Published by the Gwangju International Center since 2001
2022 couldn’t have been a better comeback for Gwangju FC, one of the two professional sports club in this city of 1.5 million. Its winning in K League 2, putting it back to K League 1 next year, gives hope to the football (soccer) club that has been having an up-and-down history in its involvement in the Korea Football League.
This past October, Gwangju hosted the inaugural Buskers World Cup (BWC) in what can only be described as a massive step in the right direction when compared to the ordinarily bland, tedious, and quite frankly pedestrian “festivals” that plague the ACC. Beyond providing all sorts of great entertainment, the BWC brought about a noticeable change in the ambiance of the downtown area and acted as a platform for meaningful and international cultural exchange.
South Korea has been participating in the modern pentathlon in the Olympics since 1964, but it was only 57 years later, at the Tokyo Olympics, that Korea finally won a medal. Jun Woong-tae, who is originally from Seoul but represents Gwangju as a member of the City Hall club, earned a bronze medal for Korea, making it the first-ever medal for the country, and finished the competition with 1,470 points. To Jun, his bronze medal is as valuable as winning gold. However, he aims to have the Taegukki (태극기, Korea’s national flag) fly even higher in future Olympic Games. Aside from the bronze, Jun has also won four gold medals at UIPM World Championships and another gold at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta.
Written and photographed by Lee Suk Pei When I had just arrived in Gwangju, the weather was still quite suitable for running, and there were a number of marathon … Read More
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