(EN) Gwangju News August 2012 #126

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On The Cover:

Gwangju World Music Festival Freedom Writers The Art of Graffiti

Celebrating Multiculturalism The Story of Two Families

www.gwangjunewsgic.com

August 2012 Issue No. 126

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Gwangju News August 2012

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Contents regulars

features 12

Feature The Freedom Writers

By Julian Warmington

7

Local News This Month in Gwangju

By Carl Hedinger

16

Feature Gwangju World Music Festival – A Preview

By Doug Stuber

8

Upcoming Events

23

Preview GIC Tour: Yeonggwang

By Warren Parsons

28

Photo Contest

30

Photo Essay

By Gabriel Ward

34

Home Pages

42

Culture Eating Apples at Night

By Stephen Redeker

44

Language Study Letters to KOTESOL

By Dr. Dave Shaffer

18

Music Feed the Boats

By Maeve Storey

20

Art Gwangju Museum of Art

By Adam Hogue

22

Art How the Art World Works, 101 Staff Report

24

Community Multicultural Families in Gwangju

By BreeAnn Cowger

26

Community The Beauty of Diversity

47

32

Music In the Groove: The Search for Jazz in Gwangju

By Maeve Storey

Language Study The Connective‘(아/어/여)야 되다 /하다 )’must, have to

By Jung Soo-a

48

Environment Fukushima: A Tsunami of Radioactive Seafood?

By Matt Furlane

Literature Selected Poems by Lee Si-young Translated by Song Chae-pyong and Anne Rashid

50

Environment Endangered Species in Korea

By Rachel Redfern

Fashion Fash-on with xxl jjdp: The Life Aquatic By jjdp

52

Culture Swastikas: The Wheels of Time

By C. Adam Volle

Food and Drink Jinos Garden

By Gabriel Ward

53

Community The Foreigner Next Door: Doaa Ghareeb

By Leigh Hellman

Food and Drink Red Bean Sherbert

By Kim Jiwon

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Community Board

36

38

40

46

“

Gwangju News could not be as great as it is without the help of our regular volunteers, and we’re always looking for new contributors and proofreaders.

We invite

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Gwangju News August 2012

you to join us!

”

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August 2012

www.gwangjunewsgic.com ON THE COVER

Cover Photo: Gwangju World Music Festival, celebrating the cultures of the world. This music festival symbolize the rich artistic and musical background of Gwangju.

Photograph: Courtesy of Gwangju World Music Festival Read the full article on page 16 Photo edited for layout purposes

THE EDITORIAL TEAM Publisher: Shin Gyonggu Editors: Seth Pevey, Kathleen Villadiego, Kim Minsu Online Editor: Caitlin Jacobs Assistant Editor: Stephen Redeker Copy Editors: Kathleen Villadiego, Darren Bean, Bradley Weiss,

Photo by Christian Oey

Jon Ozelton

Coordinators: Karina Prananto, Jung Jayeon Layout Designer: Karina Prananto Online Technical Manager: Carl Hedinger Proofreaders: Jon Ozelton, Pete Schandall, Gina Covert, Daniel Lister, Lindsey Andrews, Andrew Sweeney, Eva Ryan

Researchers: Kim Jiwon, Kim Wooyeon, Hwang Yeongwook, Kim Wheewon

Gwangju News is published by Gwangju International Center Address: Jeon-il Building 5F, Geumnam-no 1-1, Dong-gu, Gwangju 501-758, South Korea

Phone: +82-62-226-2733~4 Fax: +82-62-226-2731 Website: www.gwangjunewsgic.com E-mail: gwangjunews@gmail.com Registration No.: 광주광역시 라. 00145 (ISSN 2093-5315) Registration Date: February 22, 2010 Printed by Logos (Phone +82-62-444-8800)

32 In the Groove

Publication Date: July 26, 2012 Gwangju News is a monthly English magazine written and edited by volunteers. We welcome your contributions for proofreading, copy editing, administration, layout/design and distribution. Please write to gwangjunews@gmail.com and tell us your area of interest.

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

Copyright 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 publishers.

Gwangju News welcomes letters to the editor (gwangjunews@gmail.com) regarding articles and issues. Articles and submissions may be edited for reasons of clarity or space.

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The Swastika Symbol Gwangju News August 2012

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Our Contributors Carl Hedinger (USA, Writer & Gwangju News Website Administrator) Since moving to Korea in 2011, Carl has lived in Gwangju and is now residing in Jinju (Gyeongsangnam-do). While he has been writing the Gwangju News’ monthly roundup since May of this year, he has been the Gwangju News Online Site Administrator since its launch in February. Carl lived in a few different places in the U.S. but claims to be from West Virginia since it was his most recent home.

When not working on the GNO website, Carl enjoys reading, writing, running, hiking and traveling throughout beautiful Korea with his lovely girlfriend.

Rachel Redfern (USA, Writer) is originally from Sacramento, California and has lived in South Korea for a year now. In 2010 she received her masters in English Literature, specializing in modern American literature and film. She is a regular contributor on feminist issues at Not Another Wave as well as movie reviews for Bitch Flicks. She also enjoys participating in creative writing workshops (in whatever might be her current community), while continuing to work on her own creative writing endeavors. However, all of these talents pale in comparison to her ability to eat Toblerone bars and watch HBO.

Adam Hogue (USA, Writer) is a straight-up Democrat from Rhode Island.

He is a 2011 graduate of Keene State College. He enjoys writing, hiking, making visual art, reading, traveling and connecting with others; a sense of humor is key. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance has recently rocked his world. Adam has been teaching English in Gwangju for the past year. While backpacking and learning Korean, Adam hopes to one day be a published author. He is a contributing writer to Policy Mic (www.policymic.com), and an editor and contributor for Student at Large (www.studentatlarge.net). He also keeps a travel blog - Kimchi Chronicles (www.kimchichronicles.tumblr.com), and maintains a creative writing blog called Cold Soup (www.coldsoupy.tumblr.com)

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Gwangju News August 2012

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This Month in Gwangju A brief roundup of news stories from in and around Gwangju

By Carl Hedinger

Robots Upon Us Have a passion for technology and the advances humankind is making in robotics? Then the 14th Annual Robot Olympiad, which starts in early August, is your summer destination. The Olympiad is the biggest robot festival in Korea and will be held at the always busy Kimdaejung Convention Center from August 6 - 11. The festival intends to generate a new technology market and enhance Gwangju’s image as an advanced scientific and technological city.

Feel free to check out some of the many interesting competitions including “Robot Survival” as well as a “Robot Movie”. A full lineup of 12 events each day is on the docket, so don’t miss out on all the fun!

Great Volunteer Opportunity The Kimdaejung Convention Center will be filled later this month with the arrival of the 2012 Asia Culture Forum. The three-day event will run from August 20 22 and Gwangju Cultural Foundation is recruiting participants and volunteers for the 1st Asian Youth Culture Festival.

Participants will take part in the Asia Culture Forum and “Asian Night” among other functions and will be provided with accommodation, a commemorative Tshirt, as well as a souvenir to take home. Anyone (yes, foreigners too!) between the ages of 18 and 40 can apply. Those who are selected will serve as interpreters and help with advertising and supporting the festival. People who wish to take part can download the application form from the Asia Culture Forum’s homepage (www.asiaforum.or.kr) or Gwangju Culture Center’s homepage (www.gjcf.or.kr) and submit it by e-mail.

Friend’s Day Cue the Golden Girls’ theme. We all know about the family-themed holidays in Korea: Children’s Day, Parent’s Day, etc. But does anybody recall Friend’s Day? A local school in Gwangju and nine schools in Mokpo recently tried to remind students that friendship is truly important and valuable to people throughout the world. The elementary school – affiliated with Gwangju National University – held Friend’s Day as a means to raise awareness of school violence. Among the many activities held, students participated in writing friendly letters, drawing a friend’s face, and even washing their friend’s feet.

Interestingly enough, students were not the only participants in Friend’s Day. Teachers also took part to

show camaraderie with the children. The event’s success convinced the Gwangju school’s principal to proclaim that Friend’s Day will become an annual event “from now on”.

Geumnamro Changes Upcoming According to a report coming from Mayor Kang’s office, a portion of Gwangju’s Geumnamro 4-ga will be transformed into a square. The city announced a plan to make a square named “5.18 Democracy” or “Green Square”. This was one of the many ideas which came out of a meeting between the Mayor and 30 officials from the 5.18 Memorial Foundation and environmental organizations. The main plan will be to remove asphalt from the street from the old city hall to Geumnamro 4ga and turn it into a massive grass square. It will be contoured to look like a Y-shaped flame. While the square will obviously serve as a good place for citizens to take a rest, this “flame” will embody the spirit and fire of democracy which is so important to the people of Gwangju. Stay tuned for more information because there have been no concrete dates set for this initiative to begin.

Mudeungsan Changes its Status to “National” Gwangju’s Mudeung Mountain was in the news for two reasons last month. A ceremony was held for scholar Park Sun Hong who donated intellectual rights of his works “Mudeungsan” (a history of the mountain) and “Gwangju: One Hundred Years” to the Gwangju Cultural Foundation. Park was born in Gwangju in 1926 and always possessed an outstanding passion for preserving Mudeungsan. His hopes and wishes for keeping the mountain an environmental sanctuary were answered recently. According to recent developments, Mudeung’s status is expected to change from Provincial to National Park. According to the most recent tally by City Hall and the Ministry of the Environment, over 6.5 million people visited Mudeung Mountain in 2010. Based on that data, Mudeung was the 2nd most visited mountain after Bukhan Mountain in Seoul (8.5 million). In addition to its beautiful peaks and easily accessible trails, Mudeung hosts an excellent ecosystem consisting of 11 endangered species and 2,296 species of animals and plants.

Mudeung was originally listed as a Provincial Park in 1972, so these changes do not happen often.

Gwangju News August 2012

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Upcoming Events Contributors: Kim Jiwon, Kim Wooyeon, Hwang Yeongwook (GIC Gwangju News Team), Kim Wheewon

Movies @ Gwangju Theater Address: Chungjangro 5-ga (two blocks behind Migliore) Phone: 062-224-5858 Films change weekly to bi-weekly. Check online for more movies, schedules and prices.

For more info: http://cafe.naver.com/cinemagwangju (Korean)

Café de Flore 카페 드 플로르 Genre: Drama, Romance Starring: Vanessa Paradis, Kevin Parent Language: French Synopsis: This film is about man and woman's fateful love.

Though they live in different places and times, they are connected mysteriously. They feel every kind of emotion related to love like joy, tragedy and forgiveness.

people and excited children. Suddenly, a group of soldiers invade and threaten them all. After that, the innocent performers of the circus are drawn into a war.

Marley 말리 Genre: Documentary, Music Starring: Bob Marley, Ziggy Marley Language: English Synopsis: This movie is about Bob Marley, the legendary reggae musician. The director of this movie visits some people who knew Bob Marley well and listens to the secret stories about his life.

Expo 2012 Yeosu Korea 2012 여수세계박람회 Venue: New Port Area (여 수 신 항 일 대 ), Yeosu City, Jeollanam-do Date: May 12 – August 12 Admission fee: General admission: Adults - 33,000 won, Youth - 25,000 won, Children/ Senior - 19,000 won Extra charged admission for special days (August 10-12): Adults - 40,000 won, Youth - 30,000 won, Children/ Senior 23,000 won Phone: 1577-2012 For more information: http://eng.expo2012.kr/

Honokaa Boy 하와이언 레시피 Genre: Drama Starring: Masaki Okada, Jun Hasegawa Country: Japan Synopsis: A boy who visits Honokaa, a village on the north side of Hawaii, has a quarrel with his girlfriend and they split up. He visits Honokaa again, works in a small theater and becomes familiar with odd villagers. Then one day the boy falls in love with a beautiful and exotic girl named Mariah.

Memories of My Melancholy Whores 내 슬픈 창녀들의 추억 Genre: Romance Starring: Emilio Echevarria, Geraldine Chaplin Language: Spanish Synopsis: 90-year-old reporter El Sabio, who often consorts with prostitutes, loved his mother so much when he was young that he has never loved another girl as deeply.

A Sad Trumpet Ballad 광대를 위한 슬픈 발라드 Genre: Action, Comedy, Drama Starring: Antonio de la Torre, Carlos Areces Language: Spanish Synopsis: It is 1937 and the circus in Madrid is full of 8

Gwangju News August 2012

Exhibition

Gwangju Alive Gallery 광주 살아있는 미술관 Location: Gwangju Culture Art Center (Annex Exhibit Hall) Date: until December 31, 2013 Admission: 13,000 won for 14 years old and over / 11,000 won for 13 years old and under Phone: 1544-0412 For more information: www.alive-gallery.com Children's Picture Book, Happy Imagination 어린이 그림책전 (행복한 상상 ) Location: Gwangju Museum of Art Date: Until October 14 Admission: 500 won Phone: 062-613-7100 For more information: www.artmuse.gwangju.go.kr Eternal Smile Exhibition 영원한 미소 작품전_미소전 Location: U-Square Culture Center (Kumho Gallery 1st and 2nd Hall) Date: August 30 – September 5

Admission: free Phone: 062-224-7220 For more information: www.usquareculture.co.kr 1st Special Exhibition for 20th Anniversary of Gwangju Museum of Art “Two Modernisms” 광주시립미술관 개관20주년특별기획전 _1부 - 두개의 모더니즘 Location: Gwangju Museum of Art (Main building 1st, 2nd exhibit hall) Date: Until August 19 Admission: 500 won Phone: 062-613-7100 For more information: www.artmuse.gwangju.go.kr 2nd Special Exhibition for 20th Anniversary of Gwangju Museum of Art “Advance. Connection - Korean Modern Art after 1990” 광주시립미술관 개관20주년특별기획전 II부 – 진(進).통(通). 1990년대 이후 한국현대미술 Location: Gwangju Museum of Art (Main building 3rd, 4th and 5th exhibit hall) Date: Until August 19 Admission: 500 won Phone: 062-613-7100 For more information: www.artmuse.gwangju.go.kr

This Month at Holiday Inn Gwangju

Welcome to the August Edition about what’s happening and new at Holiday Inn Gwangju.

