(EN) Gwangju News February 2012 #120

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February 2012 Issue No. 120

May his legacy live on Kim Geun-tae “Korea’s godfather of democracy”

Farewell to Hughie, Lindsay and Whit Pillars of the community

Six women with a vision Meet Gwangju Biennale’s new curators

www.gwangjunewsgic.com

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What’s On

Gwangju News

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Cover Photo

Elementary school in Korea and the US

Photographer: Hanbando Foundation Cover Photo: Kim Geun-tae

Publisher: Gyonggu Shin Editor-in-Chief: Julian Warmington Editors: Seth Pevey, Kathleen Villadiego, Minsu Kim Assistant Editor: Stephen Redeker Copy Editor: Emma Dooley Coordinators: Karina Prananto, Jihyun Kim Layout and Design: Karina Prananto Chief Proofreader: Emma Dooley Proofreaders: Jake Melville, Aaron Damrau, Daniel Lister,

24 National Geographic 10 Years in Korea

Jon Ozelton, Samantha Richter, Emma Dooley, Pete Schandall

Online Editors: Andrea Galvez, Caitlin Jacobs Researchers: Dongjun Yang, Jinseon Jang, Hyejung Jeong, Changho Yoon

Address: Jeon-il Building 5F, Geumnam-no 1-1, Dong-gu, Gwangju 501-758, South Korea

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

National Geographic

Gwangju News is written and edited by volunteers.

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

Copyright by the Gwangju International Center. All rights reserved. No part of this publication covered by this copyright may be reproduced in any form or by any means - graphic, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise - without the written consent of the publishers.

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

Fan Death Gwangju News February 2012

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Contents

Featured Articles 10

Feature Parting Words: On Giving Back

By Caitlin Jacobs

5

Local News This Month in Gwangju

By Jon Ozelton

13

Cover Story World Loses Great Freedom Fighter Kim Geun Tae

By Michael Bielawski

6

Upcoming Events

22

Photo Essay

By Abishek Sahu

26

Photo Essay

By John Jackson

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Photo Contest

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International Home Pages

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Feature ROUNDTABLE: A Preview of Gwangju Biennale

By Seth Pevey

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Feature Elementary School

By Doug Stuber

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Event Life & Nature

By Emma Dooley

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Culture Behind the Myth: “Fan Death”

By Stephen Redeker

30

Perspective South Korea Drunken Uncle

By Gillian Farber

40

Language Study Letters to KOTESOL

By Prof. Dave Shaffer

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International What’s Really Going On in Syria?

By Michael Bielawski

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37

Culture Daily Life in Korea: At the Hairdresser

By Jacob Lotinga

Language Study The Pattern“한테 (to person) ”vs the marker“한테서 (from person) ”

By Soo-a Jung

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Perspective To Bully or to be Bullied, That is the Question!

By 8ball

Movie Review In Front Line

By Seth Pevey

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

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Fashion Fash-on with xxl jjdp By jjdp

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Food and Drink Pho Hanoi

By Gabriel Ward

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Food and Drink Oyster Jeon

By Hyejeong Jeong

50

Puzzle Puzzle Pages

By Emma Dooley and Brian Paredes

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Community Board

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4

Regular Columns

Gwangju News February 2012

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news

This Month in Gwangju

A brief roundup of news stories from in and around Gwangju

By Jon Ozelton

Gwangju May 18 Democratic Uprising in history textbook guidelines As reported in December’s Gwangju News, the omission of the May 18th Gwangju Democratic Uprising from the list of key historical events to be included in middle-school textbooks sparked protests and strong opposition from Gwangju residents and other interested parties across the country.

It seems as if their voice has been heard. The government has announced a draft of its new writing guidelines for textbooks to be used at high schools nationwide, which, once finalized, will ensure descriptions of the May 18th, 1980 Democratic Movement, along with several other important events in Korea’s modern history, are included. According to the National Institute of Korean History, major events set for inclusion include May 18th, the April 19th, 1960 student revolution, and the people’s struggle for democracy in June 1987.

Sajik Park

Daum blog: Namdosanha

New-look parks Plans were unveiled this month to transform Sajik Park in downtown Gwangju. The two-billion-won proposals will redesign the park, which is one of the oldest and best-known in the city, to transform it into an environmentally-friendly culture park. The renovation, incorporating flowers, gazebos, and LED lighting, hopes to regenerate Sajik, to make it one of the city’s major parks once more.

Elsewhere, to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Chonnam National University, plans are under consideration to construct a ‘Democracy Park’ on its

campus, in recognition of the role CNU played in the democratic movements of the 1980s. The plans include monuments and sculptures in honor of patriotic martyrs.

Bus cameras making an impact As reported last month, Gwangju’s city buses have been fitted with digital video camera monitoring equipment. The cameras appear to be having an impact. Numbers released show that the number of recorded incidents of illegal parking has fallen steadily since the start of the system, from 1,300 during August last year, down to 216 in last December.

The mobile cameras are obviously far more effective than stationary cameras and are part of the city’s campaign to raise awareness and try to reduce the common practice of illegal parking and stopping, which can be dangerous, and severely disrupts traffic flow.

Korea Red Cross

news.etomato.com

Blood Stocks Running Low According to the Red Cross on January 9th, the supply of blood available for transfusions in the Gwangju and Jeollanam-do region is running low, due to a shortage of donations, with stocks currently at half the amount deemed adequate.

Typically, a majority of donations come from students and soldiers. However, all local residents are encouraged to donate. The Red Cross has extended the operating hours of its blood donation centers to 8 p.m., and is providing a number of incentives to encourage donations.

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Upcoming Events

This month’s Upcoming Events contributors: Dongjun Yang, Hyejung Jeong, Jinseon Jang, Changho Yoon (GIC Int’l Residents Support Team)

Movies @ Gwangju Theater Chungjangro 5-ga (two blocks behind Migliore) Phone: 062-224-5858 Films change weekly to bi-weekly. Check online for calendar and prices. (http://cafe.naver.com/cinemagwangju) Des Hommes Et Des Dieux (Of Gods And Men) Genre: Drama Country: France Starring: Lambert Wilson, Michael Lonsdale Language: French (Korean subtitles) Synopsis: Eight French Christian monks live in harmony with their Muslim brothers in a monastery perched in the mountains of North Africa in the 1990s. When a crew of foreign workers is massacred by an Islamic fundamentalist group, fear sweeps though the region. The army offers them protection, but the monks refuse. Should they leave? Despite the growing menace in their midst, they slowly realize that they have no choice but to stay... come what may. This film is loosely based on the life of the Cistercian monks of Tibhirine in Algeria, from 1993 until their kidnapping in 1996.

Barney’s Version 세번째 사랑 Genre: romance Country: Canada, Italy Starring: Paul Giamatti, Rosamund Pike, Dustin Hoffman Language: English (Korean subtitles) Synopsis: This seriocomic adaptation of Mordecai Richler's award-winning 1997 novel stars Paul Giamatti as Barney Panofsky, who meets the great love of his life at the most inopportune time imaginable: his marriage to his second wife, a wealthy Jewish princess and compulsive shopper. The film covers 30 years of his unusual journey -- from his first marriage to the chronically unfaithful free spirit Clara (Rachelle Lefevre) and their life in Italy together, through his third marriage to Miriam, with whom he has two children.

The Artist 아티스트 Genre: Romance Country: Romance Country: USA, France Starring: Jean Bujardin, John Goodman, Berenice Bejo, James Cromwell Hollywood 1927: George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) is a silent movie superstar. The advent of the talkies will sound the death knell for his career

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and see him fall into oblivion. For young extra Peppy Miller (Berenice Bejo), it seems the sky's the limit - major movie stardom awaits. The Artist tells the story of their interlinked destinies.

Welcome To The Rileys 웰컴 투 마이 하트 Genre: Drama Country: USA Starring: James Gandolfini, Melissa Leo, Kristen Stewart Synopsis: Something's wrong at the Rileys. Married nearly 30 years, Doug and Lois rarely talk. She doesn't leave their Indianapolis home, and she's ordered a gravestone with their names and birth years on it. He has a long-time Thursday night mistress whom he invites to go with him to a plumbing supply conference in New Orleans. Once there, Doug calls Lois to say he's staying for a while. What's he leaving behind and what's he looking for in New Orleans? And can Lois break out?

Movie synopsis from www.imdb.com, www.rottentomatoes.com

Sports

2012 MBC Sumjin River Marathon Date: February 26 Time: 9 a.m.

Venue: Sinwon-ri, Daap-myeon, Gwangyang-si, Jeollanam-do (under the Sumjin bridge) Course types: full / half / 10 km / 5 km Entry fees: full - 35,000 won / half - 30,000 won / 10 km 20,000 won / 5 km - 10,000 won Registration period: from December 13, 2011 (only 6,000 places are available) How to get there: Take a bus to Gwangyang from Usquare Bus Terminal (6,300 won) For more information contact the 2012 MBC Sumjin-river marathon executive office Tel: 02-338-0344 E-mail: ysmbc@ysmbcrun.com

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Performances CATS Location: Grand Theater, Gwnagju Culture Art Center (광주문화예술회관) Date: February 3 - 5 Time: 3rd 7:30 p.m. / 4th 3p.m, 7:30p.m./5th 7:30p.m.

Language: Korean Admission fee: Seat VIP 120,000 won, Seat R 100,000 won, Seat S 80,000 won (children under 7 years old cannot be admitted into the theater).

You can book directly on the website: www.playdb.co.kr For more information go to: www.gjart.net or call 1588-0766 Cats (stylized as CATS) is a musical composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot. It introduced the song standard "Memory". Cats first opened in the West End in 1981 and then on Broadway in 1982; it won numerous awards, including both the Laurence Olivier Award and the Tony Award for Best Musical. The London production ran for twenty one years and the Broadway production ran for eighteen years, both setting long-run records. The show tells the story of a tribe of cats called the Jellicles and the night they make what is known as the "the Jellicle choice" and decide which cat will ascend to the Heavyside Layer and come back to a new life. Cats is the second longest-running show in Broadway history, and the fourth longest-running West End musical. It has been performed around the world many times and has been translated into more than 20 languages.

Dong-Hyeok Lim Piano Recital 임동혁 피아노리사이틀 Location: Grand Theater, Gwangju Culture Art Center (광주문화예술회관) Date: February 19 Time: 6 p.m.

Admission fee: Seat VIP 80,000 won, Seat R 70,000won, Seat S 50,000won (Limited over 7years old) Phone: 1588-0766 For more information go to: www.gjart.net Acclaimed by audiences, critics and fellow musicians, Dong-Hyeok Lim has quickly come to be regarded as one of the finest pianists of his generation. He was born in 1984 in Seoul, South Korea, and after early studies at the National Conservatory in his native country, he moved to Russia at age ten to become a pupil at the Moscow Central Music School. He graduated in 1998 and continued studies at the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory with Professor Lev Naumov. Lim studied in Germany with Arie Vardi at the Hochschule fur Musik in Hannover and he recently moved to the States to study with Emanuel Ax at the Juilliard School.

This Month at Holiday Inn Gwangju Dear Valued Customers, The entire team at Holiday Inn Gwangju wish all readers a wonderful 2012.

We have commenced the New Year with some great offerings.

Lobby Lounge – We believe this is the best Five Star Hotel deal in Gwangju Every Thursday, Friday & Saturday nights from 6.30 p.m. to 9.00 p.m. for 21,500 won (tax included) you get: Unlimited hot & and cold snack buffet Unlimited house wine, local draft beer & soft drink Hourglass Restaurant Crab & oysters are back on the buffet – delicious seafood plus Western & Asian delights Valentine’s Day We have great accommodation packages that include a full buffet breakfast for two, internet access, a bottle of wine, and very special chocolates.

Prices start at: King Deluxe Room - 165,000 won Junior Suite - 230,000 won Executive Suite 300,000 won (all prices include tax and service charges) Packages also include use of our Indoor Pool, Fitness Centre and Sauna for two, all for free.

For dinner in Hourglass on Valentines evening, there will be a special buffet for 33,000 won (tax included) per person with a glass of wine. RESERVATIONS ARE ESSENTIAL. This special dinner price is only available for those guests who have booked the Valentine’s Day room package.

We all look forward to seeing you at Holiday Inn Gwangju.

