TOPIK at Chonnam National University.

I was in the "City of Light and Art" last weekend for the Test of Proficiency in Korean and had a chance to visit Chonnam National University. I went up the day before and checked out the university, both because I really enjoy visiting college campuses and because I wanted to find the testing center in advance. Good thing, too, since they changed the location without, from what I can tell, posting any updates on the website or getting in touch with the test takers. Anyway, it's a pretty little campus, and I was pleased to spend some time there.


Fountain in the mall in front of the library, built in 2004 according to the placard and not seen in this photo dated 2004.

It was, according to some of the pages I've seen in a quick Google search, the site of the beginning of the 1980 Gwangju Uprising. A placard in front of the above-pictured fountain reads:

The historic movement for the democracy of Korea originated on May 18, 1980, here, on this campus. Our nation's heart was burning for democracy, and our beloved ones rose up. They marched for national democracy and justice, and they carried a torch of truth that illuminated the future of this land. This sculpture is a proud reminder of the greatness that was---and is---the spirit of this campus, and a further reminder of the great outcry and the reverened sacrifice of those who paid the ultimate price when the nation and its history asked them.

May 18, 2004
Sculptor _ Dae-Gil Kim

I don't know much about the Uprising and didn't know the university's role in it until I started putting together this entry. It's definitely something I'll have to look into further. Here's a mural painted on one of the College of Education buildings (B07) next to the library:



The TOPIK itself was an interesting experience, although I was a bit cranky. After a rough night I'm tempted to revoke my endorsement of the Hotel Noblesse behind the Lotte Mart. I had stayed there several times before and was really impressed, but I got to my room Saturday night to find the window was covered over with metal, and every few minutes it sounded like a train was roaring by. I nodded off for a couple of hours but was awoken at 1:30 a.m. by a heated discussion in the hall (about Dokdo, I'm sure), followed a little later by typical love motel sounds. Owing to the metal panel over the side of the building, what was happening in the room next door sounded like it was actually happening at the window. The train noises were going strong nearly all night long. When I went outside to investigate in the morning, I found out that my room was above one of those car elevators. Decent hotel, but shitty room, and I'm pretty pissed that they'd book an overnight guest there, rather than reserving it for two-hour guests. I should have complained.

Anyway, the test was an interesting experience, and as it was the beginners' exam was fortunately pretty easy. Out of about 45 test-takers I was one of three Caucasians and one of ten men. A lot of different nationalities were represented, including Mongolian, Japanese, Chinese, and Indonesian. You know, most of the time I forget that I live in a fairly multicultural part of the country because I hardly ever run into any foreigners. (That sentence contradicted itself, but you know what I mean.) A good reminder that there's more to the foreigner experience in Korea than what happens to white English teachers or what is written on whiny blogs and forums. I was very impressed by many of those women's spoken Korean, and felt quite stupid for being at such a low level in spite of living here for almost three years. They could communicate quite effortlessly with the proctors and with each other in Korean, and while I understood everything they said, the problem is that it just never occurs to me to use certain words or pieces of grammar in real life. The next exam is in September, and I will be studying for the intermediate level, which will kick my ass.

Anyway, I notice that from time to time I get some visitors to my site from Chonnam National University. Thus, I feel comfortable speaking frankly to you. I really was impressed with the campus, but there are a couple of areas that need improvement. You all really need to do something about your missionary infestation. I think there was some kind of flash mob at 4:05, because as I was sitting around the above-pictured fountain I was quickly flanked by two, and when I evaded capture I saw that there were pamphlet-toting missionaries all over the lawn. Next to the library I was approached by two Chinese-speaking missionaries, who were admittedly kind of cute, but who were I think more confused than I was. The other side of campus offered no refuge, either.

The other point is regarding the nice pond on the one edge of campus. Aside from a few Christians, it was a very pleasant scene. However, when I returned in the morning to walk off some jitters I was displeased by the amount of trash all over the place. Characteristic of Korea, I know, but still, why ruin such a pleasant area with garbage? I spent some time fishing trash out of the water, and am contemplating printing up some "don't litter" flyers to post for my next visit. Sounds ironic, but shut up.

Enough of that, here are a few pictures:







Strange how some parts of campus just succumb to neglect and disrepair.





I saw that bird playing in the water as I was about to leave. I'm not sure what kind of bird it is, and I couldn't get a good shot of it, but I took a video of it because that's what my life has come to. Not sure if you can tell, but it had red markings around the eyes and a greenish tint to the wings, plus those white stripes. Anybody know what kind of bird it is? Many other visitors to the pond were terrified of it. It was awesome. I should have used it against the missionaries.



It's kind of difficult to take pictures of trash. If you look at the bottom one you'll find lots of beer bottles poking up among the lily pads. It's not as if there weren't trash cans at regular intervals around the pond.