Students commemorate anniversary of Gwangju Uprising with guardhouse experience tours.

A little while ago a teacher and blogger in Gwangju, Wanderlust: Korea, shared some pictures from the field trip her middle school took on Monday, May 17th to commemorate the Gwangju Uprising that began on May 18th, 1980. The students toured a few sites associated with the uprising and made the news posing with politician and Jeolla favorite Chung Dong-young, all in all a busy day.



Anyway, here are a few of my favorites, reposted with permission. The students had a tour guide to show them around the National Cemetery in Gwangju (which was also captured by Newsis):





An interesting placard at the museum:



The series that interested me most was at an old guardhouse, a site I didn't even know was still in existence and open to the public:




The students were yelled at by guards and then led across the grounds into holding cells.





Beyond the white buildings is a brick semicircle building "used as a detainment facility" a placard explains

where those who struggled against the military dictatorship during the May 18 Democratic Uprising were held in custody. In this fan-shaped guardhouse consisting of 6 chambers detainees could easily be monitored with a single glance. Detainees had to sit up straight for 16 hours a day and were beaten with a club regardless of age if they moved an inch. In one chamber as many as 150 were imprisoned, which made it almost impossible to sleep. Detainees often suffered from rashes and skin disease in the scorching heat. They were served two portions of food in one tray and were given only three spoonfuls of rice. The captives were under a constant threat of violence from the military police. Yet, they never caved in to such atrocities having the firm belief that truth always prevails in the end.

There are mannequins demonstrating how prisoners had to sit:



And, as in this Newsis photograph, how they were interrogated:



A Naver search turns up videos of these guardhouse experience tours (영창체험) for students, such as one with a local elementary school from 2006---with inappropriately-pleasant background music---and this one with Honam University students and Japanese yuhaksaeng from 2007.

The facility is located in the 518 Freedom Park (518자유공원) in Chipyeong-dong, behind the Kim Daejung Convention Center. It's accessible via a number of buses and by the Kim Daejung Convention Center subway station. The National Cemetary is accessible by the aptly-numbered city bus 518.

2010 English Fair in Gwangju, June 4th through 6th.

David Carruth of 10 Magazine told me last month about the English Fair 2010 (대한민국영어교육박람회) at Gwangju's Kim Dae-jung Convention Center from June 4th through 6th. Attractions include an English job fair, speeches by celebrities in the English racket, and a Dokdo Love Photo Exhibition.

If it sounds lame, don't worry, it's not for you. I know English in Korea is almost entirely for domestic purposes, taught almost entirely by Koreans, but it still irks me that the festival's website---like most English meetings, English tests, and English textbooks in Korea---is entirely in Korean. When you visit other pages on the site you'll notice an English tab in the top-right corner, but it doesn't work and doesn't lead to English-language information kind of like some of your co-teachers.


Celebrity English teacher and buffoon Isaac Durst was there last year.

20-year-old Jeong Hyeon-hwa, a dance major from Hanyang University, was picked as Miss Gwangju/Jeonnam at the Kim Daejung Convention Center on Friday in one of the regional preliminary rounds for the 2010 Miss Korea contest. Chosun University's Ha Ryeo-won placed second, and Hwang A-hyeon of Gwangju Women's University third.

Chosun University lecturer's suicide raises questions about promotion system, academic fraud.

A makeshift memorial and protest at Chosun University. Screen capture from SBS video report.

The Korea Times reports on a lecturer at Gwangju's Chosun University (조선대학교) who killed himself in his apartment on the 25th and left behind a lengthy suicide note on corruption and academic dishonesty at Chosun and other universities:

Police will investigate allegations raised in a suicide note by an hourly lecturer who accused some universities of having requested kickbacks in exchange for professor jobs.

Gwangju Seobu Police Station said Thursday that its officers are trying to verify the contents of the five-page suicide note left by a 45-year-old hourly university lecturer at Chosun University, identified only by his surname Seo, who died from carbon monoxide poisoning.

The note is reportedly addressed to President Lee Myung-bak.

Seo also alleged that he was forced to write a number of academic papers on behalf of his supervising professor, insisting all the papers were published in the professor’s name. Investigators are currently questioning his family members and colleagues at the university to find out what drove him to end his life.

. . .

According to the police, Seo said in his note that he was offered the chance to buy a faculty position at a private university in South Jeolla Province for 60 million won two years ago. In March this year, he was also asked to donate 100 million for professorship by a private university in Gyeonggi Province.

Seo alleged that Chosun University was trying to kick him out, saying he had no choice but to kill himself under the mounting stress. ``The country should do something for part-time lecturers. We also must do something to change the increasingly corrupt Korean society. I want an investigation into what I went through,’’ he was quoted as saying by the police.

The dead lecturer also claimed that he wrote a total of 54 thesis and other academic papers for his supervising professor and they were all published in the professor’s name, demanding investigation into the matter.

Suicide note, again from SBS.

The 광주일보 reports on it as well, and Naver and Daum searches for the 자살시간강사 reveal other Korean-language news articles and blog entries.

The Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries should have left English alone.

This is your authority on the English language and what foreigners like.

The Korea Times reports, via The Marmot's Hole, that the dolts interested in "globalizing" Korean food and beverages have decided that makgeolli will be given the nickname "Drunken Rice" (드렁큰라이스) in English to make it more appealing for non-Koreans.

"Makgeolli," the country's traditional rice wine, has garnered the nickname "Drunken Rice" through an event aimed at boosting sales of the milky white drink outside Asia's fourth-largest economy.

The Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MOFAFF) said Wednesday that Drunken Rice got the highest score as the nickname for makgeolli in a rivalry with such candidates as Makcohol, a combination of makgeolli and alcohol.

Other contenders included were Koju, Kori, Soolsool, McKorea and Rainydaywine but they failed to beat Drunken Rice.

"Midway through this month, up to 3,910 people offered various English nicknames for makgeolli, which is hard to pronounce and understand for expatriates," MOFAFF official Park Seong-gi said.

"Drunken Rice topped the podium at the screening of the five-member panel, which features a linguist, a food columnist, an alcohol specialist and tourism experts. These names will hopefully help the brisk exports of the wine."

The Korean-language articles say other names under consideration were Markelixir---a combination of makgeolli and elixir---and makcohol.

I'm curious, how many on the five-member panel were members of the target audience? And how many English-speakers did they consult before creating an English nickname? There is every reason to believe the answer to both is zero, given Korea's track record (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, to cite but a few) but it looks like they talked with Korean-American food blogger and consultant Daniel Gray of Seoul Eats and marketing manager Michael Spavor.

The Korea Times closes with:

In the meanwhile, MOFAFF asked 210 foreigners last month in 11 cities including New York, Los Angeles, Singapore, Hong Kong and Tokyo regarding what is the best English-language explanation of makgeolli. The best one on the list was Korean rice wine.

Clearly, Drunken Rice isn't as laughable as makcohol, as absurd as markelixir, but what's the point of an English nickname? What does "Drunken Rice" accomplish that makgeolli doesn't? In what way does it make it easier for non-Koreans to comprehend and understand makgeolli, considering most non-Koreans have even never heard of the drink? Finally, what evidence is there of a lack of comprehension and understanding among non-Koreans of makgeolli, and does it exist to so great an extent that an entirely new English name is necessary? The answers to these important questions were likely trumped by the desire to have an English nickname to sound cosmopolitan and smart, forgetting of course that it has the opposite effect on people who actually use the language.

The government's interference in English to further the globalization of Korean food reminds me of the decision last spring to change the English spelling of 떡볶이 to topokki, because, according to one researcher at the Topokki Food Research Institute:

“Using a name that’s easy for foreigners to pronounce is our first step to help the spicy rice cake gain global popularity.”

You won't build a strong connection with non-Koreans and "foreigners" when the English-language name is different from the Korean one, and incomprehensible to Korean-speakers.

Bad market for teachers in the US will mean nothing for Korea.

I used CareerBuilder.com earlier to browse positions in Pittsburgh, and they recently sent me a list of job matches.


Click to enlarge.

k, that's not helping.

If you search for "English" on CareerBuilder or Monster, Korean EFL recruiters are atop the search results, regardless of location. Gee, I think I'll go with the one that says

"Over 100,000 English teachers are currently beign employed in Korea"
ALL MAJORES WELCOM... NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY!

Anyway, a poster on Dave's ESL Cafe shares this May 20th New York Times story, "Teachers Facing Weakest Market in Years," and asks

Wonder how this will influence the market for qualified teachers in Korea.

It won't have any effect on qualified teachers in Korea.

Browse recruiter websites, whether the ones I found in my job search here or the ones Google gives you, and you'll find most if not all advertise things like "No experience necessary" or "all majors welcome" or "ALL MAJORES WELCOM."

In a May 2009 post I noted that when bitching about "unqualified" foreign English teachers you have to look at how recruiters are selling Korea to applicants. Park English, which for a while was spamming me with teacher resumes, sent me an advertisement last May with the headline "What's in your future after graduation? How Would You Like To Travel & Teach in South Korea?" Elsewhere on the page it gives answers to "Why Korea?"

-Annual salary of US $24-35K at 30 hrs/wk
-Renewable 12-month contract
-Gain international experience while enriching students lives
-Safe, modern country with the highest investment in private education in the world
-Intriguing language, rich culture and central location for continued travel in Asia
-Great ongoing positions available year-round
-FREE furnished housing, FREE round-trip airfare, paid holidays, health insurance coverage, etc.
-Save up to $15K/year

ESL Park, the recruiter I found via CareerBuilder telling us that ALL MAJORES WELCOM, asks on its homepage

Are you a University graduate?
Are you looking for a great adventure?
Do you want to Travel and make money?

CraigsKorea, another recruiter advertising on CareerBuilder, has in the top right corner of its homepage

Announcement
Are you looking for great
adventure? Do you want to
Travel and make Money?
All Bachelor degree Holders
are Welcome to Korea Now!

Whether teaching in Korea is "real teaching" is beyond the scope of this post, and has already been the subject of a bajillion messageboard threads and blog entries already. The point is if the companies put in charge of hiring native speaker English teachers are selling it as a place to travel and make money, Korean administrators ought to expect their hires to view the job as a means to travel and make money. We would certainly want incoming teachers to have a sense of duty and professionalism---the quote-unquote professionalism of the EFL business in Korea is definitely up for debate---but the middle(wo)men aren't trying to appeal to teachers' professional development.

I think newly-graduated teachers from the US and other countries might give South Korea and Asia a second look. Spending a year or two overseas teaching English as a certified, credentialed teacher might be preferrable to spending a year or two unemployed, or underemployed, or substitute teaching, or working in an unrelated industry. "Teaching" "English" in a Korean cramschool or working as a native speaker assistant teacher in a public school is hardly the same as teaching your subject back home, and there's no guarantee potential employers are going to be impressed with your international experience. But even though salaries in Korea's EFL industry have been stagnant for years, and the start-up costs for new teachers have gone up, it still remains a good deal for a 22-year-old.

