Gwangju & South Jeolla International Magazine
Gwangju and South Jeolla International Magazine I August 2020 #222 This is GIST
August 2020 #222
This is GIST
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Gwangju & South Jeolla International Magazine
Gwangju & South Jeolla International Magazine
August 2020, Issue No. 222
Gwangju and South Jeolla International Magazine I August 2020 #222 This is GIST
August 2020 #222
This is GIST
Published: August 1, 2020 Cover Photo
GIST President Kim Ki Seon (Photo by Kim Hillel Yunkyoung)
THE EDITORIAL TEAM Publisher Editor-in-Chief Managing Editor Production Editor Layout Editor Photographer Communications Proofreaders Online Editor Researcher
Dr. Shin Gyonggu Dr. David E. Shaffer William Urbanski Isaiah Winters Melline Galani Kim Hillel Yunkyoung Jeong Jiyeon Timothy Berg, Jonathan Moffett, Joseph Nunez, Di Foster, David Foster, Melline Galani Lee Younny
The Gwangju News is the first English monthly magazine for the general public in Korea, first published in 2001. Each monthly issue covers local and regional issues, with a focus on the roles and activities of the international residents and local English-speaking communities. Copyright © 2020 by the Gwangju International Center. All rights reserved. No part of this publication covered by this copyright may be reproduced in any form or by any means – graphic, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise – without the written consent of the publisher.
For volunteering and article submission inquiries, please contact the editor at gwangjunews@gic.or.kr. Special thanks to Gwangju City and all of our sponsors.
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This is August – the hottest month of the year. The last of the dog days (Malbok) falls on August 15, according to Korea’s traditional calendar, and Cheoseo, marking the final “heat” period, doesn’t begin until August 23. Discomforting as this may sound, it is something that recurs annually, something that we can deal with – and something that sunloving vacationers even look forward to! This season, however, we have a more burning issue to deal with: Gwangju has become a hot spot for COVID-19. In just a few short weeks, Gwangju’s COVID cases have spread like wildfire, soaring from a controlled 30-something to 200 cases, and still rising as of this writing. The sad thing is that a portion of this spike could have easily been prevented. Much like Daegu’s Shincheonji case, a single traveler, who had been in contact with a confirmed COVID case, went around Gwangju and concealed this from the authorities. The number of individuals infected by this one person continues to grow (read more in our Gwangju City News section). As our smartphone messages remind us daily, we need to adhere to the disease prevention regulations and cooperate completely with authorities to bring this coronavirus outbreak to its knees. On a more joyous note, another “hot” issue is our August issue of the Gwangju News! As your reading companion through the heat and humidity of August, we hope that this month’s issue is both interesting and informative. Our staff of editors and pool of writers work exceptionally hard to bring you the best. Our features are on GIST, an academic titleholder in Gwangju and the nation; the ACC’s upcoming World Music Festival with a Korean theme this year; and Korea-Consult with its take on business in Korea. Fitting for this simmering summer season, our Blast from the Past revisits the mystifying night killer that once terrorized Korea as cruelly as COVID does today: fan death! Our fascinating Travel section takes you to the construction skeletons on the fringe of Gwangju, to the remaining temple traces of Samhong-sa, to Cheese Land in Gurye, and then on to Belarus and the celebrities with roots in that country. This issue offers you a Korean’s interning experience in the U.S., an expat’s giving in Korea, a tearoom review, a coffee recipe, two book reviews, creative writing in prose and poetry, a photo essay, a Korean lesson, and a crossword puzzle. You won’t want to miss the experiences of Filipina English teachers in the city and, of course, our opinion piece on the virtues of paranoia!
Keep cool throughout August with your companion, the Gwangju News. David E. Shaffer Editor-in-Chief Gwangju News
August 2020
Registration No. 광주광역시 라. 00145 (ISSN 2093-5315) Registration Date: February 22, 2010 Printed by Join Adcom 조인애드컴 (+82)-62-367-7702
From the Editor
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The Gwangju News is published by Gwangju International Center: Jungang-ro 196-beon-gil 5 (Geumnam-ro 3-ga), Dong-gu, Gwangju 61475, South Korea Tel: (+82)-62-226-2733~34 Fax: (+82)-62-226-2731 Website: www.gwangjunewsgic.com Email: gwangjunews@gic.or.kr GwangjuNews gwangjunews
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Photo of the Month
“Skateboarding” The Photographer
Kim Nam-gil enjoys skateboarding and photography in Gwangju. He photographs most often capture skateboarding and life on the streets. His Naver blog is at ngkmuseum, and he can be found on Instagram @ngkmuseum.
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CONTENTS August 2020
Issue #222
MONTHLY NEWS 04. Gwangju City News
COMMUNITY 40. Expat Living: 365 Days of Giving
FEATURES 06. This is GIST 10. Korea-Consult – Bringing Continents Together 14. ACC: World Music Festival
FOOD & DRINKS 42. Restaurant Review: Hawonjae Tearoom 45. Recipe: Dalgona Coffee
BLAST FROM THE PAST 18. Death by Fan TRAVEL 20. Lost in Gwangju: On the Right Path 24. From Abroad: Belarus – 10 Little-Known Facts 28. Around Korea: Jiri-san Cheese Land in Gurye 30. Around Korea: Paying Respects to the Dusty Buddhas of Samhong-sa GWANGJU ABROAD 32. NGO Intern Life in the U.S
EDUCATION 35. Everyday Korean: Episode 32 – 부동산 (Real Estate) 47. Language Teaching: The Joys of Teaching as a Filipina OPINION 54. Get Paranoid! ARTS & CULTURE 02. Photo of the Month 17. Crossword Puzzle 36. Photo Essay: Spiritual Fulfillment 50. Book Review: Crazy Brave: A Memoir 51. Book Review: Homo Deus 52. Gwangju Writes: In and Out of Time 53. Gwangju Writes: Timid Love
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August 2020
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Gwangju City News Reprinted with permission from Gwangju Metropolitan City Hall Photographs courtesy of Gwangju Metropolitan City Hall
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August 2020
MONTHLY NEWS
Mayor Lee Briefs Gwangju on COVID-19
Due to the new spike in COVID-19 cases, Gwangju City Hall has been holding briefings almost daily to inform citizens about the situation and to reinforce social-distancing guidelines. The following is an important briefing made by Mayor Lee Yong Sup on July 19. — Ed.
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Should citizens fail to comply with quarantine rules, it would lead to uncontrollable consequences. Strict punishment will be implemented for deliberate hiding of information or deviance from rules.
wangju Mayor Lee Yong Sup addressed the citizens appealing for their strict adherence to disease prevention policies stating that Gwangju City is still a hot spot for new infections, citing that one patient who came from Seoul has infected at least another 11 persons.
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Lee added that the number of confirmed cases has continued to increase, and countless citizens are suffering damages because one insensitive person visited Gwangju after coming in close contact with a confirmed COVID-19 patient but covered-up the trip after she also tested positive a few days later. As a result, 600 people
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Through social networking channels, please actively carry out general mobilization to reach everyone to ensure that all comply with disease prevention rules such as wearing masks and refraining from close contact.
As a direct result, it is now difficult to predict how many additional examinations, confirmed cases, and selfisolations will emerge as the second wave of the infection has already begun, and the “golden time” (the period in which all potential cases are traced and tested) has been missed due to the false statement of a single infected individual: case number 60 (from Songpa).
Fourthly, those who have been in close contact with confirmed patients should notify the quarantine authorities as soon as possible of the movements, places visited, and persons they came in contact with. Personal information will be kept private. In the future, deliberate concealment or non-cooperation will be punished more strictly and without exception.
In accordance with Article 18 of the Infectious Disease Prevention and Management Act, City Hall filed a complaint with the Gwangju Metropolitan Police Agency against case number 60 who caused the spread of infection through false statements for the police agency to review the claim for compensations.
Lastly, even if all of us have lost our peaceful lives and economic activity has been seriously interrupted, and many have lost their jobs, nevertheless, quarantine authorities and most citizens are making every effort to overcome this time of suffering and despair.
As is shown from this case, no matter how many countless efforts the quarantine authorities make, they cannot stop the spread of the COVID-19 infection through personal encounters and contact tracing alone. Unless all citizens follow the social-distancing and disease prevention rules, the authorities cannot stop the spread of the infection.
However, carelessness by some citizens is threatening the safety of the entire community. If citizens strictly follow the rules of quarantine and social distancing in unison, we will be able to overcome the present COVID-19 situation in the near future.
MONTHLY NEWS
were tested for coronavirus in a single day, including 342 elementary school students, and another 128 people who were already self-isolating were put in quarantine for 14 days.
It has been almost a month since the local infection started on June 27. Daegu had its first confirmed case on February 18 and 5,794 confirmed cases by the 23rd of the same month. To date, our city has 192 confirmed cases, but as we could see, local infections can lead to uncontrollable consequences.
Firstly, please refrain from unnecessary outings, meetings and visits until the COVID-19 situation is resolved. Anyone you meet and anything you touch could be infected with the coronavirus.
Thirdly, public institutions and social organizations should also step up efforts for the safety of the community. Gwangju has a deeper relationship with its citizens than any other city, so there could be many private contacts.
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August 2020
Secondly, wear a mask anytime, anywhere, and keep strict prevention measures such as distance between people. Please refrain from close contact with your family members, being aware that no one will be safe until the COVID-19 situation is resolved.
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In this context and as the Mayor of Gwangju, I want to reinforce my appeal to the citizens to follow the COVID-19 guidelines.
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FEATURE
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This is GIST Interview by Jeong Jiyeon and Melline Galani Photographs by Kim Hillel Yunkyoung
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August 2020
The Gwangju Institute of Science of Technology (GIST) not only has a proud history in Gwangju but also has an exceptionally beautiful campus, undoubtedly contributing to its present and future creativeness in science and technology. The Gwangju News is happy to present this interview with the president of GIST, Kim Ki Seon. — Ed
Gwangju News (GN): Thank you for taking the time to do this interview for the Gwangju News, President Kim. First, please introduce yourself, and tell us about your background and about GIST. Also, how long have you been president of GIST? Kim Ki Seon: Nice to meet you and welcome to the most beautiful park in Gwangju. I am Kim Ki Seon, president of GIST (Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology). Originally, I worked as an engineer, making 2G cell phones in Houston, U.S.A. However, 27 years ago, in 1994, when the high-tech district was established and GIST was also established, about ten professors from home and abroad came to Gwangju to nurture young students, and I was one of them. GIST was the second science and technology institute established in Korea after KAIST. GIST has tried everything new to fulfill its mission of establishing an innovative model for science and engineering
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institutions. As an innovative model, it started with a graduate school centered on master’s degree and doctorate programs, considering “convergence technology” and “globalization.” The official language on our campus is English, the global language of science and technology. All courses are taught in 100% English and have been successfully conducted so far. By creating this globalized environment, foreign students can adapt well to campus life without any difficulties. GIST has recently been selected as the world’s fourth-highest institution in the QS World University Evaluation for “citations per faculty” in pursuit of research cooperation and competition. As a result of this forward-looking effort, GIST’s Global Convergence Education model is being introduced as an innovative success story. GN: How is the international community represented at GIST? What percentage of students at GIST are international students? What do international students
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7 bring to the GIST community? Kim Ki Seon: Currently, foreign students and teachers account for about ten percent of GIST members. Starting in the fall of 2020, this rate will gradually increase as new undergraduate admissions and exchange student programs begin at our university. Basically, the official language is English at GIST, which is oriented toward a global campus. All Koreans and foreigners receive full scholarships without discrimination, and all of them live in dormitories or apartments. Personal distress counseling and career counseling are conducted through the in-house support center, and the foreign assistance department and language center are also in charge of helping with campus life and daily life in Korea.
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GN: Especially for universities that deal with cuttingedge science and technology, corporate partnerships play an integral role. Would you speak about the importance of GIST’s corporate relations and how GIST develops relationships with industry? Kim Ki Seon: GIST has been operating a CEO program called the GIST Technical Management Academy, or GTMBA for short, for the past ten years to promote partnerships with local companies and to provide a
August 2020
GIST is pursuing transformation into a liberal arts college and is pursuing this in a variety of ways. To cultivate basic literacy, all new students are admitted to the Faculty of Basic Education. Since the Institute of Science and Technology is an institution that fosters professional manpower in the fields of science and engineering, you may think that we would focus on science and engineering subjects, but GIST has designated courses in not only science and engineering but also in various liberal arts fields, such as the humanities, social sciences, language studies, and the arts. In their first year, students build their foundations in various fields, and starting with their second year, they can freely select majors in several relevant departments through freely declaring majors without competition with other students.
We are devoting support to infinite challenges to discover the potential in our students and to promote the cultivation of literacy as a convergent talent with respect, passion, and pride. In addition to becoming a liberal arts college, GIST has been successfully conducting various educational experiments. GIST aims to efficiently manage undergraduate schools, with undergraduate students in their third and fourth years participating as researchers in graduate laboratories through active exchange between graduate schools and universities. The G-SURF program, which benchmarks Caltech’s SURF, is highly responsive to students because they can conduct actual research while receiving supervised mentoring at their desired graduate and university laboratories. There are also active exchanges with universities abroad. Second-year students who meet certain criteria can take summer semesters at UC Berkeley and Boston University in the U.S., and at Cambridge University in the U.K.
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GN: What distinguishes a GIST education from other institutions of higher learning in Korea, and in particular, Gwangju? What specialized expertise can a potential student (foreign or domestic) expect to acquire at GIST that he or she could not obtain anywhere else? Kim Ki Seon: GIST has the advantage of being a minority elite. When it was established, we benchmarked Caltech’s (California Institute of Technology) minority education in the United States – a world-class institution where the ratio of professors to students is one to ten. In addition, the selection of foreign undergraduate students at GIST for the first time this year is expected to make us a center for global education in both name and reality.
FEATURE
Recently, international students have participated as members of the general student council and the SelfGoverning Committee of the Local Government to actively represent the foreigners’ positions and to resolve conflicts with Korean students. Through Open Tuesday, which is open to everyone and promotes free communication every Tuesday, various programs are set up and operated to improve the welfare of foreign members and resolve distress.
In particular, the “Infinite Challenge Project” is the most outstanding program compared with other universities. This project aims to cultivate active creative convergence talent by allowing students to experience failures through self-directed “individualized activities” and developing problem-solving skills through them. This project also deals with a variety of topics, from application creation and game development to movie production and theater composition, and performance. Regardless of the field – humanities, society, culture, science, or academics – various activities are supported in amounts of up to 2.5 million won per team, and comparative activities are highly recommended.