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

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Festival 2012 Jeongwol Daeboreum Fire Festival 제주대보름축제 Theme: Jeju: Peace and Prosperity, Peaceful Wellbeing and Happiness Date: February 2 - 4 Venue: Saebyeol-oreum, Bongseong-ri, Aewol-eup, Jeju Island Activity: traditional Korean circle dance play, fire the field, folk song, samulnori performance etc.

Phone: 064-728-2751~4 / 064-3021-3022 To get there: Take a flight from Gwangju Airport to Jeju Island, from Jeju International Airport, take either a bus or taxi to the festival venue.

By bus: take bus no. 100 to Jeju Bus Terminal and then take bus to Hwajeon Village (화전마을).

By taxi: tell the driver to drive you to Saebyeol-oreum site for the Fire Festival. Estimated travel time is 30 minutes.

For more information go to: www.buriburi.go.kr Jeju Jeongwol Daeboreum Fire Festival is a festival to pray for good harvest and luck for the new year. The festival is held in Saebyeol-oreum, which is a volcano with a horseshoe shaped crater. The fire setting is called “Deulbulnoki” or “setting fire to the file”. The fire is set to the fields in order to destroy the old grass and kill harmful insects and to get ready for new year’s plantation. The festivals offers visitors many kind of activities such as folk games and performances, while appreciating Jeju’s beautiful natural landscape. For 2012, there will be international cultural exchange festival from Jeju Island’s sister cities.

2012 Jiri Mountain Baraebong Snow Festival Venue: Unbong town Namwon city, Jeollabuk-do Date: January 6 - February 25 Entrance Fee: 5,000 won (extra charge is required for the Food Market, Traditional Exercise Experience) Activities: - Snow sledding (Sledge Park) - Ice sledding - Ice Wall Experience - Ice Sculpture Exhibition - Snowman Exhibition - Jiri Mountain Baraebong Snow Climbing Competition - Food Market - Traditional Exercise Experience How to get there: Travel to Namwon by intercity bus at Usquare Bus Terminal (1 hour 10 minutes). You can get off a bus at Namwon bus terminal, then take intercity bus to Unbong (40 minutes) and get off at bus stop: Unbong-uep Samwso. You should go down to the downtown in order to take a taxi. Find the Nong-hyeop bank~ taxi is usually over there. Travel to the Baraebong festival by taxi (5 minutes) *Intercity Bus fee(Gwangju to Namwon): 4,900 won *Intercity Bus fee(Namwon to Unbong): 2,300 won *Taxi: 2,200 won

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Exhibitions Harmony - The Village of Singing Birds 和音 새들이 노래하는 마을전 展 Location: Mudeung Museum of Contemporary Art (walk 50 meters from Jungsimsa bus stop. Buses no.

9, 35, 49, 50, 51, 54, 76) Date: Until February 26 (Closed every Monday) Admission fee: Free Phone: 062-223-6676 For more information go to: mdmoca.com 3D Trick Art 3D 트릭아트 광주특별전 Location: Usquare Culture Center (2nd floor, Kumho Gallery, Gwangju Bus Terminal) Date: Until February 26 Admission fee: Adult 12,000 won)/Elementary - High school students 10,000won/ children 9,000 won(under 24 months free) Phone: 070-4177-3132 For more information go to: http://www.usquareculture.co.kr/ What is Trick Art? Trick Art is characterized by using optical illusion as an art theme. The artists use bright colors and perspective to create shaking and three-dimensional effects on flat objects in order to give viewers a visual shock.

The 24 Artists Who Embrace Gwangju 광주를 품은 예술가 24인의 광주 이야기 Location: Gwangju Museum of Art 광주 시립 미술관 (Main building, 3rd floor, 6th gallery) Date: Until March 25 Admission fee: 500 won Phone: 062-613-7100 For more information go to: www.artmuse.gwangju.go.kr

A Style of Namdo Ink Painting Lives on Today 남도묵향 내일을 가다 Location: Gwangju Museum of Art 광 주시립 미술관 (Main building, 2nd floor, 3rd and 4th gallery) Date: Until March 25 Admission fee: 500 won Phone: 062-613-7100 For more information go to: www.artmuse.gwangju.go.kr

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feature

Parting Words: On Giving Back

By Caitlin Jacobs Photos by Joe Wabe

L

indsay Nash and Whit Altizer are already waiting outside the GIC building, Whit’s index fingers clasped tightly by their toddling son, Finn, who is enthusiastically practicing his new upright mobility skills. Hughie Samson soon joins us, and we wait a little while longer for the photographer. Conversation turns to Lindsay, Whit and Hughie’s impending departures from Korea.

“When it’s time to go, you just know,” Hughie says.

“It was very clear-cut for me.”

But these three soon-to-be ex-Gwangju residents are hardly running away. They are all leaving behind a lasting legacy in the Gwangju international community – a community that is certainly stronger because of their efforts.

Back in the U.S., Lindsay worked as a journalist and Whit was studying for his Master’s in History. They lived in a small community in North Carolina where they always felt connected to and supported by those around them. Whit mentored at-risk youth.

Lindsay volunteered with the Literacy Council. They had often discussed the idea of living abroad, and in 2007, when Whit finished his Master’s degree, they knew it was the right time to make the move.

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While Whit had always wanted to live in Asia, Lindsay had her eye on South America. However, throughout all of their research into the job market abroad, Korea just kept popping up. They took jobs at a private elementary school in Gwangju until, one warm summer day, Lindsay had an epiphany outside the Ministop: why not start their own recruiting agency? Thus Say Kimchi Recruiting was born. The couple had diligently kept a successful blog, Kimchi and Cornbread, which fed into the agency. They brought over two people in their first year in business, and have now placed more than 100 people in jobs in Korea.

During their five years in Gwangju, Lindsay and Whit have done much to build the same strong sense of community that they enjoyed back home. One of the couple’s contributions to the Gwangju foreign community is closely tied to their recruiting business: Say Kimchi News is a well-known and highly valued source of news and information for green and seasoned expats alike. Lindsay also started the popular monthly Korean/Foreigner Dinners to give expats and locals the opportunity to build crosscultural friendships – an opportunity that can be surprisingly rare due to language and cultural barriers, and sometimes just plain bashfulness.

“We’ve met some of our closest friends there,” says Lindsay. “We’d like to think that others have done the same.”

When asked about his biggest community-based accomplishment since coming to Gwangju, Whit’s answer is immediate. About two years ago, he began noticing an increase in the number of foreigners running along the streets in town, but they were almost always running alone. He decided to gather these people around their common interest, so he started the Gwangju Running Club.

Their first meeting was at the World Cup Stadium, where, unbeknownst to the group, a marathon was already taking place. That’s another reason that Whit started the group: so many races were happening in and around Gwangju, but the word

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just wasn’t getting out in the foreign community.

Since that first meeting, about 30 members of the group have run in two different races in Damyang, and the Facebook page has grown to about 180 members. They meet regularly to run together, and then share food and drink afterward and bond over their mutual enthusiasm for healthy living.

Hughie Samson came to Gwangju in 2009 from Nova Scotia, Canada via Winnipeg. Hughie’s professional life has always centered in nonprofit and community-based work, including a developmental disability support group and the international fair trade retailer Ten Thousand Villages. Both are worthy causes, but they didn’t leave his wallet quite as full as his heart, especially with student loans to pay. Upon arriving in Korea, he felt his lifestyle was suddenly “almost luxurious,” with so much more money and free time in supply than he’d had before. After enjoying these new freedoms for a while, Hughie began to think, “This is ridiculous. I’m pretty privileged as a white, male, middle-class Canadian. Lots of opportunities come my way that other people don’t get.” So he decided to start giving back. “It kind of lessens my guilt at being so fortunate,” he jokes. But he also finds his community involvement much more fulfilling than the more leisurely activities he’d been occupying his time with when he first landed in Korea.

The first volunteer opportunities that Hughie heard about were with local orphanages, but as a teacher constantly surrounded by children during

the day, as well as an introvert, the idea seemed a bit more taxing than he could handle. He liked attending the GIC Talks on Saturdays, so he started helping out with set-up and other tasks. He had also become a frequent user of the GIC library, which was a challenge for the Korean volunteers to keep organized, given the sometimes confusing names, titles and subjects of the many books. Hughie began devoting some of his free time to keeping the library’s inventory easily accessible. In a roundabout way, his role at the library led him to being involved with an orphanage after all, working as a seller of the library’s duplicate books at the Sung Bin Orphanage bake sales.

Hughie has also played a large role Gwangju’s English-language media, including a weekly column on Gwangju Blog about others who contribute to the local community, and two spots on GFN radio: “Special Report”, a segment about Korean domestic affairs on City of Light; and “Read Korea”, a segment about Korean literature on the show Hello Korea. He’s retained his sense of humility, though, never quite embracing his role as a wellknown voice on the local airwaves. “I never listened to myself on the radio. Then one day I was walking past a building playing GFN really loudly, and I looked up and I was like, ‘That’s me!’ ” he says with a laugh.

So why did these three expats get so involved in a community that they always intended to leave eventually? What’s the point of putting in so much time and effort to improve what is only a temporary Gwangju News February 2012

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home for most foreigners?

“So many things are temporary, and it’s easy to not get involved. In some ways, it makes more sense not to,” Hughie says. But he continues: “Investing in the community allows people to connect more significantly with each other. When other people invest in community, my life gets better. So if I do it, I can help make other people’s lives a bit better, too.”

“What he said!” Lindsay jokes, and then adds, “We’re such a like-minded community of people who choose to come here. And it’s so easy to get involved because of Facebook and other social media. Not to connect with others would be a shame.”

Their advice for expats who come to Korea is to be open. Consider joining the kind of group that you wouldn’t have gotten involved with back home or try something new that you’ve never done before.

“We weren’t open to that sort of thing back home, and I think we missed out a little bit,” Whit says.

Don’t know where to start? “The first day you get here, go to the GIC,” Lindsay advises. “It is such a wonderful resource that the other cities in Korea don’t have. Seoul has a foreigner thing, but it’s nothing like the GIC. Gwangju is the best city for expats in Korea because of it.”

She continues, “I think it’s good sometimes to make

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yourself feel uncomfortable... You end up making the best friends. What other time in your life can you meet people from six different countries in one place – especially if you’re from North America?”

No matter what you’re interested in, Lindsay points out, you can find it on Facebook here in Gwangju.

“At no other time in your life will you have a full-time job that pays well but with no obligations after work.

This is the perfect time to do something new.”

Lindsay and Whit will continue to run Say Kimchi Recruiting from the U.S., and both the Korean/Foreigner dinners and the Gwangju Running Club are being passed on to good hands. GFN, Gwangju Blog and all the other wonderful GIC programs will also go on.

Korean/Foreigner dinners: “Like” the Say Kimchi Recruiting page on Facebook. The event is posted on their wall every month. More information on the groups mentioned in this article:

Gwangju Running Club: Join the Facebook group.

Say Kimchi News: Visit saykimchirecruiting.com/newsletter GIC (Gwangju International Center): Visit www.gic.or.kr - they’re also on Facebook.

GFN: Visit www.gfn.or.kr or tune in to 98.7 FM.

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cover story

World Loses Great Freedom Fighter in Kim Geun-tae

By Michael Bielawski

I

t’s easy to take for granted the freedoms we enjoy each day… South Korea, while not perfect, is one of the more free nations of the world, especially considering its regional neighbors of Communist China and North Korea.

So when someone like political activist Kim Geun-tae dies (on December 30th, 2011) of pneumonia and kidney failure and I show Koreans his picture and ask for information, while they recognize his face or name, most can’t quite place who he is or what he did. We’re all guilty of it, and that’s because history books and mainstream media are not written by those who sacrificed the most for us. Rather, they are usually written by those who are currently in power. While I’m sure that his death received moderate media attention, it apparently didn’t dominate prime time news.

“When I faced the shadow of death, I determined that I’d die standing, rather than begging for life on my knees,” he once wrote in a memoir. And he must have meant it, because Kim Geun-tae was imprisoned and tortured for his pro-democracy activism against the military regime of the 1980s. And to be clear, he

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The public weeps newsis

was traumatized for the rest of his life as a result of that torture, which involved electricity and water.

He suffered from severe PDSP (post dramatic stress syndrome) that likely contributed to his relatively early death at age 64.

Message of support and condolences from the public posted on Kim Geun-tae’s funeral Hanbando Foundation

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Kim’s activism started while he attended Seoul National University, where he majored in economics. He primarily protested against the authoritarian rule of Park Chung Hee. Park took over Korea by military coup in 1961 and was a dictator until his assassination in 1979. He is controversial because older Koreans credit his regime with developing Korea’s prized industrial infrastructure, while Kim and the younger generation felt that he was too authoritarian for a nation then striving to be a democratic republic.

