Gwangju International Center

   Self Directed Learning   Date: 2013.2.16 Name: Yeonjin Jang Title: Self Directed Learning (SDL) Editor: Sam Winters   Jacob Zych’s talk, “Self Directed Learning” (SDL), makes a good case for informal styles of learning, explaining what they are, how they work and how people can use them effectively. The talk begins by emphasizing the difference between education and learning, and stresses that SDL is less about absorbing and regurgitating information from a lecturer and more about empowering learners with methods for self-education. Jacob makes the concept of SDL easy to understand by giving tips for how best to plan and see through SDL tasks, using examples from his personal experience and PowerPoint slides summarizing SDL methods. One of the most attractive ideas in Jacob’s talk is that SDL can take place in almost any circumstance, from job training to shopping or commuting in a foreign country. Jacob clearly has enthusiasm for SDL, and this comes out in his humorous, spirited talk.   Watch the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYT5fMe2Rvw&list=UUw22s4ed3HHu1d7g-teo_yw&index=1    

    Building a library from the ground up   Date: Feb, 2, 2013 Speaker: Margaret Law Review writer: Saerin Jung (Korea) Editor: Bradley Weiss (USA)    Margaret Law’s talk on building a library from the ground up started with explaining to the audience how this project was started in Kenya. To help illustrate her efforts she used a Powerpoint presentation including many pictures taken in Kenya during her work on this project. It helped the audience members to focus on her speech and then information she wanted to present. Ms. Law’s speaking style was almost like storytelling, including several well-timed jokes. These features of her presentation ensured the audience was tuned-in to her talk. It really seemed like all of the members of the audience left afterward satisfied by the day’s talk.               Watch her talk:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ON1BK2FGE4s&list=UUw22s4ed3HHu1d7g-teo_yw&index=2  Watch the photos: https://picasaweb.google.com/117593299426331932940/February22013 Follow up her project:http://ndwaralibrary.com Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ndwara-Community-Resource-centre/132760400099962?fref=ts      

        March marks the beginning of the 2013 GIC Tour season. This year the GIC Tour has teamed up with the GIC Culture program to make new exciting trips and even more hands-on experiences. This month with the ice melting down the slopes of Jiri Mountain and with the freshness and promise of spring around the corner, the tour visits the musical, culinary, and romantic county of Namwon.     Namwon has a long musical legacy stretching back 1500 years and it also provides the setting for two of Korea’s five remaining traditional operas, the stories of Chungyang and Heungbo. As such, the city has created a memorial center called, The Birthplace of Korean Traditional Music, dedicated to the music and musicians that were inspired by the surrounding hills and valleys. One great master, Ok Bo-go promoted the Korean stringed instrument the Geomungo here at the end of the Silla Dynasty, and another master Song Heung-rok, one of the fathers of Pansori in the late Joseon Dynasty, created his great opera Dongpyeongje nearby.  Other originators of Korean traditional music also lived and trained here and an exhibition hall and shrine pays tribute to them and their work.     After learning about the work of past masters, participants will be able to play their own music with the help of a teacher and, with hands warmed up from drumming, there will be a drum making experience where all participants can assemble their own miniature Korean “janggu” to take home as a souvenir! In this way, the music can continue long after the tour is finished.     With musical instruments in hand, and arms tired from beating, the tour will transfer by bus to Namwon center for a lunch of the local specialty, Chueotang.  Made from small freshwater fish, this soup is creamy and rich, with a pleasant fragrant spice.  It is full of nutrition, especially calcium, which is important after a long cold winter in rejuvenating the body and strengthening it for the spring to come.    From the restaurant, participants will walk to the beautiful Joseon Dynasty pleasure garden Gwanghallu. First established in 1419, the scholar-poet Jeong Cheol later expanded the grounds to include a large pond that symbolizes the Milky Way, three islands with pavilions, and a four-arched stone bridge called “Ojakgyo,” the heavenly bridge built by crows and magpies, which allows two lovers to cross the galaxy and be united.   This garden is the background of the famous opera Chungyang. In this love story, Chungyang remains faithful to her departed lover until his return and she refuses the attempts by a corrupt governor to sway her from her devotion.  Participants will have a guided tour of the garden and can relive the romance of Chungyang by wandering freely among the pavilions and islands.      Leaving Gwanghallu, participants can walk through a market place selling local products such as lacquer ware and most famously Namwon knives.  As an agricultural community and a crossroads between provinces, the city has long been an important market center.  Particularly, farming tools and knives made by local blacksmiths are well known. The tour will visit one of the few remaining active forges where a traditional artisan still crafts rustic steel knives and tools.     Music and nature, invigorating food, traditional crafts, and most importantly, romance welcome the spring with the GIC Tour!          **Last year, the GIC offered the Korean Culture Experience Program to promote Korean culture to the local community through cultural experiences such as:  arts and crafts, music, and customs.  This year the program has joined the GIC Tour to make the new: GIC Culture Tour.   

