Right to the City: After an Assault
In late 2014, Kelsey was unwinding with friends at a bar in downtown Gwangju. An attempt to help a friend resulted in an angry man giving her a head injury; she had to be rushed to the emergency room. “I only remember putting my hand to my hair and seeing blood everywhere. I was taken to the hospital, where I had to get stitches.”
During the process that followed, Kelsey experienced the full spectrum of emotion. First, there was the shock of being the deliberate target of violence for the first time in her life. “That feeling lasted that night and for the next couple of days.”
Shock was followed by confusion, anger, and frustration. “Honestly, even if this would have happened in America, I probably still wouldn’t have known what to do, because I haven’t been in a situation like it before… I was frustrated because I was involved, others were involved and it seemed like a lot was not really happening. I was also not getting a lot of information.”
After the incident, Kelsey received assistance from the city, including Korean translation and counseling. Complications quickly arose and she felt lost. “At most points of the process, I had no idea what was going on or what I was supposed to be doing.”
Kelsey still recalls the entire matter as being frustrating. Circumstances supposedly prevented her from truly knowing how the case was even progressing. All parties involved seemed willing to cooperate and eager for resolution, but she was unimpressed with that resolution when it came: she received her hospital expenses and an apology. She is happy the incident is behind her, though. “As far as I am concerned, it’s over: the situation is done. Even though I don’t know what happened [concerning the third party] in the end, I did everything that I had to do.”
Of course the events could have been far more grim. “Although dealing with an act of violence in a foreign country was not easy, the incident could have been a lot worse. I could have had worse injuries, and I was lucky to have the support of the community around me. Throughout the whole thing, from beginning to end, the community in Gwangju has been phenomenal.”
“Male or female, drunk or sober, in any circumstance, there is no reason why this happened.” Kelsey hopes that this situation does not happen again to anyone else. She urges future victims to report the incident and know the Gwangju community is ready to support them. “People are willing to help, especially in this community that is great. There are resources and people available when you need them.”
Kelsey will be participating in the Gwangju Performance Project’s production of “A Memory, A Monologue, A Rant, and A Prayer.” “Violence against women happens all over the world, and in many cases, victims are not able to do anything to stop it. I decided to participate in MMRP in order to help to give a voice to women who cannot speak for themselves.”
You can support Kelsey as she performs with 24 other female and male MMRP performers, on Saturday, April 4 and Sunday, April 5.
To report any crime of any nature, please call 119 immediately. For international residents an interpreter will be provided by the city during emergencies.