카페 '스며들다' & 소극장 '부드러운 직선'

Your youth is an important part of your whole life. As you all know it, young people should have time to find out what they really want to do or what they are good at it during this time of their lives. Instead, for many reasons, most of them are busy spending their time doing studies or part-time-jobs. They are tired and need some places to soothe their mind. Fortunately, the Chonnam Tribune is going to introduce two places, café ’Smyudleda’ and ‘A Smooth Straight Line’, shelters for the youth.

▲ Students are holding a meeting at Café Smyudleda.

Feel Loved and Share Love at Café Smyudleda
    It takes only five minutes on foot from the CNU back gate to the café Smyudleda. It has a special system named "kkachi bob hongshi" which is similar to ‘suspended coffee’ which was started in Naples, Italy. When you get into the entrance, you can find ripe persimmons made of paper. There are a lot of red ripe persimmons hanging in the cafe for the students. If customers make an advance payment for a beverage meant for someone who cannot afford to buy a cup of coffee, the extra bills will be kept as one ripe persimmon. This persimmon can be changed into coffee later for those who cannot afford beverages.
    One of the visitors said, “Unlike the other cafés, it always offers healthy foods like organic teas or homemade yogurt which we cannot get in general. I heard that we can change that persimmon into coffee or other drinks. I want to change one of the persimmons into a drink someday.” Nowadays, many cafés adopted the system and more and more people are getting involved in it. This has become a part of sharing culture in Gwangju. Some visitors who used this method left a message saying “thanks for your kindness.”
    Choo Min–soo, the representative of the AmoTic Cooperative which runs the café, said they wanted to provide a place to cheer up the young. The name “AmoTic” is composed of two words; ‘Amor’ and ‘Creatio’. Amor means interdependence and Creatio means creation. Ultimately, the AmoTic means that you are not alone and you could make your own chances. What he wants to say to the young people is: “I experienced same feelings like today’s youth when I was a university student. After graduating, I wrote down my story to apply for a company and realized I did not have the activities that the companies require. I had to rewrite my resume, but I was skeptical about the situation. Instead of finding a job, I built up this cooperative with people who have similar thoughts.”

▲ A band are playing at a music theater, A Smooth Straight Line.

Enjoy Music at the Small Theater at A Smooth Straight Line
    Another place is a small theater, A Smooth Straight Line that supports the dreams and cultural lives of youth. Originally, the place was run as a café and a theater but people used to think the café was a bar because it is located underground. So it stopped running as a café and nowadays, it is used as a place for amateur bands to practice on weekdays or for people to enjoy performances on weekends.
    The name seems paradoxical when you hear it at first but it contains deep meaning once you look into it. Pastor Park Ill-nam who manages the theater said the name reflects our life. When you draw a circle the line goes up and down repeatedly, the same as we face hard times and overcome it in our lives. Last April was its four year anniversary. At that time, the theater was being remodeled, but fire broke out. About 30 bands who were helped by him before gave a charity performance and donated the earnings of the event to the theater. So it is still being run now. Like this, we struggle and fight for difficult times, we grow up, get over the past and move straightly forward. That is what he wants the young to know.
    The place encompasses various genres such as a hip-hop, jazz, dance, classic, vocal ensemble and even Korean traditional music. Pastor Park lends the place for free to bands who want to perform but do not have enough money. But, there is only one precondition to borrow the place: the bands have to make a new song whenever they have a performance in front of people. This way Pastor Park supports teams and their creative activities. The bands think of him as an anchor of the family. One of the bands called ‘Accelerando’ which consists of three university students said, “It is our dream to develop fast like our team name and to be known. Pastor Park got our back and we owe him a lot.”

Places Guaranteed to Cheer You Up
    Some people call the youth “a dazzling sunshine” and there is no such thing as eternal youth, but we sometimes miss important things. Many youths tend to be a frog in the well; they are confined to a social climate and they are busy chasing after what other people have achieved. Youths need to learn more about what they want and not to be afraid of facing a challenge. It is not easy to make a step forward in your life. Just remember that those places that Tribune reporters have recommended are always open for you when you want to give up on everything and feel like you are nothing. Let your hair down and relax because there is no need to rush. Visit the café Smyudleda and get a free drink or share your kindness to the world. Enjoy a music concert at the theater A Smooth Straight Line with your friends! Make your youth bloom. You know you deserve it.
 

By Beom Cheol-hwa, Tribune Reporter
Lee Chan-mi, Tribune Reporter

저작권자 © Chonnam Tribune 무단전재 및 재배포 금지