Beautiful Bohol: The Hidden Gem of the Philippines     Date: 2013.1.26 Name: Saebom Kim Editor: Sam Winters   The talk "Beautiful Bohol: The Hidden Gem of the Philippines" by Ynell Lumantao focused on the lesser-known tourist destination of Bohol, Philippines, and introduced the audience to the features of its economy, social and historic diversity, and of course, ideal places to see and things to do on the island. Using Power Point, Ynell was able to share many dramatic photos from this idyllic region, some of which came from her own personal collection. Ynell, herself a native of the Philippines, spoke with a noticeable fondness for Bohol and had a clear understanding of many of its more intimate details. Her talk is a helpful and easily understandable guide to one of her country’s best-kept secrets.   To watch the photos, click:  https://picasaweb.google.com/117593299426331932940/January262013 To watch the video, click: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBgl1815CUg  

  Thai Thriving   Speaker: Joey Nunez (USA) Date: January 19, 2013 Review writer: Yeonjin Jung (Korea) Proofreader: Bradley Weiss (USA)   Joey Nunez shared his private experience as an English teacher in Thailand. For example, he discussed how he taught his students and what kinds of people they were. The stories of his personal experiences kept the audience focused and interested in the talk. Furthermore, he introduced the audience to Thailand in his own way. Many photos, which were taken by Mr. Nunez himself, helped people understand his words more easily and vividly. Moreover, his speaking style was so friendly and comfortable that it created a feeling like casual talking, not a  long and boring speech. It made  good communication with the members of the audience possible during the talk. In particular, at the end of the talk, he showed an interesting video of a kind of “moving market” in Thailand, where a train passes through the market so people move their stores temporarily. It was  a great opportunity for people to feel interested in Thailand and its culture.          Watch the photos: https://picasaweb.google.com/117593299426331932940/130119_JoeyNunez Watch the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=sMtnG7KV4RQ  

  Understanding the Israeli and Palestinian Conflict     January 12, 2013 Speaker: Basil W. Keilani (USA) Review writer: Saerin Jang Proofreader: Samuel  Winters (USA)       Basil W. Keilani’s talk on the Israel-Palestine conflict starts by familiarizing the audience with the relevant history of the Palestinian and Jewish peoples. To do this, Basil uses a Power Point presentation with historical maps and other visual data. The Power Point is a fairly simple visual aide, so it doesn’t distract from Basil’s well-researched and level-headed talk. While going briefly but still quite thoroughly through the history, his talk also covers the root of the current problems in the region, in addition to suggestions for how to deal with them. Basil is clearly very knowledgeable concerning this topic, and his even-handed approach gives the audience a chance to see an emotionally-charged topic through an intelligent, dispassionate lens.     Watch the photos: https://picasaweb.google.com/117593299426331932940/January122013      

   Beautiful Bangladesh       Date: 2013.1.5 Reviewer: Saebom Kim Editor: Samuel Winters    Do you know a country where the happiest people live in the world? According to press, Bangladesh is known for happy country. Indeed, today’s Gic Talk speaker smiled all the time. So, he wanted to share beautiful country which is his hometown, Bangladesh, with us.  First, he compared Bangladesh to Korea in several ways, such as population, area, religion, season, etc. The population was impressed, because the density of population was so high in Bangladesh. Also, seasons of Bangladesh are interesting; there are 6 seasons which are spring, summer rainy season, autumn, late autumn and winter. He said winter is not that cold as the winter of Korea, but, they have winter too. They count rainy season and late autumn so that it has 6 seasons in Bangladesh.  Second, he briefly talked about history of Bangladesh. Bangladesh was colony of England.  British made partition of Bengal and India in 1947. Bengalis gained their independence in 1971 in a liberation war. During the liberation war, 3 million people sacrificed which were lots of people and very sad.  Third, he introduced to us currency, capital, food, clothing, transportation, game, tiger, and national holiday. All of these were interesting. The bill of Bangladesh was pretty with a bird. Also, fruit and vegetable looks so delicious. According to him, summer is good season for fruit such as Jack fruit or mango and winter is good season for vegetable. Unlikely Korea, There are lots of sweet food. According to him, “very” sweet food is common in Bangladesh. Moreover, traditional clothes are 3 different kinds which are Sari, Salwar kammz, Panzabi. Sari is for unmarried women, Salwar kammz is for married women, and Panzabi is for men. In addition he showed pictures of tiger, beautiful island, cricket, boat game, etc. It looks natural and peaceful so that It makes me want to go there some day.  In short, he gave us a good experience to hear about beautiful country Bangladesh. It was very impressed speech and interesting. Everything that related to Bangladesh, we could feel unique tradition of Bangladesh. Especially, his presentation was so happy because he smiled every moment and we can feel he is proud his hometown. If you have chance to go Bangladesh, you might have a great time and experiences with happiness.   Watch the video:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=9SerP_BQJSg Watch the photos: https://picasaweb.google.com/117593299426331932940/January52013      

