Gwangju International Center

        Postmodern Cinema: Blade Runner and the End of History      Date: October 6th, 2012  Speaker: Kim Su Rassmussen (Denmark)  Review writer: Kim Saebom Edittor: Bradley Weiss    Do you like watching postmodern cinema? Actually, you might not know exactly what postmodern cinema is. The topic of last week's GIC talk was “Postmodern Cinema: Blade Runner and the End of History,” presented by Kim Su Rasmussen from Denmark. Much of Mr. Rasmussen’s talk focused on defining the characteristics of postmodernism before exploring the incorporation of those themes and characteristics in the classic 1982 science fiction film “Blade Runner”. The speaker identified four main characteristics of postmodernism. The first is the development of technology, including technologies such as genetics, and particularly all kinds of informational technologies. Second, the speaker identified the dominant emotion of postmodern literature, cinema, and art as paranoia - a feeling of always being observed by somebody. For the third characteristic, Mr. Rasmussen referenced the scholar Fredrick James as saying, “The experience in postmodern space is like roaming around big hotel. We are trying to find our destination, but we are always lost.” The last characteristic concerns the experience of time. The speaker referenced Fredrick James again to describe the aesthetic of postmodernism as representing “the end of history.” In addition, Mr. Rasmussen listed further traits of postmodern in the cinema, including prestige, a flattening of emotion, hyper reality, time bending, and also post-humanism. He emphasized that by defying our expectations reality can be made more real. He also discussed the recurring theme of the futility in constructing a utopia. In summary, Mr. Rasmussen cited Fredrick James in saying that postmodernism can be defined as “the sense of disorientation, and uncertainty.” As we know, the future may be uncertain, but postmodernism seems us to give an opportunity for a second chance, a third, or even more. The speaker used the movie “Blade Runner” to explore these postmodern themes and characteristics. If the audience was unfamiliar with this film, it presents a good opportunity for understanding these postmodern ideas.   watch the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVayuVuWDyE&feature=relmfu watch the photos: https://picasaweb.google.com/117593299426331932940/October72012    

The Intersection Between Government and Computer Science   Speaker: Robert S. Wang (U.S.A) Date: September 22nd, 2012 Review writer: Nguyen Hoang Quan Proof-reader: Bradley Weiss   On September 22nd the GIC was honored to welcome Robert. S. Wang as presenter for GIC Talk. Mr. Wang received a B.A. in Political Science from the University of California at Berkeley in 2003, and is currently working as an Assistant Professor in the Department of English Language and Literature at Honam University. Mr. Wang’s presentation, “The Intersection Between Government and Computer Science” was clearly well researched and informative, and was well-received by the audience. The presenter stressed how computer science is currently becoming an ever more important part of our lives, in aspects ranging from services to health care, etc. However, Mr. Wang’s wished to emphasize an important area in which computer science plays a part – that is its function in government. This is an aspect that perhaps many people hadn’t given much thought to, and so the topic seemed to really draw the attention of the GIC audience. In the first part of the talk, the presenter mentioned in general the relationship between government and computer science. This included discussion of such topics as the role of government in building the Internet, as well as governmental achievements made possible by computer science, including some of humanity’s major scientific breakthroughs, such as nuclear weapons, man-made satellites, etc. Mr. Wang then traced some important points through history involving the interaction of government and computer science, from the achievements of the Soviet era, such as the launch of Sputnik, to the invention of information processing techniques. This led to a discussion of the events of the so-called “Arab Spring,” the recent political uprisings that were made possible by social media such as facebook. These social media platforms, in turn, were all products of computer science that had a direct effect on government in the form of regime change and reform. The speaker discussed how even the election of Barak Obama to the presidency of the United States was in part made possible through the success of his fundraising website early in his campaign, which proved him to be a credible candidate. In the later part of the talk, our presenter came to pose a crucial question: What can social scientists do to help computer scientists. He discussed designing an engaging interface, and about how government data could be gathered for policy makers in order for them to make better policies. He also talked about the application of computer science for government, which could allow agencies to work better with citizens and other agencies. The end of Mr. Wang’s talk was met with the audience's enthusiastic applause. Saturday September 22nd, 2012 was also something of a milestone for our beloved GIC Talk, for we said goodbye to our current volunteer members. The four previous members had a productive tenure at GIC Talk for 6 months, which might seem like too short a time for them in some way, but definitely was a time they will never forget. GIC Talk was also glad to welcome the four new members to the team: ...... With the hope they will have an enjoyable and valuable experience, contributing their great efforts to the GIC, as well as GIC Talk.  Watch the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8rrmqyCkGc&feature=relmfu      

