I began dressing up starting in middle school and wanted to meet and communicate with other people like me, and that became my dream at the time. Now I have been in the clothing business for the past six years.
styling are important, and we have to find the colors and know the styles that our customers want in their clothes that are trendy and distinctive. Likewise, there are difficulties, but I work diligently to manage this store.
GN: What are the biggest challenges of owning and running your own business? Park Sang Won: I think every business has its own challenges. As with all businesses, communication and customer satisfaction along with distribution and flexible
GN: We know you also run the jazz bar Lucchetto. Isn’t it difficult to operate two businesses at the same time? Park Sang Won: Lucchetto was opened in December 2019. It started as a place for friends who are like my family, and I prepared a stage for performances with the
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GN: What were you doing before you opened the store, and how long has Plan B been around? Park Sang Won: Before starting my own business six years ago, I used to do a lot of different things, such as working part-time at convenience stores, factories, or arcades. I opened the clothing store after coming back from the army.
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41 aim of becoming a jazz bar, but now I am operating it as a place where I can meet and communicate with people rather than planning performances. Of course, it is difficult to operate the clothing store and the bar at the same time, but I have a partner and an employee at Lucchetto, and the place has a family-like atmosphere, so I am enjoying it rather than finding it difficult. GN: How do you select the clothes you sell and from where do you acquire them? Who are your target customers? Park Sang Won: All the clothes that I sell are selected by myself from different places such as Seoul, Busan, China, and Japan, and they are designed for styling (for example, animal print, punk, and tech styles). I usually bring in the clothes I would wear myself. There are no stereotypes about the garments I sell, so the target customers can be anyone regardless of gender or age.
GN: Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, we know many businesses are facing hardships. Please tell us how the pandemic has affected your business. Park Sang Won: As strange as it may sound, COVID-19 has not made it difficult to operate the store nor did it lower sales. I know that other businesses have had a different time, though. During this period, I did my best to promote the business and researched and studied the market. Hence, I could still sell clothes. Maybe this is the reason I have gotten good results.
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December 2020
GN: Do you have a favorite fashion period, or do you have a particular fashion icon that you admire most? Park Sang Won: There are many different fashion
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GN: What is your favorite or most rewarding aspect of your job? What’s the most challenging part? Park Sang Won: The most rewarding part about doing business is seeing customers satisfied and meeting many people while working. Some of them have become my friends, and we like to spend time together whenever possible. Seeing a shy person gain more self-esteem just by dressing up is also rewarding for me. The difficult part is that I do not have time during the day, since I work seven days a week. I would like to study personal development more, but for now, it is not possible. But I am always enjoying my work as if today were my last day.
COMMUNITY
GN: In addition to clothes, does the store offer other products or accessories? If so, please tell us about them. Park Sang Won: In my opinion, there is no styling without accessories; therefore, I select things that I think look pretty, such as rings, necklaces, shoes, or other trendy and unique accessories. Now I am in the process of preparing a new category of products consisting of handmade accessories that will be available in the future.
GN: There are many clothing stores around here, some of which are cheaper. Why should people come to this store, and how do you keep up with the competition? Park Sang Won: There is no business without competition. I think the main reason customers come to Plan B is because of my bright and positive energy and pleasant attitude. I am joking, of course – I think it is because I sell unique clothes made with good fabric and style. Moreover, Plan B also offers custom repair or clothing adjustments if necessary.
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42
COMMUNITY
▲ Plan B entrance view.
▲ Park Sang Won
PLAN B (플렌비) Address: Gwangju, Dong-gu, Chungjang-ro 3-ga, 38-9 (Underground, near The First Alleyway)
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
December 2020
광주 동구 충장로 3가 38-8번지 지하 Business Hours: 10:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m. Instagram: @ilove_sangwon
styles for each period. There is a saying that fashion goes in cycles, but from the 1980s, the movement of deconstructivism in fashion also started under the influence of postmodernism and, accordingly, stereotypes like gender and age were dismantled. Deconstruction in terms of fashion (a.k.a. anti-fashion) refers to garments that are unfinished, coming apart, recycled, transparent, and grunge, so in other words, they were unfinished, decomposing and/or reassembled. This unbiased, deconstructive style, which involves finding a personal background and color, seems to be the style now, and my favorite designer is Jean Paul Gaultier precisely for his way of presenting his haute couture collections, using unorthodox, sometimes inexpensive, materials like braided straw or unconventional designs. GN: Thank you for telling us about yourself, Plan B, and the types of clothing that one can find there.
Photographs courtesy of Plan B.
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. Her favorite fashion store in Gwangju is Plan B Instagram: @melligalanis
▲ Plan B inside view.
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11/24/2020 4:51:43 PM
Korean Recipe 43
Dakganjeong: Fried Chicken with Soy Glaze Written by Joe Wabe
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The concept of frying chicken in Korea started during the Korean War because of the influence of the American troops, but the serious enterprise blossomed in the late 1970s when the first franchise was established in Seoul and began selling individual pieces of fried chicken at very low prices. The craze was soon followed with the idea of pairing chicken with draft beer, and soon after chimaek (chicken and maekju, or beer) became a thing.
Preparation
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(Serves 2 –3) 1 whole chicken cut into pieces 2 cups of potato starch canola oil
• • •
Seasoning • 1 teaspoon of garlic powder • 1 teaspoon of ginger powder • 1 teaspoon of salt • ½ teaspoon of black pepper Glazing • 4 tablespoons of soy sauce • 1 tablespoon of honey • 1 tablespoon of sesame oil • 1 tablespoon of chopped ginger • 1 tablespoon of red pepper powder • 1 tablespoon of minced garlic • ¼ cup of water
The Author
Joe Wabe is a Gwangju expat, who has been contributing to the GIC and the Gwangju News for more than 10 years with his work in photography and writing.
