Gwangju International Center

The Risk of “Indigeneity” and a Realization of Human Rights    Speaker: Wilson Melbostad (USA) Reviewer: Minji Kim Date: April 26, 2014   "Indigeneity" is a word that may not be found in the dictionary. Indigenous people or things belong to the country in which they are found rather than coming there or being brought there from another country. In plain language, it means "native," and "born within." Wilson created a new word and presented three global examples of indigeneity that sturuggled to keep their identifies in their countries whose cultures have been changing a lot by Industrialism and Globalism: Scots (Scottland), Gypsies (mostly Europe, originating from India), and Orang Asli (Malaysia). He got the question at the end of his presentation whether he took a positive or negative side of being indigenous. He didn't mean that it was particularly good or bad. If the rules of the majority forces and ignores the minorities, and the latter never opens and accepts new other ways, there must be fatal disputes. That is why Human Rights law exists; keeping our own ethnic cultures and the ways of lives to inherit the own routes, and being united in harmony. Thanks to Wilson, we've got a new word of "indegineity" and we could think of how to act in different cultures.   Photos: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.235082223348667.1073741850.181572228699667&type=1 Videos: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6S086u9zKQ

Edward Hopper. City life, Isolation and Unfinished Narratives   Speaker: Leroy Kucia (USA) Reveiwer: Boyoung Moon Proofreader: Marga Crain Date: April 19, 2014    Today's talk is entitled "Edward Hopper. City life, Isolation and Unfinished Narratives" by Leroy Kucia held in the large multipurpose room on the first floor. Today's talk was a good chance to have a look at paintings by Edward Hopper. Edward Hopper used realism which stressed visual accuracy in the 19th century. The speaker informed us of Edward Hoppers biographical information. He also talked about historical events surrounding Edwards Hoppers life in the United States and how it effected his style of painting such as the American Civil War, the growth of capitalism, and the Great Depression. After this he talked about how American and European realism styles differ. American realism dealt isolation and disenchantment of the the everyday person in the city. It hauntingly mirrors the modern sense of isolation. It resonates in todays culture in Shirley's Vision of Reality and continues to inspire others. In the Q&A session the audience had many questions so we ran out of time. In short, it was fabulous time to let people know cogently who Edward Hopper was and what he wants us to feel from his artist works.   Photos: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.232422713614618.1073741849.181572228699667&type=1 Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9m19ifovOA&list=UUw22s4ed3HHu1d7g-teo_yw

Insects and Spiders. Small Beauties We Usually Ignore   Speaker: Andreas Kim (Germany) Reviewer: Chanmi Moon Proofreader: Audrey Dubin Date: April 12, 2014   Insects and Spiders… generally people first feel disgusted or scared when they think of these words. Not knowing the reason why, some people tend to be uncomfortable looking at insects and sometimes even kill them cruelly. Today’s speaker, Andreas Kim, suggests to us to pay attention to these small creatures that people usually avoid and ignore. The speaker starts his talk showing us a picture of grass. At a first glance, it looks like just grass, but when we carefully look at the picture, we find grasshoppers, locusts, and many other unknown small insects. While showing this picture, the speaker tells us how we have been ignoring these small creatures which have their own beauty. The speaker shows his own pictures of various insects, especially spiders, and introduces their own hidden beauties to the audiences. Throughout his entire speech, the speaker gives us a clear message that we should stop looking down on insects just because they are tiny and look weird, but should rather start to respect them as the same living creatures as human beings.    Photos: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.231572930366263.1073741848.181572228699667&type=1 Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zQ4-IjaoCU&list=UUw22s4ed3HHu1d7g-teo_yw

  My Great Wall Tour: Korean Fortresses from Suwon to Jinju   Speaker: Jacob Lotinga (UK) Reviewer: Minji Kim Proofreader: Jeremiah Azurin Date: April 5, 2014   Last week, we had a time to indirectly visit eight Korean fortresses thanks to Jacob Lotinga, author of The Trek to Mount Baekdu: A Journey into Korean Storytelling. He started his talk mentioning the Chinese Great Wall as the topic was "My Great Wall Tour: Korean Fortresses from Suwon to Jinju" Every time he finished presenting of each fortresses, he gently asked to the audience if they have any questions and kindly answered of it. From the location, stories, and things around the fortresses, even the legend of some places, he surprisingly knew much more about the fortresses than some of the Korean audience members! Therefore, it was a time to reopen our eyes to some of Korea's great places. Before he ended his talk, some of the audience members shared their experiences in the fortresses and gave us recommendaitions and tips for following visitors. That made a very interactive talk between the speaker and the audience. Finally, we had questioned by Jacob if we can call the fortresses as Korean Great Walls. How did we answer? Of course, yes! It is always grateful when internationals have interests in our Korean culture and try to learn it. We appreciate that Jacob became a pioneer to explore Korean Great Walls and to let us know how beautiful Korean places.   Photos: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.229573830566173.1073741847.181572228699667&type=1

