I had the honor this week of participating in the first ever Critical Language Scholarship Alumni Seminar at Chonnam National University in Gwangju, South Korea. The seminar focused on media literacy and democracy, and I can’t think of a better time or place to study the topic.

Koreans take their democracy very seriously, as evidenced by the high degree of civic participation (there is virtually always a protest going on in front of all the major government buildings in Seoul) and high voter turnout (77% in the 2022 presidential election). One reason is that Korea didn’t adopt a democratic constitution until 1987, which puts Korea’s long struggle against authoritarian rule well within living memory. The memory is especially fresh in Gwangju, the site of the 5/18 (1980) independence movement, in which hundreds of activists (many of them CNU students) lost their lives to state violence.

As we learned, throughout the 1980s, citizen journalists played a pivotal role in resisting media censorship and spreading the true narrative of 5/18 via informal publications; their contributions were arguably a key factor in the eventual success of the 1987 democracy movement. I was encouraged to hear from a panel of CNU student journalists about their efforts to document important issues in the community and carry forward CNU’s tradition of advocacy through journalism.

Our discussions during the seminar also reminded me of the important role that art plays in shaping the collective narratives that energize and sustain a democratic society. Today is another special moment in Gwangju’s history as the city celebrates the author Han Kang’s receipt of the Nobel Prize in Literature. Han Kang was born in Gwangju, and one of her novels, Human Acts (소년이 온다), memorializes the 5/18 independence movement. I have to add this book to the stack, as I have only read The Vegetarian (채식주의자), and only in translation. Our group also viewed, at the Gwangju Museum of Art, a pair of paintings by a then student activist, now senior citizen who began in retirement to paint scenes from the the 5/18 movement to preserve his memory and perspective. (Unfortunately, I can’t find this artist’s name on the website.) Such images create a relationship between the viewer and the events of 5/18 that rings “true” in a way that journalistic accounts cannot.

As for me: Participating in this seminar meant that I got to return to the exact institution where I did CLS in 2016—my first visit to Korea—with the added perspective of eight more years of Korean study and four years of living in the country. It was a delight to show the other participants around and see Korea again through the eyes of a newcomer.

During CLS in 2016, I was too shy to explore much of the city, but on this visit the only limiting factor was time. After the seminar, I took a day to walk all around the Asian Cultural Center, an endless arts complex. My highlight was Delivery Dancer’s Arc: Inverse, a massive video installation from the studio of science fiction creator Ayoung Kim (김아영). I also enjoyed the ACC’s library, which has a slick reference area with art magazines and comfy chairs.