December 2020
• Remove all excess fat from the chicken, put it in a bowl, and add all the seasoning. Mix it well and let it sit for 30 minutes. • Add the potato starch and coat the pieces evenly. • In a pot with hot oil, fry the chicken for eight minutes. Take the chicken out, let it cool off for ten minutes, then fry again for an additional six minutes or until golden brown. • To make the glaze, add all ingredients to a pot, boil, and let it cook until it thickens. Then turn the heat off. • After the chicken has completed its second frying, toss it into the pot with the glaze and mix well. You can add sesame seeds as optional garnish.
Ingredients
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There are different popular variations, and dakganjeong (닭강정) is a variation of yangyeom-chikin (양념치킨) or seasoned chicken, which is among Koreans’ favorite. The chicken is seasoned and lightly sprinkled with potato starch, then fried twice and glazed with a soy and garlic sauce. The recipe is easy to prepare at home, and with the tendency of most people to avoid crowds these days, this recipe is ideal for a fun indoor weekend. Enjoy!
FOOD & DRINKS
ood in Korea is very trendy. Every year waves come and go, and while some stay two or three years, most of them in the end fall into oblivion. Except fried chicken, of course, which is a trend that has survived over 20 years and continues to be an all-time favorite for Koreans. Korean-style fried chicken diverges from the rest of the world because of its crunchiness and delicate, non-greasy crust – the style’s trademark. Other factors, such as the smaller size of the chickens and the double frying method in healthy non-trans fat oil, contribute to its excellent texture and special taste.
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FOOD & DRINKS
44 Restaurant Review
Tate Modern Fancy Dining in Sangmu Reviewed by Melline Galani
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
December 2020
G
wangju is well known for its fancy restaurants, pubs, coffee houses, and nightlife. Located in the Sangmu area, near the Kim Daejung Convention Center, Tate Modern has been present for about two years. Before the COVID-19 era, eating there without a reservation would have been impossible – unless you wanted to wait for a couple of hours. I have visited the place before and during the pandemic, and the food and atmosphere were the same – only the crowdedness has diminished.
satisfy your hunger. It is a place of relaxation over a glass of wine accompanied by a steak, salad, or parfait shared with your best friend, a meeting with colleagues, or a perfect date. They serve a wide range of coffee, beverages, wines, desserts, salads, steaks, hamburgers, and the soup of the day.
Looking more like a chic warehouse on the outside, Tate Modern is a Western-style coffeeshop and restaurant with a generous interior decorated in a simple stylish manner. It reminds me somehow of some European restaurants, except for the generous parking outside. The interior is divided into two spaces (though mainly by the way they are decorated) with a café-style area on one side and dinning on the other. The café space is also used as a waiting hall if the dinning area is packed, and you are most welcome to order a delicious drink while waiting.
The last time I was there, I ordered a homemade doublecheese gourmet burger, a steak, and the potato cheese soup of the day, all accompanied by a cappuccino and a hot chocolate. The steak was a generous 280 grams with assorted grilled vegetables and a delicious mustard sauce that was more than enough for one person. You may choose the temperature you want the steak to be done at – our style is well-done. The price for the steak is 42,000 won. The 14,800 won that you pay for the burger is worth every penny. Not only is it a generous portion but the taste is great. Filled with avocado, fresh vegetables, and cheese, it has a juicy taste complemented by the crispy french fries. I am not particularly a fan of burgers, but this one was really good.
The fusion dishes are tasty and interesting with fresh ingredients grown locally. The food is delicious, and the prices reflect the taste. Tate Modern is not a place where you would go just because you want to grab something to
There are two types of soup of the day: potato cheese cream soup, served on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, and mushroom cream soup, served on the other days. For 4,800 won you get a hot, creamy delicious
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45 soup with croutons and a side dish composed of baked bread and cream cheese – so tasty. On a previous visit, I also tried the farmhouse salads and pastas, which come in large sizes, in my opinion. I just love salads with their fresh ingredients, tasty sauces, and their explosion of colors perfect for the eye and soul. Prices range between 15,000–18,000 won for one dish. Beverages and desserts are also delicious and come in a great variety if you are able to have more after the generous meal.
▲ Premium steak.
FOOD & DRINKS
If you are in search of something delicious, something new, something interesting, something different, or a hot place, this is the spot for you. Tate Modern is more than just a dinning place: It is a whole new experience for the senses that is worth every penny. Do not just take my word for it – go and see it yourself! Photographs by Melline Galani.
TATE MODERN (테이트모던) Address: Sangmu-daero 673-beon-gil 24, (Mareuk-dong) Seo-gu, Gwangju 광주 서구 상무대로 673번길 24 (마륵동) Operating Hours: 10:30 a.m – 12 midnight, breaktime 3:30–5:00 (the café area remains open) Phone: 062-383-0895 Instagram: tate_modern
▲ Pomodoro Pasta
Farmhouse salad.
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. Her favorite foods are sarmale and salads. Instagram: @melligalanis
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December 2020
The Reviewer
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
▲ Homemade double-cheese gourmet burger with fries. ▼ Homemade potage soup.
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46
THOUGHTS & OPINION
What Is Thrasher? Photo by Tom Roberts,Unsplash.