    This month's best donor is Michael Simning who donated 30 books in September.      Total 29 DVDs and 110 books are donated by  Calvin Yu, Diana Welsch, Grouskay, Hanan Jamel, J.Douglas Stuber, Jessica Estrade, Karina Prananto, Kevan Hudson, Michael Simning, Roxette Caba, Ryun, Thomas and anonymous in September.    If you want to donate some books to the GIC, please fell free to bring those to the GIC. Thank you in advanced.      Contact) library.gic@gmail.com     

        On September 22, the GIC headed out to Yeongam.  The group included both Koreans and foreigners, and was led by GIC tour guide Warren.  It was a great day for hiking, learning, and enjoying the beauty of Korea.     We began the tour by traveling to Wulchulsan, or Moon Rising Mountain.  At the base of the mountain lies the Historic Site of Dr. Wangin, a famous Korean scholar who is known for bringing Korean culture and Chinese lettering to Japan during the 3rd or 4th century.  The current site in Yeongam dedicated to him is important for two reasons; it provides Koreans with a sense of pride in their history, and also helps in fostering and nurturing the relationship between Korea and Japan.  At Dr. Wangin’sHistoric Site, we saw two exhibit rooms detailing Dr. Wangin’s life, and then walked the beautiful grounds, where we saw the shrine to Dr. Wangin and the site where tradition says his childhood home was located.      We also walked to a nearby spring; legend says that Dr. Wangin’s mother drank from this spring when she was pregnant, and the waters endowed Dr. Wangin with his intellect.  Everyone took turns drinking from the spring, in hopes that we would inherit some intellectual prowess or perhaps will pass it on to our children. My husband and I both drank from the spring, so look for a Nobel Laureate with the last name Levinson in about 30 years.      Climbing higher into the mountain, we followed a trail to reach a cave; legend has it that Dr. Wangin would study here before he left to Japan.  Due to this legend, hundreds of years ago many students would come to study in this cave, and at the entrance is a large, 1,000 year old carving of Dr. Wangin.  After exploring the cave we climbed a bit higher to reach the summit, and take in the beautiful view of Yeongam.       After climbing down the mountain, we travelled to a local restaurant where we enjoyed a delicious meal of farm raised local chicken.  The first course included a local delicacy; raw chicken breast chopped with vegetables and served in a sauce.  While the idea of eating raw chicken made me somewhat wary, we were assured of the health benefits and it actually was quite good!  The remaining courses included a chicken stir fry, and delicious rice and chicken porridge.       After rejuvenating ourselves with the meal, we headed to Dogapsa Temple.  This temple is famous for its large stone Buddha carved entirely of one piece of stone, and the temple entrance is an original dating back to the 1400s.  The temple grounds were peaceful and quiet, and all of the participants had some free time to explore on our own.     On our way home to Gwangju, we made a final stop at a local fig stand.  Yeongam is famous for its figs, and they did not disappoint; they were sweet and delicious.  Many participants purchased a box of figs to take home and enjoy.   This was my first experience on a GIC tour with Warren, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.  I look forward to participating in future tours, and would highly recommend it to anyone looking to explore more of Korea.   Written by_Carrie Levinson & Bradley Levinson   >>If you want to see more pictures, click here~! >>If you want to sign up for Jindo Tour in October, click here~!