So Kim was repeatedly arrested and finally spent several years in prison. Apparently unfazed after finishing his prison sentence, he got right back to

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Kim Geun-tae and the late President Roh Mu-hyeon when he served as Health and Welfare Minister iewsnnews.com

activism and started the Democratic Youth Coalition in 1983. Then in 1985 he was arrested again, this time for “profiting North Korea” (a common false charge against Korean activists) and this is when he was severely tortured for over three weeks by a man named Lee Guen-an of the national police, who Kim later publicly forgave when Lee came out of hiding in 2000. The trauma was reportedly so severe that he reportedly hated going to doctors and dentists for the remainder of his life, as they reminded him of the experience.

News about his torture led to much international attention and he received the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award and was finally pardoned by President Roh Tae-woo in 1988, just before Korea hosted the Olympics.

Kim was not the only famous torture case of the military regime: Seoul National University student Park Jong Cheol was tortured to death in January of 1987. Over 60,000 Koreans participated in a nationwide funeral for Park despite police crackdowns. When then President Chun Doo Hwan said on April 13th that any speech about constitutional reforms was prohibited, Koreans had no other choice. Finally the June Democracy Movement happened and South Korea was a legitimate democracy.

Later in his life, Kim got involved in politics through more conventional means. He served in Korea’s Parliament from 1996 to 2008. He was also the

Kim Geun-tae ‘s funeral procession Hanbando Foundation

leader of Korea’s former ruling Uri Party and was Health and Welfare Minister from 2004 to 2006. He even ran for the Korean presidency in 2002.

However in 2006 he developed Parkinson’s disease, which got progressively worse until his death.

Today he is often referred to as “Korea’s godfather of demorcracy.” Hopefully, in the future, Korean media as well as the education system will one day revive interests in Kim’s contributions and the sacrifices that he made to help bring about the freedoms that South Korea enjoys today. In the meantime, his body rests in the historical Moran Cemetery along with other Korean activists.

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feature

ROUNDTABLE: A Preview of Gwangju Biennale

By Seth Pevey Photos by Jessica Solomatenko

I

n the past, Korea was often referred to as the “Hermit Kingdom” because of its rather insular and inward-looking tendency to avoid involvement in the world beyond its own borders.

But, just like a child grown to maturity, nicknames are often outgrown.

The international language of art has proved a common tongue in Korea’s eventual conversations with the world at large, and our own fair city of Gwangju, with its devotion to questioning the status quo, has proven a special bastion for creativity and innovation, and it all started with the first Biennale in 1995—Asia’s first modern biannual art exhibition.

Some time has passed since that first showcase, and this September will mark the start of the 9th Gwangju Biennale. At a recent press conference, Gwangju News was fortunate enough to meet the six new curators: an assortment of intellectual and

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artistic women from around the world. We listened as they gave us a quick preview of things to come.

The theme for this year’s exhibition will be “ROUNDTABLE”, and it is intended to be exactly what it sounds like: an open and frank meeting of minds in which free discourse and interpretation are encouraged and experienced through various works of art.

The curators themselves are as lovely and eclectic as the art itself. Carol Yinghua Lu, the curator from Beijing, had an air of diligence about her as she jotted notes throughout the press conference. She spoke a little bit about what kind of ideologies would be mulled over in the course of the exhibition.

To her mind, aspirations and politics are one and the same; the hopes and dreams expressed in art are in themselves powerful political statements.

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Gwangju Biennale co-artistic director Kim Sunjung giving a presentation.

Alia Swastika is based in Jakarta. A true woman of the world, she sincerely tried to greet her audience in Korean, and this after only an hour in the country (her first ever visit). She had a calm smile and a reassuring laugh, and reaffirmed the international nature of the exhibit by saying, “[we want] to gain inspiration from artists all over the world.”

powers of the internet will allow them to fulfill their duties from abroad, and all six women seem dedicated, knowledgeable, and sincere.

The Indian curator is the lovely Nancy Adajania.

With dark, piercing eyes, Nancy is a cultural theorist, art critic and independent curator based in Bombay. She thoughtfully answered several questions about the nature of art and its creation.

“The very act of creation is in itself a political statement,” she said, confidently confirming the importance of art in a social context.

“Our attempt to acknowledge the importance of being together, no matter where we are, in terms of our national, social, economic, political and historical standings, no matter what conditions we live under, no matter what encounters we experience, no matter what personal and public difficulties we undergo, no matter what desires we have and no matter what visions we have for our lives. It is a call to rediscover foundations based on which we can be brought together and to look for new horizons and proposals for ways of being together. A ROUNDTABLE brings together different peoples, different moments in time, different positions of power existing in any social, political and cultural structure, as well as different roles of the art industry.

Wassan Al-Khydhari is the director of the Qatar Museum of Modern Arab art, and will be complementing the group with her substantial experience and expertise.

But of course, what would a group of Gwangju Biennale curators be without a Korean to traverse the local culture and language. Kim Sunjung rounds off the team with her experience as an independent curator and professor at the Korea National Institute of Arts. Girlish, inquisitive and intellectual, Sunjung will lend roots to the group from her Seoul-based office.

So, what exactly is the “ROUNDTABLE”? A more detailed explanation can be found in the press release which accompanied the conference.

The cool winds of September, and the promising 9th Gwangju Biennale, will be here before you know it.

Make sure to keep a spot clear in your fall calendar for a special visit to the ROUNDTABLE exhibition.

Although the other curators will remain in their farflung locales for most of the Biennale exhibition, the

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feature

Elementary School:

a comparative analysis of the ROK and USA Story and photos by Doug Stuber

A

day in the school life of a six-year-old child is much harder in Korea than in the United States.

Though the public school schedules are very similar, the post-school educational thrust is considerably different.

Age, proximity, socio-economic factors and how students are developed are the biggest differences, and even in kindergarten one child, James Hyuntay Stuber could feel the developmental differences right away.

A typical day in Gwangju would be school from 8:30 a.m. to about 1 p.m., then a visit to practice piano until 2:15 p.m., then on to Chinese hagwon from 2:45 p.m. to 5:20 p.m. After dinner or in place of piano, we also have had one-on-one Chinese tutoring added to the mix. After about an hour or two of homework (the Chinese hagwon has a touch more to do than Mr. Ko sends home from first grade) James gets a precious hour of relaxation, game playing, and television.

“This school is easy,” James said after a week as a Kindergartener in New Hope Elementary School, in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. This represented a big change from Mun Heung Elementary School, which is located just east of the northern tip of Chonnam National University in Buk-Gu. “Miss Turner and Mrs. Park ask me how I feel and how I am doing a lot. It’s a lot of fun,” the avid schoolgoer remarked. Positive reinforcement of a child’s emotional growth balances rules and regulations at New Hope, a continuation of the educational philosophy that emphasizes emotional autonomy, which started in the 1970s.

He was able to gain a chair in first grade at Mun Heung, though two years younger than the traditional first grader. He was six when he entered, not the normal eight. In the U.S. he was not allowed to be in first grade, as he missed the date cut-off by two months, even though he had completed grade one in Korea. While Korea made an age exception, the North Carolina schools would not.

At Mun Heung, Mr. Ko, one of only two male teachers at the school, runs a tight ship, lining up students by height, one row of boys one row of girls. On top of the normal curriculum of math, science ideas, Hangeul, etc., young James gets extra classes in Padook and computer, as well as gym class once a week. In the US he gets the normal routine, plus extra classes in music, art, Spanish and two gym classes a week.

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Gwangju News February 2012

In the US, even kindergarten runs from 7:55 a.m. to 2:15 p.m., so the school day is longer, but after school James takes one day of art class and one day of dance class and one piano lesson per week. This involves less studying, and more music all the way around, as he has a piano to practice on at home.

Even proximity to school plays a large part in the difference in the two education systems. In Korea, James walks to school with his Dad, then Dad proceeds to walk to work. Door to door “Little Bear,” as he is known, has 800 meters to go.

Though only three kilometers away, James must be driven to school in the US, as the country roads are not safe, with no sidewalks. In addition, three kilometers is a long haul for a six-year-old. Thus, on each trip we spend between five and 10 minutes waiting in line with other cars at drop-off and pickup time. This uniquely American latter-day tradition of driving children to school comes partly from parents desire to move the children quickly after school, rowdy school buses that some parents disfavor and children being spoiled, which happens in different ways but equally so in the US and Korea. For parents it is easy to reduce one’s carbon footprint in Gwangju.

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Where Korean children appear to have mothers who are willing to do everything for them, including around the house, American moms may expect more household chores while calling schools to complain about homework required to be finished on weekends. One imagines Korean moms calling school if there were not any homework. In both cases family matters are the culprit. In Korea, education is the primary family matter for children. In the US, education should not interfere with a family’s travel or leisure plans.

Saturdays are the classic “best day of the week,” but as many know, at the elementary school level, every other Saturday has “classes” which, for class grade one, section two at Mun Heung means movies. In the US it means working around the yard a little then going to practice soccer or golf, a game that takes a long time for youngsters to master.

You just can’t deny the effect of sports on children.

Put simply, boys and girls become active in sports and stay that way through high school in the US. Title IX also requires equal availability for female athletes through university as well.

Top: “Little Bear” and Kim Jae Young share a traditional cheek pinch at the field day.

Bottom: Close up of “Big Bear” straining to lead the tugof-war.

With respect to athletic programs, the Department of Education evaluates the following factors in determining whether equal treatment exists: 1. Whether the selection of sports and levels of competition effectively accommodate the interests and abilities of members of both sexes; 2. The provision of equipment and supplies; 3. Scheduling of games and practice time; 4. Travel and per diem allowance,” etc. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Title_IX)

Thus, the minor difference of two gym classes versus one expands in sports, as a typical Korean

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1 2

student may take taekwondo or soccer in a hagwon, but then drop it in favor of more book learning at some point in middle school. Not everyone makes the varsity team in high school in the US, but the heated rivalries of high school football teams often draw 20,000 spectators to games. The camaraderie of sports teaches leadership skills and those who participate in sports get better grades than those who don’t, even though their time is pinched.

Public schools in the US are funded by property taxes, which creates a huge gap in the quality of education in neighborhoods with high property values compared to those with low property values. Though the federal government often kicks in money so impoverished children can have free breakfast and lunch, federal funds are drying up, and 2011 saw states cutting between 5 percent and 25 percent of their teachers.

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Luckily, North Carolina is still a growing state with a decent economy, and though the state chopped 15 percent of its teachers, class size for James is the same in Korea and the US: 22. The classrooms are diverse at New Hope, with half the students not being Caucasian, or not speaking English as a first language, hence the Spanish classes. In Korea, English starts at about age 10 or 11, whereas in the US, Spanish starts in kindergarten. Our county has 25 percent Spanish-as-a-first-language citizens, so little James, multi-cultural himself, is expanding cultural awareness while also attending a school that is 50 percent rural low-income families and 50 percent high income suburbanites.

Korea helps students learn social skills, not on a daily basis, but via events like “Field Day” in which the school’s children are split into two teams and the parents also compete for their child’s team.

What fun it is to watch 엄마 (eomma - mother) run

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3 1. James Hyuntay Stuber (third from left) catching up to his older classmates, as 엄마 (eomma - mother) takes pictures in the background.

2. Two moms share a joke at the field day.

3. Mr. Ko leads 1-2 in calithenics before the races on the May 7, 2011, Mun Heung Elementary School field day.

4. Eomma Park Kwang-suk hands off the baton after a testy 200-meter dash.

once around the track or 아빠 (appa - father) to play tug-of-war at the front of a team of 60 (2 out of 3!). Thus, there is a neighborhoodbuilding aspect to the event, which would be hard to equal at New Hope, due to families living so far apart. No such event exists, however, so maybe the Parent-Teachers Association should consider something like this.

“Hey Big Bear, look what I did at school today,” is heard on both continents, and new friends come along in both places, but in Korea we are really good friends with the entire family of the friends our son has made. Within one year, we were taking family trips with the families of schoolmates. In Gwangju, Little Bear’s nursery school class also has a monthly reunion! Thus the stress of individual success versus the opportunity for communal expansion has been noted by his elders, while James himself “loves my new friends Joe and Sam,” from New Hope, even if his parents may never get a chance to meet them.

