Published by the Gwangju International Center since 2001
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.
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.
The inaugural Gwangju Charity Village Cricket Festival took place in aid of Sung Bin Orphanage in 2012 at Chosun University.
Nothing beats hanging out in a park with cute orphans while shooting photos and scarfing down free food.
This month’s Korean myth deals with a person’s height. In Korea, many people believe playing basketball, jumping rope, stretching and other physical exercises can help you grow taller.
What if at some point in the future there are no more natural births? People would talk about natural birth as a sort of urban legend or conspiracy theory, questioning that there was ever a time when women didn’t always induce their births and have Cesarean sections.