That's good, because schools and recruiters pretty much just want 22-year-olds. Last month I posted about English Program in Korea [EPIK], Gyeonggi English Program in Korea [GEPIK], and the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education [SMOE] not wanting to hire older, experienced, "qualified" teachers because they are unable and unwilling to pay them. I'll have an update to that news in the near future, but just to refresh a reader forwarded me an email from WorknPlay Consulting, about the chances of a 53-year-old teacher with four years experience with GEPIK finding something in Seoul or Bundang:

I know many experience teachers are having hard time to find a job in Korea because of their age. And it’s very hard for a recruiter to promise that I can find her job in or around Seoul. GEPIK has cut down on their budget for native English speaker teachers from this coming semester and now they can’t afford higher level teachers.

Another recruiter, Korvia, says on its website that teachers over 50 "may be excluded for the selection process" by the three organizations, with the EPIK official website saying teachers are to "Be a maximum of 55 years of age".

It wouldn't make financial sense for most 50-year-old teachers in the US to leave their jobs and move to South Korea, and fiftysomething teachers who find themselves unemployed aren't likely to have the freedom to pick up and move halfway across the world, even if public schools would hire them and even if schools would pay them more than $30,000 per year. But the policies of these organizations, and the recruiters that hire for them, damage the industry by preventing teachers with experience in Korea from staying with their schools, and ultimately staying in Korea. However, as everybody saw from that April post, and as everybody has been saying for years, it doesn't really matter if native speaker English teachers here are "experienced" or "qualified," and the role a 22-year-old biology major plays in the classroom is essentially the same as a teacher with experience and training. South Korea is potentially missing out on an opportunity to attract trained teachers to its schools, but a lot about the English business here would have to change to accomodate them, a change that people with experience in Korea know isn't coming anytime soon. In fact, I would be surprised if the native speaker English teacher experiment lasts another five years in South Korean public schools.

Browse the "English in the news" category for more posts on English and English education in South Korea, and see the following selection for discussion on the issues and challenges faced by native speaker English teachers there.

* (3/19/2010) Korea's robot English teachers won't go away.
* (12/3/2009) Are native speakers part of English here? Your thoughts on the 2009 GETA International Conference.
* (12/2/2009) In the Korea Herald, writing about mandatory culture classes for foreign teachers.
* (6/26/2009) Korea Herald: Just what makes a teacher "qualified"?
* (6/15/2009) Not enough applicants for those "English Lecturer" jobs.
* (6/5/2009) Seoul wants English classes to be taught in English, will give TEE certs out.
* (5/13/2009) Korea Herald: The media bias against foreign teachers.
* (5/6/2009) 12% of native speaker teachers in Ulsan not retained.
* (5/1/2009) Korea Times: Foreign teachers wrongly portrayed in Korea.
* (4/7/2009) Korea Herald: Stop the scatter-shot approach to English.
* (12/30/2008) Half of foreign teachers leave after one year? GREAT! That's an article that should be brought up every now and again, because a MOE official in charge of native speaker English teachers says

``They are neither regular teachers nor lecturers who can conduct classes independently. They are `assistant teachers,' hence their teaching experience doesn't matter much,'' he said. ``Rather, it's better for students to have more new teachers so that they can meet various kinds of foreigners,'' he added.

* (12/10/2008): Poor guy.
* (11/24/2008): EPIK in the news some more.
* (11/21/2008): 4,000 "English Lecturers" coming in 2010.
* (11/14/2008): A must-read: an account of teaching English in South Korea in the sixties.
* (10/6/2008): More money going into English education next year.
* (9/11/2008): More English-Only classrooms, more gimmicks.
* (6/23/2008): Pronunciation matters.
* (11/28/2007) A reaction to Kang-Eun-hee's "Korean English Teachers."

Young people coming of age in motels.

As I wrote last week, the 17th was the annual Coming-of-Age Day in South Korea. It's a boon to retailers, writes the JoongAng Daily, with an increase in sales of not only "traditional" gifts like roses and perfume, but also higher-end items at department stores:

To lure young consumers and their families to spend money for that special day, local department stores are promoting various events.

Lotte Department Store is offering a 10 percent discount through Monday on casual brands including Calvin Klein, Guess and Buckaroo. The retailer is also giving away high-end portable speakers to customers turning 20 years old this year who spend more than 200,000 won ($176).

Shinsegae Department Store is offering discounts on casual brands including Gap and Banana Republic, as well as on jewelry and shoe brands, while Hyundai Department Store will mark down its cosmetics brands and young casual wear.

The article closes by saying that May is "is considered one of the most important months of the year for retailers to raise sales" because it's "Family Month," with Parents' and Childrens' Day at the beginning of the month. Then again, there are plenty of other holidays in South Korea newly imported or fabricated to not only increase sales of specialty products---Wine Day, Ace Day, Peppero Day, Garaetteok Day, Christmas---but also to provide much-needed fun and consumerism to traditional Korean holidays that are dominated by obligations, traffic jams, days of cooking, and dead people.

Another traditional gift on Coming-of-Age Day is a kiss, but the Chosun Ilbo writes that some couples are, unsurprisingly, a little beyond that.

Many who turn 20 this year go to motels for their own "coming-of-age" rituals. Ten out of 28 motels in Sinchon, Jongno and Gangnam were full on Monday and the rest saw the number of guests shoot up by at least 50 percent. One female university student who visited a motel near Ewha Womans University at 9:30 pm on Monday said, "Everyone comes to these places these days. Some of my other friends even booked a hotel room."