Picture Diaries Exhibition 그림일기, 그림읽기 展 Location: U-Square Culture Center (Keumho Gallery) Date: Until August 26 Admission: 12,000 won for children (24 months-12 years old) / 5,000 won for adults Phone: 062-360-8436/8437 For more information: www.usquareculture.co.kr Special Exhibition for 2012 Gwangju Biennale “Desks are Desks.”

2012 광주비엔날레 기념 특별전“책상은 책상이다” Location: Gwangju Museum of Art (Sangrok exhibit hall-1st, 2nd floor exhibit hall) Date: August 28 – October 7 Admission: 500 won Phone: 062-613-7100 For more information: www.artmuse.gwangju.go.kr

ITALIAN CORNER – 10TH FLOOR CLOUD LOUNGE Commencing Wednesday August 1, Holiday Inn Gwangju will have a superb menu offering authentic Italian cuisine.

Choose from seven appetizers from 8,500 won, seven fresh pasta dishes from 17,500 won, three pizzas from 18,000 won and seven dessert choices from 9,000 won.

Best wishes, Michael Wilson General Manager Holiday Inn Gwangju Michael.Wilson@ihg.com

Gwangju News August 2012

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Performance

Festivals

Audacious Romance – The first shot of the comedy project Kim Sooro 발칙한 로맨스 - 김수로의 코미디 프로젝트 제 1탄 Venue : Dongsan Art Hall, Gwangju U-Square (광주 유스퀘 어 동산아트홀) Date: July 20 – August 19 Time: Tuesday – Friday 7:30 p.m. / Saturday and Holidays, 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. / Sunday 3 p.m.

Admission: Seat R 25,000 won Phone: 062-360-8437 Gwangju Symphony Orchestra The 277th Regular Concert 광주시립교향악단 제 277회 정기 연주회 Venue: Grand Theater, Gwangju Culture and Art Center (광주문화예술회관 대극장) Date: August 30 Time: 7:30 p.m.

Admission: Seat R 30,000 won / S 20,000 won / A 10,000 won Youth passes and foreign worker discounts available.

Phone: 062-524-0586 Noreummachi’s Communication Concert 노름마치 소통 콘서트 Venue: Grand Theater, Gwangju Culture and Art Center (광주문화예술회관 대극장) Date: August 30 Time: 7:30 p.m.

Admission: Seat R 20,000 won / S 10,000 won Discounts for multicultural families and families with two or more children.

Noreummachi is a Korean traditional music performance group. They deliver Korean traditional music in their own creative way.

The 40th Gangjin Celadon Festival 제40 회 강진청자축제 Date: July 28 – August 5 Venue: The whole area of Goryeo Celadon Porcelain Kilns, Daegu-myeon, Gangjin-gun, Jeollanam-do Features: exhibitions, performances, face painting, carving celadon, traditional marriage ceremonies Directions: Take the bus to Gangjin from U-square, transfer to a bus going to Maryang, Gangjin For more information, go to: www.gangjinfes.or.kr Gwangyang Art Circus Festival 광양 아트서커스 페스티벌 Date: May 12 – August 12 Venue: back end of the International Passenger Terminal of Gwangyang-hang (광양항 국제여객터미널 뒤편 ) Performances – Diavolo (date: 6.29 - 7.15) , Elemental (date: 7.19 - 8.12), Journey to the West (date: 7.6 - 08.12) Directions: Take the bus to Gwangyang-hang from Usquare, take local bus (31, 33, 34, 88, 99, 99-1, 999 stops at the place) or taxi.

For more information: www.circusfestival.co.kr Jeongnamjin Water Festival 정남진 물축제 Date: July 27 – August 2 Activities: fishing Features: play about the environment, photo contest, Chinese acrobatics Directions: Take the bus to Jangheung from U-square, transfer to a bus going to Jangheung For more information: www.jhwater.kr

Sports KIA Tigers Baseball Team August Match Schedule Date

Vs.

7-9 10 - 12

Nexen Lotte

21 - 23 31

LG SK

Time 6:30 p.m.

6:30 p.m.

11,12: 5 p.m.

6:30 p.m.

6:30 p.m.

Venue: Gwangju Mudeung Baseball Stadium (무등경기장) Directions: Buses 16, 38, 51, 53, 58, 89, 95, 98, 151 get off at Mudeung Stadium bus stop Ticket Price: Adults 7,000 - 13,000 won; Students (13 18): 4,000 - 9,000 won; Children (under 13: 2,000 - 6,000 won) Website: www.tigers.co.kr

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Gwangju News August 2012

Gwangju FC Soccer Team August Match Schedule

Date

Vs.

Time

4 8 18

Busan I-Park Sangju Sangmu Daejeon Citizens

7 p.m.

8 p.m.

7 p.m.

Venue: Gwangju World Cup Stadium (광주월드컵경기장) Directions: Buses 6, 16, 20, 26, 47, 74 get off at Gwangju World Cup Stadium Ticket Price: VIP 10,000 won, GOLD 5,000 won (if you buy a ticket on the website, 10% discount) Website: www.gwangjufc.com

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[ GIC Talk ] Time & Place: Every Saturday, 3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m., GIC office (Jeon-il Bldg 5th Fl.) For more information visit www.gic.or.kr or contact gic@gic.or.kr Check out pictures from previous GIC Talks http://picasaweb.google.com/gictalk Watch highlight clips of previous GIC Talks at www.youtube.com/GICTALK

August 4 Topic: The Importance of Mythology Speaker: David Mark Dannov (USA)

“It’s raining cats and dogs”, is a very famous American saying or metaphor. When read as a literal sentence, it doesn’t make sense, as you picture cats and dogs falling from the sky. When seen as a metaphor, the sentence becomes clear, colorful, imaginative. “It’s raining cats and dogs”, meaning, it’s raining very hard. Being able to understand metaphors gives a new power that can boost self-esteem and help you find your bliss in life.

From Moby Dick to Star Wars to the Matrix to Men in Black to the Bible, there are many metaphors to be had. I will play clips from movies and documentaries and use photographs to help me discuss many of these metaphors and their meanings in order to shed light on a subject that is often times controversial or taboo.

August 11 Topic: Camp Fulbright and its Expanding Mission for Cross-Cultural Education Speaker: Noelle Easterday (USA)

Would you like to spend your summer playing games, developing leadership, building friendships and meeting people from around the world, all in English? Then Camp Fulbright is the place for you! Camp Fulbright is a two-week long English immersion program for Korean students (grades 5-10). Developed as part of the Fulbright Korea English Teaching Assistantship (ETA) program, Camp Fulbright features a unique opportunity for Korean students to improve their English skills interacting with nearly one hundred American teachers. Even more exciting, American high school students travel from the U.S. to participate in a cultural exchange in which they learn about Korean culture, language and history while interacting with the campers in English.

Speaker: Prof. Min Youngkyung (Korea)

u borrowed from someone else? Maybe happy and The The English language is considered to have the largest vocabulary in the world. Educated native speakers of English are expected to know approximately 20,000 word families or 70,000 words; however, educated non-native speakers of English know less than one quarter of the native speakers’ vocabulary. ESL students must increase their vocabulary knowledge in order to become successful in their academic endeavors in Englishmedium educational environments. This Talk discussed effective vocabulary learning strategies that ESL students can use to enhance their vocabulary acquisition and the learning of English. * Schedule may subject to change without prior notice

T

Dowry

Exhibition by Gilda Sénécal Wilson

August 18 Topic: How to become a creative, critical, and successful user of English Speaker: Park Jookyung (Korea)

This talk will introduce the meaning of EIL (English as an international language) and its implications for learning and using languages, as a good understanding and practice of EIL will serve as a key to becoming a creative, critical, and successful user of English. Issues such as dispelling ‘native speaker myth’ and promoting learner ownership will be discussed along with some hands-on tips and strategies. The speaker’s own life journey will also be shared with the audience.

August 28 Topic: Ways with Vocabulary Acquisition: Practical Suggestions for English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) Students

My investigation into objects is driven by a concern for the loss of craft and tradition of making. This is being particularly poignant at a time when there is an overabundance of mass-produced commodities.

In this body of work, through paintings and photography, I am exploring the existence of objects which, in the western tradition, were given as wedding presents.

Exhibition Period: July 28 - August 24, 2012

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feature

The Freedom Writers Written by Julian Warmington Photos by Michael Kim and Stephen Redeker

H

e catches the attention of the cheerful international student with photos of his work on the side of a train. He brings two other things to their art class: an exact reproduction of his train work on a plank of rough old wood for demonstration, and an infectious enthusiasm. Soon after that, the student, in return, catches his attention in her street-theater production on campus. Before long, they are a couple, sharing a happy delight in public displays of color-laden creativity on walls across town – until the day he is “extradited across America” – he is arrested in one state for alleged graffiti vandalism in another.

But that was many months ago, seemingly on a different planet called the city of Chicago, USA. Now, in a room of a fish restaurant in downtown Gwangju, the Bonnie and Clyde of what some call “vandalism” use a wall only to rest against, as they both sit on the floor after dinner.

Su, the chatty international student now back in her hometown leans against Zeb, the youthfully lanky, eloquent graffiti writer from the U.S. It’s the night after a hard day’s work preparing Gwangju’s own graffiti museum. The conversation flows on between the philosophy of art and the gritty reality of dusty city concrete walls. Has he corrupted her? Has she tamed him? Are they the source of all the graffiti which has appeared in Gwangju over the past months? Gwangju News spent an afternoon getting to know the Freedom Writers.

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Gwangju News August 2012

Michael Kim

The spring sun sets and sends an auburn light across the dusty crumbling walls of the city. We sit near the center of Daein Market and the couple’s newly formed base of operations: the Museum of Graffiti Art. The talk is of freedom and self expression, apt topics for Gwangju, birthplace of the modern Korean movement for democracy. Indeed, the city has recognized the pair already; despite being in town only a matter of weeks Su and Zeb have already found a space in this year’s Gwangju Biennale and have performed a piece for the opening of the 2012 Folio Show with artist Royce Ng, a friend from their time at the prestigious School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

In the meantime the “SuhperZeb” duo contribute much color downtown between the blue wall of the new culture center construction zone and Daein Market. Walking out with spray cans and paint brushes day or night, with friendly and inviting natures they have ended up recruiting passersby brave enough to ask them just what they think they’re doing. Explaining her ideas, Su sounds like a missionary spreading not some colorful corruption, but offering liberation via the spray can: it is an outlet for democratic expressiveness and creative potential otherwise dangerously repressed.

Su describes their experience in Gwangju cheerfully: “We were originally planning to go back to Chicago for school over summer, but it seems the whole of Gwangju city needs us. Graffiti is starting to be born here right now; kids are starting to interact and ask, ‘Hey, can I do it? Can you guys teach me?’ We go out almost any time, whenever we want, and drunk kids, people walking by, even a

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Michael Kim

Michael Kim

grandpa or a daddy with kids will stop and ask, ‘Hey, what is this?’ I say ‘It’s just drawing on the wall.

Do you want to try?’ and I give them a spray can.

So we definitely want to come back so we can spread more of the spirit of freedom.”

Zeb further describes the experience of “working” on the blue construction wall of the new culture center: “The next thing we know, kids are looking at us and we say ‘Hey, do you want to paint?’ Most of them at first were scared, but the next thing you know, most of them were taking the cans and they’re so awkwardly painting, not wanting to get it on their clothes. That’s how they are and that’s okay. It was exciting to see them interact with us. It was a good moment.”

This sense of liberation extends even to the rules and expectations within the realm of graffiti writers in other urban centers and cities. Su explains: “It’s really nice because we have no graffiti rules here.

Usually graffiti writers have their own society with rules: You can’t go over a “masterpiece”; you can do graffiti on a church, but you cannot on a school;

eker Stephen Red

you’re not supposed to “tag” [write your signature] on a big building. In Gwangju there are no rules and so we are building a new idea of graffiti here.”

Zeb extends the explanation of the lack of enforcement of rules in Gwangju to do with vandalism and the liberation it offers, despite the expectations of local artists their own age: “Here we haven’t found any opposition with the authorities, so we have come into this idea of non-commissioned art, just doing art without being commissioned, and, we’re not planning to put any rules on top of anyone’s ideas.”

Can art come from a spray can? Do they see themselves as graffiti artists, or graffiti writers? I ask them how they define art. Su explains the practical nature of the genre, democratic self-expression, and she returns to the need for the creative outlet that graffiti provides. She speaks of the power of art to deal with the color of the blood on the streets of 1980 Gwangju, even thirty years later. She describes their work as being an effort to shake up the dangerous dependency of young Koreans on overly Gwangju News August 2012 13

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Zeb also emphasizes the role time plays as he further elaborates on the technical aspects of tagging evolving and changing over time, describing it as the start of the path towards higher level graffiti art: “Tagging, which is [usually the writer’s name written with] just the one line, is often described as vandalism, but is the beginning which leads to a “fill-in,” and then a fill-in leads to a “straight letter” with colors, which leads to a “masterpiece” with characters and twenty to thirty colors. A lot of people have to start at the tag. The tag has stylistic features in itself. A lot of people are not willing to believe that. I think that goes back to the closed minds that we’re living around right now.”