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August 2020
FEATURE
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comprehensive CEO training program for entrepreneurs. About 400 alumni of GTMBA are actively engaged in various fields of business, politics, and communications, making great contributions to the community and continuing their exchanges with GIST. To maintain this exchange relationship, GIST provides various opportunities for communication with companies. In addition, we hold a Breakfast Forum every month during the semester to promote R&D, technology transfer, and commercialization of technologies. Through the Breakfast Forum, we are trying to promote the establishment of a network between CEOs in Gwangju and Jeollanam-do and professors and researchers at GIST, and we are expanding opportunities to introduce GIST’s research technology for mutual benefit with small and medium-sized businesses. Although the Breakfast Forum has not been held this year due to COVID-19, we have been creating other opportunities where local CEOs can get some technical advice from GIST researchers, and the researchers can also get information on the development of technologies in local industries. Furthermore, we conduct various activities for mutual development, including having regular meetings with local entrepreneurs to discuss diverse ways to develop the industrial ecosystem in the local community. GN: We heard that GIST’s excellent research results are recognized worldwide. Please tell us what the strategy is. Kim Ki Seon: GIST has ranked first in Korea for 13 consecutive years and fourth in the world in the Citations per Faculty Index. In the QS World University Evaluation, citations per faculty is an important indicator of both the quantity and quality of research capabilities.The driving force behind GIST’s growth into a global research-oriented educational institution in a relatively short period of
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time is the result of attracting excellent researchers and creating an optimal research environment for them to concentrate on their research. GIST has been selected as the “best college for start-ups” for the past three years in a row. We help students identify their business potential and apply it to starting a business through the Start-up Idea Competition. GIST has been operating a professional training program focused on technology start-ups, and there is a start-ups minor in the master’s degree program that can lead students to actually creating their own startups. Another outstanding program that is a distinctive part of our curriculum sends students interested in starting a business to Israel’s Institute of Technology, Technion, to help them learn about start-ups at a global and practical level. GIST has put its priority on global research under the GIST philosophy of emphasizing global convergence, and it has created a unique atmosphere in which to conduct joint research with global researchers who can be both competitors and partners, and this has naturally lead to our successful achievements in terms of the projects-perprofessor index. GN: In recent years, several high-profile industries have moved to Naju’s “Innovation City.” Has this affected the way GIST delivers its programs? Kim Ki Seon: Innovation City was created in 2002–2003 during the Roh Moo-hyun administration when the Innovation City Act to distribute government agencies concentrated in the metropolitan areas to the provinces was revised. At that time, we were able to choose the areas of expertise we wanted to concentrate on by region, and Gwangju chose information and communication, energy, and agricultural. Since then, the Korea Internet and Security Agency for the information and communication
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However, last year we held the first GIST Science and Culture Week. During the week, we revealed to Gwangju citizens a media facade made by the Institute of Culture and Technology and screened a robot movie called Big Hero on the wall of the GIST library.
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YSP will help young scientists to become PhD-level professionals whose role is essential in promoting science and engineering, and contributing to national development led by science and technology. GIST has become a success story in Gwangju, and now it plans to spread the GIST YSP model at home and abroad. As a leading science institute for internationalization and convergence education models, GIST has already contributed to the enhancement of the quality of internationalized convergence education in many universities. Furthermore, with the support of the government, GIST is promoting the Global AI-X Education Innovation Model in cooperation with international research and innovation institutions as a part of the GIST YSP and expects to create successful innovation that can spread to many science and engineering universities.
August 2020
In addition, we has tried to facilitate communications with the residents of Gwangju and lower their entry barriers to science by sharing aspects of various fields of science. Especially, we invited Professor Gérard Mourou, the winner of the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physics, to give a lecture to the public and hold the High-Technology Golden Bell Competition.
GN: What plans is GIST making or considering to broaden its reach and expand its range of fields of study for the future? Kim Ki Seon: GIST is focused on nurturing PhDs in science and engineering through post-doctoral training to foster future academic innovation. Based on its global research achievements and experience in conducting convergence education programs, GIST is planning to develop the Young Scientist Programs (YSP).
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GN: How does GIST maintain a positive relationship with the Gwangju community? Are there days when the community is welcome to visit the campus? Kim Ki Seon: Gwangju to the World is a glocal campaign. I believe a good school is a school that is loved by the local community, and communication plays an important role here. Communication begins from within the school to the outside of it and to its community. As suggested by our slogan, We Are GIST, “we” refers to all citizens of Gwangju, including GIST members. Unfortunately, due to the unexpected COVID-19 pandemic, this year we have not been able to hold any events in which Gwangju citizens are able to participate.
As we believe that science increases its value through communication with the public and that pride in scientists and engineers grows together with the public, we will invite parents of elementary, middle, and high school students to the GIST Promotion Event, once the COVID-19 situation ends.
FEATURE
sector, the Korea Contents Agency, and the Korea Electric Power Corporation for the energy sector have moved to Naju one after another. GIST will work with these institutions to create a blueprint of how to look forward to the next ten years to advance science and technology. Also, in the future, an AI cluster will be created in the high-tech district here, and I think it will be able to lead the economic revitalization of our region by attracting companies for research here in the Honam area.
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Korea-Consult
Bringing Continents Together
FEATURE
Interview with Anton Scholz
Inter-Korean Summit (2018).
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August 2020
Interview by Melline Galani Anton Scholz is not only a successful businessman but also a model of how somebody who dreams big can find a home in one of the most homogenous countries in the world. For more than 15 years, he has been working as a consultant, project manager, and translator for many major as well as medium- and smaller-sized companies that do business in or with Korea. Mr. Scholz founded Korea-Consult in 2001, starting with interpretation and consulting services to become one of the most esteemed and preferred companies in supporting international media, events, and projects across Korea. The following is Gwangju News’ recent interview with him. — Ed.
Gwangju News (GN): Thank you for taking the time to do this interview. First, please introduce yourself and tell us about your academic background. Also, please tell us about your first encounters with South Korea and Gwangju. Anton Scholz: My name is Anton Scholz from Hamburg, Germany, and I first came to South Korea in 1994 as a student because I was practicing martial arts – taekwondo. I was very interested in oriental philosophy and the background of martial arts, not only the physical part but also the metaphysical part of it. Therefore,
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when I was introduced to a Zen monk in Germany by my taekwondo master and then invited by the former to come to Korea to practice Zen with him here, I accepted his invitation. At that time, I intended to stay for one year, but I ended up staying quite a bit longer. I have been in Asia, especially in Korea, since the mid-1990s, so by now I have about 20 years of living experience here. I work as a freelance journalist, and I also run my own company, Korea-Consult, where we do international projects mostly between Germany and Korea, but also with many other countries like the U.S., France, Italy, and England.
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▲ Taekwondo sparring with friends (1994).
▲ PyeongChang Olympics with the ARD TV team (2018).
FEATURE
GN: What made you choose to stay and do business here? Could you also tell us how you got started? Anton Scholz: When I was studying at Hamburg University, where I graduated with a master’s degree in Korean and Japanese Studies, I met a Korean professor who later had a position here at Chosun University. She called to tell me about an open position in Gwangju as an assistant professor and asked if I was interested in it. Since I did not have a job offer at the time and the proposal sounded interesting, I thought, why not? I had only lived in Seoul until then, so I took the job intending to come down to Gwangju for a year or two, but I ended up holding that teaching position for seven or eight years. Eventually, I quit in order to move on to a more creative line of work – my company. GN: What are the main projects or services that KoreaConsult is involved in, and most recently, how has your company been affected by COVID-19? Anton Scholz: We work for foreign companies that have no permanent representation here (no local office or staff) and come only for short-term projects either because they have business partners here or because they have events, such as sporting events or trade fairs, or some kind of joint venture or cooperation here. They need local support, people who can speak Korean and help them get stuff done and, often, because traveling between Europe and Korea, or America and Korea, takes time. It is very helpful and saves them a lot of time and money if somebody, on their behalf, is looking after their interests. This is the kind of activity that Korea-Consult does.
hit by the coronavirus and now are trying to reduce costs. I am also heavily impacted by COVID-19, so I am just praying that it will be over sooner rather than later.
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COVID-19 has heavily affected our company because we deal with international business, and this market has been greatly curtailed. Currently, there are no foreigners coming to Korea, so all the business we do with delegations is down to zero. Many companies are rethinking their global strategies because they have been
GN: Given the loss of business these days, are there any other projects that you are involved in besides those of Korea-Consult? Anton Scholz: I also work as a freelance journalist and worked for ARD German Television for eleven years as a local producer in Korea, in addition to other media outlets.
August 2020
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▲ Scholz during his stay at Shinwon Temple.
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GN: What is the most memorable project you have worked on over the years? Anton Scholz: The 2002 World Cup was a life-changing event for me because at that time it was my first big project for German television. It was incredible because I was able to support both Korea and Japan at the same time, and today I am still in contact with some of the people I met back then, after 18 years. It showed me that the skillset I have is valuable for big companies that come here and need support. When we got the PyeongChang During an interview with the German ambassador to Korea.
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August 2020
GN: Was it difficult to start a business here in Korea? What were the main obstacles you encountered? Anton Scholz: It is not necessarily difficult to start a business, but it is difficult to be successful with it. The main obstacle is that Korea is still a very closed society in many ways. They are still not used to foreigners living and working here as equivalents to Koreans. We are only seen mostly as visitors who come here for a short time. There are quite a few obstacles when you want to set up your own company. For example, if you need bank loans, it is very complicated as a foreigner to get these. As a consequence, it is more difficult to start a company if you need financial backing. I set up my company only by selling my time and knowledge, and I did not need any major investment initially. I only started to hire personnel when I had so much work that I was not able to do it all by myself. Overall, the main obstacle is that Korean society has not fully accepted foreigners as part of society yet.
▲
FEATURE
I am also a correspondent for Weltreporter, which is the largest German network of freelance correspondents. This is my main side profession, though at Korea-Consult, we also produce film footage and similar stuff for media companies. Not only do we support these companies’ projects, but at times when it might be difficult to come to Korea, we also do the shooting part on their behalf. Moreover, we do commercial recordings for other companies, too. That has been quite interesting recently.
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▲ Scholz at KBS’s Journalism Talk Show J (2018).
Winter Olympic Games in 2018, I was a bit hopeful that it would provide a similar feeling, but sadly, even though I enjoyed my work for the Olympics, it provided nowhere near the same feeling I had back in 2002. Nowadays, everything has become a bit too bureaucratic. There are different people in charge now and everything is more controlled back in Germany. GN: What are the main challenges in working with foreign and Korean companies at the same time? Anton Scholz: For me, there is no challenge in working with both Korean and foreign companies at the same time. People are people no matter what country they are from, meaning the basic needs and problems are similar. I still think that Korean companies are not completely used to foreigners helping them in their own country. If Korea wants to become a more international society, it needs to accept that business projects that are multinational will be run in an international way and that the mindsets of foreign and Korean people are quite different, especially when it comes to business. Therefore, if you do not have a person who is familiar with both Korean and the foreign language in use, as well as with ways of doing business in both cultures, then there is always a problem with communication. Actually, I have just gotten a new contract for intercultural coaching and support for a major company doing business with a development team in Germany. On account of communication difficulties with the Korean entity, they have hired me to help them. This is a good example of communication issues: For Koreans, it is sometimes a bit difficult to accept that they need support.
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13 GN: How do you see the future of private businesses in the new world we live in? Do you think you will be affected a lot? Any advice for other local entrepreneurs? Anton Scholz: At this stage, it is very difficult to say how things will turn out because we are not through the pandemic yet. But I do think that the pre-2020 world and post-2020 world will look different; I just do not know how big the change will be. Businesses will be affected, for sure. Some will thrive (delivery and online services, the medical field, etc.).
Overall, even if is a difficult time, it is also an interesting and challenging one. I have always enjoyed a good challenge, and I hope that my company will come out of this stronger than it was before because we have ventured into new areas with a wider footprint than we had before coming into this crisis. I think the same is true for South Korea also, because it has received a lot of international praise for handling the situation, despite once being the second most heavily infected country. It has now become a model case for many countries for how to effectively contain the virus. I hope that even though the Korean economy is heavily impacted at present, ultimately, we will emerge from this crisis stronger than before.
Photographs courtesy of Anton Scholz.
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The Interviewer
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Bank Transfer: Kwangju Bank (사)광주국제교류센터: 134-107-000999 Paypal: gic@gic.or.kr Inquiry: gwangjunews@gic.or.kr or 062-226-2733
August 2020
Melline Galani is a Romanian enthusiast, born and raised in the capital city of Bucharest, who is currently living in Gwangju. She likes new challenges, learning interesting things, and is incurably optimistic. Instagram: @melligalanis
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
GN: Thank you, Mr. Scholz, for taking the time to provide us with this interesting and informative interview. We wish you and your business much future success.
The Gwangju International Center (GIC) is a nonprofit organization established in 1999 to promote cultural understanding and to build a better community among Koreans and international residents. By being a member, you can help support our mission and make things happen! Join us today and receive exciting benefits! • One-year free subscription and delivery of the Gwangju News magazine. • Free use of the GIC library. • Free interpretation and counseling services from the GIC. • Discounts on programs and events held by the GIC. • Up-to-date information on GIC events through our email newsletter.
blast the past FOOD from & DRINKS
For foreign entrepreneurs in this time, I would say every crisis is also a chance. While a lot of companies might go bankrupt if they are in the wrong area, maybe some other companies, if they have good ideas, can see profits go through the roof with their start-ups in a very short period. They should just keep in mind that the pandemic will be over at some point, and if they are totally specialized in something that is only useful during the pandemic, they could be out of business as fast as they skyrocketed while the pandemic was ongoing.
Support the GIC! Be a Member!
7/27/2020 12:27:36 PM
14
FEATURE
ACC: World Music Festival
Heo Yoon-jeong
Interview with Artistic Director Heo Yoon-jeong Interview by Jeong Jiyeon
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August 2020
The Asia Culture Center holds the World Music Festival annually at ACC Plaza; it is among the most important artistic events organized in Gwangju. This year’s August event will be the eleventh for the ACC, but it will be arranged in a different manner due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Gwangju News conducted and presents here a recent interview with the ACC’s art director for the event. — Ed.
Gwangju News (GN): Thank you, Ms. Heo, for providing us with the opportunity for this interview. First, please introduce yourself and tell us how you got involved with the World Music Festival? Heo Yoon-jeong: I currently teach geomungo [거문고, sixstringed Korean musical instrument] as well as creative and impromptu music at the College of Traditional Music of Seoul National University, and I am a leader of the jazz band Black String. Geomungo instrumental music is a national intangible cultural asset (No. 16, Geomungo Sanjo), and I have been working as an art director for the Bukchon Changwoo Theater as a promoter to find young traditional musicians through the Bukchon Woori Music Festival and the Cheon Chamanbyeol Concert. When the ACC World Music Festival was held for the first time in Gwangju, I participated as a performer, and since then, I have performed for the festival several times. After the 10th anniversary celebration last year, I was invited as an artistic director by the Asia Culture Center and the Asian Cultural Institute, which wanted to make new changes.