Korean-language version here, and a 2008 article on the same topic asks "성년의 날이야 '성(性)'의 날이야?"

The former quotes a guy saying he got a job at a convenience store the month before in order to earn money toward a special Coming-of-Age Day for his girlfriend. It also reports an increase in sales of underwear and adult items. A survey of 1,000 17-19-year-olds by Lotte Department Store this year found that underwear was the second-most wanted gift, behind a kiss and ahead of perfume. Here's a sample of what one online shopping site, G-Market, is selling as 성년의날 선물. I was amused to find, when searching for the Korean-language story by Navering 성년의날 모텔, the portal offered three variations of "성년의날 남자 선물" as suggested search terms.

The English-language Chosun Ilbo article is, obviously, very unspecific, and ignores that on any given Monday ten out of 28 motels in Sinchon, Jongno, and Gangnam are likely to be full. Likewise, when the student quoted says "everyone comes to these places these days," we don't know if she means on a regular basis, or for couples holidays and Coming-of-Age Days.

I've written a lot about love motels, as my "motels and hotels" category shows, most recently and most publically for the Korea Herald last fall. While love motels do still carry a stigma---enough that a foreigner writing about them in the Gwangju News last year got chewed out in a local paper---and would probably not be the best surprise present for your girlfriend, people are slowly starting to realize how awesome they are. I highlighted some examples in that Herald piece and the accompanying post, and used as support a Yonhap article from August 2009 which looked at the amenities the nicer ones are starting to offer.

But in the face of a steep increase in competition, motel owners are transforming their guest rooms into private entertainment complexes, renovating once spartan furnishings into lavish accommodations.

Couples can now find rooms in some of the country's leading motels equipped with a swimming pool, a sauna or jacuzzi, and flat-screen displays. Popular game consoles like Play Station or Wii, as well as karaoke machines, multiple PCs and a tastefully decorated bed are all part of the package.

"Lodging facilities used to be just for sleep or sex," said Lee Kyung-su, head manager at Seoul Mate Hotel. "But these days, such limitations don't make money."

. . .

"Motels used to be a place I go at night, have sex, and wake up in the morning," said an 28-year-old office worker who identified himself only by his last name Lee. "But now I go there also during the daytime with my girlfriend watching movies, playing games, or just lying in bed together listening to music."

A 2007 article talks about hotels offering "Pink Light Events" to mark Coming-of-Age Day and Couple's Day---부부의날, which I learned just now falls on May 21st---and talks about the amenities that make luxury motels attractive on days special and regular.

No, 동아대학교, that's not how you do it.

Looking around for pictures of university smiling contests, as most bloggers do, I came across a Busan Ilbo article with an animated banner advertisement for Dong-A University promoting the school's international sensibility, among other qualities.




They did it wrong.

A year later.

Gravesite of former President Roh Moo-hyun, via Yonhap.

One year ago Sunday, former president Roh Moo-hyun killed himself near his home in Bongha Village (봉하마을), Gimhae, Gyeongsangnam-do. The Hankyoreh and JoongAng Daily both have articles in English about Roh supporters who travelled to Owl Rock to mark the occasion.

Roh’s grave site, which was opened to the press on Wednesday, measures 3,206 square meters (34,509 square feet) and is shaped in an isosceles triangle. The boundaries of his tomb, funded with donations from his supporters, were completed this month after six months of construction. More than 38,000 granite stones line the tomb, each engraved with a message that mourns his death. One from former President Kim Dae-jung, written by his widow, Lee Hee-ho, reads: “I feel like half of my body collapsed.”

The graveside memorial service for Roh begins at 2 p.m. today and will be presided over by popular comedian Kim Jae-dong. Performances, a video clip and a memorial address and speech by a representative of Roh’s family are all scheduled. A pre-service memorial mass will be held at 11 a.m. at Jeongtowon, a Buddhist temple where Roh’s ashes had been kept.

From Yonhap.

And while playing around on the internet a couple days ago, not actually looking for pictures of cute babies, I was surprised to see this series, easily my favorite of the late president, turn up on "Babies Making Faces" in April.






I was in Seoul for a couple meetings that weekend last May, and my girlfriend and I ran into a massive number of riot police while walking along Cheongyecheon. I assumed it was more trouble over American beef, which produced violence in that area a couple weeks earlier, and when I learned the next morning that he committed suicide amidst a bribery scandal, and that the police were preparing for some trouble downtown, I have to admit I wasn't terribly surprised. I'm not passionate about Korean politics, but I can appreciate where he came from and what he represented to a lot of people.

Reader request: coupons and group discounts in Seoul?

A reader emailed me the other day asking about coupons and group discounts available in Seoul. I didn't have much of an answer, so with his permission I'll throw it open to the group. Here are excerpts from two of his emails:

I've been an avid reader of your site and always find it to be very informative and entertaining :)

Awwww.

I was wondering in Seoul if you saw much in way of local lead generation for companies. ie a website/websites that does online advertising for group coupons, deals, discounts etc.. for Seoul entertainment businesses, restaurants, spas, and the such. I know here in the US it is commonplace, but wondered if culture differences may lean away from such practices. Any examples if they do exist?

. . .

I guess what I was most interested in was group buying power in S. Korea. Largely discounted services based upon X amount of customers buying the service. Was also very curious about some of the larger social & entertainment sites there in Seoul.

Damage to Gwangju's underground shopping center after roof partially collapses.

From Newsis.