Micha el Kim

simplistic rules.

“When I was in America I really wanted to do something for my friends because Korea has the highest suicide rate in the whole OECD. It’s really tragic here, really sad. I think it comes from fear of failure. There is a lot of gravity of doubt. They are always worrying about things. It’s really sad that in Korea, if you want to go to a dance club, there are correct things to wear, and there is this dance you’ve got to dance. There are rules. Nobody talks about it, but people do watch and then follow these rules. If you step out of these rules they look at you like you are a freak or something. That's what we are trying to break.

“It’s really sad to see young kids like teenagers and young twenty-somethings are really expecting to see some rules they can follow and then keep going, but we are completely against that. We are kind of giving a shock to the whole city.”

Graffiti writers are often viewed with an intense negativity in many western countries where even the most basic form of graffiti, known as “tagging,” is seen as a self-indulgent, self-aggrandizing form of vandalism by non-graffiti writers. “Tagging” is a super-stylized method of writing one’s own name using one single, unbroken line to form the outline of the letters of that name. It often requires a degree of interpretation to make out the individual letters and the way in which they are joined and separated. When I ask Su whether tagging is art or vandalism, she laughs and says “I think art is illegal!”

Then she references the way people’s perspectives on such questions as the inclusion of different forms within the very definition of art can change over time: “It’s not about ‘What is art?’ it’s about ‘When is art?’”

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Gwangju News August 2012

Asked what else they’d include in a "Graffiti Writer 101" course, Zeb explains how there are many different types of graffiti writers who can be distinguished in their choice of canvas, whether it is painting a train, on rooftops, or along the walls of a subway. As Zeb sees it, by following their muse to an unrequested redesigning of the blank public space of a wall or other area, the writers automatically “create a community.”

In the absence of negative pressure from traditional authorities and the law, graffiti's freedom in Gwangju is developed not in reaction to the police, but rather in relation to societal expectations. Zeb describes their motivation as follows: “What we’ve seen working Stephen Redeker with artists who’ve been successful in the past is that they are concerned with young artists in the city who don’t want to do anything unless it’s in the Biennale Hall, or unless they're going to get paid for it. We want to e m b r a c e people who feel this gravity of doubt.

What we want is to give them a space to enjoy art and

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im ael K Mich

create. Without creating, there is no imagination.

Without imagination things cannot grow, so, by doing art in places without being commissioned, on the street, in little communities that are not even aware of art, that in itself will bloom into something new.”

SuhperZeb combo of guerilla painters are democratizing art and philosophical writing in a very direct, accessible and even happy way. This is surely an appropriate place and time for Gwangju, our “City of Light,” to show and share some of the light of tolerance and understanding.

Certainly, a community spirit and concern for those who read their written work is sharply obvious in much of the creative couple’s work. Looking from the Kuntshalle towards the outside stairwell of the Chunil Building on Kumnamro, each floor’s doorway hosts one single letter. The eight levels present the perfect canvas therefore, for two four-letter words.

In English, the phrase itself “four-letter word” is a colloquial expression meaning profanity, implying a sense of negativity and aggression. So, what clearly legible four letter words did this pair of artists choose as worthy of the side of this famous old building?

Walking back towards the Graffiti Museum deep in the heart of Daein Market after dinner, we cross the road toward the southern entrance of the marketplace. Passing by an immaculately clean, empty wall Su turns suddenly, eyes wide with surprise, and exclaims: “Look, it’s clean again! They removed our writing from last night!” In less than 24 hours another positive, life-affirming, inspiring message has been scrubbed from the open canvas of the city forever. The group pauses and looks at the empty spot. There is a moment of silence, reflection and remembering; it is almost mourning.

L O V E L I F E

Then we all blink, bid farewell, and the pair of paintwriters stand on the pedals of their bicycles and slip away through the dark alleys. Passing empty fish shops and the stalls of the market place, they ponder for another evening how best to produce more beautiful, public, community forming, and thought-provoking messages for the people.

This couple of graffiti writers are not approaching their unpaid volunteer work as urban redecorators from a place of anger or rebellion at some perceived injustice against themselves. Rather, they offer a positive perspective of cheerful playfulness and self-expression. Just as the internet is described as democratizing the flow of information, the

Watch the full interview and read this text in Korean online at: gwangjunewsgic.com More images and information at: 1) the facebook group “Museum of Graffiti Art” 2) http://suhperzeb.tumblr.com/ A previous version of this article was first published in People of Korea.

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feature

AUX

Danilo Perez

Gwangju World Music Festival - A Preview Written by Doug Stuber Photos courtesy of Gwangju World Music Festival

M

ark September 7th and 8th on your calendars for a weekend to be in town, as the third annual Gwangju World Music Festival returns, offering an amazing array of world music styles and bands, most of which are free!

Bands from France, Japan, Korea, and multicultural bands formed in the U.S. but who play Balkan folk, hip-hop rock, or formed in Europe and play the very best Latin Jazz on Earth will all be here, and the headliner, Danilo Perez, from Panama who is rightfully described as “Panama’s Thelonius Monk,” will lay down some serious piano improvisation in front of his seven piece band. “The band was formed in memory of the 50th year of friendship between Korea and Panama,” Perez’ literature suggests.

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Gwangju News August 2012

From France, La Caravane Passe has been described as a “gypsy-klezmer” band that has a base in Eastern European folk music, and if that isn’t enough to tweak your interest, the younger crowd is sure to enjoy Balkan Beat Box, a band that transforms ancient Balkan folk songs into dancehall rub-a-dub hip-hop with Slavic rhythms and rarely heard instrumentation. This band also categorizes itself as a punk band. Hmm, quite a combination.

For three years running, In Jaejin, “J.J,” the musical director who also invented the Korean Jazz Festival, will include salsa-inspired Latin music with the top rated Nueva Manteca making the trek from Europe for the gig.

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Nueva Manteca

Geomungo Factory

La Caravane Passe

World music is described by In Jae Jin as music that “refers to ethno-music, folk or traditional music of a country, a race, or an ethnic group”. So how could the festival be complete without some revamped versions of Arirang and other traditional Korean songs, this time performed by jazz band Atman, an all-star Korean jazz unit led by Yim In Geon, and various pansori singers, and perhaps some traditional instrumentation as well. Another Korean band, AUX, will put completely new and hilarious spins on familiar songs, while EasterNox will add a jazz fusion take. If one catches all three of these acts, the head could be spinning to decide which modern version of the traditional music one likes the most.

For my money (or free music time) Danilo Perez is a must see, as he is one of the top living jazz pianists.

After that, Balkan Beat Box can twist my alreadydanced-out bones into a frenzy and make me

move until the next day’s round of physical therapy. But then it’s so hard to not see everything, as La Caravane Passe has got to be strong, and who could resist a little mambo/rumba/tango time with Nueva Manteca? If you’ve ever wandered by Buena Vista on your way into Speakeasy and seen how good the salsa dancing is here in town, Nueva Manteca is worth a listen just to watch everyone dance: a night at Bubble Bar this is not.

From Japan, Zaha Torte, a trio of accordion, cello and guitar, replicate the café scene in Kyoto, the city of arts, a town so brimming with talent in all fields, it makes you think of Leipzig, Germany in the 1800s (or not). Still, this festival is amazing in that it all happens in a two-day stretch, and only the headliners at the Bitgeoul Citizens’ Cultural Center cost anything. The rest is free. It’s in prime time this year, and a wonderful way to dry off outside after the monsoon/typhoon season.

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music

Feed the Boats Written by Maeve Storey Photos courtesy of Feed the Boats

I

t can’t be easy being an indie band in Korea.

Far from the realms of anything alternative, the Korean music scene is dominated by the everinfectious genre of music known as K-pop. In downtown Gwangju, the humble shopper’s senses are immediately submerged by a tidal wave of electronic beats and chirpy singers crooning – half in Korean, half in English – about love, life and designer haircuts.

And it’s not just the stereos of young Koreans that have been infiltrated by the infuriatingly catchy Kpop; it’s the very language they speak – the very language I teach them. Every morning I ask my students how they are. Their response of “fantastic,” is always followed, after a brief pause, by an exultant “baby!”

While Korea never really experienced the 1960s – in a cultural sense rather than chronologically – the levels of K-pop mania are similar to that which The Beatles experienced. Although this mania is certainly not directed at The Beatles. A friend of mine who is also a teacher once asked his class 18

Gwangju News August 2012

what they would do if they could travel back in time. One student answered, “I would kill The Beatles.” On discovering that two of them were already dead, the boy was rather, if somewhat morbidly, pleased.

So just how can an indie band compete with such murderous hoards of K-pop fans? I caught up with Gwangju’s indie-rock quintet Feed the Boats to find out. “Gwangju, for a city of one and a half million people, has very little worth mentioning when it comes to indie music,” laments drummer Dan Lloyd. Guitarist Mitch Shively notes more optimistically, “There is not a strong scene in Gwangju, a handful of rock bands and a hip-hop group. But it’s a decent start.” Jon Amey, also on guitar, agrees, saying, “It's unfair to compare the music scene here with those in the UK or the USA, which are very well-developed. I think the music scene here could be labeled ‘room for improvement’.”

Improving the music scene in Gwangju is exactly what Feed the Boats seem intent on doing. Having

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just released their first album, the band is dedicated to putting its sound on the radar. The album, also titled Feed the Boats, is an original 11track explosion of punk- and indie-rock with powerful guitar riffs and still more powerful vocals from lead singer, Jo Brooks. Reminiscent of Hole’s (Courtney Love’s band) “Doll Parts”, the album begins with “Plastic”, in which Brooks belts out the mantra, “I am selfish and fake.” Brooks rips through lyrics in the style of rock heroine Brody Dalle of the The Distillers, whom she cites as one of her influences.

Here in Korea, Brooks’ raspy vocals come as a breath of fresh air compared to the sugary tones of 2NE1. But perhaps “a breath of fresh air” isn’t the right expression – when asked what influences her singing style, Brooks jokes (or maybe she coughs), “too many cigarettes.”

According to Amey, the group formed over a few drinking sessions during which he discovered that fellow band mate, Chuck Mueller, played the bass. “It all spiraled from there,” he recalls. Now with their album recorded, produced and packaged in plastic, and with a long string of gigs behind them, the band will be taking a break from touring throughout August.

Has the glamour of the recording studio turned them against playing live? Absolutely not, insists the band. “Going into the studio was amazing,” says Amey. “But while it's awesome to have a memento to keep forever, playing shows is why this band exists.” Meanwhile, Brooks describes playing live shows as “addictive.” “I enjoy people seeing me sweat,” says the front woman. “If I'm a sweaty mess on stage, then I know that I'm working hard and trying my best to make a great show.”

When asked about their favorite tracks on the

album, the band have varied opinions from the fast paced “Welcoming All Ghosts” to the more complex “Ammonia” to “Bury the Dead” – the powerful lyrics of which were penned by Shively.

According to Amey this difference in musical opinion is central to the band’s sound, which he describes as, “a distillation of all the tastes combined.”

One thing the band does agree on when it comes to musical taste is K-pop. When asked if they like Kpop all five members give a resounding ”No.” But the band has far from shunned Korean music altogether. In fact, Feed the Boats recently recorded a cover of Korean group F.T. Island’s “Barae”. This cover just shouldn’t work, but Feed the Boats manages to add a punk edge to a track of pure bubblegum pop. Meanwhile, Brooks herself manages to belt through the lyrics so perfectly, with her gravely tone in contrast to F.T. Island’s high-pitched warbling, that you’d wonder when the band is going to release their first bilingual album. As the saying goes: “If you can’t beat them...”

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art

Gwangju Museum of Art Written by Adam Hogue Photos courtesy of Gwangju Museum of Art

A

rt is the voice of a culture.

It lives with the culture, it remembers the culture and it guides the direction in which a culture will go. Without art, a culture loses its identity. This year marks the twentieth anniversary of the Gwangju Museum of Art (GMA). This is the place where Gwangju's artistic culture comes to live, breathe and tell stories.

GMA first opened its doors on August 1, 1992 and since that day it has made a special purpose of preserving what Gwangju stands for. Every exhibition that comes through the museum places special emphasis on the theme of social justice. The curators at GMA work to bring socially conscious art work to the museum to reflect the themes that Gwangju is known for: art and human rights.

In honor of its twentieth anniversary, GMA is currently holding two exhibitions, Two Modernisms (2개의 모더니즘) and Jin Tong (진통). The exhibits emphasize an education of Korean modern art and a celebration of Korean contemporary art. This past week I had a chance to meet one of the GMA curators, Lim Jong-young and take a tour of the two exhibits. Lim Jong-young has been a curator at the museum since 2004 and prior to that he taught art and art history at Salesio Girls’ High School.

Two Modernisms explores the history of Korean modern art from the 1930s until today. The abstract and the representational come together for the purpose of education in this exhibit and they flow into one another as one walks through the gallery.

There are many notable Korean artists with work on display at GMA that are household names in Korea. Among their work is a piece that I personally love called The Women by the Inlet (갯가 의 아낙들) by Kang Yeon-gyun. Kang Yeon-gyun was himself a former director at the GMA. Perhaps the most well-known artist in Korea is Park Soo-keun. GMA has many of his pieces on display that are well-worth the visit. They are abstract and

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Gwangju News August 2012

The interior of the exhibition

gritty in texture, very interesting up close. His pieces are more concerned with the process and means of creation rather than the result or message; they embody a certain spirit of contemporary art.