The one-time symbol of skateboard counterculture has become a ubiquitous fashion logo in Korea and beyond.
Written by William Urbanski
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
December 2020
I
f you have functioning eyes, you have no doubt come across the Thrasher logo that has become emblazoned on all sorts of shirts, sweaters, and hats from Myeongdong to Mokpo. While I assumed that most people had an idea that Thrasher had something to do with skateboarding, when an elementary school girl showed up at my work wearing a Thrasher sweatshirt and admitted she had no idea what it was, it was clear that my assumption was flawed. So, what is Thrasher anyway, and why is it the latest “core” brand to be expropriated by the masses?
A Brief History of Skateboard Magazines
Thrasher is the name of a skateboard magazine that started in 1981 in the San Francisco area, and that highlighted the renegade, outsider, dare I say "outlaw," faction of skateboarding. When I first came across the magazine around 1995, I was blown away by its depiction of gnarly, underground, core skateboarding and by its “devil may care” image. Thrasher, especially at that time, focused on the hard-charging, punk rock-inspired, gritty stunt kind of skateboarding. While over the years, Thrasher (it is still available in print) has somewhat softened its image, it is
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still the bastion of the “skate or die” / “skate and destroy” subculture within the larger “skateboard community.” Today, being named Thrasher’s Skater of the Year (SOTY) is the highest honor any skateboarder can receive and is so coveted that professionals and their sponsors actively campaign for it. Thrasher’s legacy and ongoing impact on skateboarding is undeniable, and today it is even colloquially referred to as “the bible.” While Thrasher is the skate magazine that has best stood the test of time, it is far from the only one that has ever existed. Transworld magazine was a long-running and fantastic publication that I feel best captured the overall ethos of skateboarding. It covered a wider spectrum of skateboarding, had a much broader focus, and featured interviews and articles that are still embedded in my memory over 20 years later. While Thrasher was printed on lower-quality paper and often featured photos that looked like they were taken on disposable Kodak cameras (remember those things?), Transworld had a much more polished feel and featured stunning pictures that not only captured the trick, but the zeitgeist of the era. As well, Transworld emphasized the subtler and more stylish
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47 aspects of skateboarding, things that were not easily understood by anyone who could not tell the difference between a nosegrind and a crooked grind. Unfortunately, despite content that constituted the narrative to my teens and early twenties, Transworld’s print magazine went out of publication in 2019 and now exists only as a shell of its former self via www. skateboarding.com and an Instagram account (with a respectable million-plus followers).
On the other end of the spectrum (or lying completely out of the spectrum, for that matter) was Big Brother, which for all intents and purposes, was a little closer to a smut mag than a skateboard chronicle. The story of Big Brother is hilarious, and the magazine was basically run by industry outcasts who wanted nothing more than to stick it to the man. Big Brother was also the medium that spawned the Jackass franchise, so you can imagine what kind of other purposefully scandalous content was in the magazine. On a side note, Big Brother was owned by the notorious publisher Larry Flint.
The Dark Side of the Flaming Logo
That is all well and good, and Thrasher should be commended for staying relevant after all these years. But before people rush out and drop a hundred thousand won on a hoodie with the flaming logo, they should understand that the magazine and the people behind it are not the “be all, end all” of skateboarding and have a pretty substantial dirty underbelly. Through the years, Thrasher regularly blacklisted skateboarders, banning them from ever appearing in their pages, drastically impacting that skater’s chances of having a successful career. The reasons are myriad but included offenses such as riding for the wrong sponsor,
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▲ The first issue of Thrasher, featuring the now iconic Thrasher logo. (Image via www.thrashermagazine.com)
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So, why did Thrasher endure? My personal theory is that there are two main reasons. First, as mentioned before, Thrasher’s content was never over-polished. It was and remains gritty while also being easily relatable and understandable. Even outsiders can look at Thrasher and say to themselves, “Oh yeah, I got it. I understand what skateboarding is all about,” despite not being able to distinguish between a kickflip and a heelflip. The second reason is that in the late 2000s, when a great deal of skateboard content went digital, Thrasher (and, by extension, www.thrashermagazine.com) absolutely killed it in terms of pumping out content. By comparison,
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Out of the “Big 4” magazines of my youth, only Thrasher has truly stood the test of time. Big Brother just kind of disappeared, and while Transworld and SLAP still exist online and produce original content, neither is well-known outside of the skateboard community, and they certainly have not penetrated the mainstream consciousness.
THOUGHTS & OPINION
Thrasher and Transworld were the two best-known skateboarding magazines, but SLAP and Big Brother are two others worth mentioning. SLAP was probably my favorite magazine and was just an all-around treat to read. The editing team had a clear, and I would say correct, idea of what good skateboarding was and either found or created content in line with that vision. The photography was on point and the level of tricks was insane, all without having the “corporate” feel of Transworld and later iterations of Thrasher. Overall, SLAP had the feel of a ground-level, organic magazine.
Transworld’s non-print media content focused on cinemastyle, full-length features that I feel came off as overly contrived and artsy, alienating a core part of their target demographic. Thrasher, on the other hand, managed to come up with shorter, more intense videos that, while lacking the professional, even Hollywood feel, of full-length video productions, maintained the “skate or die” spirit of the magazine. By being the skateboard magazine that most successfully navigated the transition to the digital world, it was only really a matter of time before models, singers, and actors started wearing Thrasher.