I was alarmed to read on Facebook that Gwangju's Geumnam Underground Shopping Center (광주금남지하상가) had collapsed on Wednesday, but the little news that's out so far shows scale of the damage is considerably less, and that there have not yet been any injuries reported.

At 5:38 pm on Wednesday the 19th, according to the Dong-A Ilbo and Newsis, a cooling tower across the rotary from the Old Provincial Hall fell over, causing the roof to collapse and damaging three stores in the underground shopping center that stretches between a couple subway stations downtown.


From Newsis.

Articles out now don't say which stores were damaged---a Korean news article wouldn't mention that anyway---but you might be able to piece together something if you're familiar with the layout of the shopping center. The Dong-A Ilbo has photographs taken both above and below ground, and Yonhap provides a video report that looked promising but which won't play on my computer.



Two days earlier thousands of people were gathered along the huge Geumnam-no near the Old Provincial Hall to mark the 30th anniversary of the Gwangju Uprising. The area around there is being renovated into a pedestrian plaza as part of a controversial "Hub City of Asian Culture" (아시아문화중심도시) plan that will give a facelift to the most cultural part of the city.



If readers in the area have any updates or pictures, please pass them along.

Jeonju Bibim Sound Festa, May 21st.

The Korea Tourism Organization tells us about the Jeonju Bibim Sound Festa (전주비빔사운드페스타), a "Delicious, Bibimbap-like Festival of Music" on Friday, May 21st:

Like Korea’s beloved food bibimbap (비빔밥), from which the event gets its name, the festival is a mixture of everybody’s favorites! It celebrates some of the most beloved ‘old’ and the ‘new’ aspects of Korean culture by showcasing trendy and modern genres of music (think clubs in Hongik University area) in the setting of the tradition Hanok Village in Jeonju, a historical jewel.

That's a really shitty name, though, Christ. If somebody at the KTO had paid me a few bucks I would have told them to just call it "전주비빔밤," with it written out in English so people don't think it's a typo. 밤, meaning night, is more clever 사운드 (sound), and a better fit next to 비빔, if they insist on keeping the reference to the city's representative food.

The lineup includes TV Yellow, Ynot?, I&I Jangdan, and Kingston Rudieska, among others and some DJs. There's a 10,000 won cover charge, with performances at the Confucian academy (전주향교)---in the vicinity of the Hanok Village---and Nambu Market. A little more information available via the KTO article and the event's Korean-language Naver cafe.

The Cove and other documentaries at Gwangju Theater, May 20th - June 9th.

The Gwangju Theater (광주극장) will be showing several documentaries as part of the 다큐열전 going from May 20th through June 9th. Somebody over on their website must love me because they looked up and posted the English titles this time so I don't have to:

셉템버 이슈 The September Issue (2009.미국.90분.전체.35mm) (5/27 부터)

맨 온 와이어 Man on Wire (2008.영국,미국.94분.12세.35mm) (5/27 부터)

선라이즈 선셋 Rassvet/Zakat. Dalai Lama 14 (2008.러시아,중국,인도.73분.전체.D-Cine) (5/20 부터)

예스맨 프로젝트 The Yes Men Fix the World (2009.프랑스.미국.90분.12세.35mm) (5/27 부터)

더 코브 : 슬픈 돌고래의 진실 The Cove (2009.미국.92분.전체.35mm) (5/20 부터)

반드시 크게 들을 것 Turn It Up To 11 (2009.한국.95분.15세.D-Cine) (5/27 부터)

위대한 침묵 Into Great Silence(2005.프랑스,스위스,독일.165분.전체.35mm) (5/27 부터)

아마존의 눈물 (2009.한국.88분.15세.D-Cine) (5/27 부터)

회복 Restoration(2009.한국.94분.12세.D-Cine)

A timetable for May 20th through 26th is here, though there isn't yet one online for the 27th through June 9th. The Cove, an Oscar-winning documentary about an annual dolphin hunt in Japan---a film that receives a lot of coverage on Japan Probe---will open on Thursday at 8:40 pm, and will have its lone weekend showing on Sunday at 2:40.

The Gwangju Theater regularly shows foreign and independent domestic films new and old, and often holds small film festivals that showcase a particular theme or a particular country's output. The theater is one of several old ones in the city, though it's the only one to my knowledge still in operation. It seats 856, but the one time I visited for a Japanese movie I was one of about a half-dozen people in attendance. Nonetheless I consider it an important part of the city, significant both historically and culturally, and I would encourage expats in the area to pay a visit once in a while.

To get there from downtown Gwangju, go to the four-way intersection near the McDonald's Lotteria---nearest exit 1 of Geumnamro 4-ga subway station---then cross the street and wander into the older part of town and make the second left. It's on your right. There's a map here, via Naver.

Gwangju Uprising anniversary.

A parade downtown to the Old Provincial Hall, on May 17th.

May 18th is the 30th anniversary of the start of the Gwangju Uprising (5.18 광주민주화운동), an occasion marked each year with a parade and speeches. Coverage of Tuesdays events is provided by English-language papers the JoongAng Daily and the Korea Herald:

About 2,500 people, including Prime Minister Chung Un-chan and leaders of political parties, attended the ceremony at the national cemetery in Gwangju.

More than 300,000 people have visited the national cemetery this month ahead of the ceremony, according to city officials.

Ceremonies were also held elsewhere in the nation including Seoul, Busan, Ulsan and Daegu.

About 600 people gathered at a plaza in front of the Seoul City Hall earlier Tuesday, offering a prayer for the victims of the May 18 uprising.