  Topic "South Africa: Alive with Possibility"   Speaker: Lynne Van Lelyveld (South African) Date: September 15th, 2012 Review writter: Chanhyuck Jung Edittor: Bradley Weiss   What do you know about South Africa? The topic of last week's GIC talk "South Africa: Alive with Posibility" by Lynne Van Lelyveld  was a survey of South Africa. We briefly learned about the country of South Africa, including its recent history, its ethnic and linguistic demographics, the food and entertainment its people enjoy, etc. Since hosting the soccer World Cup in 2010, the level of awareness about South Africa has been increased around the world. However, there is still much confusion about the culture of this diverse country. What do South Africans look like? South Africa has more than one capital city? How many official languages exist? Speaker Lynne van Lelyveld addressed all of these questions in her presentation, as well as sharing many more details about her native land. The speaker introduced aspects of South African culture to the audience in a more demonstrative, presentation style through sharing pictures, singing a traditional wedding song in the 'click language' native to southern Africa, and playing a couple of traditional music instruments. Ms. van Lelyveld is a native of one of the capital cities, Cape Town, and she helped educate the audience about her hometown using pictures, many of which were her own, and describing her experiences growing up there. The talk, of course, also included some discussion of former president Nelson Mandela and his role in the peaceful transfer of power from white minority rule to true democracy two decades ago. The speaker talked about her own experiences and feelings, having still been living in her native country during this tumultuous time. Following this period, South Africa has emerged as a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural society, living in relative harmony. The speaker discussed many aspects of this mixed culture, including the significance of its flag to shared leisure-time activities. Through her talk and relaxed, interactive presentation style, speaker Lynne van Lelyveld both educated and entertained the audience who walked away with a greater appreciation and understanding of her home    Watch the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nW5gki562iI&feature=player_embedded

      Written by Erin Heath     The first Gwangju Kimchi Road was really interesting and fun. We made cabbage kimchi, which is the typical kimchi we always think of. I was really impressed with the organization, the experience and the cooking location. It was held at Gwangju Kimchi Town which has a state of the art, modern learning space.       The Master Kimchi Chef demonstrated all the steps for preparation, which were projected for everyone to see on a large flat screen TV. Then, we moved to the preparation area, and all got our turn to duplicate the process. It was very interesting to see all the ingredients used to make kimchi. For example, I had no idea you could use apple. It was great that we were able to bring our samples home for taste testing.       According to a Korean source close to me, it was a delicious example of the kimchi flavors Gwangju is known for. The tour included a kimchi pancake making experience as well as a kimchi museum.       If you get the chance, I highly recommend this program for anyone who is curious about Korean food making, especially kimchi. And it was totally free! You can’t beat that kind of experience.       The 2nd Gwangju Kimchi Road is on October 27th with "Cucumber Kimchi Making". If you want to participate in this program, please click <here> and fill out the application form. Thank you :)    

        Total 326 books are bonated by Karina Pranato, Louis Mynhardt, Eon-yong Lee, Sreejith and Anonymous in August.  If you want to donate some books to the GIC, please feel free to bring those to the GIC. Thank you in advanced.    Contact) library.gic@gmail.com   

      My business Life Visiting 60 countries and Living in 10   Speaker: Michael Wilson (Australia) Date: September 8th Reviewer: Kang Yeon-ju Proofreader: Eric Banuelos    Watch the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=rcbB_ofafx4 Watch the photos: https://picasaweb.google.com/117593299426331932940/20120908_MichaelRaymondWilson     In this talk, Michael Wilson, the general manager of the Gwangju Holiday Inn, gave a speech about his business life. He has visited 60 countries and lived in 10 countries while doing his work so far.   He was born and raised in Melbourne, Australia. When he was in Melbourne, he got an opportunity to work at a hotel located in New Zealand, so he lived there for 2 years. During that time, he was a hotel manager who was responsible for the front desk and many important duties. After working at the hotel, he went back to his hometown, and due to a suggestion from a travel company, he began travelling around 300 places over the world as a tour guide for 3 years. While he was working in India, he met his wife. They got married in California in the U.S and moved to San Francisco. He felt that visiting many places in various countries was not good for him and his wife, so he stopped travelling around. In 1981, however, he was offered to come back to his previous company. Accepting this proposal, he went to Greece. After Greece, he visited 11 countries to open hotel chains, and now, he works in Gwangju. Thanks to his business, he has spent time with a great variety of people, and it allowed him see the world through many different eyes. He believes the hotel business he has been doing is so fascinating and has no regrets becoming a hotel manager as his lifelong career. The hotel chains of the Holiday Inn have opened around 1000 hotels in the world. In fact, people thought Holiday Inn was a kind of Motel, not a five-star hotel, so the Holiday Inn conducted a campaign in order to upgrade its image with a new logo, etc. Staff of the Holiday Inn carried out a survey about the hotel to customers and got information on what customers were looking for. As a result of their efforts, Holiday Inn has met customers’ needs by offering big and comfortable rooms to them. When he came to Gwangju to open the Holiday Inn, he got a few troubles. He couldn’t speak Korean at all, had to employ staff, and even didn't have enough time for the hotel opening, which was a heavy task. After much effort, he finally opened a hotel in Gwangju. Michael said even though the hotel industry in Gwangju isn’t big now, it has the potential to grow.   The Holiday Inn will make an alliance with the DJ convention center to attract international buyers and enter a big market, and Mr. Wilson is sure the hotel will be in a high position in 2014.            

