From the Editor – November 2026

The hills are displaying their autumnal hues; Gwangju’s city sidewalks are hosting fallen leaves and ginkgo nuts.

There is a distinct chill in the air; midnight temperatures drop into the single digits. These are all signs heralding our arrival at the third month of autumn – November. Yes, we are plunging into late fall! And we invite you to plunge into our November issue of the Gwangju News!

Looking back on the recent rain showers spanning several days that fell over the city, I imagine it as a sign of Gwangju expressing its sorrow over the passing of a friend of the city: Mr. Basil Fernando, recipient of the Gwangju Prize for Human Rights (2001), lawyer, author, poet, and human rights activist. Lee Jae-eui traveled to Hong Kong for the funeral and provides a moving tribute to this soft-spoken human rights giant.

Migrants are the focus of our second Human Rights article, providing useful information on what their job-related rights are and where they can turn for the assistance they might need. In our Global Focus, urban refugees are studied, resulting in the view that they are “experts of the in-between.”

Our travels in this issue take us to the Minam Festival, celebrating the tastes and culture of the south-of-Gwangju county of Haenam. We also take you on a short trip to the nearby Mudeung Mountain village of Pyeongchon for a day of pottery making.

There’s been a symphony of notes floating through Gwangju’s mid-autumn air. The Gwangju International Center’s GIC Citizens Choir recently held their annual fall concert, bringing a remarkable 100 minutes of 100 percent choral joy. The Gwangju Busking World Cup also recently resonated as a central segment of the Gwangju Chungjang Festival of Recollection. Traveling from Mexico for the busking competition was BuenRostro.

For a report on this semifinalist duo and the event, as well as an allegro account of the GIC Choir performance, swing over to our Community section.

What exactly is the KIIP? Can climate change also effect pregnancy? Might AI be the death of humankind? Can cauliflower leaves make a tasty kimchi? Did the Let’s Rock Festival really rock? What’s the latest on K-pop’s Twice and on baseball’s Tigers, Gwangju’s FC, and volleyball’s Soopers? Find the answers to all these questions and much more in this November edition of the Gwangju News. Enjoy the plunge!