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GN: Please tell us about the programs that the audience will be able to see at the World Music Festival. Heo Yoon-jeong: This year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we had to make the lineup with only Korean performers since foreign artists wouldn’t be able to enter Korea. As I am a musician who plays traditional compositions and in a position to create new heritage in the 21st century based on this, I thought it would be great for the ACC World Music Festival to be the event to display it. Nowadays, in addition to K-music, K-drama, and K-movies, South Korea has also been highlighted for K-disease control and K-education, so we should make K-world music stand out even more during our festival. It’s the most personal Korean thing! Because it’s global. The essence of K-music, which is based on Korean music, is the festival. GN: Who are some of the musicians and acts participating in this year’s World Music Festival? Heo Yoon-jeong : Up to now, there have been no stage
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15 performances for traditional music at the ACC World Music Festival, but through two performances this year, “Namdo Legacy” and “Lee Hee-moon and Kim Jun-soo,” we will be able to showcase the essence and customs of traditional Korean music. Gwangju is the home of Namdo music; it is home to the traditional genres of sinawi, sanjo, and pansori and perpetuates their legacy. I think that they should be thought of as one genre, such as bossa nova, tango, or qawwali, through the promotion of our South Korean music to the world music industry. “Namdo Legacy” is a very precious ensemble with master Kim Il-gu performing sinawi, master singer Lee Nan-cho performing pansori, and master Ahn Ok-sun performing gayageum sanjo. Lee Hee-moon performs the sounds of Gyeonggi-do, and Kim Jun-su performs pansori, making a unique performance where the audience can see the power of the two traditions combined with different creative compositions.
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August 2020
GN: What is the concept or theme for this year’s World Music Festival? And where do you place the most emphasis when directing the event? Heo Yoon-jeong: This year due to COVID-19, an outdoor stage is not feasible, so we will have an indoor performance, and even though the festival will be reduced in size in comparison with previous editions, the concept is “freedom and solidarity.” Although the global community suffers together, it is through “art”
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The New and Rising Acts portion of the event will feature young performance teams such as Haepali (Jellyfish), Hwang Jin-ah’s band, and ChuDahye’s band, bringing novelty and an experimental spirit. The ACC Telematic Ensemble’s performance will be introduced for the first time through a telematic concert, an internet live concert that will be streamed worldwide. It will be live, connecting South Korea and the U.S.A. The ensemble is composed of artists who have participated in the World Music Festival in Korea: the Grammy nominee and brilliant bass master Mark Dresser, trombonist Michael Desen, and pianist Joshua White.
FEATURE
On the main stage, performances by Jambinai, Blackstring, ADG7 (ack-dan-gwang-chil), and Park Jiha, musicians with strong fan bases, will be seen not only in Korea but also at overseas locations. Moreover the threemember indie band Se So Neon, solo-singer Junggigo, the Kim Oki Band, and the Echae Kang Band will bring in new musical colors through their collaborations with Korean traditional instruments as well as performing their own music. OBSG (Obangsingwa) and SB Circle (Sinbak Circle) are bands that perform unique music with fans both domestically and internationally and enjoy hip popularity beyond the Korean traditional music scene.
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16
FEATURE
that one is able to express individual freedom in such a disconnected and isolated situation. And the value of art that connects and associate individuals and freedom is a topic that makes us think about what humanity truly is. GN: Do you have any message that you would like to convey to our readers about this year’s festival? Heo Yoon-jeong: Since comfort, encouragement, and empathy are necessary more than ever, we plan to create an environment where we can offer joy and comfort through music. A lot of things have been converted to online in this pandemic era, and this will accelerate in the future, but audiences and artists are craving for inperson performances and mutual dialogue. It’s not just a face-to-face or non-face-to-face problem; it’s a question of whether it is true communication or not. Our festival will prepare devices that create a better synergy in an innovative manner rather than simply replacing the existing modes, so it should bring safety and joy during this stressful period. Please give us a lot of support and attention. GN: Thank you, Ms. Heo. In addition to being unique, it sounds like this year’s World Music Festival will be the ACC’s best yet!
Dates: August 21–22 (Fri.–Sat.), 28–29 (Fri.–Sat.) Address: 38 Munhwa-jeondang-ro, Dong-gu, Gwangju 광주시 동구 문화전당로 38 Website: https://www.acc.go.kr/en/index.do Phone: 062-601-4614
The Author
Jeong Jiyeon studied piano in university and now is working as a coordinator at the GIC. She spends her free time in bed with her best friends, Netflix and YouTube.
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
August 2020
Photographs courtesy of Asia Culture Institute.
ACC World Music Festival
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7/27/2020 12:27:47 PM
17
CROSSWORD PUZZLE
Look for the answers to this crossword puzzle to appear in September in Gwangju News Online (www.gwangjunewsgic.com)
Created by Jon Dunbar
DOWN 1 Amounts of money 2 It sticks in his ___ 3 Continent of 32 across 4 Type of forest in Damyang 5 Int’l delivery service 6 Food or larva 7 Jeolla region 9 Signatory of 1953 Korean Armistice Agreement 10 Government fee 11 School, esp. in UK 19 The S in MSCBA and founder of 39 across
ARTS & CULTURE
8 Skin art
21 Baekhwa Village’s neighborhood 23 Lion astrology sign 25 Jamaican emotion of joy
ACROSS
26 Fortune-teller 27 Actor Mikkelsen
5 Displeased grunt
36 Booby trap
28 Online journal
8 Ballerina’s skirt
37 Muscat citizen
29 Peru capital or bean
12 Constellation bear
39 Underground ___
30 Tyler Perry’s The ___
41 Gwangju News’ Melline
31 ___ Mori Aktiengesellschaft
43 New Zealand 1970s band Split ___
35 ‘‘Who ___ you?”
44 ‘‘Oracular Spectacular” band
38 Korea’s ‘‘city of love”
46 Okpo’s island
40 Slovaks’ neighbors
50 Matured
42 1590s war
53 Major entertainment company
45 Spelling error
55 Uncouth UK youth
47 Columbus’ state
56 Water sport or shirt
48 Indonesian island
57 Stock market launch
49 ‘‘Happily ___ after”
13 Opposite of amateur 14 Cheonan neighbour 15 Mutilate 16 Eclipsed by the moon 17 Cab 18 Collects sample for COVID-19 test 20 Thai currency 22 Engine fluid 24 Chinese form of communism
58 Bee home
28 Produced flowers
50 Satellite coordinates
59 MSCBA winner Gyonggu
32 ‘‘Imagine Your ___”
51 Former President Moo-hyun
60 The present
52 Lilly or Whitney
33 ‘‘Armageddon” actress Tyler
61 Fly high
54 Captured soldier
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August 2020
34 Wanderer
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
1 Blister
7/27/2020 12:27:48 PM
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
August 2020
blast from the past
18 Blast from the Past 18
We have heard that the summer may provide a respite from the ravages of the coronavirus; however, we should be careful not to let our guard down too much as there are other dangers that summer temperatures in Korea can pose: heat cramps, heat exhaustion, heat stroke, and possibly the most dreaded of all, fan death. Fan death has been taken quite seriously in Korea, especially as the use of electric fans first spread to the general population, much like the fear of the coronavirus after its introduction into Korea. What follows is an article on “Fan Death” written by Stephen Redeker, which first appeared in the February 2012 issue of the Gwangju News, now supplemented with additional material. — Ed.
I
n this issue, we explore death by a handy little appliance to cool us off in the summer: the electric fan. How is it that such a seemingly benign device could cause a nation to change its sleeping habits? Why do most of the fans in Korea have timers on them? If you do not know the answers to these questions, reading further could save your life (or at least enlighten you about one of Korea’s most infamous modern-day beliefs).
“Fan death” (seonpunggi samang, 선풍기 사망) is the name given to the belief that going to sleep in an enclosed room with an electric fan blowing directly on an individual could be fatal. According to a 2005 press release by the Korea Consumer Protection Board (KCPB),[1] a government-funded agency, “asphyxiation from electric fans and air conditioners” was one of the five leading causes of summer injuries in the three-year period of 2003–2005, based on an analysis of data collected by the Consumer Injury Surveillance System (CISS). The press release also mentions how direct, prolonged contact with a blowing fan could cause hypothermia (a dangerous drop in body temperature) or lead to death from too much carbon dioxide and not enough oxygen. The KCPB also reported twenty cases of asphyxiation in the same three-year period that were caused by leaving electric fans and air conditioners on while sleeping. It was suggested that to prevent this, doors should be left open when going to sleep, fans should be oscillating, and timers should be set to turn the fans off automatically rather than run all night (this last item explains why most Korean fans come equipped with timers).
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South Korea is the only country in the world with a widespread belief that fans can cause someone to die while asleep. Perhaps the reason why no other country promotes this notion is that there is no substantial evidence to support it. There are, however, more than a few theories of why “fan death-related symptoms” could occur, but none of them are likely to be fatal. For example, a household electric fan is not strong enough to create a vacuum in a room that would make it difficult to breathe. Nor can a fan critically affect the ratio of oxygen to carbon dioxide because its blades cannot chop up the molecules, and its electric motor hardly uses any oxygen to operate. There are no fatal amounts of ozone emitted from an electric fan. When it comes to hypothermia, the room would already need to be extremely cold for this to occur, and a blowing fan cannot cause the temperature in an enclosed room to drop that drastically. If any of these scenarios came even close to occurring, the person would most likely wake up from the discomfort. A number of medical professionals have said that fan death is impossible. One such person is Dr. Lee Yoon-song, a professor at Seoul National University’s medical school. He has performed autopsies on some media-reported “fan death victims.” He found that the main cause of death was not from the fan itself (although it might have sped things up). Most of the victims were elderly people who were already afflicted with severe health issues such as heart or lung disease, or alcoholism. He says that the media does not do a good job in reporting the facts when they publish stories about deaths where electric fans are
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19 electric fan makes breathing difficult, and also that the air from dirty fan blades causes colds, influenza, asthma, or splenitis, resulting in death.[5]
present.[2] (After all, a fan death story would be far less interesting if it focused on the deceased’s pre-existing conditions.)
Sources Storyteller. (2011, August 30). South Korean fan death. Urban Legends Online. https://urbanlegendsonline.com/south-koreanfan-death/ [2] Surridge, G. (2007, January 10). Newspapers fan belief in urban myth. JoongAng Daily. http://web.archive.org/web/20070110052746/ http://joongangdaily.joins.com/200409/22/20040922212332457990 0091009101.html [3] Yang, S., & Kang, Y. (2011, July 4). Summer death revives fan death myth. Korea Herald. http://www.koreaherald.com/view. php?ud=20110704000552 [4] Candice in Korea. (2010, June 18). Beware the fan! https:// candiceinkorea.weebly.com/bla-bla-blog/category/fan%20death [5] Namu.wiki. (2020, June 27). 선풍기 사망설 [Electric fan death hypotheses]. https://namu.wiki/w/선풍기 사망설 [1]
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August 2020
Written by Stephen Redeker. Supplemented by David Shaffer.
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
Some who cannot bring themselves to believe the fan death reports have pointed to the possibility of the government propagating conspiracy theories in order to shift blame away from suicides and/or other unexplained deaths. Or perhaps, it is the government’s attempt to keep electricity use down during the hot summer months. There are others who have ever-so-slightly more “scientific” suggestions that the direct air from an
This is not to suggest, however, that you turn off your electric fan at night, but instead that you do use the timer, and do not point it directly at your face. If lingering worries remain, make sure you keep that paper talisman tucked tightly under your pillow. And it might not be a bad idea to finally make that frequently thought-about visit to the nearby fortuneteller to ascertain exactly what your future may hold.
blast from the past
Due to publicity and rumor, a considerable number of Koreans still believe that fan death is possible. Those who believe heed all the warnings – and why should they not? They heard about it once or a few times in their early lives and just go on believing it because nobody convincingly disputes it. Every so often, a news report mentions fan death, thus reviving the notion – as does, for example, a 2011 Korea Herald article focusing on the “fan death myth” while police have not yet determined the cause of death.[3] Much more alarming is this 1997 article in the Korea Herald that stated, “The heat wave, which has encompassed Korea for about a week, has generated various heat-related accidents and deaths. At least 10 people died from the effects of electric fans, which can remove oxygen from the air and lower body temperatures.”[4]
None of the “scientific” explanations for fan death come close to being airtight, and none of the conspiracy theories hold much water. What could have more “logically” led to the formation of the fan death fallacy? Could it have been concern with the supernatural? Until just very recently, the average Korean has been quite superstitious. When electric fan use became commonplace in the 1970s in Korea, fortunetellers, shamanistic rituals, and talismans were as common as the swarms of mosquitoes and the belief that evil spirits dangerously lurked in the dark of night. Similar to the belief in some cultures that the early camera would capture one’s soul, it is quite plausible that many Koreans believed that the airstream created by this newfangled, evil spirit-infused “wind-maker” would whisk away one’s life breath as it swept over its unsuspecting, open-mouthed victim lost in deep sleep – all the dastardly deeds of those evil spirits of the night, to be sure!
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20
Lost in Gwangju
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
August 2020
TRAVEL
Written and photographed by Isaiah Winters
Possibly the largest Jesus statue in Gwangju stands alone in Samgeo-dong.
R
otting along Gwangju’s extreme western fringe are the remains of two largely forgotten institutions whose infamous backstories are worth recalling. Located in sleepy Samgeo-dong, the first is a colossal monument to greed, embezzlement, and freewheeling Ponzi schemes, while the second is a dormant reminder of the legal system’s failure to protect minors from
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sexual abuse. Rather than let these local haunts slip into obscurity, this article seeks to reconnect them to the disgraces who once oversaw them with impunity, lest their infamy be forgotten. The idea for this article came about after shooting and researching the former, an overgrown jumble of
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21
TRAVEL It’s worth reviewing Lee’s string of failed institutions that still haunt our fair city, along with the many Lost in Gwangju articles covering them. In addition to the
August 2020
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these institutions ring a bell, that’s because they and their owner, Lee Hong-ha, have been recurring themes in this column over the last two and a half years.
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exposed rebar and slab concrete way out in the middle of nowhere. Though still technically within Gwangju city limits, the giant three-building complex feels as far from our bustling city as one can get. Built by Hongbok Academy in the mid-1990s but never actually completed, the now crumbling eyesore was intended to be an educational facility associated with Seonam University. If
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22
▲ The shuttered façade of Gwangju Inhwa School as it appears today.
August 2020
complex featured in this article, Seojin Hospital in Juwoldong still casts its vacant shadow over two nearby girls’ high schools (issue #200), the old Red Cross Hospital downtown still holds 5.18 history hostage (issue #203), and Namgwang Hospital in Mareuk-dong was only recently cleared of its hundreds of poorly secured vials and jars containing diseased organs (issues #210, #211, and #215). There are likely more derelicts like them – these are just the ones I’m familiar with. Venture outside the city and you’ll find entire university campuses that sit vacant as a result of Lee’s education racket. The nameless concrete shells Lee left out in Samgeo-dong aren’t much to look at, though they’re fun to walk through and still yield a few interesting sights. Most interesting are the hundreds of Styrofoam sunhats someone abandoned inside on the first floor. As the buildings tend to flood when it rains, the hats eerily float across the surface like water striders. To the artsy soul who meticulously set the hats out in this way, thank you. I appreciate the surreal quietude of your work. Aside from its makeshift art installation and connection to Lee, who’s now himself rotting in Gwangju Prison for his many Ponzi schemes, the complex is also intriguing for the far more unsettling complex that sits next door.