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photo essay

Abhishek Sahu A

bhishek came to Korea one year ago to work as a postdoctoral researcher at the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST). Since then he has been living in this city and taking pictures in his free time. He started photography two years ago when he went to Portugal, which was his first time outside his home country, India. Since then, slowly, it has become his favorite pastime. He doesn’t have any formal training in photography but tries to learn from the resources available over the internet and by practicing more. He is highly passionate about the black and white landscape photographs of Michael Kenna. His work is his inspiration and motivation.

You can see more of his photos at: http://abhi82.tumblr.com/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/abhi82/

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Gwangju News February 2012

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event

Life & N ature

10 Years of National Geographic in Korea

By Emma Dooley Photos from National Geographic

o celebrate ten years of the Korean version of National Geographic magazine, the photography exhibition “Life and Nature” has come to Gwangju. The exhibition is comprised of four sections based around different themes. The first, “Landscape” contains 49 stunning images of outdoor scenes from around the world. One of the most arresting is of a mountain range reflected in a lake, taken on the Hebrides Islands, off the coast of Scotland. Another beautiful photograph captures two chinstrap penguins seemingly walking up a wall of Antarctic ice.

T

The second section, and the largest of the four, “Wildlife” consists of 71 shots which run the gamut from microscopic photographs of colourful pollen grains to iconic images of polar bears on Arctic ice floes and Grizzly Bears in the midst of catching their prey. There are also some striking shots of a group of elephants bathing by the light of the moon as well as a graphic image of a dead gazelle with its viscera being devoured by a coalition of cheetahs. A subsection of “Wildlife” deals with birds in flight, and it was a highlight of the exhibition. The kingfisher caught mid-dive is particularly dramatic.

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The end of the second section brings you to a small café, which holds an additional exhibition on the history of National Geographic. Section 3, mystifyingly titled “Premonitor” has no discernible theme, and is made up of 29 images of humans, landscapes, and various animals.

The final section of the exhibition is called “Alternative” and displays 31 images of ways of life around the world and human effects on the environment. One of the most remarkable shots in this section is an aerial view of the perfectly manicured Primm Valley Golf Course, surrounded by the barren land of the Mojave Desert. The stark reality of shark fishing is brought into the light with an eye-catching and very sad shot of a thresher shark entwined in a fisherman’s net in the Gulf of Mexico, California.

“Life and Nature” must be seen to be appreciated and is an educational and immensely enjoyable way to spend an afternoon. The exhibition is at the Gwangju Art and Culture Center and runs until February 26. All photo captions and information are in Korean, so if you want to know the details of the photos,

then it may be helpful to bring a Korean friend along to translate for you. Photography is prohibited inside the exhibition space. Admission is 10,000 won for adults and 8,000 won for children and the gallery is closed on Mondays.

How to get there: The exhibition is at the Gwangju Art and Culture Center (광주문화예술회관) in Buk-gu (the North District). Buses 16, 18, 27, 48, 49, 51, 58, 72, 84, 85 and 95 stop right outside. The stop is called Unam Market.

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photo essay

John Jackson’s

Snow Scene From the “Dragon” Side of Mudeung Mt. (There is more to Gwangju than the city...)

J

ohn Jackson took photos in 1971 in Korea. After 30 years, in 2009 he began taking photos again. His works won awards in photo exhibitions in Korea between 2008 and 2010 and have been displayed in exhibitions around the country.

One of which was attended by Barack Obama during his visit here. It has been characterized as expressing a kind of "gentle romanticism" and "lyrical" in that it is "an intensely personal expression of feeling and emotion".

Songgangjeong Pavilion

Hwanbyeokdang Pavilion 26

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Pungamjeong Pavilion

Soswaewon Garden

Chuigajeong Pavilion

Doksujeong Pavilion Gwangju News February 2012

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PHOTO CONTEST Photo of the Month

Myeongdong Street Artist in Action

At the Docks in Yeosu 28

Gwangju News February 2012

Photo by Christian Oey

Photo by Stephen Gale

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This month’s photo contest was judged by Mark Eaton.

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

Submit your best shot of Korea!

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

North Gate of Gochang Fortress at Christmas Photo by Matt Ehlers

Dragon’s Scales Photo by Angie Hartley Gwangju News February 2012

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perspective

South Korea’s Drunken Uncle

By Gillian Farber

O

n December 19 at approximately 8:30 a.m., Kim Jong-il, former dictator of North Korea, was pronounced dead from a stroke. A headline so monumental, a milestone in history, if you will, that the rest of the world was informed about a staggering three days later. On Thursday December 22, South Korea woke up to find their neighboring country in a state of national mourning over the death of their leader.

350.org

Kim's regime lasted seventeen years and was harshly criticized for human rights abuses and isolationism. Nevertheless, news clips and videos were leaked from North Korean media portraying their citizens’ alleged lamentable despair. Tears filled the streets of North Korea’s capital, Pyongyang, giving witness to the world of a devastated nation consumed with grief by their former leader’s death. Or so it was displayed.

This is my second year teaching English in South Korea. Throughout my time here, I have experienced a unique culture, tradition and language. With North Korea just a few hours’ drive, news of Kim Jong-il’s death hit much closer to home than it would have living in Toronto, Canada. There have been various occasions where family and friends in North America have called or sent worrisome emails asking the state of North Korea’s military and how South Koreans are dealing with the persistent threat of war. I try to put it simply. It seems to me as though South Koreans think of North Korea as that inappropriate drunk uncle. You know he's always there and sometimes he acts up for attention but for the most part, you ignore his pitiful outbursts and just let him be.

Hopefully, one day, he'll come around.

After a few days of having the news sink in, it was obvious that the South had a different way of mourning a dictator’s death, specifically their unpredictable neighbor. Walking into class Wednesday morning, it quickly became clear that my elementary school students were made aware of the fallen leader. “Kim Jong-il is dead, Kim Jongil is dead!” they cheered with naïve smiles plastered across their young faces. These were empty words. Words they most likely heard their 30

Gwangju News February 2012

Top: Reactions in South Korea (csmonitor.com) Bottom: Reactions in North Korea (mirror.co.uk)

parents or news broadcasters repeat, but it held no emotional connection. Laughter and a certain stillness filled the classroom. It seemed to me that these eleven-year-old children were not thinking long-term. All they knew was an evil man their parents hated died today.

Not all Korean people however, felt the same joy and satisfaction that some of my students revealed. Kim’s 28-year-old son, Kim Jong-un, is next in line to continue ruling this nuclear armed yet depressed country. Thus, it’s not surprising that uncertainty has shrouded his father’s death and instilled fear in the general public in and around South Korea.

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Dr. Sanghyo Ryu, Chief Neurologist at Good Morning Hospital in Gwangju, was informed about Kim’s death over the television while he was making rounds. Dr. Ryu reflected a general sense of what I was hearing around me from many South Koreans. Dr. Ryu is among those who were pleased to hear the news but also concerned for what the future may entail. “He deserved to die early with agony,” he told me but continues, “I’m now worried about the tension between South Korea and North Korea and China’s ambition for taking over the North,” explained Dr. Ryu. “If it happens, I think it’s a matter of time for China to take over the entire Korean Peninsula”. Like many Koreans, Dr. Ryu hopes for an active exchange between the North and the South, but believes this may be unrealistic. “Factoring in the situation going on between China and North Korea, this reunion seems to be a far-fetched dream”. But a dream nonetheless.

the world: Canada, South Africa, the USA, Great Britain, Germany - it’s like a microcosm of the United Nations. Like me many did not know how to feel with the news of Kim Jong-il’s passing. We felt the palpable fear in the streets, and while our knowledge of Korean is limited, we could hear the fear in the voices of our Korean teaching colleagues. In the two years I have lived here I have come to understand that North Korea is the proverbial albatross that hangs around the neck of this vibrant democracy.

My fellow teachers in Gwangju come from all over

The views expressed in this article are those of the writer.

[ GIC Talk ]

No one outside North Korea knows for sure how North Koreans felt on December 19 and will probably never know. What we do know is an impoverished and potentially dangerous country has become the center piece of the world’s attention. And while my young students cheer today their parents and grandparents continue to wonder and worry about the future.

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

February 4 Topic: How Far English Teaching and Learning Has Come in Korea in the Last Four Decades.

Speaker: Dr. David E. Shaffer (PhD, Linguistics; Chosun University Professor of English Language) Many aspects of English Education in Korea have changed rapidly, but others still closely resemble those of four decades earlier. This presentation will take a look at English teaching and learning in Korea forty years ago and compare them with those of today. It will discuss differences, and similarities, in the use of English, in English teachers, in English learners, in teaching methods, and in teaching facilities. All from the presenter's unique perspective from 40 years of life in Korea.

February 11 Topic: Hormones in the Soil?

Speaker: Elizabeth Allen (B.S. Environmental Science with an emphasis in Biology from Northern Arizona University) When first moving to Paju, South Korea Elizabeth Allen first noticed the use of plastic covers in standard farming practice. As an undergraduate she was educated in the importance of soil conservation as well as the potential risk of hormone mimic from the leaching of plastics. Endocrine disrupting compounds, or hormone mimic are found in pesticides, herbicides,

pharmaceuticals , and waste water. Between the need to feed people in South Korea and the common farming practices, there is a question of risk versus survival in an industrial age. This talk explains and explores the possible connection between hormone mimics in the soil and human health concerns of South Korea and the world.

February 18 Topic: Distrust and Diplomacy in Asia’s Seas Speaker: Kyle Johnson As the wars in the Middle East wind down and the Arab Spring stabilizes, the world’s leaders will be turning their attention to the activities in Asia’s seas. The waterways, filled with much of the world’s shipping, are an important part of the world’s economy. But recent events in these areas have led to fear and distrust among regional powers. 2012 will be an important year in deciding if this remains a diplomatic, behind-thescenes conflict or turns into something more damaging.

Come learn more about one of the most important current international issues and what it means to people around the world.

February 25 Topic: Gwangju Blog Speaker: Michael Simning TBA

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international

Home Pages Want to write about news from your country?

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

Philippines

England It seems that classic British film-making has a lot to answer for. Professor David Phillips, President of the Royal Society of Chemistry, has blamed James Bond villains for the enduring negative public image of nuclear power. Deftly sidestepping such issues as waste management and safety regulations, Professor Phillips particularly attacked the film Dr No for portraying nuclear technology as a “barely-controllable force for evil”. Whether MGM will respond to these accusations remains unclear, though rumors of a giant “laser” pointed directly at Cambridge are surely hyperbolic.

By Anna Corbett

New Zealand A 23-year-old woman auctioned off her bottom last month. Having been made unemployed twice over the last year, Tina Beznec said she needed the money, and so advertised and held an online auction for a tattoo of the winner's design on her bottom over an area of 9cms by 9cms. She said she did not mind swear words, and the winner could even come to the tattoo parlor to watch the procedure. By the time GN went to print, Tina, from Lower Hutt, had already raised over NZ$10,000. She held the auction on New Zealand equivalent of eBay, named 'TradeMe.com.'

By JJ Parkes

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The Black Nazarene, known to devotees in Spanish as Nuestro Padre Jesús Nazareno (abbreviated as NPJN, Filipino: Mahal na Itim na Nazareno, English: Our Father Jesus Nazarene) is a life-sized, dark-colored, wooden sculpture of Jesus Christ carrying the cross, believed to be miraculous by many Filipino Catholics.

Originally fair-skinned, it turned dark after it was exposed to fire on its arrival from Mexico. The image is currently in the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene in Quiapo, Manila, Philippines.

Millions of devotees attend the celebration of the Black Nazarene of Quiapo on January 9 each year as part of a traditional procession. An estimated 8 million devotees attend each year, despite injuries, stampedes and deaths in the past. No barrier, no threat to life and limb and not even a terror alert could stop the faith and beliefs of these devotees; they believe that the black Nazarene can heal illness and problems. Due to the terror alerts, police tightened security and cellular network signals were disabled to avoid bombing incidents.

By Rubie Lee

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U.S.A

Korea

New York City subway workers have setup a website to host a photo contest.

What is the subject of these photos?