Following Tracks across Three Countries   Speaker:  Michael Jordan VanHartingsveldt (Canada) Reviewer: Minji Kim Date: March 29, 2014        Last Saturday, there was a talk entitled “Following Tracks across Three Countries” by Michael Jordan VanHartingsveldt. For the audience, the topic was really interesting because everybody dreams to travel abroad, and especially by train, it can seem really romantic.      From Beijing, Mongolia, and to Russia, he traveled alone by train all the long way and showed us fantastic places, sceneries outside of the train, and how trains are managed to run between those countries. He recommended us to travel by ourselves or a small group, not a big package tour because we seldom take a breath when we find such beautiful scenery. He is well-versed in find great places in which people don’t normally approach. He also gave us a small tip: just ignore the sign saying “Do not enter” to explore new places. Maybe we need to dare danger, but normally there aren’t people willing to do so.      Meeting new people, having enormous time to read books, being around great nature, and feeling the romantic mood on trains is all we need to make this backpacking dream real. Now, are you ready for a romantic rail trip?     Photos: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.227911827399040.1073741844.181572228699667&type=3&uploaded=28   Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epyX5bma6KQ  

2014 March Jangseong GIC Tour Written by Chad LaRoche   Saturday morning.  My “Walk in the Forest” alarm melody, a foreshadow to the day’s events, lifts me into a new day.  A quick fast forward through time and I’m standing in the brand spanking new GIC building with a room full of eager adventurers awaiting departure for the big day ahead.    The destination: Jangseong County, located in northern Jeollanam-do. The participants: 28 curiosity driven experience seekers from all corners of the globe. Our guide and tour mastermind: Mr. Warren Parsons with his passion for sharing Korea’s gems his cornucopia of knowledge. The group makes its way outside into the chilly morning air of downtown Gwangju.  Filing onto the bus, we head out to our first destination in Jangseong: Naejang Mountain Park, where the Maple Tree Water Festival awaits. Maple tree water, or Goroswae, is just as you might imagine.  Slightly sweetened by nature, this water accumulates inside of thirsty maple trees, passes through a spigot and is collected in a clear plastic bag where it’s eventually gathered by even thirstier humans. A huge, rock wall serves as the festival’s backdrop as we find ourselves at the bottom of a valley. Roaming the various tents, admiring the local goods and sampling delicious treats is a good start, but it’s only an appetizer to this tour’s four-course meal; it’s time to seek out the Goroswae.  We carry on to the trailhead where I’m met with deep, forest green cypress trees.  After months of a color deprived Korean winter, these living trees are a welcomed sight.  The path we now trod winds along a pristinely kept (the park prohibits smoking and swimming in its waters) and increasingly distant river as we climb higher in elevation.  A friendly group of Korean picnickers hijack a friend and me along the way, sending us off with a stack of rice cake and a healthy cupful of makkoli. The hunt for Goroswae begins as we’re divided into groups of six, armed with empty 9-liter bottles and unleashed onto the steep hill side of maple trees.  From the path below, we’re able to scan the hill for the water filled bags.  Like little white, glistening beacons, the locations of the bags are betrayed by the noonday sun.  My group makes our way up and up through the crisp, dead leaves of winter below, emptying what we can find of the sweet water into our jug.  As I traverse the hill a loud noise spins me around in time to see a large, startled brown owl as it abandons it’s tree hole only two meters from my head and sweeps through the forest trees.  My jaw still on the floor, I take a peek at the nest and lone egg the owl left behind. The rest of the day progresses seamlessly with a tasty vegetarian lunch at Jayeon Bapsang, a sort of Mecca for mindful eaters.  Comfortably full, we carry on to the Pilam Confucian School where I happily spend most of my time lazing in the sun, watching a few of the children on the trip chasing each other around a small building and across the yard, lassoing the smallest and most helpless of the bunch with a piece of rope and giggling like mad. The day ends like all days should end: making soap.  At a wood workshop located at Chukryeong Mountain Cypress Forest, we are seated in groups.  Where I sit, I’m faced with two choices of soap molds: two fat teddy bears in love complete with hearts and a bouquet of flowers hidden behind the male bear’s back, or a car.  Turned off by the idea of bathing with metal and motor oil, I go with the bears. Upstairs from the soap making workshop and at a hilly intersection, the sun is lowering closer to the mountainous horizon as the evening glow of amber sunlight mixes attractively with the growing shadows.  While I admire the quiet flow of life set amidst this especially natural environment, Warren informs me of all the great hiking available in the area.  I knew then that I would return. Check out Chukryeong Mountain Cypress Forest for yourself by taking the 30-45 minute bus ride from U-Square to Jangseong Bus Station where you can hop a bus to Moam and hike the connecting trail to Chuam, where the soap workshop is located.