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
TRAVEL
▲ Hundreds of sunhats await the rain. Artist unknown.
The adjacent complex is none other than Gwangju Mental Hospital, which includes the now shuttered Gwangju Inhwa School for hearing-impaired children. The school initially made headlines in 2005 when half a dozen staff members – the principal included – were accused of physically and sexually abusing at least nine students. Following trial, a few of the convicted were sent to jail while others got off free due to the then statute of limitations on sex crimes. Soon after, an appellate court reduced the sentences further, with two of the convicted
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being released from jail as a result. Among these was the principal who, instead of serving his original five-year sentence for raping a 13-year-old student, got off with probation and a fine of three million won. Remarkably, a few of the accused teachers even returned to work at the same school, while the lone teacher credited with exposing the abuse was fired.[1][2] Sickening as the case was, it wasn’t until the widely seen film Dogani (2011) came out that the Korean public became incensed by the scandal and pressed for change. Based on the eponymous 2009 novel by Gong Ji-young, the film was inspired by the horrors that took place at Gwangju Inhwa School and detailed the revolting abuse endured by the students, in addition to the efforts of said teacher to reveal their suffering to the public. An instant hit, the film was soon seen by millions of Koreans, including then President Lee Myung Bak who, according to his spokesperson, said, “We need to pay more attention and care for the minorities in society.”[3] In a twist of irony, members of the then Grand National Party’s Human Rights Committee called for Gong, the author of the roman à clef, to be investigated for exaggerations in both her novel and its film adaptation and because she was “engaging in political activities.” Gong got the best of the exchange via Twitter by agreeing and amplifying: “Now the GNP has begun its plan to make me into a world-renowned author. Much appreciated.”[4] Rather than launch any investigation into Gong, what actually resulted from the public uproar was a rapid police investigation of the school to find further irregularities.[5] In fact, only two months after the film’s release, Gwangju Inhwa School’s licensing as a social welfare school was
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23 revoked, and the students were set to be relocated. In addition, the local education office either suspended the jobs or canceled the teaching licenses of teachers involved in the scandal.[6] Also within that timeframe, the National Assembly passed the “Dogani Law,” a revision of the sexual crimes bill that removed the statute of limitations and allowed for heavier penalties in cases of sexual abuse involving children under 13 and the disabled. Additional sentencing was tacked on for any organization staff or administrative heads who were found guilty of such crimes.[7]
Kim R. (2011, September 27). Film ignites call for probe into assaults. The Korea Times. http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/ nation/2011/09/117_95595.html [2] Bae J. (2011, September 29). Film rekindles rage over Inhwa School case. The Korea Herald. http://nwww.koreaherald.com/view. php?ud=20110929000867 [3] Kim R. (2011, October 04). “Dogani” school faces closure. The Korea Times. http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/ biz/2011/10/113_96054.html [4] Jung, D. (2011, October 29). GNP calls for investigation into “The Crucible” author. Hankyoreh. http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_ edition/e_national/503050.html [5] Chosunilbo. (2011, September 29). Police to reinvestigate sex-abuse claim at deaf school. http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_ dir/2011/09/29/2011092901215.html [6] Na, J. (2011, October 31). “Dogani” school to be shut down. The Korea Times. http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/ nation/2011/10/113_97714.html [7] Kim, R. (2011, October 28). National Assembly passes “Dogani Law.” The Korea Times. https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/ nation/2020/02/113_97529.html [1]
The Author
Originally from Southern California, Isaiah Winters is a Gwangju-based urban explorer who enjoys writing about the City of Light’s lesser-known quarters. When he’s not roaming the streets and writing about his experiences, he’s usually working or fulfilling his duties as the Gwangju News’ heavily caffeinated chief proofreader.
TRAVEL
Today the Gwangju Inhwa School sits empty, and its late principal lies dead from pancreatic cancer. On my last visit to the area, I noticed an absurdly large statue of Jesus with outstretched arms nestled into the nearby hillside. Wanting a closer look, the “path to Jesus” took me past yet another forested complex in the area – a sort of religious school retreat that I’d never seen before. Staff members there were extremely kind and guided me on the right path to their oversized Messiah. Passing through the complex, I spotted a young girl of maybe 12 or 13 waving joyfully to me from a second-story window. A sinking sadness rushed over me when I realized she was special needs. Masking a smile, I waved back and continued on my path.
Sources
▼ The stillborn architecture of Hongbok Academy.
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
August 2020
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24
From Abroad
Belarus and Belarusians 10 Little-Known Facts
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August 2020
TRAVEL
Written by Viktoryia Shylkouskaya
Map of Belarus. (Karandash.by)
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7/27/2020 12:28:01 PM
25
B
elarus is a beautiful country located in the very heart of Europe. But not many people know that Belarus, a country of 10 million people, even exists! That is exactly what this article is on a mission to fix.
“1000 Names”
‘‘There is no easy way from the earth to the stars,” Seneca said, and he was absolutely right. You can become a truly successful person only with the help of hard work. Many people who changed the world were originally from Belarusian lands.
Marc Chagall
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Tadeusz Kosciuszko
My list of famous Belarusians continues with Tadeusz Kościuszko, a military engineer and hero in Belarus, Poland, Lithuania, and even the United States of America. He was born in what is today Kosava, a town in the western part of Belarus. He was the leader of the national liberation uprising in 1794 in the PolishLithuanian Commonwealth and took part in the American Revolutionary War. Nowadays, there are over 200 monuments around the world dedicated to Kosciuszko, and people in Belarus bring Kosciuszko’s portraits to protest against the rule of the current Belarusian president.
Statue of Tadeusz Kosciuszko in Philadelphia, USA. (Alec Rogers © Association for Public Art)
August 2020
Marc Chagall in 1910/1911. (Marcchagall.net)
“I and the Village,” and others – are exhibited in galleries around the world.
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Many of you have probably seen the famous Marc Chagall’s painting “Above the Town.” But did you know that Marc Chagall is from Belarus? One of the most famous people from Belarus, particularly in the city of Vitebsk, Chagall was a talented painter, graphic artist, and vivid representative of the 20th-century avant-garde who fascinated the world with his unique style. While many in Russia claim him as one of theirs, Marc Chagall’s house and museum is open to visitors in Vitebsk, Belarus, and his famous paintings – “To My Betrothed,”
▲ Painting “Over the Town,” 1913 by Marc Chagall. (Marcchagall.net)
TRAVEL
Belarus, located on the eastern edge of Eastern Europe, is often called the last dictatorship on the continent and, for some, is still considered to be part of Russia. Officially, the name of the country is the Republic of Belarus (Belarus, for short), but it got its name only in 1991, just 30 years ago. Before then, Belarusian lands were called the Principality of Polotsk, the Principality of Turov, Kievan Rus, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (13th– 16th centuries), the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (16th–18th centuries), Northwestern Krai of the Russian Empire, and others. Historical materials show that for more than a thousand years, Belarus was a part of other state formations, but it is also important to note that it has never been a colonial territory. Being always in a mix with other territories and nations played an integral part in the Belarusian ethnos-forming process.
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26 Barys Kit
Victoria Azarenka
▲ Barys Kit (Intex-press.by)
▲ Victoria Azarenka at the Rogers Cup, Montreal, Canada, 2018. (Minas Panagiotakis © Getty Images)
Svetlana Alexievich
Belarusian IT Guys
▼ Portrait of Svetlana Alexievich. (Niklas Elmehed © The Nobel Foundation)
▼ Wargaming Games (Wargaming.com)
Belarusian Victoria Azarenka has been one of the best tennis players in the world since 2008, winning the title of “world’s number 1 tennis player” in 2012. She held the Women’s Tennis Association’s (WTA) number 1 ranking until 2013. Overall, Azarenka has won 20 WTA singles titles, eight WTA doubles titles, and three mixeddoubles titles. In August 2013, Azarenka was named the fourth highest-paid female athlete in the world by Forbes Magazine. Impressive, is it not?
The only Belarusian – so far – to win the Nobel Prize in Literature made the world google where and what “Belarus” was in 2015. Svetlana Alexievich is the first writer from Belarus to receive the coveted award. Born in the western Ukrainian town of Stanislav to a Belarusian father and a Ukrainian mother, Svetlana Alexievich grew up in Belarus. During her career in journalism, Alexievich specialized in crafting narratives based on witness testimonies. In the process, she wrote oral histories of several dramatic events in Soviet history: the Second World War, the Afghan War, the fall of the Soviet Union, and the Chernobyl disaster.
In Belarus, every second child, instead of wanting to become an astronaut, wants to become a programmer. Being a programmer in Belarus, as well as in many other countries in the world, means receiving one of the best salaries among many occupations. Have you heard of a computer game called “World of Tanks”? What about “World of Warships” or “World of Warplanes”? All of these games were created in Belarus! The Belarusian national airline Belavia, in showing its support for the local businesses, repainted one of its planes with the colors of the “World of Tanks” game. Many of you might be using the “Viber” app on your smartphones, the third most popular messaging app after Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp. As you can probably
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
August 2020
TRAVEL
Perhaps you did not know that, among the world’s many scientific discoveries, it was the Belarusian Barys Kit and his rocket propellant formula that made it possible to make the first-ever trip to the moon during the Apollo missions. Barys Kit worked for 25 years in the American space research program. Despite his emigration, Kit stayed a staunch Belarusian throughout his life: “Everything I did in my life, I did for my homeland and its fame.” He lived out his final years in a Jewish nursing home in Germany, and celebrated his last birthday (his 107th) in 2017.
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27 guess, this application was also created by Belarusian programmers. In addition, the MSQRD app, which puts an animated mask on your face, was created in Belarus. After having 10 million downloads, it was bought by Facebook in 2016.
Louis Bart Mayer
Immigrants from Belarus have left their mark on the development of world cinema, too. For example, Louis Bart Mayer who came from Minsk, became famous in the field of world cinematography. He is well known not only as a founder of the Hollywood film studio MetroGoldwyn-Mayer but also as one of the promoters of the American Society of Cinematographers. The idea of presenting the annual Oscar award also belongs to him.
Lisa Kudrow
One of the stars of the television sitcom Friends is not as American as she may seem. Actually, Lisa Kudrow’s grandad was born in Mogilev and her grandma in the village Iwye, located in the Hrodna region of Belarus. Her father’s mother immigrated to Brooklyn in 1921, where her father grew up. Some years ago, Lisa visited Minsk, Vileika, and Iwye to reconnect with her Belarusian roots.
Scarlett Johansson
Like any other nation, the Belarusians are unique in their own way. They have for centuries celebrated their lands, used a different language, and gone by different names. Many of those who were born here do not consider themselves Belarusians, as the borders shifted faster than their identities could. All these people were born in a small country (we still need to explain to foreigners where our country is located). But it does not matter: The past, present, and future of our country are all built by great people!
▼ “Belarus Is My Country.” (Maksim Piakarski © Symbal.by)
Harrison Ford
Michael Douglas
One of the most famous Hollywood actors also has Belarusian roots. His father, Kirk Douglas, was born
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The Author
Viktoryia Shylkouskaya is a 26-year-old Belarusian currently residing in Gwangju. She moved to South Korea in 2016 without any knowledge of the country or language. What she thought would only be one year has since turned into many more. Instagram: @shylk.vick
August 2020
Known for his legendary roles in the Indiana Jones and Star Wars film series, Harrison Ford was born in Chicago. The actor’s maternal grandparents, however, were from Belarus and emigrated from Minsk to New York at the beginning of the last century. Ford himself spoke about his ancestors on the eve of the premiere of the next Indiana Jones film back in 2008.
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One of the world’s most popular, beautiful, and highestpaid actresses, Scarlett Johansson spoke about her Belarusian origins at a press conference in Moscow in 2012. Back then, she said that her mother was originally from Minsk. Meticulous historians later found that the star’s great-grandfather and great-grandmother actually lived in Nesvizh. The superstar promised to visit her historic homeland. Well, what can we say – we are still waiting!
into a family of emigres from Chavusy, Mogilev Oblast, which is in eastern Belarus.
TRAVEL
You will be surprised to learn that many Hollywood celebrities can trace their ancestry back to Belarus. For example, Lisa Kudrow of the sitcom Friends as well as Scarlett Johansson, Harrison Ford, Michael Douglas, and others have origins in Belarus!
▲ Hollywood celebrities with Belarusian roots. (Pavel Supanenka © Youtube)
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Around Korea
Ultimate Summer Getaway
TRAVEL
Little red poppies can be easily found pretty much anywhere in Jiri-san Cheese Land.
Jiri-san Cheese Land in Gurye Written and photographed by Cami Ismanova
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
August 2020
G
urye is a small green town in Jeollanam-do widely known for its mountainous scenery, in particular Jiri-san National Park, where visitors can see Jirisan (Mt. Jiri), the second tallest mountain in South Korea following its rocky brother Halla-san on Jeju Island. There are three prime peaks: Cheonwang-bong, Banyabong, and the most hallowed peak, Nogo-dan. It is Nogodan that has contributed immensely to the popularity of Gurye as a leisure zone. The spectacular view that reveals the beauty of Korean nature can be accessed via hiking to the aforementioned peak. When the southern winds blow, they form a circle of clouds and fog around Nogodan. It is then that the insurmountable Jiri-san stays in its full beauty, ready to steal the hearts of hikers. Hiking the Banya-bong peak is like a well-deserved and anticipated reward for all the effort. Visitors can watch both tranquil sunrises and red-fevered sunsets once they climb up to the peak. Besides being one of the hottest hiking spots in the country, the town of Gurye also offers a variety of seasonal festivals. Listed below are many, included the Piagol Maple Tree Festival, the Dongpyeon Sori Festival, and the Jiri-san Namak Festival in autumn. In addition, there is the Sansuyu Blossom Festival, the Seomjin River Cherry
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Blossom Festival, and the Royal Azalea Festival in spring. The Sansuyu Blossom Festival is the most popular among locals and tourists for its beautiful yellow blossoms and their medicinal effects. The positive medical impact of sansuyu (산수유, Japanese cornelian cherry) blossoms was mentioned even in the Dongui Bogam (동의보감), a medical book written by the royal physician Heo Jun during the Joseon Dynasty. The book stated that the blossoms, when correctly used, can protect the skin and liver by curing various inflammations. Locals highly advise drinking sansuyu tea as well as sansuyu liquor if you suffer from high blood pressure or diabetes. Everything I had heard and seen about Gurye made my trip there inevitable. As a person who loves cheese and religiously consumes it daily, I thought it would be fun to visit trendy Jiri-san Cheese Land (지리산치즈랜드) in Gurye. And guess what? It is totally worth going over there, even for a short picnic. It is no secret that Instagram has become the ultimate travel guru app of our time, with an overabundance of trip tips and stunning visuals. It shows locations, photos, reviews, and sometimes even prices. Enlightened by Insta blogs, armed with KaKaoMap, and driven by a desire to have a break, I was on my way to have an amazing day in Gurye. When I
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▲ Clouds and fog embrace the mountains.
first saw Jiri-san Cheese Land’s scenery, it was a perfect composition of colors and tones, almost as if it had been painted by Vincent Van Gogh himself. Nature is indeed the greatest artist of all, for it had created another flawless masterpiece in Gurye.