Rats! It's a contest for passengers to exploit the level of rat infestation at their subway station. The winner (whoever contributes the "nastiest" rat photo or video) gets an unlimited MetroCard pass. The purpose of this contest is to raise awareness of the growing rodent problem in the subway and get it sorted out with a major cleanup. Progress has already been made at 20 subway stops in the city, but the workers insist that this is not enough. If, perchance, you did not catch a prize-winning photo of a rat in action, you may contribute a personal story about your own experience with subway rodents in the "rat tales" section of the website: ratfreesubways.com

A man in his 30s was arrested by police for taking a pregnant woman hostage at a department store in Seoul. According to the police, he threatened the woman, who was five months pregnant, with a knife and his only request was that a message on a specific online café be checked out. Police successfully suppressed the man when he relaxed and lowered his knife. He also attempted an act of arson at a bookstore nearby. He was seen on security footage entering the department store in the hostage situation after his arson attack had failed. He refused to make any comments about his crime during the investigation but repeatedly said, “See the messages on that online café.”

Those messages were like “The End is near! Prepare yourself for the Final Day because unthinkable, massive disaster shall begin soon.” There was also a picture showing Satan. Police are consulting his medical records and assuming that he may be suffering from schizophrenia.

By Kim Dong-hun

By Stephen Redeker

Wales

India

A recent study has revealed that in some areas of Wales more than 50% of children are living in poverty.

These levels of deprivation are comparable to areas of inner city London. The report goes on to say that the percentage of children living in workless families has risen from 16 percent to 18percent. This raises huge doubts about the reality of the Welsh Assembly fulfilling its promise to eradicate child poverty by 2020. Amongst claims that benefit and tax changes are disadvantaging the poorest families opposition is demanding the Welsh government work harder to tackle the economic and social roots of the problem. With this increasingly visible issue growing however, and problems in the economy showing no sign of abating, it seems unlikely that the Senedd's Labour administration will achieve the goal of its flagship policy.

Automobile enthusiasts gathered from all around the world to witness the 11th edition of the biennial automotive show in Delhi from 7-11 January, 2012 with the main theme of “Mobility for all”. Special emphasis was given to road safety, eco-friendly vehicles and futuristic models. This automotive show is considered to be second-largest in the world in terms of visitor’s attendance, besides being the only complete auto expo in the world.

This year saw the worldwide launch of more than 30 models of different companies eyeing the everexpanding Indian market.

By Sreejith

By Andrew Thomas

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international

What’s Really Going on in Syria?

By Michael Bielawski Early last year violence erupted in Syria and protests continue to this day. Many, such as Ban Ki-moon, have weighed in on the ongoing turmoil. Below is the perspective of one of our writers on the media coverage that has been given to this conflict. A conflict whose consequences could possibly affect many parts of the world including South Korea.

S

eoul – It’s not uncommon that stories from mainstream media and politicians will differ almost completely with the same stories from alternative press and independent journalists, especially those reporting directly from the source.

This seems to be the case with the press coverage on the recent violence in Syria. Take for example this statement by United Nations’ Secretary General Ban Ki-moon regarding the alleged government crackdown on its citizens. “(Syrian President Bashar al-Assad) must be aware that under international humanitarian law, this (violence) is accountable. I believe that he lost all sense of humanity. He must address this issue, listening to the calls of the international community and more importantly, listening to the aspirations and genuine wishes of his people.” More recently he’s called for direct UN intervention. "In Syria, more than 5,000 people are dead. This cannot go on… In the name of humanity, it is time for the international community to act."

Now compare that with this report from journalist Webster G. Tarpley on Truth Jihad Radio from inside Syria. “I visited the city of Homs which is supposedly the center of the rebellion… we’re (he’s with a convoy of international journalists) trying to find a resistance against Assad and the Bath party (the ruling political party) and we hear that a demonstration is going on.” Here’s what they found; “There are four or five hundred people lined up so the first thing we want to know is… what is the main demand? They want fuel oil that is used for heating their homes.” Is Assad restricting their fuel oil? Not exactly… “Of course this is already part of the western economic warfare (NATO enforced economic sanctions) that this is hard to get.” The irony is the crowds are essentially protesting a NATO policy, not Assad’s.

So what did this crowd say about Assad? “We’re all pro-Assad” one demonstrator told Tarpley. Tarpley explained… “They’re all showing these crudely made pro-Assad things” or in other words not signs handed down from the regime, but rather authentic homemade signs, basically their support for Assad was sincere.

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Then he talked to one lady who really clarified the dangers Syrians face each day… “I asked this woman… ‘What’s your biggest problem?’ She says ‘I have to get home and I’m afraid I’m going to be killed by a sniper on the way home.’ She showed a picture of a small car, which a sniper had shot through the back window and killed a little girl.”

Regarding Assad’s regime she was clear… “We want the Syrian army here in force, we think that the regime is too weak, we want the Syrian army on the rooftops to stop these killers from killing us and our children and parents and all the rest,” she told Tarpley.

Most western media implies that the Syrian government is doing the shootings, and that there’s a huge political movement against his Bath party.

Whereas Tarpley says it’s the other way around… the people want government protection from the shootings, and the Bath party is largely held in high favor. The way the stories contrast, they may as well be talking about two different countries. So if Tarpley says the Syrian army isn’t doing the shooting… then who is?

“Snipers… people complained that there are terrorist snipers who are shooting at civilians… men, women and children.” He stressed there doesn’t appear to be any target group for the killings, calling it “blind terrorism, random killing simply for the purpose of destabilizing the country.” He clarified… “I would not call this a civil war by any stretch of the imagination. What you are dealing with here are death squads; the kind of thing that everybody remembers from Argentina and Central America. This is a typical CIA method.”

Tarpley also told Press TV in another interview, "There has been a NATO airlift from Libya with about 600 to 1500 Libyan fighters from the Libyan Islamic Fighting group, in other words Al-Qaeda, led by the infamous butcher Abdelhakim Belhadj with all kinds of weapons stolen from Gaddaffi's arms depots..."

So where is western media getting all these reports?

Tarpley gave one example… “You have three or four different groups; one of them is the Syrian

February20122012.1.2612:32PMPage35

Observatory for Human Rights, and this simply a kitchen of lies located in London.

And this is where all the networks get their statistics.” For example he added “Every day you see… ‘25 people reported killed in Syria.’ Well where does that come from? ‘Human rights sources…’ Who? It’s the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights operating out of London. And where do they get it? Oh they got it from secret reports and they can’t tell you. In other words, they make it up.”

So why bother Syria? Tarpley told Russia Today “The US policy I think right now is to smash the Middle East according to ethnic lines. In other words if you can have a divide and conquer policy which says the Christians will be kicked out of Lebanon and the Christians will be say kicked out of Syria (in the way that they have been kicked out of Iraq, and ironically a lot of them went to Syria), you can get a situation where all of these countries are fatally weakened.”

Another journalist, Mr. Sukant Chandan, speaking with Tarpley and others on Press TV, suggested an attack on Syria is part of a larger plan to set up an attack on Iran. He said “What is the greater strategic aim here? This is about cutting the supply line to the Lebanese resistance movement…” and he explained that movement is Hezbollah, a generally anti-NATO militant group. He added “So once - and if - the Assad regime falls, then NATO and empire (the US) is definitely going after to what they would like to do, (which) is to knock out Hezbollah, then to go after Iran.”

One thing is clear; the people of Syria are apparently not suffering from a low standard of living. Tarpley said for example 2.2 pounds of bread costs about 30 or 40 cents, electricity cost about 5 cents per kilowatt per hour, water and basic telephone is free, education at all levels, books,

seren.bangor.ac.uk

uniforms, bus, daycare, and school lunch are all free. This sounds like Ghaddafi's Libya, which had the highest “Human Development Index” of Africa by the United Nations own estimates until NATO recently invaded. Chances are if NATO invaded Syria, then like in Libya these economic policies would be reversed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), speaking of possible economic motives for an invasion.

As reported early this year in Gwangju News, Tarpley also visited Libya and gave a similar analysis of that whole situation, essentially alleging that foreign fighters aided by western intelligence agencies were driving the revolution. After Chinese and Russian officials made similar allegations, Ban Ki-moon responded “These changes of regime were done by the people, not by the intervention of any foreign forces or the United Nations.” But then he admitted “We played an essential role in the liberation of Libya.”

So while foreigners focus on the NFL playoffs and Koreans follow the latest pop culture trends, there is high drama playing out in geopolitics. There is economic warfare, and there are double-agents and CIA coup attempts. It all sounds like the workings of a Jason Bourne movie. Actually the latest Mission Impossible movie is about the UN’s IMF bank trying to clear its name from international terrorism, so it is not too far from reality. Webster Tarpley has been an observer of geopolitics for decades and his most famous works include George Bush Sr.: The Unauthorized Biography and the aforementioned 9/11 Synthetic Terror. Certainly, he gives a different perspective from what we hear from the UN and mainstream media.

The views expressed in this article are those of the writer.

Gwangju News February 2012

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culture

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

“Fan Death”

By Stephen Redeker

T

he topic of ‘death’ continues this month, but not in the numerical form (as it did in January’s issue).

In February we explore death in the form of a handy little appliance used 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 our fans in Korea have timers on them? If you don’t 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 myths).

“Fan death” is the name given to the belief that going to sleep in an enclosed room with an electric fan blowing directly on you could be fatal.

According to the Korea Consumer Protection Board (KCPB), which is funded by the government, “asphyxiation from electric fans and air conditioners” was one of the leading causes of summer accidents and injuries. They also mention 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 20 cases of asphyxiation (lack of oxygen) from 2003-2005 that were caused by the reasons above. Therefore, doors should be left open when going to sleep, fans should be oscillating, and timers should be set to turn them off automatically (that explains the timers).

South Korea is the only country in the world with the common belief that fans can cause someone to die in such a situation. Perhaps the reason why no other countries promote this phenomenon is: there's no substantial evidence to support it as being true. There are more than a few reasons why “fan death” could occur but none of them are likely to kill someone. For example, a fan is not strong enough to create a vacuum in a room, making it difficult to breathe. Nor can a fan severely affect the ratio of oxygen to carbon dioxide because its blades cannot chop up the molecules, and its electric motor hardly uses oxygen to operate. There are no fatal amounts of

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ozone emitted from an electric fan. When it comes to hypothermia, the room would already have to be really cold to cause that, and a blowing fan cannot cause the temperature in an enclosed room to drop that dramatically. 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 man is Dr. Lee YoonSong, a professor at Seoul National University’s medical school. He has performed autopsies on some mediareported “fan death victims”. He found that the main cause of death was not 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 and alcoholism. He says the media does not do a good job in reporting these facts when they publish stories about deaths where electric fans are present.

Due to publicity and rumor, a number of Koreans believe fan death is possible. Those who believe heed all the warnings, and why shouldn’t they? They heard about it once or a few times in their early lives and just go on believing it because nobody brings it up again.

Every so often, a news report mentions fan death, thus strengthening its case. There are a few theories as to why it’s publicized: some think the government wants to blame the many suicides, and/or other unexplained deaths, on the electric fan. Or perhaps it’s the government’s way to try and keep electricity use down during hot summers. Regardless of whether or not you believe in fan death, we should respect others and avoid arguments no matter how much we think we’re right. Hearing about this cause of death for most of your life might lead you to think similarly. Besides, who wants to willfully test this theory out? Any volunteers?

Source: wikipedia.org

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culture

Daily life in Korea: At the hairdresser

By Jacob Lotinga

D

uring my first two years in South Korea, I muddled through having my hair cut – and very poorly, too. A typical trip to the hairdressers had me show up entirely unprepared, use some guessed-at Koreanized approximation of “haircutting” to state the very obvious fact that I wanted my hair trimmed, and then struggle to make even passable small talk with my hairdresser, a certain Ms Baek.

Nightly Korean classes at Chonnam National University’s language centre changed all that.

Thankfully, the course had included a chapter on the ins and outs of hairdressing that seemed designed to put me out of my tongue-tied misery at the local hair salon. All of the relevant vocabulary was included – trimming, cutting, washing, drying, how to talk about the fringe, the hair at the back of one’s head towards the neck and just about every bit of hair in between. Our teacher, Ms Yu, even covered things that I never intended to have done – perms, dying your hair and all that. For a change, I was about to show up at my regular hairdresser prepared.

Still, Korean grammar and syntax remained enigmatic and elusive (vocabulary, too), so I repeated a few set phrases to myself on the way to have my hair cut. There was the essential 머리를 자르러 왔어요(mori reul jareureo wasseoyo) – “I came to have my hair cut” – which I intended to get in right away to be sure that I got it right.

The other essential phrase to cram into my real-life hairdressing dialogue was the one about the 유행하 는 (yuhaeng ha-neun) style – having my hair cut in the latest fashion. In reality, I had no intention of letting my hairstyle be dictated by the whims of people who happened to be on TV or in glossy magazines – I tend to be unadventurous when it comes to having my hair cut, and typically ask for the same style as last time (in broken, guessed-at approximations of Korean). Yet here was another valuable set phrase that I couldn’t waste.