It is interesting to walk through the Two Modernisms exhibition and to take note of art in the larger world context at the time. The art made around the world in the 20th Century, the modern art, all speaks the same language and it is really fascinating to see those connections.

The exhibition is small, manageable and to the point. That is one aspect of GMA that really appeals to me. It is a small museum so it has to make its point in limited space, so what we see is the bare essential art. Only the pieces that work and speak are used in the exhibitions and a lot of research and work on the part of the curators goes into making strong exhibitions that have a clear message.

When you enter the museum, you immediately notice a tree made out of old televisions. The installation is a piece by the most internationally renowned Korean artist, Paik Nam-june. Paik Namjune was a pioneer in the use of visual media and

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he is recognized as one of the premiere avantgarde artists along with his contempories Joseph Beuys, musician John Cage and dancer Merce Cunningham. For an idea of his work, check out the satellite installation, Good Morning Mr. Orwell.

The video installation by Paik is a part of the second exhibition at the museum called Jin Tong meaning “To advance, to communicate.”

However, when “Jin-tong” is said it sounds like Chinese characters meaning “asperities” or “the pain before creation.” So while the pieces in the exhibition represent progressive contemporary art, they also hold the artist in a place of being unfinished.

We are still on the edge of something and we always will be.

Jin Tong celebrates both where GMA is going and where art is going. The exhibition features Korean contemporary artists of many different genres. It is a feast for the senses. Walking through the exhibit you are met with one medium after another – video meets painting meets sculpture meets installation. The pieces speak about the culture now. They are relevant, thought provoking and representative.

The Jin Tong exhibition features many prominent artists in Korea today. Check out the work of Hong Sung-dam. He works big, which I like. His murals depict everyday life in Korea with a sort of magical-realism twist; his “Rock Band – Aejjeolsigu” is something to see up close and his “Family Map of the Urban Garden” is a great social commentary on the family dynamic in Korea today.

Park Soo-keun’s Artwork “The Way Back Home”

On the second-floor landing you are greeted by a giant, steel Darth Vader. That would be the work of Goh Geun-ho, an artist creating his sculptures right here in Gwangju. Yoon Nam-eung is another Gwangju artist on display in the Jin Tong exhibition.

Both artists have studios in and around the Daein Market area, among others in the exhibition. So a heads-up, Daein Market is worth a look if you are into or want to learn more about the Gwangju contemporary art scene.

The exhibits are an important voice in keeping the memories of culture alive as well as shedding light on where Gwangju's culture is going. GMA is doing their job of keeping art (both old and new) relevant and available to everyone here in Gwangju and they are definitely worth a visit. Check out GMA and celebrate its 20th anniversary with these two great exhibits and many more to come.

On September 6, a new exhibition opens of Chinese contemporary art along with a solo exhibition by Lee Uh-wan, who is featured in the Two Modernisms exhibit. For more information you can check out the bilingual GMA newsletter, find GMA on facebook, online or just go visit GMA in person. Also, be sure to check out the Kwak Duckjun solo exhibition on display now.

The GMA is a beautiful museum that is very

accessible to foreigners. Art is the universal language and the museum does a wonderful job of making that message clear for anyone who goes for a visit. The museum is concise, to the point and most of all a very inexpensive way to spend a Saturday afternoon (the entrance fee is merely 500 won).

The museum is located on Joongoe Park opposite the Biennale and the Gwangju Folk Museum, it is connected by trails to the Gwangju Art and Culture Museum which many buses go to (see box below for more information).

Gwangju Museum of Art Opening Hours: 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. (admission until 5:30 p.m.) (closed on Mondays) Website: artmuse.gwangju.go.kr (Korean, English) Buses: 29, 48, 63, 64, 83, 84, 85, 95 (and walk for around 500 meters)

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art

How the Art World Works, 101 Opus 1851

Staff Report Photos courtesy of Doug Stuber

W

hen you are a visual artist, especially one still painting after all the years of installations and videos and performance art have passed you by, the significance of timing, who you know and continuing to push your work can become as important as the work itself.

In May Doug Stuber was handed an exhibit space initially set up by Park Kwang-Suk, his wife, at the Jami Art Gallery in the Buk-gu district on northern Gwangju, near Chonnam National University.

Opus 1859

He sent out an invitation and 12 artists joined in the show. All were great, but one of his favorites was the photography of Anjee Di Santo. Anjee did a lot of work on the show even though she knew she couldn’t attend the opening. Doug accompanied her for a tour of the show when she was able to pop down from Jeonju, and she said “Hey, Doug! Why don’t you show at a coffee shop in Jeonju?”

Being adventuresome, and having had great success selling out of restaurants and coffee shops in the U.S. and Holland, Stuber agreed. Little did he know it was O’s Square, an amazing place, the exterior of which is landscaped like a Chosun dynasty palace, and the interior of which shows the fine work of an excellent architect.

The architect in this case, Jeon Hae-gap, also has an amazing space near Jeonju that is a huge stand alone gallery, O’s Gallery (www.osart.co.kr), and another in Damyang.

So Anjee introduced Doug to the owner and curator Lee Moon-hee of O’s square, and they chatted

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Gwangju News August 2012

about the chance to show. The coffee shop is huge, two stories, and is an amazing place to show art because patrons stick around for so long. At galleries people often rush through, fearing some type of sales pressure will come at them. The emphasis on quality exhibits was evident by looking at previous O’s Art catalogues. Stuber had group shows at the Eunam Museum of Art and Gwangju Museum of Art in 2011, but this was his first solo show in Korea.

At the June 30th reception, the jazz band “Polaroid,” who is often heard at “In the Groove” in downtown Gwangju, played two sets of very inspiring tunes.

So, the deal was made, Doug hung 21 pieces and the show was extended. His pieces will be up until around August 15. In this case, good luck plus persistence and good luck equaled a great show.

The moral of the story? If you’re an expat artist, there may be few great opportunities that come your way, and persistence pays off.

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preview

Duu-ri Beach

Yeonggwang Beopseongpo

GIC Tour with Warren

Yeonggwang Words and photos by Warren Parsons TOUR OVERVIEW Date: August 25(Sat.), 09:00-18:30 * Meeting Time and Place: 08:45 am, GIC * Itinerary: Yeonggwang Beopseongpo (Birthplace of Korean Buddhism) – Lunch (Gulbi; Dried corbina) – Baeksu Coast – Salt Farm – Duu-ri Beach (White Quartz Beach) * Tour fee: 35,000 won (members) / 45,000 won (non-members)

A

ugust is an intense month. Intense heat, humidity, and rain challenge the senses and bring out all the fragrances of summer. The fields are covered with green stalks of rice and the beaches and mountains provide respite from the heat.

The GIC tour this month visits Yeonggwang on the west coast. With wide sandy beaches, charming fishing villages, sweeping vistas of the sea from rocky cliffs, and spiritual sites from the beginning of Korea’s Buddhist history, Yeonggwang is flavored with all of the elements that make a great day of traveling.

Yeonggwang is the birthplace of Korean Buddhism and the first stop on the tour will be a museum and shrine honoring the introduction of Buddhism to the Baekje Kingdom. In 384 CE, a monk called Marananta from present-day northern Pakistan came to Korea from China, bringing with him Buddhist texts and knowledge of the then new religion. Marananta entered the mountains and founded Korea’s first temple, Bulgapsa. Buddhism spread throughout the Baekje Kingdom, Korea, and eventually to Japan. The museum has a lovely collection of Gandharan sculptures and artifacts from this important period of exchange between cultures.

Beopseong Port is a small, quiet, fishing community well known for its signature catch yellow corbina, or “gulbi”.

The fish, caught year round, is served fresh, partially dried, or fully dried. Traditionally, the most prized and expensive variety of gulbi is salted and then dried outside during the cold winter months. With the help of modern refrigeration, however, it is possible to eat this delicacy year round and anywhere on the peninsula.

For lunch, participants can enjoy gulbi jeongshik, a table full of side dishes surrounding the main dish, gulbi.

After lunch, the tour will drive along the dramatic Baeksu Coastal Road to a scenic viewpoint with a pavilion overlooking the sea. Driving further along the coast and onto the coastal plains, the group will visit a salt farm. Yeonggwang is one of Korea’s most important sea salt producers. Salt is essential, and a fundamental part of Korean cooking and food preservation. Without good salt, it is impossible to make Korean staples such as kimchi, soybean paste, and red pepper paste. At the saltern, participants can learn the traditional way of making sea salt through a hands-on experience!

Finally, at White Quartz Beach, a unique place with giant white outcroppings emerging from the sand and the waves of the Yellow Sea, it is easy to enjoy the beauty of nature and cool off in the water.

Come out and enjoy a full day of food, culture, and scenery with the GIC Tour!

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community

The Ngoc sisters

Multicultural Families in Gwangju The Hamiltons

Written by BreeAnn Cowger Photos by Christian Oey (Nhi Liu Ngoc, Lien Liu Ngoc, and Thanh Liu Ngoc) and David Cowger (Jeff Hamilton, Park Jeong Yun & Hugh Hamilton) See the video for this article online at: www.gwangjunewsgic.com

“L

ove knows no bounds,” is a saying that has rung true for centuries. Love has overcome borders and languages before poets have even been able to write about it, and when these kinds of relationships bloom, they can become inspiring to all those who are privileged enough to be near them.

Gwangju News had the opportunity to hear some unique stories from individuals who have been able to bridge two cultures seamlessly, connecting families across continents and languages. In a city like Gwangju, where people from all over the world live and work, these multicultural connections are more common than some may think.

Nhi Liu Ngoc, Lien Liu Ngoc, and Thanh Liu Ngoc are three Vietnamese sisters who live in Gwangju.

All three sisters are married to Korean men, and all three share a unique closeness and perspective that comes with their collective experiences. Their

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journey to Korea began when they were young.

They had an older cousin who had married a Korean, and through their aunt and cousin, they began to hear about the opportunities that existed in Korea. Their relatives spoke highly of the Korean lifestyle, and Korean men, so when it was time for the two oldest sisters to think about marriage, their aunt arranged for them to meet the two Korean men who eventually became their husbands.

The early steps of any budding relationship can sometimes be hesitant, but the added barriers of different languages and cultures made for an interesting first few months for the sisters. They often communicated with their significant others in three different languages – pieces of Vietnamese, Korean, and English mixed together. Lien describes their early dates as always being accompanied by a Vietnamese-to-Korean dictionary. She also

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The sisters and their children

described a lot of gesturing and body language used in their attempts to communicate.

or American standards (“Elvis” even walked Jeong Yun down the aisle), but it was a memorable one.

The youngest sister, Thanh, arrived in 2010, after her sisters introduced her to a Korean man whom she later married. As they all recalled their early days in Korea, the sisters spoke positively of the changes and adjustments made, because they knew they were in a country that held promise and opportunity for them. All three sisters praised the Korean education system, and knew that their children would have a great education if they were raised in Korea. They also spoke highly of their extended family, and felt that their Korean in-laws welcomed each of them with open arms.

When their son Hugh was born, Jeff and Jeong Yun carefully considered what would be best for their family. They chose to come back to Korea in the hopes of giving their child and any children they might have in the future a well-rounded identity.

They wanted their son to be comfortable in both countries, and to be able to relate to both cultures. “I’ve read so much about KoreanAmericans who lack their identity,” says Jeff. We wanted to make sure our children felt comfortable in saying ‘yes, I am Korean’ and ‘yes, I am American.’” Jeff and Jeong Yun plan to live in Korea for a few years, and then will eventually move back to the U.S., and hope their family will see both places as home.

Life has changed noticeably for the three sisters since they first arrived in Korea. The two oldest have been able to learn the language (with Thanh making great progress as she takes classes), cook the food, and even give back to the community that has welcomed them. Nhi now gives her time to serve coffee at the Gwangju Support Center for Immigrant Women. The sisters are grateful for all Korea has to offer and for all the potential the future still holds.

Another couple that has artfully combined their past experiences into a unique family is Jeff Hamilton from New Hampshire and Park Jeong Yun from Gwangju. They have a son named Hugh. The pair met in 2002 when Jeff landed a last-minute job at a hagwon where Jeong Yun worked. When it was time for Jeff to return to the U.S., Jeong Yun came along with him. They were married in Vegas in 2004 in a ceremony which focused on the celebratory and adventurous nature of their love. It was a wedding that was non-traditional by Korean

Jeff and Jeong Yun have naturally combined their past experiences to form their new family unit. They encourage Hugh to speak English and Korean, and they enjoy eating both American and Korean meals at home. They celebrate holidays from both cultures, and enjoy sharing those holidays with family and friends. Their experiences in Korea have been positive, and their perspective can be applied to how the world around us is changing.

“How do you define culture?” Jeff asks at the start of the interview. “Culture has dissipated as we become a more global society. What is influenced by upbringing and experiences, and what is culture?” As the world shifts and merges around us, maybe it is up to each family to instill love and pass on the stories that make them unique. Because, in the end, a culture of love is the best thing that can be handed down in any family.

Gwangju News August 2012

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community

The Beauty y of Diversity y A multicultural family photo essay Special thanks to the contributing families!