Why Poetry? Speaker:  Robert Grotjohn (United States of America) Reviewer: Jeremiah Azurin Date: March 22, 2014                   Dr. Grotjohn's talk entitled "Why Poetry?" was the first GIC Talk to be held in the large multipurpose room on the first floor. “Poetry is the creative art of the word or language,” he mentions, “that is one of the places you can look for life.” Tying references from the Bible, history, and famous poets, he demonstrated that human compassion, love, beauty, and understanding, and other emotions is found in words. Rhythm in poetry, similar to the pace found in music, and metaphors are other ways one can discover meaning through words. This talk was a great opportunity to discover poetry in different contexts and consequently there was not a shortage of questions to learn about how one may answer, “why poetry?”   Photos: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.227925080731048.1073741846.181572228699667&type=3&uploaded=35 Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oct_FkdZ8hU&list=UUw22s4ed3HHu1d7g-teo_yw

         Enhancing Community through Gifting   Speaker:  Lianne Bronzo & Adam Greenberg (United States of America)   Reviewer: Jeremiah Azurin   Date: March 15, 2014                Last Saturday was a special day for the Gwangju International Center. Lianne Bronzo (United States of America), organized the Freecycle event in tandem with Create & Gift, a local organization headed by Adam Greenberg (United States of America). Gifting, Lianne says, is a way to not only bring the community together through free exchange of items and services but reduce waste while maximizing the efficiency of various products. Couch surfing is another form of gifting that can uncover a different part of a culture that, without the connection of a couch surfing host, a traveler may not have discovered otherwise. Her personal accounts and photos brought her to Mongolia, China, various parts of the USA, and South Korea, amongst others, through the generosity and mutual interest in cultural discourse through couch surfing.  Adam’s portion of the GIC Talk portrayed his desire for others to try their hand in art. While many tend to resist, he believes that everyone’s art is important if they simply try. Create & Gift has allowed others to share their art pieces not only in Gwangju but around the world (for free!). By spreading other’s work around, it lives the spirit of gifting. The joint talk showcased their experiences in gifting through many photos and even a news clip from Adam’s previous project, Tonightswatercolor.com, which was the underpinning of Create & Gift. Please visit the Facebook pages for more information on both the Gwangju Freecycle and Create & Gift.   Check out the photos: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.223768681146688.1073741843.181572228699667&type=3&uploaded=64   Video Clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QiDasoVe4h4&list=UUw22s4ed3HHu1d7g-teo_yw     

Building a Bridge to North Korea   Speaker: Amy Badenhorst   Reviewer: Jeremiah Azurin   Date: March 8, 2014              Liberty in North Korea, or LiNK, is a human rights organization that provides protection and aid for North Korean refugees through the emphasis on the people rather than means of politics. Speaker Amy Badenhorst illustrated the realities refugees face when escaping the country including sex trade, labor, threat of deportation, unsuccessful grant of refugee status, or even death through videos. Since LiNK’s inception in the United States 2004, it has spread to Gwangju where Badenhorst, along with other passionate advocates and activists, formed a Gwangju Link Rescue Team to spread awareness with those who share an interest in North Korea and resettlement efforts. Through this local team, the community can build a stronger base for human rights support for those living even in Gwangju. With no shortage of audience members accompanied many insightful questions about how the community can help LiNK, to which Amy replied to, “just love.”     Check out the photos:   https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.222254947964728.1073741841.181572228699667&type=1   Video Clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wzp0zCpo7Js&list=UUw22s4ed3HHu1d7g-teo_yw

The Goethe Institut   Speaker : Angela Jeannette reviewer : Chanmi Moon Proofreader : Jeremy Azurin Date : Feb. 22nd, 2014   This talk was delivered by Director Angela Jeannette, with a topic of "the Goethe Institut". The speaker mainly introduced the Goethe Institut, the German cultural institution that has built a worldwide network opened in Gwangju. Her talk was very well organized and the visual aids she used attracted the audiences. She not only introduced the institute but further explained about the relationship between Korea and Germany by playing a short video. It was surprising that Germany had helped Korea so much in terms of finances, human resources, and many other ways since the Korean War. It was even more surprising that Germans played a great role on publicizing the Gwangju Uprising and on recovery as well. At the end, there was a short German lesson which made the talk even more interesting and entertaining. Check out photos: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.220130348177188.1073741840.181572228699667&type=1 Check out video clips: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5lmdgZs5cY