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THOUGHTS & OPINION
one-time amateur skateboarder in the ’80s, “the Phelper” was among the most well-known people in skateboarding and the walking symbol of all things Thrasher until his untimely death from completely preventable substance abuse in 2019. While it is not my common practice to speak ill of the deceased, I think it is important to point out that the Phelper was an all-around windbag and imbecile with the brain power of a watch battery who could barely string together a sentence not peppered with profanities and obscene references. To see him on the street, one would have easily concluded that he was a crazy homeless person, and Thrasher’s celebration of his antics was curious to say the least.
▲ The last issue of Transworld Skateboarding. Even though it was a more stylish and better-produced publication, it could not compete with Thrasher’s digital marketing saavy. (Image via www. skateboarding.com)
quitting the wrong sponsor, doing the wrong tricks, wearing the wrong gear, not skating the way the editors wanted, or just angering certain people in the industry. While I suppose it is well within their purview to exclude whoever they want, it goes to show that Thrasher sees itself as the gatekeeper of what is real, legitimate skateboarding and what is not. To this day, Thrasher positions itself as the ultimate authority in skateboarding and, through its exclusive practices, imposes its prescriptive vision onto skateboard culture.
The last thing to understand about Thrasher is that for many, many years, there was basically a rule that could be succinctly articulated as “Don’t wear Thrasher if you don’t skate,” a mindset encouraged by the magazine itself. Anyone who wore any clothes or gear with the magazine’s logo would be opening themselves up to unrelenting ridicule unless they could ride a skateboard with a reasonable level of proficiency. Elementary school girls and models wearing Thrasher just was not to be done.
Thrasher Korea
When I am out skateboarding or walking around Gwangju and see some Thrasher beanie-wearing fashionista who clearly knows nothing about riding a stickwheel, I really have to scratch my head. For everything Thrasher is, something it is not is a corporate brand that is in line with the values that most Koreans adhere to, such as, you know, getting a good education or respecting group harmony.
Incidentally, while a lot of people are drawn All that being said, the old rule of to skateboarding because of its apparent “don’t wear Thrasher if you don’t skate” lack of rules and structure (such as coaches summarily died the moment www. and regularly scheduled practice times), it thrashermagazine.com went online. is worth mentioning that skateboarding While still a quality magazine, Thrasher is has standards and norms that for the most part are tacitly adhered to. That is to say, Hoodie featuring the “burning” logo. definitely not the symbol of the hardcore you cannot just pick up a board, twirl it around your arm, demographic it once was. If you want to wear Thrasher, and then call it a trick. There are certain techniques that I say go for it. As for Thrasher, which is no-doubt raking can and should be mastered, and to overlook these, to use in the big bucks from licensing agreements, they might the parlance, would be “wack.” In addition, while there is consider changing their slogan from “Skate and Destroy” no uniform (except for the Olympic skateboard teams, I to “You Gotta Sell Out to Eat Out.” suppose), there is certainly a dress code of sorts. So yes, The Author there are standards and norms within skateboarding, but Thrasher seems to take this stuff to a whole new level and William Urbanski is the Gwangju acts as basically the fashion police of the entire industry. Inextricably linked to the physical publication was Jake Phelps, the figurehead and ringleader of the entire operation and the long-term editor-in-chief of Thrasher. A
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News’ managing editor and its special skateboarding correspondent. Instagram: @will_il_gatto
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Lifestyle 49
Being Minimalist Written by Erva Ozkan
I
have just finished painting the wall white. Luckily, I do not have any furniture that I can splatter the paint on. Since I have worked hard, I am hungry. As soon as I arrive in the kitchen, I will put the rice in my bowl, which is the only bowl I have. I have trained myself to live without needing anything. I do not like wasting. I do not even have a trashcan because I do not have trash. Welcome to my minimal life! If I were you, I might, indeed, think this lifestyle is beyond belief. To be called a minimalist, you do not need to follow any obligatory rules or to be called a minimalist to have this simple lifestyle. In essence, you can create a life based on the famed motto “Less is more.” Yet, you are the person who is going to decide the degree of “less!” Despite the emergence of minimalism as an art movement, it has become a philosophy of life nowadays. People are choosing to be minimalist in their own way with some basic minimalistic beliefs such as live with less, less is more, and owning fewer possessions. Today, I am here to share the minimalistic perspective I have acquired by living, experiencing, and reading.
Every day, when we open our closets in the morning, the clothes we never wear wink at us. Meanwhile, the books we buy every time we go to the bookstore are waiting to
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Most of our behaviors are signs of our real selves, so I recommend trying to figure out what you are missing inside. Do not be afraid to ask questions about yourself. What part of you are you trying to fill with these goods? Maybe you need to feel valuable, to be loved, or to be respected. Discovering what you lack means you did a great job and reached a new level of awareness of yourself. For doing so, I say you should compliment yourself! Also, it will be useful to remind yourself that the things you are looking for externally are already in you. These findings will help you realize that you do not need to fill any gap with material goods. You should know that your value cannot be measured in those things. The second step is what I call “action.” In this case, I make an effort to take action. You can use the action part to include things in your life or to evaluate what is already in your life. Although the shopping world is tricky indeed, you have the power to stop time at the moment you are about to take the bait. Instead of quickly purchasing
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Minimalism, which is literally simplified living, is more than reducing the clothes in our closets or setting up a living room with fewer items. There are many areas where minimalism can take place in our lives. Minimal clothing, minimal budgets, minimal diets, minimal digitalism, minimalist bookshelf, and even minimalist psychology, to name a few.