Yun Seon Nyeo (Chinese), has been living in Korea since 2005, has a daughter and a son, and lives in Seo-gu, Gwangju

Nhi Liu Ngoc, Lien Liu Ngoc and Thanh Liu Ngoc (Vietnamese), are sisters and married to Koreans and live in Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju. Read their stories on page 24

Carolyn (Filipina), has been living in Korea since 2006, has two daughters and lives in Nam-gu, Gwangju

Maila Remollo (Filipina), has been living in Korea since 2007, has two daughters and lives in Nam-gu, Gwangju.

Darlie Casas (Filipina), has been living in Korea since 2009, has a son and lives in Seogu, Gwangju

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Chris Wilson (Canada), has been living in Korea for three years, and is expecting their first child

Kang Sokni (Cambodia), has been living in Korea since 2006, has two children and lives in Nam-gu, Gwangju

Shakhlo (Uzbekistan), currently lives in Seo-gu, Gwangju

Gretchen Gabriel Barretto (Filipina), has been living in Korea since 2007, has two daughters and lives in Nam-gu, Gwangju

Bich Thuy (Vietnamese), has been living in Korea since 2006, has two sons and lives in Seo-gu, Gwangju

Annabel Balsomo (Filipina), has two daughters and lives in Seo-gu, Gwangju Gwangju News August 2012

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PHOTO CONTEST Submit your best shot of Korea!

To enter the Photo Contest, simply send your name, photo and picture description to gwangjunews@gmail.com.

The Photo of the Month will be displayed at the GIC for that month.

Photo of the Month

Line of Buddhas Photo by Owen Kerr

Heart Beach Photo by Brittany Baker 28

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Gwangju News’ photo contest was judged by Mark Eaton.

Mark Eaton has exhibited his photographic work in art galleries as well as other public and private venues in the United States and South Korea.

You can view his photography at eatonmark.com

On the Path to Bulgapsa Photo by Kamolwan Chaiputta

All Pigs Go to Heaven Photo by Rani Cheema

Gwangju News August 2012

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Photo E ssay

By Gabriel Ward

abriel has been living in Gwangju since mid 2009.

He has always had a wide appreciation of the arts, but it was only at the beginning of this year when he really started to enjoy photography as a hobby.

You can check out more of his photos at www.gabeward.wordpress.com.

G

LIGHT Taken looking out the window in the stairwell of my apartment building. I really enjoy the light in this photo.

EVENING EXPLORATION Inside an abandoned apartment building one Friday evening. When I look at this I’m reminded of the wind whistling down the stairwells.

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BLUE I love the blue tinge in this photo and can imagine kids swinging on those swings in times gone by.

CONTRAST This tree is near my house, I love the contrast in this photo.

Gwangju News August 2012

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music

In the Groove

The Search for Jazz in Gwangju Written by Maeve Storey Photos by Christian Oey

IN THE GROOVE 인더그루브 Address: 90-4 Hwanggeum-dong, Dong-gu, Gwangju Tel: 062-227-7959 Directions: Underground between former Grand Hotel and First Nepal restaurant Buses: 09, 12, 36, 45, 51, 55, 57, 58, 61, 80, 95, 98, 151, 419, 1000 (get off at Culture Complex station)

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“O

h, look, we live in the jazz and seafood district.” I exclaimed to my boyfriend on our fourth day in Gwangju. While out exploring, we had reached an area where an explosion of neon signs burnt the letters “J-A-Z-Z” onto our retinas, while outside each restaurant a veritable aquarium of sea life was on offer.

I could get used to this, I thought, picturing myself in a spot-lit bar, the fingers on my right-hand clicking along to the sounds of Davis and Coltrane; the fingers on my left-hand curled greedily around a greasy pink lobster.

I would soon discover, however, that while lobster (and any other creature found in The Little Mermaid) is as widely available as a glass of water, jazz is a little harder to find in Gwangju. The so-called jazz bars in my area have a great deal less to do with jazz than they do with attractive hostesses. Not a single saxophone solo within earshot. Instead, the click and clacking of high heels echo across the bar.

With this in mind, I was skeptical about spending an evening at Gwangju’s In the Groove jazz bar.

Tucked away in a downtown basement, from the outside In the Groove doesn’t look like much.

Inside, however, exposed concrete walls, dim

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lighting and ruby-red sofas give the bar the feel of a rough gem, a relaxed hideaway.

On all four walls, warm yellow lamps add a glow to faded black-and-white photographs of jazz musicians mid-solo. Behind the bar an assortment of kitsch memorabilia – a gold statue of the Eiffel Tower, some old fashioned wooden children’s toys – sit side-by-side with an extensive CD collection.

The bar’s vibe is decidedly vintage.

A jazz quartet called Polaroid begins to play just a few meters from my bar stool. I sip a brightly colored cocktail from a tall glass. The crowd, all Koreans in their mid-20s and 30s, clap, cheer and bop along to the music. The quartet, featuring a bassist, drummer, saxophonist and pianist, cruise easily through a number of jazz standards before taking a break to wet their whistles with a drink or two. When the band returns to the stage (a small

inlet framed by gold drapes, distinguished from the rest of the bar by a patterned rug), the saxophonist announces that they will now perform “Someday my Prince Will Come”. My fingers click to the smooth drum beat.

The cocktail menu at In the Groove is extensive, but the prices are equally large at 10,000 won a go. Beer ranges from 6,000 won for a Cass to 12,000 won for a Guinness, and, as in most bars in Korea, a range of side dishes can be ordered.

When it’s time to go, I climb back up the stairs to the street. Bright lights assault my senses after the soothing lemon tones of the bar below. I walk past nightclubs. I hear familiar K-pop beats. I continue to hum to the sound of a soaring saxophone.

See more photos online at: www.gwangjunewsgic.com

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Home Pages Want to write about news from your country?

Contact the Editor for more information: gwangjunews@gmail.com.

U.S.A.

Brazil

New Zealand

By Aisha Hobbs

By Rodrigo Bundchen

By JJ Parkes

A Penny Saved. . . . . . is a penny earned! This sage wisdom was put to the test by Massachusetts resident Thomas Daigle, who decided to make his last mortgage payment memorable. He collected, counted, and rolled over 62,000 pennies over a period of 35 years.

To be fair, he did let his mortgage broker know ahead of time before delivering two 400-pound (181.4 kilogram) boxes to Milford Federal Savings and Loan. Sandra, his wife, says she could only laugh every time he found one. Thanks Mr. Daigle, for reminding us all that being a patient “penny pincher,” can really pay off!

Prisoners Read their Way Out of Jail Brazil is to start to offer some inmates in its national prison system a way of lessening the length of their visits behind bars.

Federal judges will decree a reduction of four days spent in jail for every book read while incarcerated. The government publicly announced that the offer has a limit of twelve books and thus a potential total of forty-eight days sentence reduction per year. Not every inmate is eligible to join the reading program, which has been named “Redemption through Reading.” Furthermore, at the time of publication there was no response to enquiries by Gwangju News to the Supreme Court as to whether Sweet Valley High and Nancy Drew would be counted individually as worthy of a four-day reprieve.

Stray Cat Saves Life Dawn Bennie was home alone in the kitchen one night when her house started to burn down around her. As the kitchen door was shut and she is partially deaf, she did not hear the smoke alarms go off outside the door. She did, however, notice the friendly neighborhood stray cat that would usually come up to her legs. The night when she smelled smoke and thought it was just the coal range, the nameless cat started “freaking out” and trying to get her out of the house. As a result, she thought again about the smoke, and when she realized it was from a fire she kept all her doors closed and phoned the fire brigade from outside. By the time they arrived at about one a.m., most of the house was destroyed, but Dawn was safe outside with the mysterious friendly cat hero.

Korea

By Park In-hee

Bird Brain Makes Owner Famous Nan Ji-hae has been playing, talking with and whistling to Lala for ten years now. Lala is an African grey parrot. One day a couple of years ago when Ji-hae took him out of his cage, Lala whistled back to her in the same way she had at him. She realized he had a great sense of sound. Now Lala entertains visitors to Seoul’s zoo with his mimicry of Hollywood horror movie screams, electronic computer beeps, and cat meows, amongst other sounds. Ji-hae is currently teaching Lala the entire lyrics to Bohemian Rhapsody.

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England

India

Ireland

By Stevie Jenkins

By Sreejith

By Patrick Conway

In an English Country Garden A woman in the small country town of Todmorden, in West Yorkshire, England, has started a movement of growing and giving away her vegetables to anyone in town that wants them. It took passersby and random strangers about six months to realize that one Mary Clear was serious about them helping themselves freely. Since then, as news of her strange habit has spread, people in other towns have been inspired to also grow their own food and then share it openly.

Meanwhile in Todmorden, using small garden plots in front and back yards, even the local police station contributes to the new movement for the health and food safety of people who live locally. The movement has been dubbed "Incredible Edible," and as a result, the people of the local town expect to be entirely self sufficient in terms of food within six years.

Western Ghats designated as World Heritage Site by UNESCO Western Ghats mountain chain in India, which covers an area of about 160,000 square kilometers (61,776 square miles), was added to the list of world heritage sites by the United Nations. It is now recognized as one of the world's eight 'hottest hotspots' of biological diversity. The chain's forests influence the Indian monsoon weather pattern. It has forests older than the Himalayan Mountains.

According to UNESCO, “It presents one of the best examples of the monsoon system in the planet. The site also has an exceptionally high level of biological diversity and endemism.” The forests include non-equatorial tropical evergreen forests and are home to at least 325 globally threatened flora, fauna, bird, amphibian, reptile and fish species.

Cosy!

The Irish have been voting again on another national past-time.

Last time it was about where to eat chips. This time it's the everpresent cup of tea. Of course, you can't make a decent cup of tea without a teapot, and if your neighbour is dropping by, you want to have a good-looking teapot on display. Hence, the phenomenon of the tea cosy – the Irish people were polled on the most interesting tea cosy in the land. The competition was launched by Craft Festival 2012 with results to follow. The tea cosy depicting Irish President, Michael 'Tea' Higgins, will surely be a strong contender.

Nepal

By Nipun Tamrakar

‘The Little Buddha’ Update The much-hyped reincarnation of Buddha, Ram Bahadur Bamjan (known as "The Little Buddha") was highlighted by international media when he began his mysterious meditation without food and water for months back in May 2005. Thousands of devotees began to flood to the Ratanpur Jungle to visit this new Buddha.

Bamjan’s popularity declined with time, as rumors surfaced about him violently beating villagers and friends who interfered with his meditations. Bamjan has since left the jungle and his whereabouts are unknown. The local government has demolished structures built around his place of meditation in order to spare the forest from further encroachment.

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environment

Fukushima: A Tsunami of Radioactive Seafood?

Written by Matt Furlane

T

he world’s oceans are an immense ecosystem and a complex balance of forces that help create and sustain an abundance of aquatic life. In the Pacific Ocean, numerous species are harvested year round to help sustain large populations in countries in and around the Pacific Rim including Japan, the Philippines, and South Korea. The Korean peninsula is home to 75 million people and surrounded by the Yellow Sea to the west, the East Sea to the east, and the Korean Strait which connects both bodies of water to the East China Sea and the Pacific. The most common short-term threats to these seas have been industrial run-off from China, oil spills and overfishing.

Thankfully, threats to the natural fisheries surrounding Korea have been limited and Korean seafood is not only delicious but safe to eat.

But on March 11, 2011 at 2:46 p.m. a nine-point earthquake struck off the coast of northern Japan.

The resulting tsunami killed 20,000 people and set off a chain of events that, combined with the ineptitude of the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), lead to three reactors melting down at the Fukushima nuclear power plant. Like Chernobyl, the resulting radiation leaks have contaminated not only the surrounding land but also the rest of the surrounding area by air and sea. In May 2012 a disturbing report in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences stated that trace amounts of Cesium-134 and Cesium-137 were found in Pacific bluefin tuna.

To fully understand the significance of this report, it's important to understand three things: ocean currents, Pacific bluefin tuna, and radiation.

First, Pacific Ocean currents run clockwise above the equator and are stronger near Fukushima.

According to ASR Limited, an oceanic consulting firm, computer modeling based on estimates of the total tonnage of radioactive water dumped into the ocean shows that radioactive particles may have spread northeast from Japan deep into the Pacific. After just one year, it is estimated that this water has been carried as far as Alaska and will continue to follow currents down the California

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coast and around the Pacific. Also contributing to fears of the spread of radioactive material is the abundance of tsunami debris that has begun to wash up on distant shores. Fishing boats, storage containers, soccer balls and even motorcycles have washed ashore on North American coasts already. According to researchers from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), we have approximately 12-24 months before the Fukishima radiation crosses the Pacific. During that time all manner of sea life including wild salmon, crab, shrimp, krill, squid, and plankton will be absorbing radiation.

Second, Pacific bluefin tuna are the New York steak of the ocean. They are warm blooded, can live over 15 years, grow up to 10 feet long (three meters), weigh up to 1,000 pounds (455 kilograms), and swim at burst speeds up to 30 miles per hour (48 kilometers per hour). One slice of bluefin “otoro” (tuna belly) can cost up to 25 dollars (USD) at a Tokyo restaurant. And in January 2012, Kiyoshi Kimura, president of Kiyomura Co., which runs the Sushi-Zanmai restaurants, paid 735,000 dollars for an entire 593-pound (269-kilogram) bluefin. But more importantly Pacific bluefin spawn off the coasts of Japan and migrate east toward California in search of better feeding grounds. Because of their speed and size they are a major part of the food chain consuming things like squid, mackerel and herring.

So imagine fish that swam through irradiated waters for 6,000 miles being caught and sliced and served to thousands of people and you can understand the magnitude of the problem.