  Indonesia: Visiting The Biggest Archipelago in 30 Minutes   Presenter, Ganis Zulfa Santoso Review Writer Song Jeong Hyo Edittor: Bradley Weiss     Last Saturday, Ganis Zulfa Santoso, a native of Indonesia and current M.A. of Engineering, Graduate Student at Chosun University took the audience on a virtual tour of his homeland, all without leaving the comfortable surroundings of the GIC.   Mr. Ganis Zulfa Santoso's presentation delighted and entertained the audience, while providing a wealth of information about Indonesia, with a variety of animations and audio-visual samples of the sights and sounds of the archipelago nation. This included an interactive map, beginning with a miniature picture of a plane starting off in Gwangju and then flying to some of the various 6 islands that make up the archipelago. At each stop, Mr. Ganis Zulfa Santoso provided the audience with information ranging from the local food specialties to any unique festivals or traditions to the must-see sights that help give the islands their unique flavor." In some of the more scenic stops, the speaker simply let a slideshow of beautiful photographs do the talking for him. At others, he provided video of unique festivals or dances specific to that island. All of this was done while providing the audience with the relevant statistical information, such as the size and ethnic and linguistic diversity of the island. Mr. Ganis Zulfa Santoso even taught the audience some useful Indonesian phrases. The speaker even included some props, such as a hat unique to one of the islands, to help take the audience on his 'tour'.   At the end of the tour, the miniature plane on the map made its way safely back to Gwangju, but the audience with left with a greater appreciation and understanding of Mr. Ganis Zulfa Santoso 's home country, the world's largest archipelago and the rich diverse country of Indonesia.       Watch the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3coKQW36l7U&feature=player_embedded      

  Topic : Ways with Vocabularly Acquisition   Speaker : Prof. Young-Kyoung Min (Korean) Date : 12.08.25: Review Writer: Yu Su-jin   Today's speaker is Korean, but she has lot of experience aborad. She got Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, and now she is working as a faculty, University of Washington at Bothell. She talked about practical suggestions for English-as-a-Second-Language Students.   The English language is considered to have the largest vocabulary in the world. Educated native speakers of English are expected to know approximately 20,000 word families or 70,000 words. However, educated non-native speakers of English know less than one quarter of the native speakers’ vocabulary. ESL which is abbreviation of English as a Second Language students must increase their vocabulary knowledge in order to become successful in their academic educational environments. She recommended effective vocabulary learning strategies that ESL students can use to enhance their vocabulary acquisition and the learning of English. First thing is that the encoding dictionary can help ESL learners understand the fundamental connection between lexis and grammar. Moreover, another tip is that the English lexicon comprises two main strands: Anglo-Saxon and Greco-Latin, so learning the word parallels of Greek and Latin roots that share the same meaning is a very effective strategy for solid vocabulary development.   As a ESL student, I learned many things from her. I think that voca diary will really helpful to build up my vocabulary. Moreover, she handed out websites and book names that we can use to learn. It was really informative time with her. I hope that she deliver her speech about her research next year when she comes back from U.S.A.           Watch the photos: https://picasaweb.google.com/117593299426331932940/120805_ProfYoungKyungMin