From the Editor – October 2026

The ginkgo nuts are raining down on Gwangju’s sidewalks, and still on the trees, the ginkgo leaves are thinking about turning to their distinct golden-yellow hue. The nights are providing a welcomed midnight chill after a summer of tropical nights, signaling that the fullness of autumn in finally upon us. And with it, we provide you with the October issue of the Gwangju News.

Though we have just wound up a long Chuseok holiday at the end of last month, early October provides us with an additional duo: Gaecheon-jeol and Hangeul Day. We have decided to feature the Korean alphabet (Hangeul) for this month’s issue. Our main feature, “Hangeul: Korea’s Alphabet, Designed for All,” discusses the alphabet from its beginnings to its present-day transformation and the challenges and progress in between, and Hangeul Day (October 9) as well. Our closely related second feature, “Romanizing Hangeul: Toward a System Korean Speakers Can Read Back,” is a scholarly discussion of the current romanization of Hangeul used in Korea, its drawbacks, and a proposal for a remedy.

We have by no means overlooked Gaecheon-jeol (the “Opening-of-the-Heavens Day” – October 3). We have an enjoyable article on how the heavens opened up, sending down the diety’s son, who married a bear, who bore a son, who created the first Korean kingdom, which… well, the rest is history. You are sure to enjoy reading about that history in “Dangun: Son of Heaven, Guardian of the Korean Peninsula.”

Moving from mostly mythical to artifactual history, we have for you an article that propounds that the south Jeolla region was not a part of the Baekje Kingdom for nearly as long as previously believed. The Mahan culture continued to prevail in this region for centuries after the birth of Baekje – and there are keyhole-shaped tomb mounds and jar coffins as artifacts to prove it! Read “Mysterious Mahan: Visiting the Naju National Museum.”

Our Human Rights section offers two articles. The first is on “Lessons from Gwangju,” the topic of a presentation at Peace Festival Week 2026 in Thailand given by our publisher, who also authored the article. The second article is about the K-drama Teach You a Lesson and how it can teach a lesson about bullying.

There is of course much, much more on offer in this October issue of the Gwangju News. Enjoy!