How do you get there? It takes around an hour by car from Gwangju. Gurye is a small town, but it is also a tourist-designated area that attracts tourists all year long. Therefore, buses to and from Gwangju are usually available, and these take around an hour and a half to get there. The number of tourists these days is low due to COVID-19’s spread, so I would definitely recommend going there on a cloudy, rainy day with a tent. It will save you from the summer heat and crowds. There is a free parking lot and cafe nearby where you can purchase local dairy products. The hit of the season are their blueberry and strawberry yogurts! I hope you will enjoy the plethora of natural attractions in Gurye over the upcoming summer weekends.
Azaleas are in a full bloom, even in summer.
JIRI-SAN NATIONAL PARK / 지리산국립공원 Address: 133 Ipyeong-ri, Sandong-myeon, Gurye-gun, Jeollanam-do 전라남도 구례군 산동면 이평리 133
JIRI-SAN CHEESE LAND / 지리산치즈랜드 Address: 1590 Saneop-ro, Sandong-myeon, Gurye-gun, Jeollanam-do 전라남도 구례군 산동면 산업로 1590-62, 지리산치즈랜드영농조합법인 Phone: 061-782-2587 Email: taki14@daum.net
The Author
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August 2020
Cami Ismanova is a student at Chonnam National University majoring in economics. In her free time, she enjoys reading books on various topics, traveling around, and writing about the places she has been to. She loves listening to jazz, drawing, and growing flowers. Cami has been living in Gwangju for three years now. Instagram: @camidisman
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
Jiri-san Cheese Land is a farming association formed in 1979. In the beginning, they started with only a pair of heifers, but the association has gradually grown into an abundantly successful farming zone that produces a great variety of dairy products annually. It is located pretty close to Jiri-san National Park. A reservoir that appears between the farm and mountains gives a pinch of freshness that plays along the shadows of endless pine trees. The cloudy, rainy weather discouraged visitors from visiting Jiri-san Cheese Land the day I was there, but I personally enjoyed my time there by appreciating the combination of peaceful silence and the distant height of Jiri-san. It is just what the doctor ordered for anyone who seeks solitude and peace away from the buzzing cities. There are designated spots for picnic mats and tents, which are perfect for a family trip or a romantic getaway. Every now and then, the roar of motor boats, awkwardly chased by river surfers, will distract you for a moment. But I assure you, it is the only noise pollution there. Although a well-known leisure spot where people visit regularly, it still offers so much space and solitude!
TRAVEL TRAVEL
▲ Jiri-san Cheese Land in Gurye.
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Around Korea
TRAVEL
Paying Respects to the Dusty Buddhas of Samhong-sa
Written by Ryan Berkebile
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
August 2020
O
nce I discover a neighborhood in the initial stages of a demolition operation, my documenting process begins. The primary motivation for exploring abandoned neighborhoods in Korea is to chronicle the area before demolition workers erase it from people’s memory. Depending on the size of the redevelopment zone, I make numerous visits to the location, using film cameras and an iPhone to shoot scenes that capture my interest. It is quite unbelievable what people leave behind as they vacate their residence or workplace. School annuals, wedding photos, bankbooks, hanbok (한복, traditional Korean clothing), and even graduation certificates are typical examples of personal items that I find while investigating neighborhoods destined for demolition. Abandoned residents, stores, and even shaman’s houses (무당집, mudangjip) are a dime-a-dozen to discover in a jaekaebal jiyeok (재개발 지역) or redevelopment zone. But finding a fully furnished Buddhist temple left unoccupied years ago is unusual. This discovery ranks as one of my most exciting, saddening, and also insightful finds as an urban explorer. I have found that urban exploration (also known as “urbex”) unveils the absurd situation we call modern living; the scenes shift from the comic (and everything in between) to the profound quickly.
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▲ A detail of the water-damaged Sanshin taenghwa.
My experience with this abandoned Buddhist temple would fall somewhere between tragedy and profundity. It does not harm to divulge the temple’s location because it is already gone. Samhong-sa (삼홍사) was a Buddhist temple located on a hill behind the Korea National University of Arts in northern Seoul. Demolition workers, or perhaps scavengers, came and took the paintings (탱화, taenghwa) and Buddha statues of Samhong-sa. On my third visit to the place, my urbex spidey senses tingled as I assessed the temple’s open gate, a sure sign visitors with intentions other than photography had paid a visit. Before that day, the door had been impenetrable. The only way to access the temple was by scaling the wall from the abandoned house next door. Samhong-sa was not a grand, tourist-friendly temple like Jogye-sa (조계사) or Haein-sa (해인사). It was a small house transformed into a place of devotion. The temple provided a refuge for the Buddhists living in the Imun-1-dong neighborhood. Crossing the threshold, I saw the doors to the Great Buddha Hall (대웅전, daeungjeon) splayed open. Inside I found countertops, dedication cards, and paper lotus lanterns littered on the floor. One lone painting survived the pillage, but debris obscured it from a clear view. It was disappointing on two levels. As a Buddhist, it was difficult to see the beautiful, inspirational images
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▲The Buddha and bodhisattvas had gone ages without a proper dusting.
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The Author
When Ryan Berkebile is not taking pictures of abandoned neighborhoods, he likes to write blog posts for his website, Long Distance Runner. You can see what he has been up to at longdistancerunner.org and on Instagram: @l0ngdistancerunner and @naturaryan1600
August 2020
Maybe someone was squatting in the Great Buddha Hall, tending the site to protect the Buddhist art and statues? I worked up the nerve to scale the fence and scope out the caved-in building and forgotten shoes before taking a look inside the Great Buddha Hall. I tried to peek through the window of the caved-in building but could not see inside. My imagination ran into overdrive, envisioning the ruined portion of the temple as the final resting place for a monk or nun who died alone and isolated from society. I let go of these thoughts, returning to the present moment and moved on towards the Great Buddha Hall.
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Anyone who has spent a significant amount of time at a Buddhist temple in Korea will notice the immaculate interior and exterior of its buildings. Resident monks work tirelessly with laypeople volunteers to maintain a spotless haven for visitors and seung-ga (승가, Buddhist monks). Located in a neighborhood that was almost completely clear of residents, I scouted out Samhong-sa a few times before attempting to get in because I could not get a full sense of whether it was empty. One day, I scouted it out from the yard of the abandoned house next door. The Great Buddha Hall was intact. It seemed clean and cared for; however, the residential quarters told a different story. There was a gaping hole in the roof where the monks or nuns used to eat and sleep, and it had caved in long ago. The wood sticking out was weathered and had been exposed to the elements for quite some time. Yet, despite this visible sign of desertion, I saw old shoes lined up in front of the place, which freaked me out a bit.
TRAVEL
disappear in such a careless manner. The second prick of sadness came as an urban explorer. Samhong-sa was a beautiful place weirdly frozen in time. As I mentioned earlier, it is atypical to find abandoned Buddhist temples in Korea, and even rarer to find one left behind with lots of stuff inside. This location struck me twice as someone who identifies with each group. From my experience, Buddhists and urban explorers appreciate and try to express honesty and respect for the impermanence of life. However, each group has its ways and methods of showing it.
As I opened the door, there were no signs of a person squatting or caring for the place. It was unfathomable that a tranquil and peaceful place like Samhong-sa would be forgotten and left behind. The living quarters appeared trashed, but I held out for hope that a devoted practitioner would periodically come by to look after the temple. After my mind settled, it became clear nobody had been here to bow, chant, pray, or meditate for a long time. Dust lingered in the air and coated cushions, tables, and lotus lanterns. Probably the most noticeable grime glazed the golden Buddha and his three accompanying bodhisattvas on the central altar. The roof ’s water damage had seeped years of moisture onto a hanging calligraphy scroll and devotional painting for the Sanshin (산신, mountain spirit). Despite Samhong-sa’s neglected state, the Great Buddha Hall offered a tranquil space to those who visited. Underneath the filth, its true nature shined. I felt a sense of peace in front of the murky Buddha and bodhisattvas. I imagined they sat waiting serenely for anyone seeking refuge from suffering, even if only to escape the weather. I received a thoughtful reminder of the precarious nature of life left from the Buddha and his bodhisattvas that day I saw them gone.
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Gwangju Abroad
NGO Intern Life in the U.S. An Internship with a North Korean Refugee
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
August 2020
GWANGJU ABROAD
Written and photographed by Han Soyoung
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L
ast year, I participated in an internship in the U.S. through a school program offered by Chonnam National University. The organization I started working for was an NGO called the International Rescue Committee (IRC), which has several branches in the U.S. In fact, there were several other work sites in the internship program, but I chose the IRC because I was attracted to the NGO field. The IRC is currently located in more than 40 countries, with 25 IRCs in the U.S. alone. The IRC provides emergency aid and long-term assistance to refugees and those displaced by war, persecution, or natural disasters. It focuses mainly on health, education, economic wellbeing, and safety. My IRC office was in Salt Lake City, Utah, and I worked there for 12 weeks.
The more time I spent with the North Korean refugee, the more we felt like friends in the unfamiliar land of the U.S., becoming more than just an intern and a refugee. Then she began telling stories resembling those I had heard on TV back in South Korea. She said that she married in China after defecting from North Korea and has an elementary school-aged child there. However, she lost contact with her family while staying at the Immigration Detention Center in Thailand and had not been able to meet them since leaving China. So, it was her dream to live happily in the U.S. with her husband and child if she could get permanent residency. It was heartbreaking to see that ordinary South Korean undertakings could only be achieved by taking such a high level of risk by North Koreans. After hearing this story, I decided to do my best to help others during my internship.
On the last day of the internship, the North Korean refugee obtained work at the Sheraton Hotel in downtown
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August 2020
In addition to this experience, I also managed the Job Club held every Thursday at our IRC. The Job Club is a program that provides information about U.S. labor laws to refugees seeking jobs so that they would not be taken advantage of while working. I hosted the Job Club under two themes, “How to Avoid Problems and Mistakes on the Job” and “Words Relating to Jobs and Work,” and although they were poor at English, they made an effort to practice and write each letter. I felt an immense sense of accomplishment.
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Then, about a week after I started my internship, a refugee from North Korea came to our office. She had lived in China after escaping from North Korea and went to the Immigration Detention Center in Thailand where she applied for immigration to the U.S., not to South Korea, and fortunately came to my IRC office. That was the first time in my life to meet a North Korean, and it was an amazing experience. Not only I but also my colleagues seemed to find the meeting between a South Korean and a North Korean quite interesting. They wondered things like, “How different is the language?” and “Is there any problem with communication?” They took a lot of interest in us, throwing questions like these at us.
At that time, because I was the only Korean intern at the IRC, I handled all the translation required for the North Korean refugee – from making appointments to orientation and job searching. Even though I had no experience in interpreting, I became proficient over time.
GWANGJU ABROAD
I worked there as part of the Employment Team and was in charge of investigating the refugees’ job preferences and finding the jobs that best suited them. The work was done by creating resumes based on their careers, preferences, and time availability, and by submitting an application in person or applying online. In particular, refugees from all over the world came to our IRC office, so I was able to experience various cultures and languages.
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34 Salt Lake City, and through this, I was able to achieve one of my internship’s goals.
A year later, I still miss the peaceful atmosphere of Salt Lake City. Even after I have come back to South Korea, the North Korean refugee I met sometimes phones me just to talk. The internship experience, which represents a turning point in my life, has allowed me to discover what kind of person I am. Unlike my earlier days in Korea, where I had always lived just as others did, in a uniform way, the new intern experience has given me the courage to think about what I like and to challenge myself to not be afraid to pursue what I really want to do. Through this experience, I have also realized that I cannot always be happy. Before I went to the U.S., I had imagined that intern life would always be happy and full of excitement. However, when I started my internship,
there were many things that I could not control, and I cried a lot on the bus going home after work. Although one cannot always be happy, I now realize that I can tackle any challenge I face if I just remember that there are people cheering me on and helping me. I do not know what is going to happen to me in the future, but I will not be afraid as long as I just remember this fact – even if trouble faces me.
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
August 2020
GWANGJU ABROAD
Through this internship, I thought it was really great that someone could be happy with the little help that I provided. And the more important thing I realized is the circle of kindness (giving is receiving). I was someone who helped someone coming to the IRC, but when I first experienced life in the U.S., I needed someone’s help. My homestay family always took care of me and always invited me to family events. I am very thankful for that. In addition, Mira, who was the only Korean employee at the IRC, invited me to her home to make Korean-style homecooked meals. I was lucky enough to have so many people around me willing to help me adjust to the new culture and environment during my stay in the U.S.
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The Author
Han Soyoung majored in English language and literature at Chonnam National University. Presently, she is working as an intern at the Gwangju International Center. Instagram: @sssuya_o
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Everyday Korean Episode 32 부동산 (Real Estate) By Harsh Kumar Mishra
Grammar ~ 에 있다: Use this grammar point to express that
~ㄹ/을 때: Use this with verb or adjective stems to express “when ~.” Ex: 밥을 먹을 때 이야기하지 마세요. Don’t talk when you’re eating. 한가할 때 연락주세요. Contact me when you’re free.
Vocabulary to seek 구하다 찾다 to find real estate (agency) 부동산 도와주다 to help commission,service charge 수수료 to be expenssive 비싸다 보여주다 to show customer 손님 nearby area 근처
계약 contract 보증금 deposit money 월세 monthly rent 전세 key money deposit 전기요금 electricity charges 가스요금 gas charges 수도세 water charges 관리비 maintenance charges
정민:
선배, 제가 집을 구해야 하는데 못 찾고 있어요. [Seon-bae, jega ji-beul gu-hae-ya ha-neun-de mot chak-ko is-seo-yo.] (Senior), I have to find a house, but I’m not able to find one.
부동산에 가 봤어?
[Bu-dong-sane ga bwa-sseo?] Jeongmin: Did you try budongsan (a real estate agency)?
데지: Daisy:
정민:
부동산이 뭐예요? [Bu-dong-sani mwo-yeyo?] What is budongsan?
부동산은 집을 구하는 걸 도와주는 곳이야.
[Bu-dong-sa-neun ji-beul gu-ha-neun geol dowa-ju-neun go- shiya.] Jeongmin: Budongsan is a place that helps you find a house.