And lastly, there is radiation. When the Fukushima nuclear reactors melted down they released Cesium-134, Cesium-137, and Iodine-131 into the air and sea. Iodine-131 dissipates within eight days but Cesium-134 takes two years to decay and Cesium137 takes 30 years to decay. As the radiation starts to seep into the ground and food chain it eventually gets onto the dinner plates of human beings and can cause Thyroid cancers, Leukemia, and birth defects. For the Japanese, who consume so much seafood, this does not bode well for the future. But what about the rest of the Pacific nations

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and Korea or North America? Their fate depends how long it takes for the radiation to come full circle in the Pacific and how it spreads in the food chain. To be fair, radiation discovered thus far outside of Japan has been less than a chest x-ray, 15-hour flight (you absorb cosmic radiation on an airplane), or Radon-222 that is in many American homes. But the issue isn't necessarily how big the dose is but the fact that it is in the food supply, and no one can say with assurance what the consequences are of long-term exposure to this low-level radiation caused by eating contaminated seafood.

nations that have been proactive in banning Japanese food imports for fear of radioactive contamination, but these bans are useless if the Pacific food chain has been compromised.

To this day trace amounts of radiation from nuclear tests conducted in the Pacific during the 1960's are still found in ocean fish. Add to that our chest x-rays, dental x-rays, multiple international flights with full body airport security scans and we will all be glowing in the dark. For the present moment everyone can enjoy eating seafood harvested near Korean shores but in the near future we might need to buy a portable Geiger counter just to be safe.

Eventually, we not only will have to measure calories in our food but radiation levels in our bodies. The initial 2011 reports about irradiated sea life were based on the first five months after the tsunami and more extensive studies will be coming out in 2012 or later. Some of these studies will look for other forms of radiation like Strontium-90. It's these studies that Koreans and nations in the Pacific Rim should be concerned about. Thailand, the Philippines, and Malaysia are just some of the

Gwangju News August 2012

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environment

Endangered Species in Korea Written by Rachel Redfern

T

he extinction of a species can be nothing but devastating and unfortunately, all of us who have been witnesses to the recent death of Lonesome George, the last Pinta Tortoise, have shared in that remorse. A 100-year-old essential member of the world’s ecology has just passed away, though with this sad event, we find a renewed energy in our efforts of conservation for endangered species like him. The strong drive for conservation in Korea has come after its own troubled past with endangered species, many of which were hunted onto the endangered species list, the Korean tiger being a prime example of this.

The story of the Korean tiger (technically called the Amur tiger, but now known as the Siberian tiger) features prominently in the creation myth of Korea and its subsequent legends, folktales and symbolism; Koreans also believe that the shape of Korea is like that of tiger. During its time here in Korea, the Korean tiger was the largest of all the felids (cat species) and served as an integral part of the Korean ecosystem and identity. The problem is that due to wars, expansion and hunting (Chinese medicine believes that there are uses for tiger bone), the Korean tiger is believed to have became extinct in South Korea sometime between 1922 and 1944. Heat traps have been placed in the Demilitarized Zone (one of Korea’s most protected and prolific game reserves); however, no tigers have ever been recorded. Some say that there might be a few Korean tigers still left in the mountains of North Korea, although sightings are so rare.

Half a century ago, the population of these tigers was at an unbelievable low: 40 tigers in the wild.

Now, there are somewhere between 430-550 tigers in the wild, virtually all living in eastern Russia, near the borders of China and North Korea. While the positive expansion of the Siberian tiger population is due mostly to Russian conservation efforts, there is still a need for further development, since Siberian tigers are subject to heavy poaching in the wild.

There are currently over 80 endangered species

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living in Korea, most of which are birds, though there are also the more exotic leopards and Asiatic Black Bears (which are about an eight on the cuddly, cute scale and a full ten in the “looks like a rug” category). The Asiatic Black Bears as well are an exciting part of southern South Korea, since Mt. Jiri (Jirisan) National Park, a mere two hours’ drive from Gwangju, is the home of these aggressive, mid-size bears.

The Asiatic Black Bear however, is something of a contradictory story in South Korea. After their numbers dwindled to nonexistence in the wild, researchers working with Russia imported several of the bears to Jirisan National Park where the Jirisan Species Restoration Center (only a short trip from Hwaeom Temple) currently has 19 bears thriving in the wild. Yet, even though there are conservationists actively trying to rebuild the Asiatic Bear population in the wild, there are literally thousands of bears kept in captivity by Korean businesses in Ha Long City, Vietnam, where their bile is extracted and sold to Korean tourists to increase health and sexual vitality. These activities are illegal according to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora; however, there are at least 10 bear farms in Vietnam’s Quang Ninh Province where, in a period of just ten days, approximately 1,500 Korean tourists purchase bear bile.

The incredibly endangered Amur leopard (sometimes known as the Korean leopard) exists most notably on the border between China and North Korea. Of this particular subspecies of leopard, there are only 30 wild cats left in the world, and perhaps there are even a few more located in the mountains of North Korea. Obviously however, researchers have not been able to survey that area.

However, the more common Korean leopard cat and Eurasian otter, while significantly less glamorous and nowhere near as famous, reside on Gwangju’s very own Mt. Mudeung and are indeed a somewhat engendered species. The leopard cat

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Far left: White-naped cranes Left: Asiatic black bear Below: Siberian Tiger

Photos: Wikimedia Commons

looks exactly like it sounds: a very small leopard or a slightly larger housecat with leopard markings on it.

While the leopard cat still flourishes in some parts of the world, they are often hunted for their skins and their body parts sold for medicinal purposes – there is even a Japanese subspecies of the Korean leopard cat which has been put on the critically endangered list because it has been so hunted throughout its history. The Eurasian river otter also makes its home on Mudeungsan, and while elusive, it plays an important part in the ecological maintenance of Jeollanam-do.

However, a new proponent for conservation has emerged: Diego. Diego is a 100-year-old member of another subspecies of Galapagos tortoise, once located at the San Diego Zoo and now living in a breeding corral on the Galapagos Island of Santa Cruz. Unlike Lonesome George, researchers have been able to successfully repopulate Diego's species; where once there were less than a dozen, there are now thousands. This hopeful case of effective repopulation sends us an important message: just because we reach the edge, that doesn’t mean there has to be an ending.

The true success story of conservation in Korea, and perhaps the most ironic, is the importance of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in Korea’s wildlife preservation efforts. Because the DMZ has been virtually untouched since the 1950s, the symbolic strip of land bordering North and South Korea is home to dozens of engendered species; its thriving bird population is impressive and important to the future of many animals. The world's most dangerous border has also become one of the world’s most important conservation sites for the white-naped crane, the hooded crane, the Manchurian crane, the white-bellied woodpecker, and dozens of others species.

Interested in conservation? A visit to the Jirisan Species Restoration Center is a quick drive from Gwangju where you can even see several of the bears (as they do hibernate in the winter, visit in spring or summer). www.amur-leopard.org also features information about the big cats and opportunities to donate.

After the death of Lonesome George, many mourned the loss to the Galapagos Island diversity.

Currently, the DMZ Forum (an organization concerned with the preservation of the zone) would like to petition to have the DMZ turned into a peace park memorial and a World Heritage Site in an effort to not only promote peace between North and South Korea, but to protect the wildlife reserve that the DMZ has become. Information is available on their website, www.dmzforum.org.

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culture

SWASTIKAS: The Wheels of Time Written by C. Adam Volle

J

ust this past January, Ms. Kim Young-sook got into a bit of trouble. The Korean owner of a jewelry shop in New York City, she seemingly turned the entire metropolis against herself by selling a pair of earrings that looked like swastikas.

A city councilman personally demanded she remove the offending earrings from her shelves, despite her protests that in Tibet, the country from which she’d purchased them, the swastika signifies a Buddhist’s conception of eternity.

In the Republic of Korea, migukin (Americans) are necessarily more understanding. Yes, many do raise their eyebrows the first time they notice a Korean poster or temple emblazoned with that stylized shuriken shape. But that’s mainly just due to the novelty of seeing those four equilateral blades with their own two eyes, since the symbol they form is so despised in their part of the world that it’s nearly nonexistent outside of their books and films. They nevertheless grasp that in East Asia, the last thing any emblem is likely to represent is the racist ideology of a 20th-century German named Adolf Hitler. What foreigners don’t grasp is how much the swastika means instead, and how far back its traditions go. If they did, they might go so far as to advocate its return.

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As with so much else, the swastika, or man (만 from 만자 (卍字)) is said to have arrived in Korea with the Buddha, who supposedly bore the sigil upon both his heart and his feet. This is why the swastika marks the location of Buddhist temples on modern maps, including Google Earth. It was introduced by the Chinese missionaries as indicative of “good fortune” and “well-being”, two related concepts in any theology involving karma. China – and by extension, Korea - soon also adopted its left-facing version as a chinese character (hanja) meaning “countless”, which was highly appropriate since that was how many other meanings it seemed to have. Depending on its context and direction you may still today hear someone describe it as a design for truth, mercy, love, strength, intellect, eternity, the sun, the Buddha, Buddhism itself, and so on.

To weed out whichever of these beliefs are extraneous hangers-on, we might consider looking to India. It is, after all, the home of the language from which the word “swastika” comes (in Sanskrit, sua- means “good,” -asti “to be” -ka is a suffix), as well as Hinduism, the other swastika-associated faith. The region’s history with the sign is long as well – extraordinarily long. The residents of the Indus

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Valley were etching the swastika into their buildings’ surfaces while Mesopotamians were developing the world’s first written language. They must have possessed it for far longer than that too, because during that same period of history, their blood relations, a nameless people whom scholars have dubbed the “Proto-Indo-Europeans”, were flooding into Europe to become the linguistic ancestors of almost every people living there today. With them they carried the swastikaadorned pottery which Adolf Hitler would find so inspirational 5,400 years later.

And yet, when these ancestors of swastika-loving Celts, Norsemen, Greeks, and Romans migrated into the Balkans, they found an aboriginal people living there who had already incorporated that mark into their own primitive script, an entire millennium earlier. Nor were they alone: tribes in Egypt, Crete, the Ukraine, and China were all apparently familiar with the “wheel” as far back as 10,000 years ago. One archaeological dig has unearthed a small swastika-festooned statue cut from the ivory of a mammoth tusk.

We still haven’t reached the end of the trail, however. For when the descendants of the ProtoIndo-Europeans sailed to the continents of North and South America, what do you think they found? Yes – the spinning wheel appeared throughout the Northeast, along the Mississippi River, and deep into the American Southwest, among First Nations as diverse as the Navajo and Hopi. According to the latter, the spiral represents their physical migration.

If the Native-Americans received the swastika design by cultural transmission, that makes its use as old as the human migration across the land which once bridged Russia and Alaska 15,00040,000 years ago. It would be one of the oldest symbols devised by the human race. Homo sapiens may have drawn it while Neanderthals still walked the Earth.

Or maybe they didn’t. Maybe the NativeAmericans came up with their version independently. We just don’t know, because for now and possibly forever, the swastika is a symbol with a history extending so far back into our collective past that its origin and initial meaning are lost to us.

But that being the case, Ms. Kim Young-sook’s definition of “eternity” seems quite fitting, doesn’t it?

Gwangju News August 2012

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culture

Behind the Myth: Exploring Korean Tradition This series of articles will shed light on some Korean myths, folklore, traditions and superstitions. Every country has their own share of beliefs, fact or fiction, and many foreigners living in Korea are yet to hear or understand the basis of various Korean beliefs as they become apparent.

Eating Apples at Night Written by Stephen Redeker

Image: http://cafe24.com

“A

n apple a day keeps the doctor away.” This adage is taught to most Western children as a way of verbalizing that apples are very healthy to eat. In theory, if we eat an apple every day, we will be so healthy that we won’t need a doctor. Although this is an exaggeration of the health benefits of apples, we can all agree that this is one healthy fruit. Koreans also have the same belief, but there is one exception.

It’s believed in Korea that eating an apple at night is actually unhealthy as it would be difficult for one’s stomach to digest, hence indigestion. This would lead to a sick feeling and make it difficult to get a good night’s sleep. The origins of this theory are unknown, but this belief seems to be wellknown in Korea. There are Koreans who have said that they’ve heard about this from an elder at some point in their life. A few of those believe it and refrain from eating 사과 “sagwa” (apples) at night.

The fact that apples are very healthy is no mystery, but does that change when eating them at night?

Eating food before going to sleep is generally a bad idea because foods that are spicy, heavy or fatty will make it difficult to sleep soundly. Apples, however, have none of those properties and are actually filled with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants that are beneficial for sleeping.

Specifically, they contain vitamins C, B6 potassium.

Apples help to decrease blood pressure, improve breathing and lower blood sugar. They also help the body to secrete serotonin causing the nerves

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to relax more easily. All of that provides for a good night’s rest.

There are also polyphenols (antioxidants) which are found mainly in the skin of apples. They assist the body in breaking down carbohydrates and regulating blood sugar, providing a steady level of energy (so you don’t stay up due to an energy spike). That causes body fat to burn steadily, all while you are sleeping.

Most of an apple is really just water, but there is enough fiber to help you feel full as you sleep. This fiber is also good for digestion and aids in cleansing the colon. The fiber is easily digested and soluble in the intestines. If anything is unhealthy, it could be the fact that apples contain a natural sugar and account for about 10% of the body’s carbohydrate needs. However, combined with all the other healthy properties, the good far outweighs the bad.

