Gwangju, where Korea’s modern history was written in blood
By Habib Toumi BAHRAIN: On my first visit to South Korea in 2019, I was awed by several beautiful places, impressive monuments and breathtaking landscapes. I enjoyed modernism at its most bewildering sophistication and I dived into history at its deepest meanings. Yet, amid all the bewildering sophistication and brilliant modernism, the most poignant places […]
40 years later, Gwangju’s heroic movement remains deeply entrenched in South Korea’s collective memory
By Habib Toumi During my first visit to South Korea in 2019, I had the chance to discover several beautiful cities, amazing edifices, attractive sites and breathtaking landscapes. From mountains to seas, from simple temples to complex structures, from sophisticated areas to natural attractions, the country presented a multitude of features that made the trip […]
Chun’s commander warned South Korea could end up like Vietnam unless Gwangju uprising quelled: U.S. documents
SEOUL: The martial law commander at the time of South Korea’s 1980 pro-democracy uprising warned the then-U.S. ambassador that the country could end up a communist nation like Vietnam unless the revolt was quelled, declassified U.S. documents showed Friday. The commander, Gen. Lee Hui-sung, also tried to justify the martial law’s expansion during the meeting […]
Remains of 40 people discovered at former prison site in South Korea’s Gwangju
Gwangju: The remains of about 40 people have been discovered at the site of a former prison in the southwestern city of Gwangju, the government said Friday, with some claiming that they may belong to victims of crackdowns during the pro-democracy movement in the 1980s. The remains were uncovered Thursday when the government undertook work […]
(Gwangju Swimming) Closing ceremony to feature wonders of Korean four seasons
The closing ceremony of the FINA World Championships Gwangju 2019 will take place in the southwestern metropolitan city Sunday featuring the region’s seasonal wonders in various forms, organizers said. The closing ceremony, wrapping up the 17-day global aquatics festival that opened in Gwangju on July 12, will consist of two parts — a one-hour cultural […]
2020 Gwangju Biennale to shed light on past, future of human intelligence
Next year’s Gwangju Biennale art show in the namesake southern South Korean city will explore the subject matter of human intelligence by shedding light on very primitive to cutting-edge forms of art, the event’s artistic directors said Thursday. The artistic directors — Natasha Ginwala and Defne Ayas — were named in March by the Gwangju […]
Gwangju and the exhilarating dive into peace
By Habib Toumi In two days, the eyes of the world will be riveted on Gwangju, the “City of Peace” in South Korea that will be the gracious and graceful host of the Fédération Internationale de natation FINA World Championships. The championship will include six highly competitive aquatic sports – Swimming, Diving, Water Polo, Artistic […]
Looking for needle in Gwangju Biennale’s haystack
Gwangju Biennale explores border issues in scattergun approach Under the theme “Imagined Borders,” derived from Benedict Anderson’s book “Imagined Communities,” the 2018 Gwangju Biennale deals with imminent issues such as refugees, migration, cold war, divisions and the digital divide. For this year’s Gwangju Biennale, 11 curators organized seven main exhibitions with some 300 works of […]
Gwangju’s Asia Culture Center provides free tours
Gwangju’s Asia Culture Center, the biggest cultural center in Asia, announced on Monday 21st December that they’ve made a timetable of three daily tours to make visitors experience the center more widely. Asia Culture Center is a governmental project that was opened last month in Gwangju to be a cultural hub of Asia. According to […]
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