데지:
거기 수수료가 비싸요? [Geo-gi susu-ryo-ga bi-ssa-yo? ]
Daisy:
Is the commission there expensive?
정민:
그렇게 비싸지 않아. 여러 집을 보여주고 손님에게 맞는 집이 구해질 때까지 도와줘. [Geu-reok-he bi-ssa-ji ana. Yeo-reo ji-beul bo-yeo-jugo son-nim- ege man-neun ji-bi gu-hae-jil ttae-kkaji dowa-jwo.]
Jeongmin: It’s not that expensive. They’ll show you many houses and help you until you obtain a suitable place.
데지:
좋네요. 그럼 저도 근처에 있는 부동산으로 가 볼래요. 고마워요. [Jon-neyo. Geu-reom jeo-do geun-cheo-e in-neun bu-dong-sa-neuro ga bol-laeyo. Kho-ma-weo-yo. ]
Daisy: That sounds great. Then I’ll try visiting a nearby budongsan. Thank you.
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August 2020
TOPIK GUIDE (topikguide.com) is the most comprehensive website devoted to the TOPIK exam. It has been helping Korean language learners pass the TOPIK (Test of Proficiency in Korean) for more than eight years. On our website, you can get all the TOPIK updates, grammar and vocabulary material, and study tips. You can also visit our TOPIK Guide YouTube channel.
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
Driving-Related Vocabulary
Daisy:
EDUCATION
something is located somewhere. Ex: 무등산은 광주에 있어요. Mudeung Mountain is (located) in Gwangju.
데지:
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August 2020
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Spiritual Fulfillment Spiritual fulfillment starts with noticing the beauty of what is around you. I often go on long walks and quiet hikes, and during these times, I have made an effort to pay closer attention to the details and patterns of nature. Some of the images I have captured highlight the visual artistry in the natural organization of earthly aspects. Other pictures are about beautiful light or moments of wonder, and a few are simply about the fun interplay of colors. Altogether, they represent the undeniable magnificence of nature and how it feeds the soul. www.gwangjunewsgic.com
August 2020
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www.gwangjunewsgic.com
August 2020
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The Photographer
Cristina Murano’s work is in the areas of education, equity, public governance, and sport, with a focus on youth, women, and 2SLGBTQ+ people. She is originally from Toronto, Canada. Instagram: @profondoluce
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ARTS & CULTURE www.gwangjunewsgic.com
August 2020
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Expat Living
365 Days of Giving
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
August 2020
COMMUNITY
Written by Emily MacCosham
M
an has been searching for meaning as far back as we can remember. Crippled by this existential crisis, he has turned to alcohol, drugs, sex, and soulless jobs in order to fill this deep void. What if the answer to this crisis were actually very simple? What if, as Tony Robbins put it, “the secret of living is giving?” Very simple, indeed – yet tremendously profound. I live in a rural town called Yeonggwang, with a captivating temple named Bulgapsa. As I meander along the temple path, I ponder the simple life of a monk. He spends his time immersed in meditation, chanting, studying, reading, and of course, giving. These monks have no possessions. What could they possibly offer people? To quote the wise and enlightened Buddha, “Give, even if you only have a little.” The monks have much to give: their time, their wisdom, and their knowledge of The Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path. There is much to learn from this simple life. Perhaps you are someone who believes in fate and messages from a higher power. Sometimes a sign is sent to you during your most trying times in life: the times when you were suffering the most. That was certainly how it felt for me when I stumbled upon an inspiring TED Talk by Jacqueline Way titled “How to Be Happy Every Day: It Will Change the World.” Now, who would not want to be happy every day? Jacqueline made the simple commitment to give back to the world every day for one year with her three-year-old son, Nick. Nick asks in the video, “Mommy, how many days are in a year?” Nick was so excited that he wanted to start giving on his birthday. In the video, he learns the magic of compassion and how it sends positive ripples throughout the world. At the age of three, Nick learns to recycle! If you are curious about Jacqueline and Nick’s story, check out their website at https://www.365give.ca/author/admin/. They have inspired thousands of educators and students around the world.
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Jacqueline’s project roused a deep longing inside of me to connect with strangers in positive ways and to give back simply. Empowered by this TED Talk and by my husband, Michael, we decided to start our own “365 Days of Giving” project in South Korea. On our first day, we fed two Jindo dogs some tuna! I think the dogs were more excited to eat the tuna than to see their foreign friends. On the second day, Michael and I started reading a book called “Peace Pilgrim” about a woman who walked around America sharing her eloquent messages of peace with anyone who would listen. She walked for 28 years before she died. If you are interested in getting her book for free, check out the following website: https://www. peacepilgrim.org/. On Day 3, Michael and I wrote letters for “Operation Gratitude,” which is the largest nonprofit in America for volunteers who support the military, veterans, and first responders. We hope these letters are received well by these courageous Americans and a ripple effect of giving can begin.
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options that resembled and even tasted like meat. It was a great way for us to encourage vegetarianism in Korea. Alto was so excited he went back to the restaurant the very next day! On Day 6, we walked around Yeonggwang collecting garbage and recycling it. Michael recently started a weekly/biweekly garbage collecting day at Gamami Beach in order to protect the environment and encourage Korean people to do the same. One Korean girl even helped us pick up garbage and got a mini English lesson from it!
On Day 5, we treated our Korean friend Alto to a delicious vegetarian buffet at Sujata restaurant near Mudeung Mountain. He exclaimed, “This is the best restaurant I have been to!” and was very surprised by the vegetarian
After reading this article, I encourage you to start your own “giving project.” It can be as simple as once a week. Turn towards giving, and I guarantee that you will live a meaningful life. Please share your stories of giving with me at emilymarymaccosham@gmail.com or reach out to me on Facebook at Emily MacCosham. Good luck!
August 2020
Emily MacCosham is an educator and aspiring life coach who lives in Yeonggwang, South Korea. She enjoys learning about culture, psychology, Buddhism, and philosophy. She enjoys connecting with new people and cherishes her friends and family.
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
The Author
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COMMUNITY
On Day 4, I signed a petition to ban female genital mutilation/cutting in Massachusetts and donated 10,000 won to help the project. Michael signed a petition to “Save White’s Woods Nature Center,” which he has visited in Indiana County, Pennsylvania. You can sign a petition or even start your own petition by going to this website: https://www.change.org/petitions.
Giving can be as simple as hugging a person in need or smiling at a stranger, turning off the lights more often, unplugging your electronics, and having a shorter shower in order to help the planet. To quote a famous monk, Matthieu Ricard, who wrote the book Altruism, “Focus on selfless love, the fervent wish that all sentient beings may find happiness and the causes of happiness. Let the loving kindness permeate your mind and rest in this all-encompassing feeling of altruistic love.”
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FOOD & DRINKS
42 Restaurant Review
Hawonjae Tearoom
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August 2020
A Taste of Home in a Cup of Tea Written and photographed by Fatemeh Khalili
A
s I was missing home and the true taste of Persian black tea, my friend looked for a tea house to soothe my homesickness. As I live in a dorm in Korea, not being able to make hot tea in a teapot over the stove makes me deeply homesick, even more so since I brought some black tea leaves with me from Iran on my last visit. Iranians are super-obsessed with tea and drink it in the morning, after each meal, and throughout the rest of the day. Additionally, the first drink that one is offered when visiting someone home is usually a cup of tea. So, you may now understand how difficult it is for me to live without drinking tea from morning till night!
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I am so thankful to my friend who introduced me to Hawonjae Tearoom (티룸하원재) in the heart of Gwangju’s Culture Street (문화의 거리) in Yangnim-dong (양림동). There you can discover the beauty of Gwangju’s history and enjoy seeing many different traditional houses and art galleries. We were supposed to visit Choi Seung Hyo’s house (최승효 가옥), which was built in 1920 and is one of Gwangju’s important cultural assets. It holds deep meaning for the people of Gwangju, as independence activists used to flee there during the Japanese colonial period in Korea. Unfortunately, because of the current situation caused by COVID-19, it was closed when
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SPORTS & ACTIVITIES
we went. But we still enjoyed walking through the old streets of Yangnim-dong, which envelop you in a sense of nostalgia for Korea’s past. I highly recommend a peaceful afternoon walk in this neighborhood followed by a cup of hot black tea at Hawonjae Tearoom.
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The outside of the shop hosts a small garden filled with trees and hydrangea flowers (수국), adding to the dreamy feel of the neighborhood. From the very first moment I
saw this tearoom’s entrance, I knew it was going to fulfill my expectations. The owner of the shop greeted us with a warm smile, making me feel very much at home. Although the building and the interior design was completely done up in an English style, the tea totally satisfied me from my first sip. As you may or may not know, there are many different kinds of black tea from all around the world. If you are in doubt about which to choose, the owner will help you choose one to your liking depending on your
August 2020
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44 classical music in the background adds even more to the peaceful ambience of the shop.
FOOD & DRINKS
As for the tea we chose on our visit, I had a pot of “Wedding Imperial” for its great smell, while my friend had a pot of “Afternoon Blend,” which we found tasted most similar to Persian black tea. While drinking tea together, I felt I could take shelter in this teashop whenever I feel homesick. Now it doesn’t matter if I don’t have a teapot or a kettle in my dormitory because whenever I want, I can have a delightful cup of tea that reminds me of home. Thanks to Hawonjae Tearoom, I feel more at home in Gwangju.
To me, this teahouse is reminiscent of a small teapot museum. The room is decorated with various fancy teapots and tea cups, and your tea is served in one of them along with scones and jam. If you prefer something different, you can also order from the selection of cakes that are available. Feel free to look around and take as many pictures as you wish until your tea is ready. The
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August 2020
preference in smell and/or taste. The prices range from 8,000 won to 12,000 won for a full pot of delicious tea. A single teapot is enough for two, but if you want more, you can order two different types for more variety.
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Hawonjae Tearoom (티룸 하원재) Address: Gwangju, Nam-gu, Jejung-ro 47-beon-gil 11 (Yangnim-dong) 광주광역시 남구 제중로47번길 11 (양림동) Operating Hours: 11:00 a.m. – 09:30 p.m., times subject to change due to COVID-19; Closed on Mondays.
The Author
Fatemeh Khalili is an Iranian GKS (Global Korea Scholarship) student studying Korean at Chonnam University. She will start her master’s program in Korean literature in Seoul this autumn. She loves literature because she believes each country’s emotion and culture is included in its literature. Therefore, she wants to act as a bridge between Korea and Iran by translating each country’s literary works. Instagram: @koreanicles
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Recipe 45
Dalgona Coffee Today’s Internet Trend Written and photographed by Viktoryia Shylkouskaya
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What Is Dalgona Coffee?
Dalgona coffee is a whipped coffee beverage made with instant coffee, sugar, water, and milk. When I first heard about it, I thought it made so much sense for Koreans. Instant coffee is everywhere; it’s not great, but it’s not totally bad. It’s just super common. There are instant coffee machines at restaurants so that when you depart after a meal, you can get a little Dixie cup of instant coffee to go, and they’re in subway stations, so you can get a big gulp before the next train arrives. When I first saw the viral challenge, I assumed someone thought they’d try making instant coffee good and came up with this since they had a lot of free time on their hands.
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Dalgona coffee ready to drink.
August 2020
Much like one of my language teachers taught us in school, once everyone agrees on a name for something, it is what it is. If we all decided to suddenly start calling tables “apples,” well then, tables would be apples. So, I guess “beaten coffee from India” is going to be known as “dalgona coffee from Korea” from now on because hundreds of thousands of people online have deemed it so.
The current viral trend is not really dalgona coffee but was given the moniker after a famous actor mentioned the similar taste. The craze sweeping TikTok and Instagram began when Jung Il Woo (정일우), a Korean actor you might recognize from Unstoppable High Kick, 49 Days, Cool Guys, Hot Ramen, Cinderella with Four Knights, and Moon Embracing the Sun, went to Macau and tried a whipped coffee based on the Indian drink called “Phenti Hui” or “Indian cappuchino.” After having the beverage, he came back to Korea, went on the show Stars’ Top Recipe at Fun-Staurant in January 2020 and talked about this whipped coffee drink he had and how it reminded him of dalgona, a common street food in Korea. Thus, the name was born and the rest is history. So, now there are two dalgona coffees, this viral challenge sweeping the internet under the hashtag #DalgonaCoffeeChallenge that is really based off of the coffee drink from India mentioned above and an actual dalgona coffee that has existed for some time and was created by a cafe in Seongsu-dong, the Brooklyn of Seoul.
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What you need to know, however, is that what has been named “dalgona coffee” by internet fiends, is actually “beaten coffee,” which is a common Indian coffee beverage. It got the name “beaten coffee” in India because of the process of beating the instant coffee and sugar to aerate the mixture over and over again. The only difference is that often the paste-like substance is put in the glass first and then warm milk is poured over top of it. If you’ve already tried the dalgona challenge…now you want to try it again this way, don’t you?
Where Did the Term “Dalgona Coffee” Come From?
FOOD & DRINKS
algona (달고나), real dalgona, is a Korean street food that is believed to have first appeared in Korea in the 1960s in Busan, the second largest city in the country. This treat is sweet and has been translated as “honeycomb toffee.” It tastes a bit like butterscotch but has a peanut brittle-like feeling. Variations of this snack exist all around the world but is known by many different names, such as “sponge candy” in New York and Pennsylvania, “cinder toffee” in Britain, “angel food candy” in Wisconsin, “sea foam” in California and Maine, and karume-yaki in Japan.*
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46 Ingredients (Serves 1–2)
• • • •
2 tablespoons instant coffee (Do not use ground coffee beans.) 2 tablespoons sugar (I used brown sugar.) 2 tablespoons hot water milk
Put the instant coffee, sugar, and hot water in a bowl. (The bigger the bowl, the more air will whip in, and the fluffier it will be.) Mix vigorously. (I used a hand whisk for 5 minutes.) Once the mixture is whipped, grab a glass and fill it half full (or more) with milk. (This is strong, I have to say, so if you’re not good with strong coffee, add more milk.) Take the whipped coffee mixture and put it on top of the milk and, voila, it’s done. Drink it up!
▲ Capture from TV.
The Author
Viktoryia Shylkouskaya is a 26-year-old Belarusian currently residing in Gwangju. She moved to South Korea in 2016 without any knowledge of the country or language. What she thought would only be one year has since turned into many more. Instagram: @shylk.vick
Prep and cooking time: 5–10 minutes. Difficulty: Easy. *An article about dalgona can be found in the December 2017 issue of the Gwangju News: “Dalgona: An Entertaining, Wintery Snack from the Past.”
▼ Example for the recipe pictures composition.
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August 2020
FOOD & DRINKS
Preparation
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Language Teaching 47
The Joys of Teaching as a Filipina Compiled by Dr. David E. Shaffer When thinking of expat English teachers in Korea, first thoughts are of North Americans teaching in public schools, private academies, and at the university level. Next to come to mind may be expats from the UK/ Ireland, Australia/NZ, or possibly South Africa. Much overlooked, however, are the female Filipinos (Filipinas) teaching English here. Taking into consideration the sizable number of Filipina teachers in the area, we have asked a number of them from varied teaching contexts to describe their teaching and living experiences here in order to provide a broader understanding of their situations. What follows are their accounts.