The receptionists, as it turned out, were flummoxed by the fact that my usual hair stylist wasn’t there.

At a hairdresser

Naver Blog

As I tried to tell them the line about coming to have my hair cut in perfectly grammatical Korean, it seemed difficult to get anyone’s attention or to get a word in edgewise. But I persisted, reciting verbatim from Active Korean 3. My initial (sense of) triumph gave me the confidence to attempt further small talk in Korean as a kindly member of staff prepared a coffee for me.

As the hairdresser approached – a different hairdresser from usual – I mustered my newfound Korean learning and plucked up the courage to throw in my next set phrase. As I expressed a tentative curiosity about the 유행하는 style, her eyes visibly brightened at such impressive fashionconsciousness, and within moments I was left examining what appeared to be a family photo album.

Instead of family members, this album contained photos of all those Korean stars I recognised from TV but couldn’t name – the singer, the comedian, the one who was always on some road trip, many others who I had seen in adverts and quite a number who I didn’t recognise but trusted were famous. Many Korean male celebrities seemed, on closer inspection, to have subtly nuanced variations on essentially the same hairstyle – one that I didn’t want! I shut the album and tried to attract the new hairdresser’s attention.

Gwangju News February 2012

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perspective

To Bully or to be Bullied, That is the Question!

By 8ball (Kim Dong Hun)

H

ave you ever been ostracized by friends or colleagues, or vice versa? Why do you think it happened to you or others? If you don’t fall into either category, then you are a lucky person.

Although you may never have been involved in such situations, I believe that everyone has heard about the tragic accidents that can be caused by bullying, and which lead to suicide, law suits or even schizophrenia.

The recent suicide of one middle school student in Korea shocked a lot of people across the nation.

His classmates visited indescribable acts of violence upon him. They tortured him like a slave – waterboarding, tying a rope around his neck and dragging him and bludgeoning him. Another group of boys raped a girl of their age and blackmailed her with the video footage they took with the mobile phone.

Am I making a big deal out of nothing? No, it is only the tip of the iceberg and such tragic incidents are happening every day. Now the number of bullying victims, mostly students, is drastically increasing and it has become a very controversial issue that needs to be resolved right away. Otherwise we will hear more tragic, terrifying news from TV, internet and newspapers on a daily basis. Why in the world do people bully others?

How can we prevent it from happening?

Regardless of how long bullying has been going on in the history of mankind, it is needless to say that it happens, and has happened, everywhere and in all places. There are several characteristics of bullying that we can observe. First, those who bully others constantly attempt to harass and isolate victims. Accordingly, those victims end up taking some dramatic measures like suicide as a way to end this misery. Second, they just bully others without any pang of conscience because they regard it merely as a fun game or a form of entertainment. Third, even those who are not

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stateimpact.npr.org

engaged in bullying pretend to see and hear nothing because they don’t want to be involved.

Sometimes they bully others in order to avoid being bullied. One of the biggest problems that arises with bullying in schools is that it happens during the unsupervised hours such as recess, lunch or cleaning time so that teachers and parents are often unaware of any of incidents.

Usually bullying includes calling names, textmessages containing foul language, spreading bad, false rumors, punching, kicking, ignoring, mugging and/or poking with pens or pencils but from time to time it turns into unthinkable acts of violence.

So why on earth is it happening? It is believed that those who bully others are generally physically stronger and extremely dominant. They enjoy

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get ahead and beat others in competition, so the ends justify the means under such circumstances.

What should we do? Schools and parents should take the initiative to resolve this issue and pay more attention to those who bully others and those who are bullied. In addition, student counseling services should be provided to those who are in need of help and student-counselor (teacher) confidentiality should be kept to protect the victims. We should place more emphasis on nurturing moral people than goal-oriented people.

Survey of 2000 students in Seoul shows that more than 30% of the respondents have at least some experience bullying in school anews.icross.co.kr showing off their physical superiority by using violence and manipulating others. Misled parenting may result in children having violent tendencies, especially those who live with extremely demanding and controlling parents. As tensions between children and parents increase, the children tend to become more violent and aggressive. They are also exposed to violence and brutality through computer games, movies, etc. where hurting or killing people is commonplace.

They are immune to violence itself and they think they are playing games even though they are hurting others.

But the most important thing is to realize that some day we could be one of those victims or someone you know could be one of them. If we take a moment to put ourselves in others’ shoes and treat others as we want to be treated, there will be fewer people victimized by bullying. Remember the saying: ‘A little stone thrown by someone can kill a frog.’ Don’t live the rest of your life regretting wrong decision(s) and suffering from the ramifications.

The views expressed in this article are those of the writer.

Those who are bullied tend to be shy and have low self-esteem. Therefore they are less capable of expressing their feelings about such atrocities. They may also take this misery for granted because they think it is inevitable. Living in a dog-eat-dog society where competition among friends and colleagues is quite fierce, many people find less and less value in friendship and justice. All they want to do is to

Gwangju News February 2012

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language study

Letters to KOTESOL

By Dr. Dave Shaffer

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

Dear Dr. Dave, As a wannabe English teacher in Korea, I learned that greater joy and interest brings out better understanding in English for students. However, in actual classes, the students are most likely to be much more mature than their level of English.

Therefore, the students easily get bored. In other words, if I, as an English teacher, try to meet the students' interest that is appropriate for their age, the level/difficulty of English is not adequate and viceversa. How should we overcome this gap?

Yours sincerely, Yeojoo Jung Dear Yeojoo, I understand your problem. Your statement that the students are more mature than their English proficiency level is quite telling and likely the root of the problem. I think it is wrong to associate second language proficiency with age or maturity. True beginners at second language learning can be of any age, and advanced learners can also be young to old. Though we may teach the same content to beginners of different ages, the methods we use to teach it should vary to match the cognitive, physical, emotional, and social development of the student. You many use children’s songs and finger-plays to practice new vocabulary or structures with young learners, but for older learners, question-and-answer pair work could be much more appropriate. Though the content delivered may be the same, the vehicle for delivery needs to differ for students of different ages.

Dr. Dave Dave, My young Korean students seem to be overtly racist and prejudiced against other cultures. How can I, as a foreigner and a member of another race, discourage this effectively?

-Colorblind Dear CB, Yours is a question that there is no easy answer to.

Korea has been a tightly closed society until relatively recently (100 years ago, it was referred to as the “Hermit Kingdom”), and almost all Koreans shared 40

Gwangju News February 2012

the same homogeneous heritage. I must say that Korean attitudes toward other peoples have improved during my time here. The lifting of travel restrictions on Koreans has allowed more interaction with other peoples, and the foreign programs on television have made younger Koreans more accustomed to seeing foreigners. However, young children have had little or no interaction with nonKoreans. What you need to do is convince them that you are in many ways the same as they are. Showing them that you can eat kimchi and wear a hanbok may help, but showing that you truly care about them, and especially showing them that you can speak and understand their language, Korean, will go a long way toward alleviating the problem.

Dr. Dave Dear Dr. Dave, I am a new teacher in Korea. Recently I wanted to use a worksheet I had prepared for my 4th-graders, but my Korean co-teacher insisted that it was too difficult for them, even though I told her I had effectively used it earlier. She suggested that I just continue singing songs and playing games with the students. Even the other teachers where I work treat English teaching like an amusement park. They tell me that I’m doing too much. I’d like to hear your ideas.

Frustrated Co-teacher Dear Frustrated, Co-teaching is somewhat new to Korea. I think it is done almost only in English teaching where one of the co-teachers is a foreigner. Because the foreigner (i.e., native speaker of English) is a native speaker, that person almost definitely has better macro language skills (i.e., speaking, listening, reading, writing) than the Korean co-teacher. Therefore, the Korean co-teacher may fear being compared negatively to the nativespeaking co-teacher. To compensate, the Korean coteacher may try to show her students (as well as their parents and her supervisors) that she has superior teaching skills. Therefore, the Korean co-teacher may try to restrict a show of outstanding teaching methodology qualities on the part of the nativespeaking co-teacher.

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So, what can you do? Since many Koreans consider the printed word to be like a bible, show her written “proof” supporting your method. To show that you are non-threatening, you could possibly ask her to try out your ideas/methods/worksheets during her teaching time (making her look good, rather than yourself).

Possibly, more consultation and coordination in your lesson planning would help the situation.

Dr. Dave Dear Dr. Dave, I have some questions about teaching English. First, many Korean students memorize English words and take tests to develop their English level. Is this way okay? How about in class? Second, I am teaching English at a private educational institute. My students are middle school students. They are not good at reading, and when I read to them, they want to write the pronunciation in Korean. For example: apple 애플.

Is this method okay? If it is not a good way, how can they study English pronunciation?

Sincerely yours, Eunjung Seo Dear Eunjung, Your questions are both about problems that all English teachers should be concerned about. In Korea, “learning English” is an expression that comprises two very different concepts. One is testrelated. Memorization of facts about English, for example, vocabulary and grammar facts may help students perform well on a typical Korean high school English test, but little more. The other is skills-related. To acquire the skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing, students need lots and lots of practice in using these skills. Memorization is not skills practice. It may work for an English test on grammar and vocabulary, but memorization will not be very helpful in acquiring the skills of English communication.

To answer your second question: because many of the sounds of English are quite different from the sounds of Korean, trying to write English words in Hangeul, can easily lead to mispronunciation rather than to better pronunciation. Instead of writing English words in Hangeul, write English in English. In order to learn correct English pronunciation, students need a lot of practice in listening to correct pronunciation and a lot of practice in pronunciation (speaking) English, as well as seeing the English word in its written form.

Dr. Dave Dear Dr. Dave, I think most parents want their children to be exposed to English more and more, so that their children have an advantage. What’s the best way for parents to provide this? Also, I think learning English through

reading and writing is the best teaching method. But students can get bored. Every teacher wants to make them active for their class. But actually motivating methods are restricted. What can teachers do?

Yours sincerely, Weonmi Jang Dear Weonmi, For young learners, storytelling (not to be confused with storybook reading) is a great way for them to learn English. Also, phonics instruction can be motivating and very useful. These activities prepare students for extensive reading (also called “pleasure reading” or “casual reading”). Many graded readers on many different topics at a variety of proficiency levels are now available for extensive reading. Reading is a VERY efficient language learning method, and if learners are provided with interesting reading materials at the appropriate reading level, they will not become bored with reading. I think you are misinformed if you think that motivating teaching methods are limited. There is a very wide variety of effective and motivating teaching methods that have been developed. What the effective English teacher needs to do is become familiar with these methods and how to effectively use them in delivering English lessons.

Dr. Dave

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

Place: Chosun University, Main Building (Bon-gwan) Presentation: “Using Short Clips from TV in the Classroom” Swap-Shop: Beginning-of-Year Lessons/Activities/Ideas Admission: Free Facebook: Gwangju-Jeonnam KOTESOL Website: www.koreatesol.org/GwangjuJeonnam Email: gwangju_kotesol@yahoo.com

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

Facebook: Gwangju-Jeonnam KOTESOL Email: gwangju_kotesol@yahoo.com www.koreatesol.org/GwangjuJeonnam

Gwangju News February 2012

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language study

The marker“한테(to person)”vs the marker“한테서(from person)”

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

Dialogue 소라 : 존씨, 안녕하세요? [ Jonssi, annyeonghaseyo ?]

Sora : Hello, John! 존

: 네, 안녕하세요? 그런데, 소라씨 이게 뭐예요? [n e , a n n y e o n g h a s e y o ? g e u r e o n d e , s o r a s s i i g e m w o y e y o ? ] John : How are you? By the way Sora, what is this? 소라 : 책이에요. [ chaegieyo. ] Sora : It is a book. : 누구한테서 그 책을 받았어요? [n u g u h a n t e s e o g e u c h a e g e u l b a t a s s e o y o ? ] John : Who did you get the book from? 존

소라 : 폴 씨요. 어제가 제 생일이었어요 [p o l s s i y o . e o j e g a j e s a e n g i r i e o s s e o y o . ] Sora : Paul. Yesterday was my birthday. 존

: 축하해요. 저는 소라 씨한테 선물을 못 했어요. 미안해요. [c h u k h a h a e y o . j e o n e u n s o r a s s i h a n t e s e o n m u r e u l m o t h a e s s e o y o . m i a n h a e y o . ] John : Congratulations. I didn’t give you present. Sorry. 소라 : 괜찮아요. [gwaenchanayo. ] Sora : It is OK. 존

: 하지만 오늘 소라 씨한테 이메일을 쓸게요. [h a j i m a n o n e u l s o r a s s i h a n t e i m e i r e u l s s e u l g e y o . ] John : But I will write an e-mail to you today.