If all these facts are to be believed, then an apple at night is actually very healthy and helpful to eat due to the fiber, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants which help the body to feel full, relaxed and keep blood pressure and sugar levels stable. The apple is a great snack to have before going to bed. Try it for yourself and see if you can feel and enjoy it. Let’s make a new slogan for apples: “An apple at night makes the body feel alright!”

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language study

Letters to KOTESOL

By Dr. Dave Shaffer

If you have a question for Dr. Dave, please send an e-mail to gwangjunews@gmail.com letting us know your question, students’ age and proficiency level.

Dear Dr. Dave, I work in a university where I teach English to students of various departments. At times, students don’t meet the requirements to pass the course, so I give them failing grades. However, on occasion, these grades are contested by the students and department heads. I always stand my ground as I feel I give these students many chances throughout the semester to improve on their performances, but they only respond in the final hour when it really is too late – they seem to think that in one day they can make up for 15 weeks of poor attendance, test results, and class participation.

Recently, I’ve started to feel pressured to change grades as my director and admin staff get involved.

Plus, my colleagues, when in the same situation, cave in or don’t give failing grades at all just to avoid being asked to change them. I even had one co-worker tell me that I’m going to be seen as a “trouble-maker” by other departments. I really want to maintain educational standards, but I also don’t want to rock the boat. Should I just go along with the crowd?

Troubled Dear Troubled, I applaud your dedication to upholding educational standards. But let us first consider what is meant by the term. Whose educational standards do you want to maintain? Are they a set of standards that you have shaped as your own over time through personal experiences? Are they the educational standards of an equivalent institution in the educational system that you went through as a student? Or are they the educational standards of Korea for the type of institution you are teaching at? My guess is that your answer might be “yes” to one or both of the first two questions but not to the third one. An educator should be informed of the standards of the educational system in which they are working and strive to maintain those standards.

The foreign teacher coming into the Korean 44

Gwangju News August 2012

educational system is often not well informed of the standards of the system and instead fills gaps with standards from the foreign system they are accustomed to. Rather, one should make an effort to find out what the standards for their present school or school system are. They will be in print form somewhere. Is the required attendance 75% in order to pass a course? Is the punishment for cheating on a midterm test a test grade of F? Is the punishment for cheating on a final exam a course grade of F? If you are being challenged by students and questioned by department heads, you need documentation. Of course, keep attendance records, and test and homework scores, but also keep a log of student progress/behavior, at least for the students who you think might be lax in their work.

Document warnings you give them (when given, and for what) and record the results of the warnings.

Document assignments not submitted on time.

Document poor class participation, etc. When your grades are questioned, you will be able to produce your log of documented poor production on the part of the student. If your supervisors view your documentation, and are upstanding educators, your grades will stand.

Dr. Dave Dear Dr Dave, I’ve been teaching elementary school-aged children for about two years now, and for a change, I’m considering applying for a university job. However, I’ve never taught adults before. What can I expect?

Mr. M Dear Mr. M, At the university level, you can expect to find students who actually use their seats for sitting and who use their desktops for sleeping. That is, the intensity level that you are used to will be missing with young adult students, and if you are teaching freshman required general English courses, you can expect the motivation to learn English low for many of the

August2012_5 2012.7.266:21PM Page45

students in some majors. Rather than having to shush your students from yelling out the answers to your questions too loudly, you may have to act as a dentist to extract an answer from a student. You may also experience a level of social maturity lower than what you would expect from freshmen in an Englishspeaking Western country.

On the other hand, you will find a student with a head full of grammar rules (though not all are wellformed). You will find a student with a large English lexicon (though not all the words will have properly formed meanings). You will find a student who is good at spelling and not bashful in pointing out the instructor’s misspellings on the board. You will also find that you can shape your lessons around more mature topics and pursue them in deeper detail.

You will find that while some of your students have a full schedule of studying, others fill most of their out-ofclass hours in front of a computer-game screen, a store-front window, or a bottle of soju. You will find that while some have a reasonable self-directed language study program, others don’t really know what autonomous learning is and will need your assistance in learning about how to go about language learning out of class.

As with students of any age or proficiency level, there is an upside and a downside to teaching university students. As educators, it is our job to concentrate on the upside and strive to lessen the downside.

Dr. Dave Dear Dr. Dave, I’ve been asked to teach a pronunciation class next semester, and I’m not sure how to go about designing the curriculum. I’ve incorporated pronunciation into speaking classes before, but I’ve never taught it as the main focus for a 15-week program. Do you know any good books I could follow? What would be a good way to sequence the course?

Miss Anon Dear Miss Anon, It’s good to design a course around a coursebook, especially up through intermediate level. Koreans cling to the perceived structure that a coursebook provides, so I would suggest something like Cambridge’s Clear Speech (3rd ed.) or Pronunciation Plus. But I wouldn’t rely too heavily on the book – daily routines tend to get boring. I would supplement any coursebook heavily with other activities.

For supra-segmental pronunciation practice, I would use material from one or more of Carolyn Graham’s jazz chants books (OUP). I would also supplement with minimal-pair practice (man-men, seat-sit, versionvirgin). Cambridge’s Tree or Three and Ship or Sheep are good resources for this. Furthermore, I would supplement with some self-made “tongue-twister” sentences for sounds that they are having particular trouble with (e.g., “It is a pleasure to measure the treasure,” “The third thimble on Thelma’s thumb throbbed and throbbed,” “The zany zebras in the zoo cruised zealously”). One thing I would be sure to do would be to ask the students to submit their pronunciation questions to you and you then try to answer the questions as a whole class activity, with practice included.

In addition to practice with individual sounds, the course needs to include meaningful discourse in which the students can practice making sounds in a natural (okay, near-natural) conversational context. I hope that some of these suggestions will be useful with your students.

Dr. Dave

“Dr. Dave” is David E. Shaffer, current President of the Gwangju-Jeonnam Chapter of Korea TESOL (KOTESOL). On behalf of the Chapter, he invites you to participate in the teacher development workshops at their monthly meetings. Dr. Shaffer is a professor of English at Chosun University, where he has taught, graduate, undergraduate, and postgraduate courses for many years. He has recently received the KOTESOL Lifetime Achievement Award.

Gwangju-Jeonnam KOTESOL August Chapter Meeting Date & Time: August 11 (Sat.), 1:30 p.m.

Place: Chosun University, Main Building (Bon-gwan) Presentations: - Reflective Teaching: Improving the Learning Context (Allison Bill) - Facebook and English Learning in Korea (Jeremy Bissett) - Korean Highlights: Four Decades of History (David Shaffer) August Rooftop Get-together: August 25 (Sat.), The First Alleyway Facebook: Gwangju-Jeonnam KOTESOL Website: www.koreatesol.org/GwangjuJeonnam Email: gwangju_kotesol@yahoo.com

Gwangju News August 2012

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community

The Foreigner Next Door:

Doaa Ghareeb Written by Leigh Hellman

See the video for this article online at: www.gwangjunewsgic.com

I

t's a hazy Sunday afternoon; discontent skies hold back a storm, and downtown seems subdued. A gaggle of foreigners flood the basement of a newly-opened café – not an uncommon sight in and of itself. No one needs an excuse for a frothy, sugary drink and a comfy chair.

But this group is different. Surrounding tables of Koreans pause to ponder them. Not just foreigners but Koreans too, paired up fairly evenly in casual clusters. No whiteboards or rote drills, yet the atmosphere is unmistakably studious. A lively, slightly frenzied woman darts among them checking progress and mediating confusion.

This is the Gwangju Korean Learners’ Club (GKLC) and she is Doaa Ghareeb. She’s not imposing, but Doaa’s clearly in charge.

“When it comes to studying, I’m very lazy,” Doaa laughs brashly. “So I thought what about having a group and encouraging each other to learn more about Korean culture and Korean language and maybe spread out our relationships with Koreans – and with foreigners as well?”

Shin Sang-hee (신상희) – an intern at City Hall, recent Chosun University grad, and club teacher – pauses to find the best adjectives for it. “It’s great and convenient,” she grins over the din. “It’s a fun opportunity to hang out and practice English and Korean.”

David Martie, an émigré fresh from the U.S. and a GKLC member for a little over a month, agrees. “It’s a good way to force myself to keep studying and I can actually ask people directly if I have questions and not just keep reinforcing bad Korean speaking habits.”

By the looks of it, Doaa’s club is a success. About 30 foreigners and Koreans – students and teachers both – study animatedly, flipping through textbooks of their choice and scribbling down notes in stationary store journals. But that’s not how it all started.

Doaa, an Egyptian from Cairo, has lived in Gwangju on-and-off for several years. Her young daughter 46

Gwangju News August 2012

grew up here and speaks Korean fluently. She was Doaa’s first tutor and from there the idea for a causal Korean language club grew.

Friends complained that they weren’t satisfied with their other language courses (usually through local universities). The emphasis on strict grammar and vocabulary memorization was overwhelming and their chances to practice their speaking skills were minimal. Doaa recognized the need for a practical speaking class.

“We can do that on our own for free with lots of cool Korean teachers.” She motions around the tables. “Beyond just their time and effort, they prepare lots of things about Korean culture, food, anything – they really help you to understand it.”

GKLC meets every Sunday at 5 p.m. and follows up class with a delicious dinner at various restaurants. If people aren’t too tired they end the night with darts, bowling, or more café time.

Next on Doaa’s to-do list is cultivating her new volunteer network, Heart of Gold. They currently work with a local orphanage and have plans to expand to senior citizens’ centers, disabilities’ centers, and homeless shelters. But right now they’re struggling to increase membership.

Doaa admits that she tends to form huge, unrealistic plans but doesn’t apologize for her positive ambition. “I hope that – for the language class – it’s not just about learning the language. It’s about better communication between foreigners and Koreans. Since we are here in Korea we have to learn the language, we have to learn the culture. We have to respect the differences between us and them.” She smiles, broad and genuine. “It’s important, when you are in a community, to make a change. If everyone takes care of a small part, it will change a lot.”

If you want to learn more and/or get involved with Doaa’s clubs, please check out: Gwangju Korean Learners’ Club (GKLC) and Heart of Gold Facebook Pages.

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language study

The pattern‘- ( 아/어/여)야 되다/하다 ’ must, have to

By Jung Soo-a

Jung Soo-a is an instructor of the GIC Korean Language Class

Dialogue 소라 : 존씨, 안녕하세요?

[J o n s s i , a n n y e o n g h a s e y o ? ] Sora : Hello, John. 존

: 네, 안녕하세요? 소라씨! 지금 뭐해요?

[Ne, annyeonghaseyo? Sorassi! jigeum mwohaeyo?]

John: How are you? Sora! What are you doing now? 소라 : 지금 공부해요. 내일 한국어 시험이 있어요.

[J i g e u m g o n g b u h a e y o . N a e i l h a n g u g e o s h i h e o m i i s s e o y o . ] Sora : I am studying now. I have a Korean language test tomorrow. 존 : 그래요? [Geuraeyo?]

John: Really? 소라 : 그래서 한국어 공부를 해야해요. [Geuraeseo hangugeo gongbureul haeyahaeyo. ] Sora : So I have to study Korean [language]. 존

: 그럼, 내일도 공부해야 해요?

[Geureom, naeildo gongbuhaeya haeyo?]

John: So, do you also have to study tomorrow? 소라 : 아니요. 내일은 GIC에 가야 해요. [a n i y o . n a e i r e u n G I C e g a y a h a e y o . ] Sora : No, I have to go to GIC tomorrow. 존

: 알겠어요.

[A l g e s s e o y o . ] John : OK. [Understood]

Vocabulary 공부하다[gongbuhada]: to study 먹다[meokda]: to eat Reference: 김성희 외. (2009). 서강한국어 2B. 서울: 도서출판 하우 서강한국어. Retrieved July 8, 2012 from http://korean.sogang.ac.kr

Grammar

The pattern‘- ( 아/어/여)야 되다 /하다)’must, have to This pattern is used to express obligation or necessity. Tense is expressed in the verb '하다'.

Examples: _ 지금은 먹어야 됩니다/합니다. (I have to eat now.) _ 꼭 와야 됩니다/합니다. (You have to come.) _ 지금 공부해야 됩니까/합니까? (Do I have to study now?) _ 집에 가야 했습니다. (I had to go home.)

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literature

Selected Poems

By Lee Si-young Translated by Song Chae-Pyong and Anne Rashid

Lee Si-young (b. 1949) was born in Gurye, Jeollanamdo. He studied creative writing at Seorabeol College of Arts. Since his literary debut in 1969, he has published poetry collections such as The Full Moon (1976), Into the Wind (1986), Friend, the Road Is Far (1988), The Song Dangling with Dew (1991), The Pattern (1994), The Gap (1996), The Quiet Blue Sky (1997), The Silver Whistle (2003), The Sea Lake (2004), The Aroma of Cow Dung (2005), and For Our Dead (2007). He has received many prestigious literary awards, including The Jung Ji-yong Literary Award (1996), Modern Buddhist Literary Award (2004) and The Baeksok Literary Award (2004). For the last forty years, he has strived to write “poetry, resisting the reality and contradictions of the day.” He currently teaches creative writing at Dankuk University in Seoul.

Prologue

Poetry

Come quickly, the face I miss, the one who left to set foot over the mountain, across the water.

Even when the bamboo leaves rustle, the faces await you– they burn their sad eyes, opening the paper screen.

Before this night ends, come, shaking the ground, and let us hasten to listen to Mother’s long story.

Like an arrow that goes through air and sticks to the target, its whole body quivering.

If only my language could go through the wind and touch someone's heart and enter it deeply, shaking hard.