The Joys Are Countless
The teaching I do is game-based learning. I also keep in mind the VARK model of learning styles (i.e., visual, auditory, reading/writing, and kinesthetic). I have some books that I use from time to time, but I do not always base my lessons on books. And I do not stick to a particular method of teaching, for I know that one size does not fit all. I try to teach my students the things that they need to learn and the practical things that they can use in everyday settings.
It Is Really a Great Joy
Mary Joy Escobal is a missionary volunteer at the Gwangju Dream Seventh Day Adventist Multicultural Church
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At first, I found it so hard to teach the Korean students because of the language barrier. We could not understand each other, but by the grace of God and the help of our deacon, who volunteered for five months to help me with my class, I was able to adjust easily. It is really a great joy for me to teach children, especially when you can see that the little ones are changing and improving not just academically but also in character. We just meet twice a week, every Tuesday and Thursday, but I feel like we are just friends talking and learning new things, enjoying the classes, and sharing the foods we have. They are teaching me Korean as well, and even though our deacon has stop attending our class, I am able to make friends with the students and bring our classes to a happy ending.
August 2020
I do not feel that I am competing with teachers from English-speaking countries for job opportunities. I know they are better than me when it comes to speaking English. Besides, though we are running in the same race, we are on different tracks. I believe God gives us different gifts; I just have to use mine and do the best I can in teaching my students. I have realized that teaching is not for everyone; one must have patience, passion, and guidance from Above. I hope that I can convey to my students not only knowledge but also wisdom.
Teaching English Bible studies is my primary work as a missionary of the Lord. I have a small group of six regular Korean English Bible students who are children (my other Bible class students are all Filipino adults). Our aim is to teach not just subject matter (English) but, most of all, the character and the love of Christ through English action songs and Bible stories.
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The joys I get out of teaching are countless. My students are my inspiration. I get my daily dose of energy from them. Seeing their faces makes me happy. One of the most rewarding feelings I have had was when my most difficult student improved not only in his English skills but also in his behavior towards me. It was one of those magical moments in teaching.
located in Gwangsan District. She has been living and working in Gwangju for almost two years. Here is her account.
EDUCATION
“Emma” has lived in Korea for 25 years and has been teaching English for the past two decades. She teaches elementary students at two academies in two districts of Gwangju. Here is her account of her teaching experiences.
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48 After-School Teaching Has Its Advantages
Malyn Perez Rosales Kim is an afterschool English teacher in Gwangju at Juwol and Shinam Elementary Schools. She has been living in Korea for nearly eleven years and has been teaching for eight of them. Here is her account.
I taught at an English academy for a year, but the hours were long and late. I was able to move to an after-school English program. The hours were better, but communicating in Korean with teachers and administrative staff was not easy. Despite its difficulties, after-school teaching has its advantages. First, different from private academies, you are in charge of how you teach your classes and manage your students. Second, there is no competition with native English-speaking teachers because after-school teaching requires Korean language skills. Third, the salary depends on the teacher’s performance and the number of students; if you teach well and have open communication with parents, you will have more students and a higher salary. Fourth, teaching time is convenient: three to four hours of class in the afternoon. I have introduced after-school teaching to some of my Filipina friends, but they all find enjoyment in other types of teaching jobs. Over eight years, I have taught at six different schools and have met many different students and parents. I think that after-school teaching is best for me. I love teaching kids. I enjoy having my students learn through games and activities that give them enjoyment. I love my job.
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
August 2020
EDUCATION
I had been teaching for five years as a Philippine elementary public school teacher when I met my husband and decided to leave for Korea. My decision was quite difficult, but I knew God had a plan and a purpose for me in a foreign country, where I did not even understand the language.
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Teaching Gives Me Great Happiness
Princess Joy F. Cedeño teaches at an English academy in the Suwan area of Gwangju where she teaches elementary and middle school students. She also does private tutorials with elementary and middle school students and housewives. Joy has been living in Korea for nine years and has been teaching for the past eight. Here is here account. When I was new here, I tried to join many different groups, such as KOTESOL, where I could learn teaching techniques. I also attended a TESOL program downtown just to learn more about teaching because I knew that in one’s teaching career you have to keep learning, and I also knew that I still had a lot to learn. I have been teaching in Korea for eight years now, and I have learned a lot from different people I have worked with. They have taught me how to be a better teacher and a better learner. Teaching gives me great happiness, especially when my students and colleagues appreciate what I do. Also, I have developed a great working relationship with my students and their parents. Parents are grateful to have me as their children’s English teacher and their compliments motivate me to work harder.
I am glad that nowadays, Koreans have changed their perspectives and have opened their doors wider to Filipino teachers. Now, I am working with great academy directors who really trust me and believe in me. Because of the trust and respect I have gained from them, I am now the proud team leader of the foreign teachers in our academy.
We Should Invest in Ourselves
Sherryl Sambo has lived in Korea for 12 years and has been teaching EFL for seven. She teaches elementary and middle school students at an English academy in the Suwan district of Gwangju and tutors businessmen and government officials. Sherryl is also the president of a Filipino English teacher’s group in Gwangju. Here is her account.
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49 When I became a mother, I somehow realized that every parent automatically becomes a teacher in their own right. As a foreigner in South Korea, I thought teaching English would be a career path I could pursue since it offers flexible hours suitable for a working mom, and I considered it something that I could do well being a parent and having a bachelor’s degree. I soon realized that there is more to teaching that meets the eye. I found that I enjoyed teaching young learners as much as I enjoy teaching my daughter, and I felt as though I was contributing to Korean society by teaching their youth. But since my major was business, I had difficulty in managing my classes and sensed a shortcoming in how to effectively help students learn. Because of this, I decided to enroll in graduate school. After receiving my master’s degree in TESOL, I still felt I wanted to learn more, so I decided to pursue a PhD at Chonnam National University in English education. Now, I feel confident and worthy of being called a teacher.
I Regained My Confidence in Teaching
Sabel Lee has been living in Gwangju for 21 years. She has been an English educator since 2001 and is also a mother and married to a Korean. She presently works out of the Buk-gu District Youth Center. Here is her account.
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From the accounts above and from anecdotal evidence, it can be concluded that Filipina English teachers in the Gwangju area are of strong Christian faith. Much of the very positive outlooks on life that they hold are likely influenced by their faith. Many of them have married into a Korean family and have children, giving them a Korean language and culture foundation as well as childrearing skills – all quite valuable in teaching Korean learners. However, you may have noticed that none of the Filipina teachers featured here are teaching in regular public school or university positions. This is not so much because Filipina teachers shun these institutions as vice versa. These joy-of-teaching accounts are not the full stories that these teachers relate. Every coin has two sides. The less joyous side of their stories will be presented in our next issue.
GWANGJU-JEONNAM KOTESOL UPCOMING EVENTS Check the chapter’s webpages and Facebook group periodically for updates on chapter events and online activities. For full event details: Website: http://koreatesol.org/gwangju Facebook: Gwangju-Jeonnam KOTESOL
The Editor
David Shaffer, as vice-president of the Gwangju-Jeonnam Chapter of KOTESOL, invites you to participate in the teacher development workshops and their regular meetings (in-person and online). He also invites you to visit “Gwangju Filipino English Teachers (GFET)” on Facebook. Dr. Shaffer has been a resident of Gwangju and professor at Chosun University for many years. He is a past president of KOTESOL and is currently the chairman of the board at the Gwangju International Center as well as editor-in-chief of the Gwangju News.
August 2020
After five years of teaching, I became involved as a human rights volunteer and had a chance to become a regular host on the GFN English radio network, tackling issues related to multicultural families. I also enrolled in a one-year TESOL course at Chonnam National University. Afterwards, I was given the opportunity to teach “Philippine Culture” to public school teachers in
In Conclusion
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I started out small in teaching. For my first year, I had two IELTS students, who both passed the test with a score of five! For five years, I taught at a young learner English academy in Yangsan-dong, even though my Korean was limited and I was unfamiliar with the elementary curriculum (I had previously taught high school in the Philippines). I enjoyed teaching but felt that I was not as effective as I wanted to be. So, I joined KOTESOL and learned many things to enhance my knowledge and skill in teaching children.
I have taught at the Youth Center for eight years now and have “peace and security” – not financial security, but I have found respect and recognition as an educator. Sharing one’s knowledge is a precious thing.
EDUCATION
I believe that we should invest in ourselves and know our worth. Because of the trust and respect I have gained from my colleagues and people around me, I am now the president of Gwangju Toastmasters and GFET (Gwangju Filipino English Teachers). I would like to empower my fellow Filipinas to become the best versions of themselves and not settle for being mediocre. Life is a continuous learning process, and as teachers, we should see to it that we engage in professional development for ourselves and for our students.
Gwangju working with multicultural students. Through this, I regained my confidence in teaching and now teach four classes daily at the Buk-gu District Youth Center – classes for Korean women that focus on speaking skills.
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50
Book Review
Crazy Brave: A Memoir By Joy Harjo Reviewed by Kristy Dolson
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August 2020
ARTS & CULTURE
J
oy Harjo, a member of the Mvskoke (Creek) Nation, is the first Native American United States poet laureate. Crazy Brave: A Memoir details her heartbreaking journey to poetry and music through hardship and oppression. Born to parents who came from two different First Nations tribes, their relationship was edged with danger, and her father left when she was still a child. In the church, she began to doubt herself and internalized a self-loathing for her female otherness. As a young woman, she was stalked and nearly raped many times – sometimes by her stepfather, who turned out to be no savior to her mother and siblings. She turned to alcohol, drugs, and art to escape the abuse. Despite growing up in a social and political order that wanted to see her fail, her courage and strength made it possible for her to survive and eventually thrive. Harjo begins her memoir with a beautiful and inspiring epigraph and ends it with an afterword full of forgiveness, while the main narrative is separated into four parts. Representing the four cardinal points of the compass, each begins with a short description of what these directions signify. Harjo’s poetic talents are on full display. Each direction also plays an important part in Harjo’s story, as she moves around the country following her dreams and her love for both art and people. As a poet and storyteller, there are snippets of poetry and story weaved throughout, breaking up the more linear narrative of her journey from birth to the present. It moves quickly, and with a fluid grace. It is much more beautiful than a memoir about abandonment, abuse, and racial genocide has any right to be. I am no stranger to the historical or present injustices done to North America’s First Nations peoples. But I am also painfully aware that that history has been willfully and forcibly overwritten by its European conquerors. Crazy Brave is an act of remembering a brutal personal and tribal history. It is an act of rebellion against would-be conquerors. It is a story more people need to hear. Harjo relates her story with compassion and the forgiveness of an older woman who has learned to let go of the failures and pain of her younger self. I am glad that she can forgive. But I am relieved that she does not forget. Abusers would have their victims “forgive and forget.” We should not
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forget. Even now, Western governments are working hard to disappear their native populations. We must not allow this to happen. One of the most disturbing atrocities Harjo recounts is her first experience giving birth. In a joyless military hospital, she was given a form asking for permission to sterilize her after the birth. She declined. At the time, she did not give the incident much thought, but later she realized how close she had come to being another victim in the U.S. government’s blatant attack on First Nations women. Only her fluency in English saved her. Most women of her generation could not read the form and signed thinking it was just a consent form for the doctors to deliver their babies. Many women were sterilized without even this misleading formality. After suffering years of abuse at the hands of her resentful mother-in-law and a husband who never learned to grow up, Harjo finally broke free and followed her passion for creative expression. In her memoir, she gives thanks to the Black Power Revolution of the 1960s, grateful for the awakening it spurred in Native American people across the land. The revolutionary spirit unleashed a rising tide of change in a generation that wished to bring back strength and recognition to their individual tribal nations. She joined the tide, adding her voice to the surge, and gained strength. Although it was heartbreaking to read about her adolescence and young adulthood as a disenfranchised woman with a yearning to be an artist, in the end I was uplifted by the hope and light Harjo found in poetry. It is fitting that I was introduced to this book by my colleague Dr. Park during her June KOTESOL Reflective Practice meeting. As a person of European heritage, I must constantly reflect on my position of white privilege. Asking questions, seeking diverse viewpoints, listening to the experiences of the marginalized and donating our time, money, and voices in the ongoing struggle against injustice are practices we should all be embracing.
The Reviewer
Kristy Dolson lived in South Korea for five years before taking a year off to travel, read, and spend time with her family in Canada and Australia. She holds a Bachelor of Education and has now returned to Gwangju, where she splits her time b etween teaching at the new Jeollanamdo International Education Institute and reading as much as she can.
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51
“Dataism” as a Religion of the Future Book Review by Cami Ismanova
H
Yuval Noah Harari, an Israeli professor of history at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, is already well known for his bestselling books Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind and Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow. In his latest work, Homo Deus, he highlights possible future scenarios and trends that are likely to occur. Among these possibilities are the rise of super humans, the reign of AI, space colonization, and “Dataism” as a new emerging religion.
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The Reviewer
Cami Ismanova is a student at Chonnam National University majoring in economics. In her free time, she enjoys reading books on various topics, traveling around, and writing about the places she has been to. She loves listening to jazz, drawing, and growing flowers. Cami has been living in Gwangju for three years now. Instagram: @camidisman
August 2020
Why does “Dataism” have such obvious potential? This is because big data has already infiltrated our daily life in so
Overall, the book Homo Deus is intriguing! It discusses actual trends that, although still in the early stages of development, have the potential to grow rapidly in future decades. The book’s insights will make you think outside of the box and realize possible future scenarios. For better historical and social insights, I highly recommend reading the first book Sapiens beforehand, and then diving into Homo Deus to get a fresh dose of mindblowing information afterwards.
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I would like to focus on “Dataism” in particular here. The term is so new that my laptop does not even recognize it. Basically, it is a new philosophy that elevates the significance of big data. What is this “data” and why is it “big,” you might ask? The data being referred to here is an enormous amount of information collected through social media, mobile data, and elsewhere on the web, ultimately culminating in trillions of records. Every voice message you have sent, every click on a website you have ever made, every time you have liked boring photos of quotes on Instagram, and every financial transaction you have ever made – these all become a part of big data. I am not telling you this to make you paranoid. It is just what it is: bits of information traveling back and forth within seconds and flowing like endless ripples in an ocean of data.
many aspects, i nclu d i ng education, finance, technology, transportation, medicine, economics, and even politics. One of the main ideas of Homo Deus is that mankind will willingly provide all this information because it will be mutually beneficial. AI and big data might improve life in ways that are hard to imagine. Nowadays, social media can already tell you more about your preferences than you can yourself. How? By collecting and evaluating the data you provide, as well as by monitoring your physical and mental health through your mobile phones and smart watches. Demonstrating what is already possible with big data, Google can predict an upcoming seasonal outbreak of the flu earlier than any medical institution that has been formed solely for predicting outbreaks of the flu. Big data is everywhere already. It is fascinating and terrifying at the same time.