The president did not visit Gwangju on Monday, unsurprisingly inviting criticism; from the JoongAng Daily:

President Lee Myung-bak will not attend the anniversary ceremony, prompting complaints from the commemorative groups. The May 18 groups issued a joint statement, urging the president to reconsider his decision.

. . .

“When he was a presidential candidate, President Lee had spoke carelessly about the May 18 democracy movement,” said Democratic Party Chairman Chung Sye-kyun. “For the second year in a row, he is skipping the anniversary ceremony. The May 18 anniversary is designated as a national observation day, but concerns grow that Lee is treating it coldly.”

There is also an index of Korean-language articles available via Naver and a Daum search, and the local English-language magazine Gwangju News has a few articles in its May issue.

An excellent source of insight and information in English is the blog Gusts of Popular Feeling, which provided a summary of its writing in a post yesterday.

If you're ever in Gwangju you can visit the National Cemetery (5.18 국립묘지) and other historical sites associated with the uprising via the aptly-numbered city bus 518. In 2008 the calendar was more cooperative and the 17th and 18th fell on a weekend, so I could witness some of the proceedings downtown and at the cemetary on both days. In the middle of the Mad Bull Shit protests against President Lee Myung-bak and American beef, though, the struggle for democracy 28 years earlier was updated in a rather bizarre way.




Downtown Gwangju on May 17th, 2008 was less about the battles in 1980 and more about the perceived dangers of big, bad American beef.


Some still make the connection.

About the only other time I wrote about the uprising was a week later when I looked at placards set up in Gangjin county, south of Gwangju, one of the several outlying rural areas where violence spread in 1980. An excerpt from the placard in front of the county office:

The Demonstration Movement in Kangjin area has been ignited by demonstrators arrived in Kangjin from Kwangju City by eight buses on May 21, 1980.

As the demonstrators entered the Kangjin, the police forces voluntarily withdrew their forces avoiding physical clash. Citizens being already aware of the Kwangju massacre welcomed the student demonstrators and joined with them.

Having set up their headquarter at the Kangjin church, the students and citizens made an organized demonstration in several places such as County Hall and Bus Terminal. At night, they stayed at the church or the inns nearby and the sisters from the church offered foods to them.

On May 23, 1980, about 500 students from Kangjin Agricultural High School gathered together and joined in the demonstration screaming "Lift the Martial Law", "Recover the democracy", and "Free Kim Dae Jung". The demonstration reached its climax as the members from the Regional Young Man's Association and Young Man's Counsel add to the demonstration group. On May 23rd, there were two bullet wounded people and many other wounded ones from Haenam Wooseljae clash against the Martial Law Command and they were hospitalized and cared for in the provincial hospital, the current Kangjin clinic.

Photographed in 2006.

Further research into the events in rural Jeollanam-do in May 1980 would be an interesting academic hobby to try before the 31st anniversary.

All grown up.

From 이종근 of the Hankyoreh.

Yesterday, the 17th, was the third Monday of May and thus Coming of Age Day (성년의날) in South Korea, the day of celebration when Koreans receive presents for turning 20. The Joongang Daily had some background on the associated traditions in a February 2009 article noting the beginning of new monthly ceremonies:

“I bow in thanks to my ancestors and parents for raising me until this day,” Kim intoned at the formal occasion, the first following an agreement between the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts and the Seoul Foundation of Women and Family to hold joint ceremonies every month as part of a drive to reinvigorate an age-old custom that has dwindled in popularity in recent years.

When you “officially” become an adult these days, you are more likely to get a bunch of roses or excessive amounts of alcohol in a bar with your friends than submit to a formal ceremony involving different hats and Confucian customs.

When you've been blogging for a few years you can occasionally just link to last year's post when writing-up annual events. Since practically nothing seems to have been written about the day this year, I'll direct readers to An Acorn in the Dog's Food informative post from 2009 for a lot of background.


Another tradition: photographing foreigners doing it.

I'll also link to my 2009 post, where I quote from the excellent little book Confucius Lives Next Door a passage where author T.R. Reid talks about Japan's ceremony (the winter day that looks like a much bigger deal than Korea's version). After the day is finished and the speeches are concluded, Reid talks about how Japan's ceremony contrasts with his own country's introduction into manhood:

As the dark-suited officials on the stage stepped away to make room for the massive drums and speakers to be used by Marcia's band, I sat in the back of the hall trying to remember what my community had done to mark my arrival at adulthood. I turned eighteen at a time when American teenagers were being sent to die in distant jungles, which perhaps explains why the only official recognition I received was a mimeographed postcard from the Selective Service System, the official name back then for the draft board. The card didn't bother to congratulate me on my new status in society, but warned me that I faced arrest and prosecution if I failed to register for the draft within the next thirty days. That was Seijin-shiki, American style.

It would be romantic to the point of naivete to suggest that all the nineteen-year-olds in Japan that day came storming out of the local Seijin-shiki armed with a new determination to work hard, obey the law, and devote themselves selflessly to the overall society. But some of them probably did react that way. And all of those who attended at least were made aware that the community had expectations for them---that the society had certain values and that the values were important, important enough for the whole country to take a holiday, and for the city to hold a ceremony, and for their parents to sehll out big yen for the necessary outfits. The so-called Confucian values or Asian values on display at the Coming-of-Age Ceremony were no better than, and not much different from, the Judaeo-Christian values or Islamic values or humanistic values treasured in other parts of the world. But the Japanese, at least on January 15 every year, were doing a better job of emphasizing how much those values matter.

New men and women in front of Gyeonghuigung, a palace in Seoul. From the 세계일보.

Is the UN Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Opinion and Expression being followed in South Korea?

