Hwasun’s Nineteenth Annual Marathon

On the first weekend of November, the county of Hwasun was host to the 19th Annual Dolmen Marathon (제19회 화순 고인돌 마라톤 대회). In addition to being surprisingly well attended, it was one of the most well-organized, exciting, and high-energy race events that I’ve attended in about a decade.

The Richness of Costa Rica

By Sebastian Benavides Vargas 안녕하세요. 코스타리카 아세요? (Hello, do you know Costa Rica?) Hello, do you know about Costa Rica? This was the question that attracted curious people closer to … Read More

If Winter Comes, Can Spring Be Far Behind?

Far from being a time of utter despair, frigid winter is when we can look forward to a beautiful spring over the horizon. Incidentally, I like the saying that “No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn.” Alexander Pope (1688–1744) famously said, “Hope springs eternal in the human breast.” Deeply comforting is this inexhaustible capacity of ours to hope for better things down the road. No matter how dire the circumstances may be, this inborn optimistic streak in us will always come to our rescue and deliver us from the darkest abyss imaginable. 

Learner Journals and Portfolios for Language Improvement

This article reports on a quite successful, combined journal-portfolio project with 76 university students over a one-semester period. Its purpose was to determine satisfaction with the project, its effectiveness in improving autonomous learning program design, and its effectiveness in improving autonomous study habits.

Beyond Bukhansan

In fact, arguably the first mountain you’d think of when South Korea comes to mind is Bukhansan, nestled in its eponymous national park spread out over 30.86 square miles along the northern periphery of Seoul. Unsurprisingly, it tops most peoples’ to-do list and would likely be your first port of call as a hungry hiker newly moved here. But there are many more mountains to be explored beyond Bukhansan.

Hwasun’s Hidden Shrines and Fortress Ruins

This month, we’ll turn to the interior for a visit to Hwasun County, located just southeast of Gwangju. There we’ll visit a pair of abandoned family shrines and the ruins of a mountain fortress dating back to the Goryeo era.

The GIC’s End-of-Year Event: Adios 2022

There are a few weeks left before we say goodbye to 2022. Time flies, as many of us would agree, and many things have happened this year, such as the easing of restrictions for Covid-19, which resulted in the Gwangju International Center (GIC) being able to hold many events that were canceled last year. There are many things to be thankful for this year, but the GIC’s most important possessions – its members – are the ones we are most thankful for!

The 2022 Human Rights Education Training Program for Sustainable and Inclusive Communities

Following the successful completion of the 2021 Online Human Rights Education Training Program for Sustainable and Inclusive Communities in November last year, this year Gwangju Metropolitan City, represented through the Gwangju International Center (GIC), conducted another KOICA Fellowship Program: the CIAT (Capacity Improvement and Advancement for Tomorrow).