I can hear you asking, “Where should I start then?” I basically included two steps in my life: evaluation and action. Before evaluating any stuff we own, we should turn the mirror to ourselves to see who we are and what we really need. That is such a key step to living life to the fullest and as freely as possible, not just for minimalism. If we determine our needs, we can feel fulfilled. Once you desire to own something, you should ask yourself about whether or not it is your need or wish that is driving you. Short-term wishes can lead to a burden on your shoulders. But owning intentionally brings you joy for the long-term.
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My story of becoming a minimalist started with trying to respect myself and nature. For centuries, along with all religious beliefs, many philosophies of life have spoken about the positive benefits of simply living. But we live in a world that continues to evolve in a materialist order, and in this materialistic world, we may feel like we need more ownership to feel valued and special. I can sincerely say that we are right to feel this way. But do you think that the things you own determine your self-worth?
be read. Or maybe it is all those promotional emails that are waiting in our mailboxes, or the unused user guides that are waiting in unopened drawers. The provisions we bought but kept in the fridge for such a long time are yet another example, not to mention the thousands of thoughts in our minds that do not even belong there any longer. The list goes on. Do you not think it is tiring? Fortunately, this simple lifestyle alternative somehow brings a mindful approach to your life. You will have more time to be happy rather than stressed, and more time to develop better relationships and working environments.
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50 something, try to sleep on it and decide the next day whether or not you really need it or if you actually feel glad that you did not buy it. Next, I like to think “one comes, one goes.” Remember this rule. If you have purchased something new, try to reduce something you already have. But if we are going to talk about what you already have, why not start from home? You probably own a bunch of things that you have not even used in the past year. You can proceed by categories rather than thinking about the whole home. For example, you can start with your socks in the drawer. Actually, the meaning we place on them does not really represent the purpose of the items we have. Try to remember the reason why you bought each item.
THOUGHTS & OPINION
In the end, you will have less stress and a happier life with minimalism. You will be saving more energy and money; that way you can find yourself spending more time on experiences rather than on stuff. Is it not great? Most importantly, at least for me, you will be reducing your carbon footprint. All the processes we are going through on this path are not only about ourselves. Remember where you are living. Remember the stuff you use and where it came from. I believe that having this beneficial, minimalist lifestyle will help you show compassion to yourself and to nature. Just a small reminder, we all are connected!
The Author
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
December 2020
Erva Ozkan is a simple human living on Planet Earth since 1993, besides her other earthly qualifications. She loves nature and being on her way in life. Instagram: @biyolokumunuz
Staff Photographer Wanted
The Gwangju News is looking for an additional staff photographer. Duties would include taking photos of places around Gwangju to accompany Gwangju News’ articles and interviews, and contributing to our Photo Essay and Photo of the Month sections. This is a volunteer position. If interested, email us a brief resume, including your photography experience and type of camera(s) you use. For more details, also email gwangjunews@gic.or.kr
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Language Teaching 51
The Challenges of Teaching Edifications by Expat English Educators Compiled by Dr. David E. Shaffer
“Isn’t It Spicy?” No, and Please Stop Asking.
Lindsay Herron came to Korea fifteen years ago. After teaching at the high school level for three years, she moved to Gwangju National University of Education, where she teaches English and teaching methodology. Lindsay has master’s degrees in language education and cinema studies, and is completing her doctorate in education. She has just completed her presidency of Korea TESOL and is an officer of the Gwangju-Jeonnam Chapter. Here is her account of the downside of teaching English in Korea.
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▲ Delectable New Mexican huevos rancheros comes drenched in green chile.
December 2020
Perhaps my biggest complaint regards the stereotypes I’ve encountered here. When I first arrived in Korea, it wasn’t uncommon to see articles, op-ed cartoons, and even “exposés” on TV that portrayed foreign teachers as lazy, drug-addled, devious sex maniacs. I’m delighted this kind of negative representation is rare these days, but it still seems as if foreign teachers are often considered less professional or less qualified than our Korean counterparts. There are other preconceptions, too, that routinely aggravate me. I frequently find myself
In many ways, Korea is also becoming more welcoming to expats; I can now access more websites using my MacBook and non-IE web browsers, for example, and my phone contract is currently in my own name instead
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I absolutely love living and teaching in Korea, but that doesn’t mean life as a foreign teacher here is without drawbacks. Some – such as the prevalence of sweet (rather than savory) garlic bread, the lack of good brunch options, and the distance from family – have satisfactory work-arounds; others are more endemic and unavoidable, often with far-reaching implications.
explaining, with a tight smile, that it’s not uncommon for people to use chopsticks in other countries, or that Hangeul isn’t nearly as indecipherable as some Koreans seem to think. I find warnings about spice levels particularly rankling; I’m from New Mexico, and I’ve yet to encounter anything here that can compare to the eye-watering heat of good, fire-roasted Hatch green chile. And this doesn’t even begin to touch on the other forms of casual and systemic racism I’ve observed, though the country is slowly shifting toward more progressive perspectives.
TEACHING & LEARNING
Every occupation is sure to have both gratifying and challenging aspects, but working in a distant land with a difficult language and a distinctively different culture can greatly add to the challenges of that occupation. The Gwangju News has selected four area expat English instructors, all members of Gwangju-Jeonnam KOTESOL, the local English teachers’ organization, to discover their leading likes and dislikes about teaching in Korea. In a recent issue (October 2020), we carried their joys of teaching in this column; in this issue, we bring you the challenges that these same expat English educators face. Their teaching contexts vary: from national and private universities to middle school and high school. Who they are and their accounts of their challenges in teaching follow. — Ed.
