Remembering Hak-dong’s Humanity
Written and photographed by Isaiah Winters. In 1946, on his second and last visit to Gwangju, Korean independence activist Kim Gu paid a special visit to Hak-dong that would leave … Read More
Category: Lost in Gwangju/Honam
The Asia Theater, Once a Battleground in the “Trot War,” Is No More
Written and photographed by Isaiah Winters. Now reduced to little more than a stack of exposed beams and buttresses, the old Asia Theater (아세아 극장) in Yu-dong doesn’t impress; however, … Read More
Odds and (Dead) Ends: Spring Cleaning Edition
Written and photographed by Isaiah Winters. It’s time for a special spring cleaning edition of bizarre leftover photos crowding my desktop. Like in the July 2019 edition of “Odds and … Read More
Fathoming Gwangsan-gu And Its Abandoned Goldmine
Written and photographed by Isaiah Winters. The names of Gwangju’s administrative districts are pretty easy to intuit, with each corresponding to a point on a compass: Buk-gu (North District),Nam-gu (South … Read More
Evicting God: The Exodus of Hak-dong’s Condemned Churches
Written and photographed by Isaiah Winters. Evictions and buyouts for the sake of redevelopment are all the rage these days. Hak-dong is the latest neighborhood to get the boot on … Read More
Rooftopping in the City of Heights
Written and photographed by Isaiah Winters. “Rooftopping” is a pretty self-explanatory neologism that refers to accessing rooftops, often high ones, within the context of urban exploring. Like hikers scaling a … Read More
Namgwang Hospital: The Demise of a Medical Disaster
Written and photographed by Isaiah Winters. In last year’s August and September issues of the Gwangju News, I wrote of the hundreds of vials and jars containing human organs that … Read More
Neighborhoods Rallying Before Death
Written and photographed by Isaiah Winters. Every year in Korea, autumn foliage treats us to one last gasp of life before the bleak onset of winter. I can’t help but … Read More