The 2020 Michael Simning Community Builder Award
Written by Cami Ismanova.
Every year, the Michael Simning Community Builder Award (MSCBA) is given to recognize members of society who contribute their time and effort to make Gwangju better. The award is named after the late Michael Simning who was not just a Gwangju expat but also a dedicated community leader, caring friend, husband, and father. Each year for the past six years, to honor Michael’s memory and legacy, Gwangju nominates new community builders, activists, and networkers for the award. This year’s nominees were Dr. Shin Gyonggu, Sandy V. Loreno (this year’s runner-up), Darrell Slater, and Andrew Vlasblom.
On Saturday, June 6, it was announced at The First Alleyway that Dr. Shin Gyonggu was the recipient of the 2020 MSCBA. Dr. Shin is the director of the Gwangju International Center (GIC) and a former professor at Chonnam National University. He has been working to help build the GIC from its inception 21 years ago as a service to the community. Dr. Shin is a role model when it comes to community engagement, social responsibility, and charity work. The GIC he has helped sustain is a hub that merges Gwangju’s international and local communities into one. It offers a wide variety of services that include legal consulting, translations, language exchanges, the GIC Talk, cultural classes, and so much more. Here are some of Dr. Shin’s thoughts about Michael Simning that he shared in accepting the community builder award:
“Michael once said, ‘I came to Gwangju with only a backpack, but I formed a great family here with a beautiful wife and a pretty daughter.’ In this regard, I’m similar to Michael. I also came to Gwangju in the same way. I had nothing but a military backpack. I didn’t know anybody in Gwangju. But I also met a lady and formed a family with one son.
“However, I’m also quite different from Michael. He was outgoing and creative. He created many projects including Speakeasy, The First Alleyway, the Underground Grocers, and the Gwangju Blog, among many other things. Michael was a born networker.
“In contrast, I was born as an introverted person. I feel comfortable when staying at home all alone. I cannot drink, so I don’t ‘speak easy.’ I also don’t mingle with other people comfortably. But I was obliged to be the director of the Gwangju International Center. I found it was a house built on sand. But I continued to work with it, and although I was and still am an extreme introvert, I’m also not one to quit easily. I feel humbled when I’m recognized like this. I want to thank the committee for choosing me for this prize, which I think I do not deserve to receive.”
Although, Dr. Shin thinks he does not deserve this award, everyone connected to the Gwangju International Center is immensely proud of him! In addition to a crystal plaque, Dr. Shin was awarded a check for 300,000 won to be donated to a charity or program of his choice.
Michael Simning (1974–2014) came to Korea in 1995 from Canada. In addition to teaching, Michael created Speakeasy, a place where expats could socialize; was co-founder of the Underground Grocers, where the foreign community went for hard-to-find foods and cooking ingredients; co-founded The First Alleyway, which still offers the best Canadian-style meals in Gwangju; and was an announcer at GFN, Gwangju’s only foreign language radio station. Michael somehow also found time to serve the community in a myriad of additional ways, often collaborating with the GIC and its director, Dr. Shin. Michael left us much too soon – in early 2014, after a long bout with leukemia.
The Michael Simning Community Builder Award Committee has been selecting award winners since 2015. Previous award winners were Al Barnum (2015), Jeff Hamilton and Kelly Palmer Kim (2016), Sarah Elizabeth Hale (2017), Dana Han (2018), and Daniel Wallace (2019). The committee currently consists of five members: Tim Whitman (The First Alleyway, Chosun University), Chris Bleeker (SIS international school), Bill Mulligan (Kwangju Women’s University), David Shaffer (Gwangju News, GIC), and Arlo Matisz (GFN, Chosun University). Each spring, the committee puts out a call for nominees for the MSCBA on their Facebook page, Gwangju Community Builders. The award winner is announced in the beginning of June to coincide with Michael’s birthday.
Coretta King once said, “The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members.” Gwangju is a big, diverse family with a flamboyantly vibrant soul that never tires. So, let us be like our nominees and our winner – restless, creative, and compassionate. Let us make our community even better by lifting up and helping one another just like Michael Simning did.
A Gwangju News article on Michael’s life can be found at https://gwangjunewsgic.com/features/16657
THE AUTHOR
Cami Ismanova is a student at Chonnam National University majoring at economics. She loves to travel, listen to jazz, and read books. She is into drawing still lifes, growing plants, and writing these days. Instagram: @camidisman