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December 2020
TEACHING & LEARNING
of a co-teacher’s, as was required when I first arrived in Korea. At the same time, though, I miss out on a lot of opportunities due to my one-year contract and E-2 visa. For example, I don’t have a credit card in this country despite having applied twice. The first time, I was refused because my salary was too low (as it probably always will be, since there’s a cap on the salaries of foreign instructors at national universities). The second time, we didn’t even make it to the salary stage; they turned me down the instant they saw I had an E-2 visa. Similarly, there are a variety of perks at my bank for which I’m not eligible due to my “short-term” status in the country; I’m not only losing money due to terrible exchange rates every time I transfer money home (to pay off my U.S.-based credit cards), but I’m also missing out on higher interest rates on long-term timed deposits that are inaccessible to me. True, most of these problems are familiar to every expat in Korea. Perhaps you’re wondering, what about the negatives of being an expat teacher, since this is a teaching column? Honestly, there’s not much I dislike about teaching here and little I can’t work with – unless my students perpetuate a stereotype by disparaging a marginalized group or warning me about something “spicy.” Then all bets are off.
Grammar-Translation Remains Dominant
Bryan Hale has been teaching English in Korea since 2012 and has experience in both academies and public schools. He is now in his third year of teaching at Yeongam High School. Bryan has been active in Korea TESOL for most of his time in Korea and is currently completing his term as president of the GwangjuJeonnam Chapter of KOTESOL and beginning a term as KOTESOL’s national president. His master’s degree in applied linguistics (TESOL) is from the University of New England (Australia). Here is Bryan’s account of what he considers to be the challenges of teaching English in Korea. A great challenge I’ve found teaching EFL at the secondary level in Korea is the prevalence of the grammar-translation method of teaching and suneungstyle discrete-point testing, and the awkward fit this creates for “outsider” teachers with a responsibility to focus on communication. Grammar-translation teaching focuses on applying grammatical rules to drilllike exercises, which don’t have much of a relationship to authentic and purposeful communication. This style of teaching has obvious problems and most people, including most stakeholders in the Korean education system, acknowledge that it doesn’t do a good job of preparing learners to use language in real life.
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The challenge is that, despite this widespread acknowledgement, grammar-translation remains dominant at the secondary level, and there’s a lack of explicit discussion about its problems or how more authentic communication-focused learning should fit in. I’ve known Korean English teachers who think that teaching “conversation class” simply involves selecting a topic and letting students take turns to monologue on it. There’s often an expectation that conversation classes will be a lot of fun, as though there’s no burden of real learning. Another assumption that sometimes exists is that there will be rote memorization of “key phrases” or prefabricated dialogues. Many secondary schools conduct speaking tests that merely test rote memorization. In my experience in both public schools and hagwons, there’s little clear, informed discussion of alternative teaching methodologies such as communicative language teaching (CLT). Unfortunately, there’s seldom clarity about what the purpose of English study is, or delineation between suneung-style test preparation and the development of communicative competence. These factors point to a need for better-quality discussion between colleagues – and among whole learning communities – and that’s certainly been a challenge for me. Of course, an important factor here is my lack of Korean language skills, and it’s taken me some time just to get used to the ins and outs of Korean education enough to contribute to or initiate such discussions myself. I think all parties in such exchanges need to be ready to resist simplistic fixes, to have some comfort with ambiguity, and to seek sustainable changes. Of course, I think it’s still possible to have success in helping learners to develop communicative competence! But, there are also challenges that manifest themselves at the level of the classroom and individual lessons. Learners are very often focused on accuracy, and this can make them hesitant to communicate spontaneously, or reluctant to let go of constant translation support. Helping learners overcome these habits is part of the job of teaching communicative English in a context like Korea, definitely. Nevertheless, I do sometimes feel frustrated about how ▼ Bryan on the wall of a local fried chicken restaurant.
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53 much class time is spent coaxing learners away from the unhelpful attitudes encouraged by grammar-translation teaching.
Lack of Learner Investment: A Painful Facet
Maria Lisak has been teaching for nearly 24 years, and for much of that time, she has been teaching in Korea, including 15 years in Gwangju. She is presently teaching mainly content courses in the Department of Administrative Welfare at Chosun University, where she has worked since 2012. Maria holds a master's degree in education and a second master's in business administration. She is currently completing her doctorate of education and is a past president of Korea TESOL’s Gwangju-Jeonnam Chapter. Here is Maria’s account of the challenges she faces in teaching in Korea.
Another thing that bothers me about my South Korean context is when I have students who only want to
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Communicative Competence: The Single Biggest Challenge Jonathan Moffett came to Korea in 2016. After teaching for two years at the elementary school level, he now teaches at three different middle schools in Gwangju. Jonathan has a master's degree in education from the University of Missouri and is a member of Korea TESOL. Here is his account of the problems that confront him in his teaching in Korea.
In the October issue, I was fortunate enough to be able to talk about many of the positive experiences I’ve had teaching in Korea. My focus for this month’s issue pertains to both the challenges and more negative aspects of teaching English in Korea. Certainly, there are many challenges we all face living in a foreign country, some more than others. Here I focus mainly on those challenges relating to education. From my time spent teaching in both public elementary schools and middle schools, I can
December 2020
One of the things that’s difficult is when my students don’t love learning as much as I do! Not only is teaching my job, but I continuously self-study and do professional development. I’m hoping all this learning will keep Alzheimer’s away! If my students aren’t invested in their own learning, it’s really hard to find new ways to motivate them. It’s hard to be caring when they don’t care, even though my students are adults and in charge of their own lives.
