Category: Opinion

Opinion

You Can’t Spell “An Autopsy Hub” Without “Autobahn”

Gwangju News

We have a winner!!! 2023 so far has been an incredible year for terrible initiatives, and there was some stiff competition for the 2023 William Urbanski Most Reckless (and Brainless) Idea Award (WUMRBIA). And even though it is only July, we are shutting down the polling and declaring this year’s contest a wrap because there is no possible thing, no conceivable notion that could be more reckless (and brainless) than the recently announced and completely cockamamie scheme to build a no -speed -limit “Autobahn” -style highway between Gwangju and Yeongam.

Gwangju Talks

Jisan IC: A Masterclass in Flushing Money Down the Toilet

Gwangju News

What would you do with seven million dollars? Retire early? Buy a few houses? Set aside enough money to put your great grandchildren through university? How about build a deathtrap offramp against the express advice of experts that ends up being so dangerous that it can never be used?

Gwangju Talks

Here’s to April’s Holiday Foursome!

Gwangju News

April is home to four beautiful holidays in Korea: April Fools’ Day, Arbor Day, Easter Sunday, and April Nineteenth Pro-Democracy Day. The month is almost like a ticker-tape parade of these holidays for throngs of curbside onlookers to feast their eyes on.

Gwangju Talks

House of Cards

Gwangju News

Gwangju’s wildly fluctuating house prices beg the question if buying a home in the city is a solid investment or just throwing good money after bad. By William Urbanski My … Read More

Gwangju Talks

Hasta la Vista, Old Man Winter!

Gwangju News

Spring is already in the pipeline. Avian messengers cum couriers of the season will soon appear in our skies. Among other birds of that ilk, swallows will be sighted here and there, almost always in pairs. As birds go, they are exceptionally smart. Smart enough to be able to fly across seemingly endless stretches of ferocious ocean.

Self Help

Orange Parking Cones: The Heroes Gwangju Needs but Does Not Deserve

Gwangju News

As you may have noticed, Gwangju exhibits an extremely high level of permissiveness when it comes to allowing people to park on sidewalks. Apps that encourage citizens to snitch on such terribly parked cars do nothing. The police and tow truck drivers, it seems, are both powerless to fix this problem. In what seems like a hopeless situation, a lone hero has emerged to fight this chaos and lawlessness: a tall orange parking cone that is bolted into the ground. Truly, a tall orange parking cone that is bolted into the ground is the hero Gwangju needs but does not deserve.

Gwangju Talks

What If the Gwangju Subway Were Free?

Gwangju News

By William Urbanski If you’ve tried to walk, take a bus, or drive anywhere in Gwangju over the last two years, you’ve no doubt noticed that there’s a massive construction … Read More

Gwangju Talks

If Winter Comes, Can Spring Be Far Behind?

Gwangju News

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.