Like a seed fire, or like the first song of love made with the whole body.

서시 어서 오라 그리운 얼굴 산 넘고 물 건너 발 디디러 간 사람아 댓잎만 살랑여도 너 기다리는 얼굴들 봉창 열고 슬픈 눈동자를 태우는데 이 밤이 새기 전에 땅을 울리며 오라 어서 어머님의 긴 이야기를 듣자

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Gwangju News August 2012

시(詩) 화살 하나가 공중을 가르고 과녁에 박혀 전신을 떨듯이 나는 나의 언어가 바람 속을 뚫고 누군가의 가슴에 닿아 마구 떨리면서 깊어졌으면 좋겠다 불씨처럼 아니 온몸의 사랑의 첫 발성처럼

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An Autumn Day

가을날

A dragonfly sat on the end of a persimmon branch and dozed off all day.

Even with wind, it did not shake; even with a cold rain smacking the branch, it did not move over.

When I quietly approached it, I was startled to see, right there, it had arrived in Nirvana.

잠자리 한 마리가 감나무 가지 끝에 앉아 종일을 졸고 있다 바람이 불어도 흔들리지 않고 차가운 소나기가 가지를 후려쳐도 옮겨앉지 않는다 가만히 다가가보니 거기 그대로 그만 아슬히 입적하시었다

At Cargill Middle School In a middle school classroom in Qana where sixty Lebanese civilians were killed, four families of refugees were living who lost their homes due to the Israelis’ indiscriminate air strikes. A young woman said she lost her younger brother, a grandmother said she lost her adult son. When a KBS reporter held a microphone to her, the woman didn’t say anything, rolling her exposed eyes within her chador, and the sobbing grandmother said with urgency, “Now there is nobody else we can rely on except Allah. He will surely help us.”

카길중학교에서 60여명의 레바논 민간인들이 숨진 카나 마을의 한 중학교 교실, 이스라엘군의 무차별 공습으로 집이 날아간 네 가족의 난민들이 살고 있었다. 한 젊은 여인은 남동생을 잃었다고 했고 한 할머니는 장성한 아들을 잃었다고 했다. KBS 기자가 마이크를 들이대자 여인은 차도르 밖으로 드러난 검은 눈을 굴리면서 아무 말도 하지 않았고 할머니는 흐느끼면서“이제 알라신밖에 의지할 곳은 없 다. 그분께서 반드시 우리를 도와주실 것”이라고 힘주어 말했다.

The Mothers’ Association of the May Plaza The Argentinian Mothers’ Association of the May Plaza is known to have adhered to three rules.

First, they will not dig up the bodies of their missing children; second, they will not erect memorials to them; third, they will not receive monetary rewards.

Because within their hearts their children have never died, they cannot imprison the noble spirits of their children within the cold stones, and they cannot take money which would desecrate their children’s souls who have been either dead or missing in their rebellion against injustice.

5월 어머니회 아르헨띠나의‘5월 어머니회’는 지금도 세 가지의 금도를 지킨다고 한다. 첫째로 실종된 자식들의 주검을 발굴하지 않으며, 둘째로 기념비를 세우지 않으며, 셋째로 금전보상을 받지 않는다. 왜냐하면 아이들은 아직 그들의 가슴속에서 결코 죽은 것이 아니며, 그들의 고귀한 정신을 절대로 차가운 돌 속에 가둘 수 없으며, 불의에 항거하다 죽거나 실종된 자식들의 영혼을 돈으로 모독할 수 없기 때문이다.

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fashion

Fash-On with xxl jjdp

The Life Aquatic

Words by jjdp Photos by Han Soo Hee and xxl jjdp

O

ne of the biggest cultural events in the world is happening right on our doorstep and will wrap up on the 12th of this month. So don’t miss out on this amazing adventure. Not only is it an amazing learning experience but also an opportunity to Fash-on.

This month’s Fash-on was inspired by a whirlwind trip around the world without leaving Korea. Travel safe, though, as going to the Yeosu Expo is a bit like being thrown in the deep end of the ocean. So brace yourself and dress to impress.

I grew up surrounded by the ocean and what could be more calming and inspiring than the deep blue, where all the amazing shades of cyan, turquoise, navy and so many more whisk you away to a whole new world. Whatever the pantone be sure you have multitudes of blue and mix and match with patterns and stripes, especially those inspired by sailor chic, which are perfect for summer, creating a crisp and easy care-free look.

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So get ready for an amazing Fash-on adventure with this season’s hottest and coolest shades, against the backdrop of one of the most exciting events to hit Korea.

For both looks in this edition the base and anytime go-to item from your closet will be the best pair of blue jeans you own. Whether in deep indigo, stonewash or even acid wash, get ready to springboard into the depths of creativity.

For a day look I have gone for a very fun and naval-inspired concept: a blue and white striped tshirt paired with a light denim shirt. Over this I have added an anchor chain and it is as easy as that.

Add the perfect comfortable pair of slip-on canvas deck shoes and you are ready to go. This crisp and clean look easily transitions into night and is also very easy to individualize.

For an upgraded night concept I have paired our blue with an accent color to create a different mood. I have kept the blue jeans with basic white t-shirt. Layer with a red, sleeveless, button-down cardigan and add a marine-inspired scarf, which also comes in handy in case it gets a bit chilly. To complete the look, wear with a pair of basic, red Converse, which in their simplicity are a standout item too.

Now that you are ready to embrace summer, remember to have fun. Wear the hues from this primary color in any combination while enjoying the atmosphere, international pavilions and performances.

Shot on location at the Yeosu Expo 2012 To check out more of JP’s photos please check out his site at: http://jacimages26.carbonmade.com/ Thanks to YB and OB for additional onsite support Clothing Blue jeans - Calvin Klein at Shinsegae Blue and white t-shirt - H&M Seoul Denim shirt - Uniqlo Canvas deck shoes - Gmarket - Mr Street Anchor detail chain – Brand Market Naval inspired watch - Gmarket.com Look #2 Blue Jeans - Calvin Klein White t-shirt - Gap Scarf - Brandmarket Red Cardigan - Gmarket - Mr Street Red Converse - Converse at Lotte Department Store Look # 3 Shirt - Vintage Ralph Lauren - Golden Vintage Downtown Graphic t-shirt - Uniqlo

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food and drink

Jinos Garden 지노스가든 Words and photo by Gabriel Ward

I

recently went to Jinos Garden with a group of friends. I was the first to arrive and was shown to a table by a confident waiter who spoke English pretty well. I was well impressed that there were plenty of people seated and eating. I was also struck by the ambience and felt like I could have been in a restaurant back home.

The menu had an extensive range of starters, pastas and pizzas. I was a little apprehensive though, because good Italian restaurants will often only offer a select range of dishes, however they will all be amazing.

Once my friends arrived, we decided that we would get a range of pastas and pizzas, as well as a couple of salads, and share everything. We got two mozzarella and tomato salads, a basil pesto pasta, a ratatouille, a carbonara, a margherita pizza, a pesto cream pizza and a vegetable pizza.

The waiter was really good and did not seem too intimidated by such a large group, which was very reassuring. Despite our large group we only had to wait about ten minutes for all our food to arrive simultaneously, which was really fast given that it was Italian. To me this means that there is a decent amount of staff working in the kitchen or that they have everything pre-prepared. I really hope it is the former.

I sampled most of the dishes, and the ones that I did eat were really good, so my apprehensions were thus allayed. The pizza in particular I enjoyed. It had a thin-crust base, and had only around three toppings, exactly how the Italians do it. The pasta was good as well and I really enjoyed 52

Gwangju News August 2012

the basil pesto. Some of our group had never been to Jino’s before and remarked that it was certainly some of the better Italian food they had tasted during their time here in Korea.

Jinos Garden is not the cheapest place to eat unfortunately. The price range of the starters and pastas was 13,000 – 17,000 won, and a couple of the pasta dishes were 19,000 won. Pizzas ranged from 15,000 – 17,000 won. They also had a good selection of desserts from 5,000 to 8,000 won, but many of them were unavailable when we were there. A few people in our group decided to get a bottle of wine, which cost 46,000 won. The biggest complaint that I can see some people having with Jino’s is that the portions are not huge (though not really small either), so if you are really hungry and feel like eating a lot, then you should probably go to a Korean restaurant.

Jinos Garden is located in the heart of downtown. If you are at the Ministop near German Bar, and you have your back to the river, make a left and look up to the second floor of the shops and you will see a Jinos Garden sign around 10 meters from the Ministop.

On the whole I would say it is worth going to Jinos Garden at least once, and it is definitely worth dining at if you are craving some Western food. It is one of the better Italian-style restaurants that I’ve come across in Gwangju, and my friends and I all enjoyed our meal there.

Jinos Garden 지노스가든 Address: 55-3 Hwanggeum-dong 2F, Dong-gu, Gwangju Phone: 062-233-3713

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food and drink

Red Bean Sherbert 팥빙수 Words and photos by Kim Jiwon

B

oys, girls, men and women all like the sweet and cold dessert red bean sherbet (팥빙수 or "patbingsu").

In summer, it is one of the most popular desserts in Korea. Unfortunately, the price of this dessert these days is much too high. Therefore, it is much more reasonable to make it on your own. It is surprisingly easy to cook. Oh, you don’t have any ice shavers? Don’t worry about it! You can make it without ice shavers. Red bean paste is an affordable ingredient. You can buy it easily in grocery stores. Of course, you can make it at home but it takes a long time to prepare. This dessert is also attractive in that you can put anything you want to eat together. Nowadays, many cafes serve their own unique and special red bean sherbets like green tea sherbet, strawberry sherbet, wine sherbet and so on. You can also create your own unique sherbet.

Things to prepare 500ml of milk, 3-4 tablespoons of red bean paste, canned fruit, cereals, rice cakes and whatever you want to eat

Cooking Method 1. Get all the ingredients you want to eat together before you start cooking.

2. Freeze the milk for five hours, take it out of the freezer and transfer to a bowl with a spoon.

3. Add the red bean paste quickly before the frozen milk melts.

4. Place the other ingredients as attractively as possible and serve it.

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Community Board Have something you want to share with the community?

Gwangju News’ community board provides a space for you to announce your club’s activity, special events and so on.

Please send us the information in 200 words or less to gwangjunews@gmail.com.

mu:m English Academy – Bongsun-dong Run by Principal Jun Im and with teachers Kay Kim and Julie Jang, mu:m English Academy is for elementary and middle school students. In addition to a well-established learning system featuring native speakers and mu:m eye (reading pen) technology, special online programs and reading, writing, and listening materials are used. We are NOT your ordinary hagwon! With an electronic keyboard and a movie projector, and featuring special cooking and activities classes, our goal is to make English learning fun! 062-655-3405 http://cafe.daum.net/mumEnglish Fun classes, Experienced teachers, and Effective Techniques!

Dance Workshop in GIC The dance workshop will be held every 2nd Sunday by Angie Harley at the GIC. If you are interested in joining, please contact Angie at angiehartley1@gmail.com.

You will learn basic dance and create dance performance with specific theme in this workshop.

Come Try Yoga!

Vinyasa/Ashtanga style yoga class (either continuous flow or set series of postures).

All levels welcome. Teacher Rebecca Moss was trained in Vinyasa yoga in 2008 and has taught all ages and levels.

Yoga has many benefits including soothing the immune system and strengthening/toning the body inside and out.

Connect to your breath. Set time in your schedule to take good care of yourself!

5,000 won suggested donation if you have it. Money is donated to charity Wednesday Morning Class 10:30 - 11:30 a.m. or 12:00 p.m.

Sunday Evening Class 7:15 - 8:15 p.m.

Place: Above the Underground Grocer in Migliore (in the alley across from Zara).

Email rabigalemoss@gmail.com for more info. Facebook page: Gwangju Yoga. Join Facebook group for updates/changes.

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Gwangju News August 2012

Gwangju Inter FC The Gwangju international soccer team (Gwangju Inter FC) plays regularly most weekends.

If you are interested in playing, e-mail: gwangju_soccer@yahoo.com or search ‘Gwangju Inter FC’ on Facebook.

Gwangju Ice Hockey Team Looking for men and women of all ages to join us every Saturday night from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Yeomju Ice Rink near World Cup Stadium. If you are interested, contact either Andrew Dunne at atdunne@gmail.com or Chris Wilson at: kreeco@rogers.com

Kittens to have They are free, but you need to vacinate them.

They are Korean short hairs. The kittens are 7 weeks old.

Contact Lynne at 010-8692-9101 or e-mail lelie0072003@yahoo.com

Sung Bin Home for Girls Sung Bin Home for Girls is looking for creative/ active/ energetic/ outgoing/ enthusiastic long-term volunteers to join in our regular Saturday program.

We would like you to give at least two Saturdays per month. Meet every Saturday at 1p.m. in front of downtown Starbucks. All are welcome.

For more volunteering information please contact Daniel Lister at: daniellister7@hotmail.com.

The Gwangju Photography Club The Gwangju Photography Club is a place where many different people can meet, share advice, give ideas, and practice photography. Every month, the Photography Club goes on a photo outing to different places around the city and country to capture the moment and practice new techniques.

Anyone is welcome to join the photography group and help share in the experience. To join the group, search Gwangju Photography Club on Facebook.

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Midway between Kunsthalle and the Grand Hotel, across the main street at the traffic lights from the Crown Bakery.

On the 3rd floor of the T World building.

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Contact us for more details: 062-226-2733 or email us to gwangjunews@gmail.com Gwangju News August 2012

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