That's what the Hankyoreh is saying:

It came to light a few days ago that UN Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Opinion and Expression Frank La Rue, who is visiting South Korea to investigate violations of freedom of expression, complained to the Foreign Ministry that he thought he was being followed. La Rue reportedly mentioned his suspicions during a May 6 meeting with Deputy Foreign Minister Chun Young-woo, presenting as evidence a photograph of a car with someone inside filming his activities with a camcorder.


In connection with this, the Internet media site Minjung-ui Sori (Voice of the People) reported two days ago that it had confirmed through a National Intelligence Service (NIS) official that the car at the scene was an NIS vehicle. The site stated that some were now alleging NIS monitoring of La Rue. The NIS, however, denied that the vehicle in question is affiliated with the service, and police also said that the incident had nothing to do with them.


A friend passed along the Korea Times coverage to me, which uses the Hankyoreh editorial as a source, though perhaps as is to be expected, the unsigned article copies a lot in this report on reporting.

Frank La Rue, the United Nations Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Opinion and Expression, who is currently visiting South Korea for research, complained to the Foreign Ministry that he believed he was being followed, the newspaper said on Saturday in an editorial.

The newspaper called for the National Intelligence Service (NIS), the nation's main spy agency, to clarify on the allegations, in an apparent indication that the act was done by the spy agency.

La Rue reportedly mentioned his suspicions during a May 6 meeting with Deputy Foreign Minister Chun Young-woo, presenting as evidence a photograph of a car with someone inside filming his activities with a camcorder, it said.

Hankyoreh also cited the Voice of the People, an Internet-based newspaper in South Korea, reporting two days ago that it had confirmed through an NIS official that the car at the scene was an NIS vehicle.

The NIS, however, denied that the vehicle in question is affiliated with the service, and police also said that the incident had nothing to do with them, the newspaper said.

As I posted on Friday, La Rue came to South Korea as part of a "fact-finding mission" and "to monitor the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression." That, and the following, from a May 3rd press release:

“It will be a good opportunity to assess the progress in enhancing the right to freedom of expression in the Republic of Korea fifteen years since my predecessor visited the country, particularly in the current context where the use of the Internet has become widespread,” said Mr. La Rue, noting that the first visit by the Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression was to the Republic of Korea in 1995.

“During my mission, I will gather first-hand information on the situation of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, freedom of the media, and the related right to freedom of assembly and association,” said the independent expert. He added that the main purpose of the mission is to “contribute, through collaborative engagement with the Government, on ways and means of better enhancing the enjoyment of the rights related to my mandate in the country.”

In a comment to Friday's post, Ben Wagner shares a small review of La Rue's talk at Yonsei University on the 15th, and reminds readers of the press conference to be held on Monday:

The talk today at Yonsei was excellent. Mr. La Rue spoke in English with a Korean translator.

Today La Rue spoke quite a bit about the importance of the internet and bloggers, calling them important "reporters" and "the poor man's press". He spoke about the need for Korea to be an example for Asia and the world in this regard because of the high interconnectivity.

La Rue said the he was particularly interested in visiting Korea because of Internet issues. He said the Korean government had a commitment not only to protect individual's right to freedom of expression but also to promote it.

The Monday press conference is open to all. La Rue said he would take questions on anything. A reporter from the Korea Herald in the audience asked if he would discuss Samsung's suit against Breen. He said he would.

I wonder if any English language and/or Korean language bloggers will show up to cover this press conference. It might be a good chance to bring up some important issues (people seem to be feeling a chill lately) and to reaffirm the rights of citizens and non-citizens to express themselves on blogs.

There have been several examples of foreigners having their livelihoods or their visa status threatened because of an opinion expressed on a blog.

The last time Korea had a UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion in town was 15 years ago... This may be an ideal opportunity to address some important issues.

The Press Conference is Monday, May 17th at 10:30am on the 19th floor of the Korea Press Center Building, Taepyongno-1Ga, Jung-Gu, Seoul.

Recent news of interest to the expat community, as Wagner mentions, is (1) Samsung's lawsuit against author and Korea Times columnist Michael Breen for making fun of their corrupt bosses in a 2009 column, and (2) Korean immigration's investigation of me this winter for contributions to local newspapers, based on a tip that, evidence suggests, is likely to have come from a reporter I criticized. But, of course it's not just non-Koreans who don't feel safe on the Korean internet, and Minerva is a name that comes immediately to mind. Reporters Without Borders said South Korea is one of the countries "under surveillance" as a potential enemy of the internet this year because

draconian laws are creating too many specific restrictions on Web users by challenging their anonymity and promoting selfcensorship.

There are limitations and problems to citing only Western, English-language sources, but for the sake of convenience a BBC poll earlier in the year found that most South Koreans don't feel safe expressing their opinions online (page 13 of this .pdf file):

South Korean users are the most clearly opposed to government regulation of the internet—83 per cent agree it should never be regulated—and they are more wary than users in most other countries about expressing opinions online, with only 30 percent agreeing it is safe to do so.

That isn't something the Christian Science Monitor picked up on, though, when reporting on that BBC survey of the countries where internet access is considered a fundamental human right:

Maybe where censorship is highest is also where people most see the Internet as a basic right? But South Korea – one of the most-wired countries on the globe – blows a hole in that theory.

Another futuristic building planned for 2012 Yeosu Expo.

Inhabitat.com has pictures of and information about a design for the Oceanic Pavilion for the 2012 Yeosu Expo (2012 여수세계박람회), an event with the theme "Living Ocean and Coast."

