Better Together – 1. Together Day

On Sunday, May 21, 2023, Jungoe Park in northeastern Gwangju was the site of a tremendously successfully and extremely well-attended “tri-festival.” The park, directly adjacent to the Biennale, hosted Citizen’s … Read More

Singing of the Abode of the Wind – Artist Kim Kyung-joo

In this installment of People in the Arts, we meet artist Kim Kyung-joo, who founded the Gwangju-Jeonnam Art Community and was a participant in the minjung art movement with woodblock prints and ink paintings. What follows is the interview that I recently had with Mr. Kim.

May 18 Foundation: Bringing the Truth of May 18 to Light

The May 18 Foundation was founded in 1994 in order to help develop Korea through the spirit of struggle and solidarity of the May 18 Democratization Movement or Gwangju Uprising. Through various projects, the Foundation is committed to sharing the history of the May 18 Movement and its impact as the “foundation of democracy in Korea” at a national level, though it also promotes democracy and human rights at a global level. We meet Mr. Won Sun-seok, the chairperson of the May 18 Memorial Foundation, where he shares his personal account of the May 18 Democratization Movement, the Foundation, and his hope for the future.

Windmills, Tulips, and Kimchi: A Dutch intelligence researcher studies Alzheimer’s disease in Gwangju

Alzheimer’s is a nasty brain disease. The nerves in the brain are slowly rotting away until they die. It becomes increasingly difficult for the brain cells to communicate with each other, so the processing of information by the brain slows down dramatically. This means the scores on IQ tests get lower and lower, and even the simplest tasks previously become too difficult.

Chronicling the Pain of the Times: Artist Heo Dal-yong

Heo Dal-yong was born into the Heo family, which was continuing the line of the painting referred to as namhwa (남화). Namhwa is a style of painting that originated in China. It is also called “literary painting” because this style was mainly painted by Confucian scholars rather than by professional artists.

Cry of the Tiger: Gwangju Welcomes Hosooni Following Years of Neglect

The people of Gwangju should be proud of Uchi Park Zoo for stepping in (and stepping up) to take care of this tiger. Hopefully, many people will visit the zoo to support its efforts and also to welcome Hosooni.

The 14th Gwangju Biennale and the Transformation of Anne Duk Hee Jordan

This year, from April 7 to July 9, the Gwangju Biennale will host its 14th Biennale, showcasing works from 79 artists, half of which are new works that have never been exhibited previously. Of the 79 artists, the Gwangju News is fortunate to have reached Anne Duk Hee Jordan, an established artist based in Berlin who will debut a suite of interactive robots at the Biennale.

Stepping into the Paintings of Artist Lim Nam-jin

Lim Nam-jin is a painter who gives us subject matter to ponder, and her paintings give us a space to step into.