As a social justice educator, I believe that I teach students as people first. A lot of people think that I only teach language. If I only had to teach English language, I wouldn’t really have any teaching problems nor feel the pain that my students are going through. The pain of teaching English is often the socioeconomic context that I and my students need to work with and against. Learning English should be a new tool that empowers my students, not something that keeps them from reaching their dreams.
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Things that are difficult in teaching in South Korea come from different aspects of my teaching adventure. Lack of learner investment in their own learning practice, test-taking culture, and English as a barrier to future opportunity all are painful facets that haunt my teaching experience.
Another issue in South Korea that I have a lot of problems with is English as a gatekeeper to opportunity. My students have been studying English for years and usually can’t speak it. Or they don’t want to speak it because they don’t want to make a mistake in front of others. This type of stress and limitation inhibits the motivation to study and use English. My students are marginalized by English. Some of my students will never use English in their future job. But they might not even be able to get that job where they won’t use English unless they have enough English to make it through all of the job entrance exams and job interviews.
TEACHING & LEARNING
A challenge that I find more rewarding is that of developing teaching practices that work for Korean learners. CLT was developed in Western countries and is sometimes criticized for being Anglo-centric and corporate language-oriented. Its emphasis on pair work and small-group work doesn’t always work well in Korean classrooms, where students are used to different kinds of social hierarchies. I’ve definitely found it necessary to re-examine some of the assumptions I brought to Korea from my CELTA training, and over time, I’ve really enjoyed figuring out activities and teaching methods that seem to stimulate spontaneity and creativity in Korean classrooms. I think my teaching involves a little bit more (benevolent) “teacher-frontedness,” and also more playfulness and acceptance of ambiguity, than it did in the beginning, and I’ve found that a rewarding journey.
check off the boxes or take the test. I feel they’ve been institutionalized by education, thinking of it as simply an exam that you need to pass. I don’t call that learning; I called that testing. I can understand my students being bored to death with some of the education that they’ve experienced. But it’s heartbreaking to make a lesson to welcome my students’ creativity, and all they want to know is what they need to do to make me happy and get their grade.
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confidently say that the kinds of challenges I’ve faced in each context are quite different. At the elementary school level, one of my biggest challenges was getting students to use the target language successfully during games and activities. Often times, students would forget that the purpose of the activity was actually learning, though the learning may be facilitated by some fun activity. In this regard, sometimes I felt that I wasn’t always an educator but sometimes more of an entertainer. Middle school for me, however, has felt more or less completely opposite. Students at this stage are often “broken in” to be efficient studying machines, and the prospect of having fun in class through various communication-based activities seems to be quite foreign to them. The wonder and joy that elementary school kids showed was replaced with a curious combination of apathy and an urgent sense to study only that which will immediately benefit them. The focus of my classes, as I believe native Englishspeaking teachers are best able to do, is on communicative aspects of English usage, especially pertaining to speaking. This aspect of English usage, however, doesn’t seem to be given much emphasis in consideration of how students display their proficiency and earn higher ranks in an incredibly competitive education environment. Thus, motivating students to take part in activities in which the central focus is on communicative competence can be quite difficult at times. There sometimes seems to be a void between how I believe myself best able to benefit and educate students, and what the educational system itself deems as important. Oftentimes, I am forced to adjust, change, or get rid of what I believe are the most beneficial teaching approaches, ideal activities, or meaningful learning experiences and substitute them with ones that the educational system deems more immediately applicable and/or important, and this itself is the single biggest challenge I find myself facing day in and day out. When the day comes that more emphasis is placed on communicative competence at the national level through more than just the National Curriculum’s stated agenda, I believe this challenge will be ameliorated to quite a large extent. Until then, I try to keep every class both beneficial for students’ immediate goals, and meaningful for their long-term goals.
In Conclusion
From the opinions expressed above, we see that there is a wide variety of challenges facing expats teaching English in Korea and that what are considered the biggest challenges vary from person to person. Challenges in the classroom seem to center on the education system’s reliance on antiquated teaching methods that are not
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communicative in nature but are test-driven. Accordingly, it is difficult to get students to speak in class because they are not used to it and because they are not tested on it. The emphasis on English testing for advancement in society is perceived as an obstacle rather than an opportunity to many students, thus lowering motivation to learn. Challenges to the expat teacher do not reside only in the classroom, as pointed out by Lindsay. Stereotypes still persist in which the foreigner teaching English is perceived as less professional and less qualified than their Korean counterparts. The expat is viewed as “different,” not being able to adjust to Korean culture, for example, not being able to learn Korean, to use chopsticks, or eat spicy foods. Although the four contributors above have expressed numerous challenges to teaching and living in Korea (as they were asked to), they all have many positive things to say about teaching in Korea also (for this, see the October 2020 issue of the Gwangju News). Indeed, as Bryan relates, challenges themselves can be quite rewarding, as with the challenge of developing teaching materials and methods that are best suited for students and the teaching situation. For so many expat English teachers in Korea, yes, there are challenges, but they are outweighed by the joys and benefits of teaching and living in Korea – as evidenced by how long they are staying. Photographs courtesy of Maria Lisak, Lindsay Herron, Bryan Hale, and Jonathan Moffett.
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 Editor
David Shaffer is an expat educator who has many years of experience in the field of English education in Korea. He has experienced both the joys and challenges of teaching. As vice-president of the Gwangju-Jeonnam Chapter of KOTESOL, Dr. Shaffer invites you to participate in the teacher development workshops and their regular meetings (online and in-person). He is a past president of KOTESOL, and is currently the chairman of the board at the Gwangju International Center as well as editor-in-chief of the Gwangju News.