Why Baseball Matters   Date: December 15, 2012 Speaker: Jonathan Haines  (America) Reviewer: Yeonjin Jang Editor: Eric Banuelos   Today's topic is "Why Baseball Matters", which is presented by Jonathan Haines from America. In the early days, he grew up in Brooklyn, New York City and at that time, was introduced to various kinds of sports by his father, a basketball coach. Even though he was not interested in the baseball game at first, an athlete named Mike Piazza made him be attracted by the game. After that, he has continuous interest in baseball and a lot of basic knowledge about it. His talk is divided into three parts: Baseball and America, Baseball and Life, Baseball and Me. Firstly, he started his talk, mentioning the hot enthusiasm of the baseball fans in Korea. And then, he explain how to play baseball basically and introduced Major League Baseball. He said, most of the teams were in the east coast around the country and there are also a lot of global teams around the world, especially, he thinks, Korean fans tend to be emotional in watching the game. Also, he stressed that now baseball is a pastime of America, following the most popular sports, football, which is the result of American Civil War, he added. Lastly, he related a baseball with life and himself. He recommended that "don't think too much, just enjoying baseball". His talk was so informative and interesting enough to attract people who are not interested in sports. It's because he explained from the very basic rules of baseball to practical things. Moreover, he explained easily the close relation of baseball and America and the reason why baseball is popular in America. His attitude was also natural enough to make audiences feel comfortable.     Watch the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OZxICApBds&list=UUw22s4ed3HHu1d7g-teo_yw&index=2 Watch the photos: https://picasaweb.google.com/117593299426331932940/121215_JonathanHaines#5822078477383116034    

    The doctor will see you: A look at healthcare system   Date: Dec. 08, 2012 Speaker: Mary Beth Wim Reviewer: Sae-rin Jung (Korea) Editor: Sam Winters (USA)   In her talk entitled, The Doctor Will See You Now: A Look at Healthcare Systems, speaker Mary Beth Wims uses her background in health education and research to outline and compare the general healthcare policies of South Korea and the USA, as well as those of other nations. With the use of Power Point, Mary presents the audience with lots of research data, facts and statistics in her comparison of healthcare systems, yet still manages to make the talk interesting and easy to follow. Her speaking style is very clear and she is keen to avoid letting her own opinions get in the way of her outlines and comparisons---something that must have been difficult given her experience in the field.     Photos: https://picasaweb.google.com/117593299426331932940 Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=QRAiwU_CG0Q  

  The Global Reach of Contemporary British Culture       Date: Dec 12.2012 Speaker: David Magee Review: Saebom Kim Editor: Bradely Weiss   Whenever they see a western person, most Koreans say “미국인이다!” (There is an American!). This is just one prejudice that exists among Koreans. Moreover, we are sometimes confused about the origins of things, often assuming that they come from America if they are in English. However, there is more than one country in which English is the predominate language. Koreans are sometimes even confused about the country origin of English-speaking people in addition to culture which is in the English language medium. So, this week’s talk was The Global Reach of Contemporary British Culture by David Magee who is proud of the culture of his native land.   First, he gave us some examples of British music, listing such famous acts as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, David Bowie, Queen, Spice Girls, etc. They not only achieved worldwide fame but also influenced other singers. The trend continues in the present , for example, with artists such as Amy Winehouse and Adele.   Second, he introduced us to some influential British figures in cinema. Charlie Chaplin was one of the biggest stars in early silent movies. Other popular and influential figures include Alfred Hitchcock , who is most known for his work behind the camera as a director, and Laurence Olivier. Furthermore, Brits in cinema helped to develop certain genres. Thus, James bond affected action movies and the spy genre, Ridley Scott is often cited as the best director in science fiction. The visionary producer and director of Inception, Christopher Nolan, is from England also. Obviously, Harry potter was made in England and it’s hugely popular in many countries.   Third, the speaker mentioned about the impact of British literature and authors. The most famous is, of course,  William Shakespeare, even though he’s an early English author. The presenter said that most Brigs can recite phrases  from Shakespeare’s plays from memory. In addition, he mentioned the importance of Conan Doyle, George Orwell and Agatha Christie. He emphasized that British culture is incredible and he is really proud of it.   In short, British culture still holds a powerful influence on our society today. The cultural of England offers many things that are very unique for which there is no substitute. British culture is valuable by itself and moreover, it is currently having a global impact, just as it has in the past.   Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIVnvlhL674 Photos: https://picasaweb.google.com/117593299426331932940/121201_DavidMagee