Vocabulary 누구한테서[nuguhanteseo]: from whom 누구한테[nuguhante]: to whom 이메일[imeil]: e-mail 물어보다[mureoboda]: to ask 쓰다[sseuda]: to write

Reference: 김성희 외. (2009). 서강한국어2A 서울: 도서출판 하우 서강한국어. Retrived January 6, 2012 from http://korean.sogang.ac.kr

Grammar

The marker“한테(to person)”vs the marker“한테서(from person)” The marker“-한테”is used to indicate the receiver of an action or the person for whom something is done or exists. The marker“한테서”is used to indicate the source or starting point of an action.

Example (1) The marker '-한테': to (person) 제 남동생한테 주었어요. (I gave it to my little brother.) 누구한테 이메일을 쓰세요? (Who are you writing to?) 제 책은 소라 씨한테 있어요. (Sora has my book.) 선생님한테 물어 보세요. (Please ask the teacher.)

(2) The marker '-한테서' : from (person) 아버지한테서 들었어요. (I heard from my father.) 누구한테서 이메일이 왔어요? (Who did you get an e-mail from?) 누구한테서 그 책을 받았어요? (Who did you get the book from?)

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movie review

In Front Line 고지전

By Seth Pevey

T

he war which tore across this peninsula some sixty years past is still imminently reflected in the art and stories of modern Korea. Perhaps no medium succeeds in cataloging such profound cultural memories as much as movies.

There are new examples emerging every year, and 2011’s The Front Line (고지전) is no exception. With a fairly large budget, huge battle scenes, and studly actors, it is an epic romp, if perhaps a little theatrical and inaccurate, through the horrors of war as they descend upon the Korean countryside in the later years of the conflict.

With high production values, the movie does a fair job of presenting the fairly simple story of a division of soldiers coming to grips with the terrible closing moments of the war. It explores the nature of brotherhood, and the war which simultaneously unites and divides them with its horrors and toilsome ups and downs.

Go-Su and the equally handsome Shin Ha Kyun play two soldiers who are brought together by the tides of conflict and who find solace in their shared brotherhood.

The movie might be particularly interesting to foreigners here in Korea because it demonstrates the kind of confusing relationship that exists between the North and the South. Although you commonly see the war showcased in South Korean films, there is a difference from say, American films about WWII. In the latter, John Wayne mows down faceless Japanese. In the movie world represented therein Japanese people are depicted as the evil enemy, representing an all too common black and white dichotomy in western film.

However, in Korean films about the war we get a sense that the two countries aren’t really in it for each other’s blood. Sometimes they don’t even know why they are fighting. It is a sad and yet eye opening demonstration of brother against brother, neighbor against neighbor.

While the film bogs down a bit into melodrama towards the end, it is successful as a good story and an interesting if inaccurate bit of historical retelling.

Don’t miss it.

Gwangju News February 2012

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literature

POETRY

Chung Ho-seung

정호승) (정

Translated by Chae-Pyong Song and Anne Rashid

Author’s Brief Biography

정호승) was born in 1950, in Hadong, Gyongsangnam-do.

Chung Ho-seung (정 Since his debut in 1972 with a poem featured in the Korea Daily News, Chung has published many poetry collections, such as From Sorrow to Happiness, Jesus of Seoul, Dawn Letter, The Stars are Warm, The Reed that Doesn’t Shake and The Cost of Rice. In simple language, Chung writes about compassion for fellow human beings.

Seonam Temple When your tears flow, catch a train and go to Seonam Temple.

At the Temple’s Place of Catharsis, cry as much as you must.

While you are squatting there crying, the roots of dead pines will crawl around you, the wooden fish will fly in the blue sky.

The grass blades will take out their handkerchiefs to wipe your tears and the birds will fly into your heart to ring a bell.

When your tears flow, go to Seonam Temple, even on foot, and lean against the back-bent pine tree in front of the Temple’s Place of Catharsis, and sob away.

(Note: The Temple’s Place of Catharsis is a translation of Hae-woo-so [해우소] which literally means a place where you release your cares. It’s a Korean Buddhist term to refer to a toilet. The bathroom is not just a place to give your body release. It is a place where you should let go of your worldly concerns. The wooden fish is a Buddhist instrument to signify all living things)

선암사 눈물이 나면 기차를 타고 선암사로 가라 선암사 해우소로 가서 실컷 울어라. 해우소에 쭈그리고 울고 있으면 죽은 소나무 뿌리가 기어 다니고 목어가 푸른 하늘을 날아다닌다. 풀잎들이 손수건을 꺼내 눈물을 닦아주고 새들이 가슴 속으로 날아와 종소리를 울린다. 눈물이 나면 걸어서라도 선암사로 가라 선암사 해우소 앞 등 굽은 소나무에 기대어 통곡하라 44

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To the Daffodil

수선화에게

Don’t cry.

Because you are lonely, you are human.

To live is to endure loneliness.

Don’t wait for the call that’s not coming.

When it snows, walk on the snowy path.

When it rains, walk on the rainy path.

At the reed forest, the black-breasted longbill is watching you.

At times, even God sheds tears, feeling lonely.

Because of loneliness the birds are sitting on the boughs.

Because of loneliness you are sitting by the stream.

Once a day, even the mountain shadow comes down to the village, feeling lonely.

Even the bell rings outward, out of loneliness.

울지 마라. 외로우니까 사람이다. 살아간다는 것은 외로움을 견디는 일이다. 공연히 오지 않는 전화를 기다리지 마라. 눈이 오면 눈길을 걸어가고 비가 오면 빗길을 걸어가라. 갈대 숲에서 가슴검은도요새도 너를 보고 있다. 가끔은 하느님도 외로워서 눈물을 흘리신다. 새들이 나뭇가지에 앉아 있는 것도 외로움 때문이고 네가 물가에 앉아 있는 것도 외로움 때문이다. 산 그림자도 외로워서 하루에 한 번씩 마을로 내려온다. 종소리도 외로워서 울려 퍼진다.

The Stars are Warm

별들은 따뜻하다

The sky has eyes.

I don’t have to be afraid.

When in dark, dark winter I walk on the snow-covered barley field and meet the night without dawn, the stars rising above the sky of my poverty are warm.

하늘에는 눈이 있다 두려워할 것은 없다 캄캄한 겨울 눈 내린 보리밭길을 걸어가다가 새벽이 지나지 않고 밤이 올 때 내 가난의 하늘 위로 떠오른 별들은 따뜻하다

To me time for truth is already late; what I once called Forgiveness was all lies.

But, when I walk on the street of dawn the North wind has passed and meet the night without dawn, the stars rising above the sky of my death are warm.

나에게 진리의 때는 이미 늦었으나 내가 용서라고 부르던 것들은 모든 거짓이었으나 북풍이 지나간 새벽거리를 걸으며 새벽이 지나지 않고 또 밤이 올 때 내 죽음의 하늘 위로 떠오른 별들은 따뜻하다

Translators’ Brief Bios Chae-Pyong Song is an associate professor of English at Marygrove College in Detroit, Michigan, where he has taught since 2001. His translations of Korean literature have appeared in Gwangju News, list, The Korea Times, New Writing from Korea, Sirena, Metamorphoses: Journal of Literary Translation, and Azalea: Journal of Korean Literature and Culture. Along with Anne Rashid, he recently won the Grand Prize in the Poetry Category of the 40th Modern Korean Literature Translation Awards for translating Kim Hyesoon’s poems. His fields of interest include twentiethcentury English literature, post-colonial literature, translation studies, and globalization of culture.

Anne M. Rashid is an assistant professor of English at Carlow University in Pittsburgh, where she has taught since 2008. She and Song have published translations in New Writing from Korea, list, Gwangju News, Azalea: Journal of Korean Literature, and Sirena. Her current research interests include African American literature, literature of environmental justice, and twentieth-century women’s poetry.

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fashion

Fash-On with xxl jjdp Same Same but Not

By jjdp Photos by Brian Klein

W

elcome to the second month of 2012 with 29 days, and thus an extra-special invite to be Fashon-able. February also plays host to Valentine’s Day, which is just around the corner and undoubtedly one of the most dreaded days for many on the calendar, while for others it is one of the happiest. Valentine’s Day may not be too big of a deal in South Korea compared to White Day. White Day is celebrated on March 14th and is the day to confess your love, so don’t be too heartbroken if you don’t get any notes from secret admirers in February. Nevertheless, we are in the mood for ‘Romance’ this month as we take a look at dressing to express your togetherness.

Red and white are our palette of choice and while many fear these colors, others have mastered wearing this daring combination which in many cultures is a symbol of passion, love, anger, sex and aggression. In the Korea even the flag has red representing the Yang energy as a sign of positivity and overcoming the dark, alongside theYin of the Blue in the Taegukki. These two colors create the perfect pair of never-ending energy and balance, culminating in harmony. I’ve applied this in the couple dressing concept this month. When balancing your style with your nearest and dearest, how much is too much and how will you assimilate red into your daily wardrobe without looking like a ripe tomato?

For optimal dramatic effect I have paired the red with white, black and grey, three of the most versatile hues, which offer the best contrast and depth. When using such a strong color it is important to remember balance. Are you going for a full on red effect? Or do you just want to add accents to your look?

For our first men’s look I have taken vibrant scarlet skinny jeans and paired them with an oversized white shirt. I then layered the look with a warm, sleeveless fur hoodie and rounded it off with a red tartan bowtie. Because the jeans are so bright and will undoubtedly be the main focus of the look, the white is the perfect counter color for all that saturation. Complete the look with a pair of your

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favorite red trainers and you are good to go.

Never slack in detailing your outfit as different textures and accessories most definitely take you from 0–100 percent in no time.

For the second men’s look I used a robust red burst of color in plaid and showed it with white skinny jeans. Upgrade the combo with an identical patterned scarf draped as an oversized bowtie or as a head scarf of sorts. Just have fun. For comfort, as well as a warmer, always keep a black fitted cardigan handy for a quick and easy extra layer in the chilly weather.

Now let’s move onto the women’s look. As it is still very chilly out there start with a grey maxi skirt in tweed which is perfect to keep you warm this winter. Contrast this heavy fabric and pair with a light chiffon and lace long sleeved camisole and a white fitted lamb’s wool cardigan (also available in red) to create a cute and comfortable look. Spice things up further and instead of wearing just plain black stockings choose a bright scarlet shade to complete the look. The man and woman are now Yin and Yang to each other, while perfectly retaining their individuality.

When taking care of your clothing, always wash whites and reds separately unless you wish to end up with tie-dyed pink clothing. A standard for white laundry is to avoid using bleach as this will discolor them and make them dull. I would also suggest with such vibrant reds that you wash these

separately from other colors as the dye usually tends to bleed while being washed with other colors. Handwash your lamb’s wool items with warm water and dry on a flat surface. In winter I usually dry my woolen clothing on top of a towel on my heated floors. It works wonders and keeps your knits from stretching.

I wish you well for the romantic month of February.

Let’s fill this month with a passion for fashion by trying something new in a vibrant and saucy shade ensuring that you look your best.

Shot on location at Virgin Star Design Cafe located in downtown Gwangju which specialises in coffee, pasta and sandwiches and has a great modern loft atmosphere with loads of design knick-naks to keep you busy while enjoying a hot latte on a chilly day. Check out their cyworld at www.cyworld.com/virgin-star Clothing Men : White Jeans - Uniqlo, Black Cardigan - Time Zone, Check shirt - Uniqlo, Red jeans - H&M, Sneakers - Shinsegae Department Store, Scarf - The Gam, Fur hoody - Gmarket, Bowtie - Have a nice day Girl: Cardigan - Codes Combine, Lace top - Basic house, Skirt Valencia women’s clothing, Red stockings - Time Zone

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food and drink

Pho Hanoi Story and photos by Gabriel Ward

I

n early January I went to check out Pho Hanoi, the latest of three Vietnamese restaurants to open up downtown in the last year. The other two are Vietnam Pho Restaurant and Pho Bay. I’ve enjoyed Vietnamese food from the first time I tried it, and I find Pho to be a wonderful dish all year around. For those of you who have never tried it, Pho is a dish comprised of noodles in a hot chicken, beef, or seafood broth, with pieces of the respective meat in the dish as well. Thus in the depths of Gwangju’s winter a bowl of hot, steaming Pho is always comforting.

