Meeting Friends in Gwangju
By Konno Hideko, Nurtia Pratiwi Siahaan and Renelle Marsh
Meeting Friends in Gwangju is a virtual language and cultural exchange program to promote civic exchanges between Gwangju residents and citizens of sister cities. Five channels of this program were operated in English, Chinese, Japanese, and Taiwanese through ZOOM for five months in the first half of the year. In October, Gwangju invited seven foreign participants who are most actively engaged in the program to meet and exchange with Gwangju participants for five days.
Konno Hideko (Sendai, Japan): First of all, thank you very much for inviting me to Gwangju this time. I had such an amazing time here for the last five days through the program. Initially, I thought I would only meet other Japanese, but actually, I was also able to interact with Americans and Indonesians. Besides, it was meaningful for me to be able to contemplate the meaning of the May 18th Gwangju Democratic Uprising. I would like to give my special thanks to all the staff who organized various cultural experiences, a baseball stadium visit, and a local home visit with so much help. Most of all, it was so amazing to meet people in person with whom I had only been communicating online. Once again, thank you, everyone. Hope to see you all again. (Translated by Lee Chang-hee, aka “Charlene”)
Nurtia Pratiwi Siahaan (Medan, Indonesia): Gwangju is one of the dream cities that I wanted to visit because of its comfort and the fact that it is neither too crowded nor too noisy. The city has everything. Alhamdulillah (“praise be to God”), my dream was achieved after participating in the Meeting Friends in Gwangju program and being able to meet many people from various countries. I always thank God for all the staff who managed to make this program. I learned and got a lot of new things while living in Gwangju. And the best experience was to wear a hanbok in the style of real Korean films – and I even got styled like a queen!
Renelle Marsh (San Antonio, USA): The Gwangju International Center Cultural Exchange Program was an absolutely amazing experience! After meeting for months on Zoom, we were able to meet in person in Gwangju. Gwangju is a beautiful city with so many things to see and do! All of our activities, transportation, and meals were carefully and thoughtfully planned out to give everyone a true taste of the culture. The staff were so very kind and helpful, and having a translator was also helpful for me, as I lack Korean speaking ability. All of the participants were so lovely, and I now have friends for life! Thank you so much for the experience of a lifetime, and I cannot wait to go back!