Intended as a centerpiece for the expo, the Oceanic Pavilion is a “celebration of the ocean as a living organism and the co-existence of human culture and ocean ecosystem.” Designed with the help of computer scripts, the amphibious pavilion is made from a series of ETFE membranes and armature that take on a life of their own through their organic layout.

Commenters note the another resemblance. Writes Dim:

Having a giant beached whale covered in oil is maybe not the best way to “celebrate the ocean as a living organism”

Emergent Architecture and Kokkugia have more on their design, and a March 1st post has more on the other cool buildings and new stuff going to Yeosu in 2012.

Government sets up blind dates to make more Koreans.

The South Korean government is organizing blind dates again, says the Korea Herald:

As part of its efforts to tackle a falling birthrate here, the Ministry of Health and Welfare is pushing ahead with a group blind date between employees at government offices and private companies.

All officials at ministries and their affiliated public institutions are allowed to apply for the event, which is scheduled on May 19 at a convention center in southern Seoul.

Ulsan Online has more from the "Ministry of Love." You may remember in January the Ministry for Health, Welfare and Family Affairs instituted a "Family Day" the third Wednesday every month, when the office would turn off the lights at 7 pm to encourage workers to go home, hit it, and make more Koreans.

UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression to give talk at Yonsei University, May 15th.

Ben Wagner left a comment on a post yesterday informing us about a talk by Frank La Rue, the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, at Yonsei University at 10:30 a.m. tomorrow, May 15th. Mr. La Rue's visit is part of a "fact-finding mission," according to a May 3rd press release---provided by Mr. Wagner---by the UN Office of the High Commission for Human Rights:

“It will be a good opportunity to assess the progress in enhancing the right to freedom of expression in the Republic of Korea fifteen years since my predecessor visited the country, particularly in the current context where the use of the Internet has become widespread,” said Mr. La Rue, noting that the first visit by the Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression was to the Republic of Korea in 1995.

“During my mission, I will gather first-hand information on the situation of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, freedom of the media, and the related right to freedom of assembly and association,” said the independent expert. He added that the main purpose of the mission is to “contribute, through collaborative engagement with the Government, on ways and means of better enhancing the enjoyment of the rights related to my mandate in the country.”

The Special Rapporteur’s mission will take him to the cities of Seoul and Gwang-ju. Mr. La Rue, who will visit the country at the invitation of the Government, will meet with representatives of national and local authorities, and with members of the legislative and judicial branches. He will also hold discussions with non-governmental organizations, journalists and press organizations, and other organizations and individuals working in areas related to his mandate.

The visit is particularly timely for the expat community because news just broke that author and Korea Times columnist Michael Breen is being sued by Samsung for poking fun at their corrupt bosses over two sentences in a satirical year-end piece "What People Got For Christmas."

The talk will be held at the Gwangbok Hall Annex (광복관 별관, #28 on this campus map, or this one in Korean), and the campus is accessible by subway via Sinchon Station (신촌역).

Taking a look at the Korean Pavilion at the 2010 Expo.

From Yonhap.

The 2010 Expo opened on May 1st in Shanghai and will run through October 31st. South Korea has installed an impressive pavilion, which you can take a look at on the Expo's site.

The three-story Republic of Korea Pavilion is composed of 20 basic letters of the ROK alphabet. The pavilion showcases blueprints of future cities along with the country's most advanced technology and traditional culture.

There is much more information on the Korean pavilion's official site as well, including a promotional video. Xinhua takes a long look, too, and a CNNGo.com blog ranks it among the "good" of this year's expo, writing

Lots of layers, lots of colors. South Korea nails it in a cutesy candy store kind of way.

This post's title should say the "Taking a look at the South Korean Pavilion," because there's one for North Korea, too.

The pavilion perfectly merges national characteristics of DPRK together with its modern beauty.

From Yonhap.

The Canadian Press writes of it:

North Korea, participating in a world's fair for the first time ever, has a much more spartan exhibit, like the impoverished country itself.

Its pavilion features film clips of life under its "Dear Leader," Kim Jong Il — shots of families bowling and visiting parks — and models of the capital Pyongyang's "Juche Tower" and the Taedong River, a winding stream of shiny clear plastic over wrinkled blue sheeting.

A fountain, a few video screens and a counter selling books and other North Korean paraphernalia sum up the rest.

And a Popular Science blog writes, on North Korea and Iran being next-door neighbors:

After touring the two pavilions, I must say that the North Korean governments's uniquely oblivious brand of crazy comes across very well. Iran's pavilion, however, is filled with very friendly people and is, on the whole, not that weird at all.

Shanghai Scrap has a look inside.

If you follow Jeollanam-do news and events at all *cough* you'll know our very own Yeosu is hosting the 2012 edition.

* March 26, 2010: How's the hotel situation in Yeosu ahead of the Expo?
* March 1, 2010: Yeosu's Water Cube, and other cool buildings for 2012 Expo.
* September 9, 2009: Budget concerns in Yeosu ahead of Expo.

And one of the aims of South Korea's pavilion this year is to promote that city for next time. Nonetheless I didn't pay much attention to the one in Shanghai until, while searching for stuff on Yeosu, I came across articles blasting the US entry and unintentional exhibition of corporate sponsorship. "The USA Pavilion is a Disgrace" writes a Popular Science blogger. The GOOD Blog calls it "a sorry sight," and a blogger on Huffington Post calls it representative of the "'Blackwatering' of US public diplomacy":

the privatization and outsourcing of every device by which America and its people traditionally have connected with other nations and cultures.