Upon walking into Pho Hanoi I found the kitchen in plain sight, as the restaurant is open plan. Its new, shiny stainless steel gives it a modern, brand new feel, in contrast to what one might expect in a traditional Korean restaurant. My friend and I were greeted by a waiter standing at the door and we took the stairs to the right of the entrance up to the second floor. We both ordered Pho of the beef variety, I got the himcheul-po-bo (9,000 won) and my friend got the posa-dae (8,500). We also ordered an appetizer of six spring rolls, which are called go-ee-gu-on (4,000 won) to share between us.

We didn’t have to wait long before all of our food was brought to us by the waitress. The spring rolls looked absolutely delicious and our respective bowls of Pho looked both nourishing and flavorsome. I started with a spring roll dipped in some of the peanut satay sauce it came with, and it was absolutely heavenly. The softness of the rice paper wrap provides a delightful contrast to the crunchiness of the vegetables, and if you like peanuts, it’s almost worth getting the spring rolls just for the satay sauce. I then began to devour my Pho which was absolutely amazing. The pieces of beef were of a decent s i z e which I w a s

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impressed with. It had two or three pieces of extra fat in the broth and while some might be put off by this, it really does take the whole dish a couple of notches up on the flavor scale. What I really liked about the Pho also was that the broth-to-noodle ratio was good, so that it didn’t feel like I was eating a bowl of plain noodles in a little bit of water. That’s not to say that there aren’t many noodles though, for I found that the portion size was about right and I left the restaurant feeling content rather than like a bloated whale.

I went along to the other two aforementioned Vietnamese restaurants within about 10 days of going to Pho Hanoi and tried their Pho as well. I feel confident in saying that Pho Hanoi serves the tastiest version of the three. At the other two you can get bigger portions so it’s you’ll have to decide if you want to give flavor or quantity of noodles priority.

Unlike the two aforementioned restaurants my friend and I weren’t served bean sprouts at Pho Hanoi with our Pho and it was only after having realized this that I asked for some. Also the other two restaurants serve complimentary Jasmine tea where Pho Hanoi did not, I’m not sure they will serve it if you ask. They do have Asahi on tap for 5,000 won which is always good.

Pho Hanoi is located between Megabox and Moojinjoo downtown - it’s pretty hard to miss. Next time I want Vietnamese I’ll definitely be choosing Pho Hanoi over the other two options.

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food and drink

Oyster Jeon

굴전

By Hyejeong Jeong

O

ysters are a popular and common food in Korea.

Since they are popular, there are many different ways to eat oysters. You can use them for soup, Korean pancakes (jeon), deep-fried foods, steamed foods or raw foods. Among them, I will show you how to make oyster jeon, which is fried oysters with an egg and flour coating. For extra flavor, it will have green onions and hot peppers too.

Oysters taste best and have the most nutrition in the winter season (from November to early March) in Korea.

Oysters are often referred to as “the milk of the sea”, because they contain lots of calcium. They are also very popular as a stamina food for Korean men. Here is a simple but tasty oyster recipe for you.

Source: www.aeriskitchen.com

How to make Oyster Jeon Things to prepare (for two servings): 6 oz oyster (3/4 cup, 8 fl oz), 1/4 cup all purpose flour, 1 large egg, 2 tbsp green onion, 1/2 tbsp red hot pepper , 4 pinches salt

Cooking Method: 1. Wash the oysters in cold water and then drain.

2. Sprinkle two pinches of salt on the oysters and mix gently. Set them aside while you are preparing the other ingredients.

3. Mince two tablespoons of green onion and half a tablespoon of red hot pepper.

4. Combine one large egg, the chopped vegetables, and 2 pinches of salt in a small mixing bowl.

5. Coat the salted oysters with a quarter cup of flour.

6. Dip the floured oysters into the egg mixture.

7. Fry the oyster in a heated and generously oiled pan on medium to high heat.

8. When both sides of the jeon become golden brown, they are ready to eat!

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puzzle

PUZZLEs

Please submit your answers to: gwangjunews@gmail.com.

The winner of this month's puzzle pages will be published in the next issue.

Winners will receive a collectors' edition GIC mug which can be picked up at the GIC.

By Emma Dooley and Brian Paredes

Pseudonym Quiz These musicians are better known by what names?

1. Calvin Broadus 2. Paul Hewson 3. Reginald Kenneth Dwight 4. Richard Starkey 5. Saul Hudson 6. Robert Van Winkle 7. Marvin Lee Aday 8. Farok Pluto Bulsara 9. Dino Paul Crocetti 10. William Michael Albert Broad 11. John Lydon

Visual Puzzles

There is a perfect star in the illustration above.

Can you discover where this star is hidden?

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Gwangju News February 2012

How many different triangles are hidden in this figure?

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Last Month’s Puzzle Solution Lyrics Quiz 1. Prince - Little Red Corvette 2. Peter Gabriel - Sledgehammer 3. Elvis Presley - Heartbreak Hotel 4. The Beatles - I Saw Her Standing There 5. The Righteous Brothers - You’ve Lost that Lovin’ Feelin’ 6. Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here 7. George Michael - Faith 8. Bob Dylan - All Along the Watchtower 9. Bruce Springsteen - I’m on Fire 10. The Kinks - Waterloo Sunset

Source: www.greenleecds.com/rgbest/puzzles1.pdf

Mathew Valamparampil won last month’s puzzle and received a complimentary mug from GIC. Congratulations!

Visual Puzzles A. Fill the 3L container and transfer the contents to the 5L container.

B. Fill the 3L container again, then fill the 5L container. One liter will remain in the 3L container.

C. Empty the 5L container, then add the one liter from the 3L container.

D. Finally, fill the 3L container and add the water to the one liter in the 5L container - it now contains 4 liters

Crosswords Across 3. Dawn 5. Inch 7. Seollal 9. Tiger 11. Chin 13. Moonbear 14. Chimera 16. Shearer 18. A la mode 19. Tea

Down 1. Pyknic 2. Janus 4. Titanic 6. Boron 8. Phobophobia 10. Rome 12. Donald 15. Dragon 17. Russia 19. Try

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G

Opt

i Las ik 2 012 (FS2 00 + EX5 00)

보건복지부 지정 안과수술 전문병원

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

On the 3rd floor of the T World building.

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community board

GIC Journal: of Disquiet Social Discourse ep er to sa y th at ’s de ng hi G ot so m et ondering W ? ue log ve tra than the latest cultures e in between about the spac Have e? ar lessons to sh and have some et’? ‘g t n’ do lly ra gene art that people space for me at SDoD. A You have a ho pundits, rs, ite wr s, er ph artists, photogra ng ju, wa G t ou ab sh ar e an d cr itic s to al A, pit ca art without a the art scene, , clarity ion us nf co ur yo and expressing ea tiv e th ro ug h yo ur cr an d ko ok ine ss k out the ec Ch . ed olv ventures. Get inv website: . wordpress.com http://gicjournal. e: ut rib nt Contact us to co gmail.com selina.gicjournal@

Gwangju Men’s Soccer The Gwangju international soccer team plays regularly most weekends. If you are interested in playing, email: gwangju_soccer@ yahoo.com.

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

o reum Taekwond Gwangju Chao ng , Se o- gu , do gon ye ip 11 87 -3 Ch Gwangju -0958 Phone: 062-384 o Gym reum Taekwond Location: Chao Jeongof or flo ird e th is located on th e bus th e sid ing (just be yeon (K-1) build stop) 상무대우 , 518 (bus stop: Buses : 62, 63, 64 eu) at Ap oo ew Da 아파트 - Sangmu Ku m ho : "S an gm uj ig u Ta xi di re ct io ns . o" ro gajusey Daewoo Apart . ction is in English tru ins of d ho et M s: Weekday Classe onday to Friday) 2 p.m - 9 p.m.(M 1 p.m. - 2 p.m.

Sunday Classes:

llective ultiArtist Co ju g n a w ic and m G is organ p u ro g Our ters, ary: pain strators, and disciplin , illu rs e bers h p ra des mem photog ts. It inclu orld. Our aim is is rt a ia med the w around reative from all flow of c e th s, late p u o im sh st to work through nity art u m m energy o n and c discussio . ts c proje ok: ve Facebo Collecti oo.com ju Artist g n a w ria@yah a G m ju g n a w g il: E-ma

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

We would like you to give at least two Saturdays per month. Meet every Saturday at 1:30 p.m. in front of downtown Starbucks. All are welcome. For more volunteering information please contact Al Barnum at: al_barnum@yahoo.com.

Gwangju News February 2012

The Vagina Monoloques Are you interested in performance? Want to spark dialogues on race, gender and sexuality? We are doing a performance of The Vagina Monologues in 2012. If you want to get involved, please contact Leigh Hellman at gwangjuvwarriors@gmail.c om. We’ll be sure to find space for you.

The Gwa ngju Pho tograph The Gw angju P y Club hotogra place w phy Clu here ma b is a ny diffe can me rent pe et, ople a n d p ra share advice, g c ti c e p h o to g ra ive ideas, month, p the Pho tograph h y . E v e ry on a p y Club h o to o goes u ti n g to places aro d if fe re nt to c a p und the city a nd tu practice re th e m o m country e n w e lc o m ew techniques. n t a n d e to jo in Anyone g ro u p is th e p h o and h to g ra p h e lp s h e x p e ri e y a re in nce. T th o jo in search th e g ro e Gwang ju up, on Face Photogra book. phy Clu b

Brazilian Jiujitsu in Gw angju 522-3 Jisan-dong, Do ng-gu, Gwangju Phone: 010-9354-627 9 Location: Basement of the 20000 Eyeglass shop near Salesio Gir ls High School.

Buses: 1, 15, 17, 27, 28, 35, 36, 55, 80 (bus stop: 살레시오여고 - Salesio Yeogo) Tax i dir ec tio ns: "Sa les io Ye og o jun gry u jang gajuseyo".

Method of instructio n is in Korean-English .

Weekday Classes: 7:3 0 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. (from Monday to Frid ay)

Apostolate to Migrants Center 802-4 Son gjeong -2 dong, Gw gu, Gwan angsangju Phone: 062954-8004 Subway: G et off at So ngjeong Pa 정공원) St a ti o n a rk (송 nd Songjeong Middle Sch w a lk to w a rd o Busses: 29, ol.

38, 39, 62, 97, 98, 99. at Yeongg Get off wang-ton g intersec st o p a n d tion bus w a lk to w a rd So n g Middle Sch je o n g ool.

Sunday m asses: 10 a.m. (Indo East Timo nesian/ r); 3:00 p.m . (English) Migrant C at the enter; 6 p .m. (Vietn 2 n d Su n d amese). a y: 1 1 a .m . cultural fam M a ss fo r m u lt iilies.

Gwangju Irish Club The group has existed since the late 90s but is currently growing in numbers rapidly due to social networking sites such as facebook and meetup.com. The Christmas fundraiser in Seoul was once again a success and now attention is focused on the upcoming Saint Patrick's Day Festival, also held in the capital. However the group is anxious to spread it's reach nationwide so a new fb page 'Gwangju Irish' has been started. The hope is to have a monthly meeting of Irish and Irish-loving people in Gwangju, with the founding of a GAA sports club here as another goal.

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2012 GIC 2nd Korean Language Class NEW FROM THIS TERM! Evening Class at the GIC! Saturday Classes

Weekday Classes Cost

Days and Times

Level Intensive Beginner (Beginner 1 & 2)

80,000 won

Beginner 3 Intermediate 4

Days and Times

Level Beginner 1 Intermediate 1

Textbook

Beginner 1

Cost: 50,000 won

Beginner 3

Cost: 50,000 won

Intermediate 1

Cost: 50,000 won

150,000 won Tuesday & Thursday 10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Beginner 2

Level

Tuesday & Thursday 7 p.m. - 9 p.m.

Cost

Period: Weekday: March 6 - April 20, 2012 (Twice a week for 7 weeks)

Saturday: March 10 - April 21, 2012 80,000 won

Enrich your life in Korea by studying Korean and learning Korean culture with the GIC!

(Once a week 7 weeks)

(GIC membership fee: 20,000 won/ year and textbooks excluded) cash only.

A class may be cancelled if less than 5

people sign up.

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