ARTS & CULTURE
ow would you like to travel to the future, and if you could, what would you expect to see? The first president of the Martian Federation, Mr. Musk? People driving flying Tesla cars? A robot cooking your omelet? Or maybe melting icebergs at the North Pole turning our cities into new Atlantises? Will mankind still be dominant or even relevant then? Will humans still be at the top of the food chain using their immense power to create and destroy? Will people evolve into “homo deus” – human gods – or will they perish like the other living things they have eradicated?
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52 Gwangju Writes
In and Out of Time Written by Sesetu Holomisa
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
August 2020
ARTS & CULTURE
W
hen I walk home and observe my surroundings, I sometimes find myself thinking, “I’m going to miss this.” There’s simplicity in walking home when it’s a little cloudy, but it isn’t gloomy – when there’s warmth in the air, but the sun isn’t blazing; when it’s just a cool day. You see little people happily skip on the white lines of the crosswalk when the green human says go. There’s a group of grandmas sitting on the side of the road selling fresh vegetables; the air is clean, and it’s just a normal day. Yet you know that there have been times where you haven’t taken the time to appreciate the moment, preoccupied with thoughts of your troubles – consumed by scenes of the worst parts of your day or week on replay, thinking of how you can’t wait for the weekend or a specific event in the future. Missing what’s in front of you, the moment that’s filled with the kind of normalcy you wish for when the thoughts in your head keep you up. Or when anxiety makes a temporary home out of you and makes you feel like it’ll burn that house down. You forget that these moments in an ordinary day are some of the best moments. Yet, once you come to this realization, that voice telling you to appreciate the moment has harped on for so long that the moment has passed. You’ve made your way to your doorstep, and you’re distracted by what you’ll cook for dinner: “Should I just eat some leftovers.” “Should I order some fried chicken? (Yes, treat yourself!),” but “No, you should save some money (Money!).” Then you find yourself wondering if you’re saving enough. You’re not sure what you’re saving for, but it’s important that you’re strict with your finances and limit spending. That’s what life is about, right? Making money . . . right? You don’t know. You’re not really sure of anything lately. In the midst of all the chaos happening in the world, you’re thinking more and more about life and what it means. There’s no clear answer. You’re on the bus and your stop is near. There’s a primary school student across from you reading a webtoon on their phone. You think of when you were in primary school. Everything was so much easier, but you don’t remember enjoying it. Is this the point of time – to make you realize that you never really understand how good things are until they become a distant memory? But how can you be sure if nostalgia hasn’t worked its magical powers on the memories categorized as “the past” in your
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mind and made them a little more colorful than they actually were? Is that how we get by – by telling ourselves that we’ve had times that were filled with joy and to live long so we can seek all the little pockets of joy in between the beginning and the end? You’ve gotten off the bus and you’re still thinking about the past, but you try to be a little more present in this moment. You need to reload your card at a convenience store near your apartment, and there you see some high school students eating some ramen before they go to their hagwons. Their laughs are boisterous, and you can tell their giggles come from their stomachs. Their energy is affecting; it makes you smile because happiness is contagious. You savor the short moment, then buy some of your favorite treats and reload your card. You’re in your head again, mentally going through the to-do list for the evening and the rest of your week. Time is a strange concept because you more often than not have to travel to the past to find happiness. And in the moments where you can recognize that the moment you’re experiencing in the present will be a source of bliss in the future, you can’t help but feel bittersweet, tainting the feeling of being present with a little bit of sadness. Maybe you can relate or maybe you’re well versed in living life to the fullest. Either way, I hope you take the time to appreciate the sky when you walk, the scent of freshly baked bread when you pass by a bakery, the smiles on the faces of students when they play a game in class, the flowers blooming on pavements, or the wind blowing on your face. I hope you’re able to treasure the moments that remind you that you’re a living, breathing being and that whatever the meaning of life is or isn’t, the warm fuzzies are in the small things happening every day.
The Author
Sesetu Holomisa is a 22-year-old South African living in Korea. She enjoys reading, writing, listening to music, sleeping, and eating. Sesetu’s favorite quote today is “Pain. I seem to have an affection, a kind of sweet tooth for it. Bolts of lightning, little rivulets of thunder. And I the eye of the storm’’ by Toni Morrison. Instagram: @sesetuh
7/27/2020 12:28:36 PM
53
Timid Love Written by Fatemeh Khalili Photograph by Halle Nouri “To my Moon, You stare at me in silence from the sky You follow me every night Yet This is our sad love story: Your lack of courage in coming down to earth And my inability in flying to your sky”
“달님에게, 하늘에서 나를 조용히 바라보는 달님 매일 밤 나를 따라오는 달님 그러나 이것은 우리의 슬픈 사랑 이야기 너가 땅에 내려오지 못한 용기와 내가 하늘까지 닿지 못한 힘”
E
ach and every love story of ours is incomparable to those that others have experienced, even if they share some similarities in some parts. And the reason is because we are all different as human beings. Yet, there is this unique kind of love that one falls into for the moon: two different beings, belonging to two totally distant worlds. Of course, such a “fall” is possible, but the result is not guaranteed, especially when neither of you has the courage to confess it... The Author
Fatemeh Khalili is an Iranian GKS (Global Korea Scholarship) student studying Korean at Chonnam University. She will start her master’s program in Korean literature in Seoul this autumn. She loves literature because she believes each country’s emotion and culture is included in its literature. Therefore, she wants to act as a bridge between Korea and Iran by translating each country’s literary works. Instagram: @koreanicles
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
August 2020
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7/27/2020 12:28:40 PM
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Opinion
Get Paranoid! Written by William Urbanski
This somewhat exaggerated and ridiculous scenario illustrates the usefulness of “constructive paranoia.” This seemingly self-contradicting term was coined by Jared Diamond, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author who could be aptly described as an OG (“original gangster”) of anthropology. Constructive paranoia means the avoidance of any activity for which the risk of a catastrophic outcome (i.e., getting smacked by a dilapidated ice cream truck moving so quickly that there are flames coming out from the tires) is low but where
we participate in the activity all the time. Constructive paranoia often results in people avoiding doing things that seem pretty much harmless to an outsider but which are well understood by those in the know to regularly cause devastation. In his amazing book The World Until Yesterday, Diamond explains, in detail, an example of constructive paranoia that he later realized most likely saved his life many times over. Diamond regularly spent days on end in the forests of Papua New Guinea in order to observe some of the native bird species that are endemic to the region. One time, he decided he would like to set up his camping platform under a massive tree, but his native guides adamantly refused because the tree was dead. Diamond became agitated because even though the tree was dead, it was huge, looked solid, and there was basically no chance that it would fall over and crush him in the night. Long story short, the guides wanted nothing to do with Diamond’s camp-under-a-dead-tree plan, and he was forced to sleep elsewhere.
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
August 2020
OPINION
I
magine yourself standing at the side of a country road. Naturally, there are trucks and cars that use it, but they do so infrequently and irregularly. What would happen if you put on a blindfold, threw in some earplugs, and then crossed the road? Probably nothing, right? Now, what if you repeated this exercise three times a week for ten years? What would happen, as a virtual statistic probability, is that sooner or later you would get smacked back to the stone age by a dilapidated ice cream truck.
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7/27/2020 12:28:41 PM
55 What Diamond later realized is that as a hard-and-fast rule, natives of the area would under no circumstances sleep under a dead tree. While this seemed ridiculous to Diamond at the time, he later observed that he could almost daily hear trees and branches falling in the woods and that the rhetoric of the people in the native villages was peppered with stories of people who had been maimed or killed by falling timber. As the natives regularly had to camp in the woods (over one hundred nights per year), they intuitively understood that if they made a habit of camping under dead trees, eventually they would be killed by one. Diamond did the math and determined that even though the single chance of a tree falling on someone at any single time was miniscule (in the neighborhood of one in five thousand), at onehundred nights per year over ten years, getting killed in this manner was pretty much a certainty.
OPINION
On a side note, I am not sure if you have ever been in the vicinity of a large tree falling down, either by itself, by lightning, or by chainsaw, but as someone who grew up in Canada and who has witnessed it a number of times, I can testify to the fact that it is a natural phenomenon that has ruined many otherwise good pairs of boxer shorts.
through on top. But there are a couple of problems with mimicking such people. First and foremost, even a professional poker player has probably put in his tenthousand hours learning his trade. To the outsider, it may appear that he is playing fast and loose with the rules and showing commendable bravery, but in reality, the player has a very good understanding of the possible and probable outcomes of what he is doing. Same goes for the Red Bull-adorned athletes who appear to recklessly BASE jump or awesomely fly through valleys in wing suits: Their expertise and preparation limit the risk. The average person has an extremely poor understanding of statistical probability, odds, and the preparation required to mitigate risks. When Average Joe says something is dangerous, he intuitively cannot distinguish between a single outcome resulting in disaster or a lower, more pernicious rate of risk that could result in a calamitous conclusion. Constructive paranoia teaches us that if there is any risk of losing our lives or any similarly catastrophic outcome, no matter how small, and we have to participate in that activity repeatedly, we should take every precaution to avoid that contingency.
It is not hard to think of a number of cases in everyday, modern life where this principle can and should be applied. Here are a few off the top of my head: Never point a knife toward your own body, never touch electronics if your hands are wet, always keep your arms inside moving vehicles, and never look at your phone when crossing the street. All of these activities carry a small risk of something bad happening, but if that bad thing were to occur, you would almost certainly risk being stabbed, electrocuted, maimed, or flattened by a dilapidated ice cream truck with a big pink ice cream cone on top, respectively.
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A case in point: Around the year 2008 at my former university in Ontario, Canada, the president of the university banned Wi-Fi on campus (yes, you read that correctly). His reasoning, as explained in the university’s newsletter, was that according to the precautionary principle, Wi-Fi had not been demonstrated to be safe. He even claimed that some students were experiencing headaches because of the harmful Wi-Fi signals. No doubt the real reason that the students were experiencing headaches was because they attended a university where
August 2020
It is fashionable and arguably commendable to be a bit of a risk-taker. There is no shortage of movies and anecdotes that praise the professional poker player, the “extreme athlete” (boy, do I hate that term), and the businessman who takes massive risks and comes
The black sheep of constructive paranoia’s extended family is the “precautionary principle.” Common in the field of environmental science, this concept basically states that unless something is scientifically proven to be safe, we should not use it. This is often employed with new technologies and sometimes with laughable results.
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On a second side note, the whole topic of driving a vehicle and not driving like an idiot is a particular case worthy of its own article. But as a special bonus, here are some constructively paranoid ways to stay safe behind the wheel: Always come to a full stop at intersections, do not pass cars at intersections, do not speed, do not drive while upset, and especially, do not forget to buckle your seatbelt. Most of the time, you can get away with neglecting to do these things, but the one time fate catches you, you will almost certainly fly through the windshield and then get run over by a dilapidated ice cream truck piloted by the Grim Reaper himself.
7/27/2020 12:28:41 PM
OPINION
56 the president thought it was a good idea to ban Wi-Fi. Lest I digress, it should be noted that the president of the university was not just some guy off the street: He was the president of the university, meaning he was a distinguished academic and a really smart dude. So, what exactly was going through his head? The precautionary principle could be summed up as the “better safe than sorry” rule, but the above example highlights the major criticism of it: It is often used selectively and prevents the adaptation of new technologies or systems that would otherwise be beneficial.
the international community. Korea scored a huge win with its initial response to the pandemic and was held up by many as a model of how to deal a national health crisis. Korea wants to protect this reputation, and if it lets the virus spread again because someone brought it into the country after gallivanting around who-knows-whatcountry, Korea would risk looking foolish.
I know all this talk of statistics and death is stunningly interesting, but you are probably wondering what any of this has to do with anything.
Understanding these principles does not mean you should live your life in fear because there are some risks in life that are unavoidable. Being a little bit dangerous and learning how to take calculated risks can even help you deal with perilous situations. When life is on the line, though, that is when it is time to get paranoid.
In recent weeks, the Korean Immigration Service, ostensibly in response to the ongoing health crisis, made a controversial change to its visa policy in which anyone holding a visa had their re-entry permit exemption suspended. I am not going to get into the fine details of this policy, but it basically boils down to anyone on a visa (read: foreigner in Korea) who wishes to leave Korea needs permission and a medical checkup before being allowed back into the country or risks having their visa cancelled. Naturally, many expats are extremely ticked off about this and some have even condemned the policy as (*gasp*) racist.
Lastly, even if this policy never came into effect, and you were able to exit and enter Korea freely, where exactly would you be flying off to, anyway?
Graphics by William Urbanski.
The Author
William Urbanski is the managing editor of the Gwangju News and is married to a wonderful Korean woman. Unlike the natives of Papua New Guinea, he is not scared of sleeping under dead trees. Instagram: @will_il_gatto
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
August 2020
Let us clear a few things up right away. First, it is not a racist policy, and in these wild times, we should be particularly careful about throwing that blanket term around. Second, I am not defending this policy at all. I do not like it and do not think it is the best option, but I definitely understand the reasoning behind it. Who is more likely to travel outside of the country, a native or a foreigner? This is not a trick question. And while we all know that you, the responsible, careful, hand-washing, mask-wearing individual, are unlikely to become the next “super-spreader” after your sojourn abroad, think about all the millions of people just like you who enter Korea on a monthly basis. So, even though an individual has a very small chance of contracting the disease and bringing it into the country, when this act is repeated thousands and millions of times, it is almost certain that someone at some point will. In this way, we can see constructive paranoia (“must avoid the worst-possible outcome”) at work. We can also see that this new policy is sprinkled with a healthy dose of the precautionary principle (“better safe than sorry”). Besides the obvious health concerns that this visa policy addresses (stopping the spread of a virus), remember that Korea is uber-conscientious about how it is perceived by
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7/27/2020 12:28:43 PM
KONA English Center
KONA Storybook Center The KONA English Center (KEC) is an educational center for English reading and culture exchanges. The KEC will guide any family and their children to develop a love for reading and to explore foreign cultures.
KONA English Center 코나영어센터 KONA Storybook Center 영어독서교육연구소 UNESCO KONA Volunteers 유네스코 코나 자원봉사단
The KONA Storybook Center (KSC) is a non-profit organization that helps disadvantaged children to learn English independently through storybooks and storymaps with UNESCO KONA Volunteers (UKV).
Programs: 1. 영어독서멘토링 (Mentoring in English Reading) 2. 영어로 배우는 과학 (Science in English) 3. 영어로 배우는 위인전 (Biography in English) 4. 코나비전특강 (KONA Vision Talk) 5. 외국인과 함께하는 문화교실 (UNESCO CCAP)
Tel: 062-434-9887 광주광역시 서구 상일로 37 37 Sangil-ro, Seo-gu, Gwangju
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