11/24/2020 4:51:55 PM
Book Review 55
December Double Feature
Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 & If I Had Your Face Reviewed by Kristy Dolson
The first book is Kim Jiyeong, Born 1982 by Cho Nam-Joo. Protagonist Kim Jiyoung is a stand-in for the thousands of Korean women who were the first daughters in their families to obtain post-secondary degrees, join the workforce, and then reluctantly drop out to maintain marriages and perform traditional childcare duties as mandated by an unchanging patriarchal work culture. This short novel explores how fierce competition and workplace pressures buffet the Seoul woman’s psyche.
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December 2020
Although Cho’s novel is a work of fiction, there are facts and figures pulled from real-world sources documenting
The second book, If I Had Your Face by Frances Cha, offers a depiction of these new attitudes and choices. The four women of this novel, Ara, Kyuri, Miho, and Wonna, all live in the same Seoul officetel. But they lead very different lives. Ara is a mute hairdresser, and she lives with her childhood best friend Sujin. Idolizing their beautiful neighbor Kyuri – a successful room salon girl – Sujin longs to become beautiful herself by undergoing plastic surgery. Sujin and Miho were raised in the same orphanage, although Miho was lucky to be born with natural beauty. Kyuri’s roommate, Miho, was granted a scholarship to study art in New York. While in America, she got swept into the world of rich young Koreans and started dating Hanbin, the son of a chaebol family whom she has no intention of marrying. Observing the younger women from a distance is Wonna, a woman in her
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
After waiting years to read this book, I finished it in a mere two days. Surprisingly short for such an explosive and controversial work, the narrative is straightforward but challenges the reader to ask questions about cultural norms and long-held assumptions about gender roles. Personally, I found the novel very instructive of the current state of feminism in South Korea. I was very curious about how Korean women of my generation deal with traditional expectations in the post-Me Too era. I found that it is very much the same in other progressive countries where women born in the 1980s have been raised on pop culture “Girl Power” and Women’s Lib politics only to discover a work culture that begrudges their admission and expects them to continue playing by the old, male-dominated rules. It is no wonder that Kim Jiyoung suffers from a mental breakdown when the book opens.
Korea’s ongoing gender inequality. As a result, sometimes the book reads like a novel and sometimes it reads like a report, with most chapters containing endnotes listing the author’s research documents. Readers should know that the narrative is less of a story and more of a collection of vignettes of injustice that make up the shape of an individual woman. Recently translated into English by Jamie Chang, it is clear that this was translated for people who are already somewhat acquainted with South Korean language and culture. For outsiders with a basic understanding of South Korean culture, it is a good introduction to urban middle-class expectations, especially the gap in expectations between males and females. The ending is open to interpretation, perhaps as a nod to the next generations of women choosing selffulfillment over marriage, and careers over children.
CULTURE & ARTS
A
fter a roller-coaster 2020, I made the bittersweet decision to return to Canada early next year. And so, it is with a heavy heart that I announce this to be my final book review for the Gwangju News. It has been an honor to serve the community, and I wish to leave you with a special parting gift: a double feature review of two contemporary South Korean authors whose books disrobe Korean patriarchy and misogyny with blunt portrayals of female hardships.
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December 2020
CULTURE & ARTS
mid-thirties who is married to a hopeless optimist while she herself struggles against the lingering trauma of her childhood and a string of recent miscarriages. Most of the feminist Korean fiction I have read has had a surreal quality to it, so the straightfor ward honesty of this book was a welcome surprise, making it a brisk and gripping read. Even though I have lived and worked in Korea for over eight years, I still found this novel educational and shocking. Depression and powerlessness shadow this story, as the characters struggle against crushing expectations. I am so happy to live in Jeollanam-do, far from that madness. Despite the overwhelming sense that life in Seoul is cruel, harsh, and unforgiving, these women refuse to give up their hopes and dreams. And in the end, some characters do receive a hopeful turn of events placing them on a better path forward.
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 returned to Gwangju where she has spent an additional three years teaching at the new Jeollanamdo International Education Institute, but she will soon be moving back to Canada in hopes of one day opening her own bookshop and community space.
Special Note: The Gwangju News wishes to extend our heartfelt gratitude to Kristy Dolson for providing us with monthly book reviews over the past three years that have been garnished with a dash of social responsibility and a pinch of introspection. Best wishes, Kristy, as you set out on your new adventure. — Eds.
Published in April of this year and written in the firstperson from the perspectives of four women with diverse backgrounds, this is a contemporary and intense examination of South Korean urban culture and working-class attitudes. The pacing is great, with necessary exposition dispersed evenly between scenes and dialogue. The dialogue sounds authentic and Cha, a Korean American and former editor for CNN, uses Korean words with the expectation that readers are already familiar with them. It is well organized and competently written for international audiences, uncovering the gritty underworld of South Korea’s working-class women and the obsessive drive for perfection and beauty. So, while I am leaving South Korea soon, this fascinating country and its people will always be a big part of my life. Books and short stories by Korean authors will always have a spot on my to-read list with the hope that Korea – and the world – will continue moving forward towards the betterment of all humanity. And as I set out in search of my own future, I would like to say a sincere thank you to Gwangju and the Gwangju News. I will certainly never forget my time serving in the City of Light.
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11/24/2020 4:51:56 PM
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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