Published by the Gwangju International Center since 2001
This essay was originally published on Gwangju News Online in November 2011. With the Stone Roses playing at the Jisan Rock Festival this month, we are re-featuring the piece. Please note that this piece contains strong language that some readers may find objectionable.
If Gabriel had to make a list of his top five favorite Korean dishes, naengmyeon would be on it. I like both the mul and bibim varieties equally.
The pitcher was small and stoneware, but it was green celadon, what Koreans call cheong-ja (청자), and an antique besides, over five hundred years old – crafted in an era of Korean history as renowned for its ceramics as the European Renaissance is for painting.
Whether you’re brand new to the Big G or you’ve been here for years, Gwangju Living can make living in Gwangju much easier and more fun.
Where in Korea can you find people taller than 200 cm (about 6’7”)? Not many places. However, if you happened upon Yeomju Gymnasium in Gwangju between June 22 and 24, you would have seen more tall men than probably exist throughout the rest of the country combined. The screaming teenage girls waiting outside the locker rooms for a glimpse (or even a photo!) were in on this secret.
Creativity doesn’t have to stop for anything. There is no down time, there is no need to wait; just create and make the opportunity. In 2012, the Gwangju Performance Project was calling all artists to do just that – to create and to see those creations come to life.
In late May, Korean TV network MBC broadcast a short “news” piece titled “The Shocking Truth about Dating Foreigners”, a heavily biased, sensationalized report negatively portraying Westerners in Korea. It drew sharp criticism from the local expat community, with protest groups and petitions quickly appearing on and offline. Here Rachel Redfern contributes her own response to the video.
GIC published the second edition of the Gwangju Guide in print form in 2012. You can pick up your own copy from GIC. It is free for all GIC members, and only 1,000 won for non-members.