Near the Yongbong campus of Chonnam National University (CNU), there are a number of cafés or coffee shops however places that students can enjoy cultural life other than just eating and drinking are seldom found. Due to the lack of cultural places, the campus streets are regarded as a space for consumption further from university or student culture. Students say that they need more spaces to experience a variety of cultural activities and events around campus. In this article, the Chonnam Tribune recommends some cafés designed to increase access to cultural activities. They aim to provide unique cultural experiences for students and local residents. If you visit these places, you may feel gustatory, academic and visual satisfaction.

 

▲ People taking a regular humanities lecture at Café Novel

 

Humanities Café: Novel
    Café Novel, placed on the second floor near the Main Gate of CNU, makes people feel overwhelmed with its atmosphere. A bookshelf full of books, especially social sciences, tempts people to try reading even only a page of them. At first glance, anyone can recognize that the tables and chairs next to a small kitchen are for discussions and lectures. The scent of food and drink seems to flourish in the deep and serious atmosphere.
The café is a special space where people can join humanities lectures and exchange their thoughts freely, regardless of their age, vocation or gender. Students can also be welcomed to meet the humanities that are hard to experience in their daily lives. “Café Novel is a place where the scent of humanities and humanitarian values are,” Shin Woo-jin, the executive director of the café said.
    He, an alumnus of CNU, had studied social sciences and humanities with his friends at a bookstore called “Cheongnyeon Geulbang” during his school years. They read various literatures including Karl Marx’s books in different languages and discussed them. What he aims to do through the café is to make the Street of Humanities near the main gate area of CNU, to let students make their culture of humanities. “I want to give people what I received while studying in places like Cheongnyeon Geulbang,” he added.
With the support of the Gwangju city government, Novel is now holding a lecture series called ‘Moratorium Humanities Lecture and Gwangju Civil Humanities’. Everyone can learn poetry, humanities theories of Maurice Merleau Ponty, German philosophy through a variety of lectures titled Karl Marx, Classical Music Interpretation, Japanese Animations, Movie Talks, and Japanese Language Courses. Shim Bak-jung taking one of the humanities lecture series for six years said, “I am attending the humanities class three or four times per a week. Humanities café Novel became a part of my daily routine, just like breathing. It is very good that I can take the course while drinking coffee at this café. The time I spend at Novel lets me escape from daily life to another world. The humanities lecture led me to enhance my ability to see any circumstance in respective views.”

 

▲ Visitors chilling themselves at Café Sungan

 

Coffee Gallery: Sungan
    When we are reminded of an art gallery, we might imagine paintings on the wall in a classy museum or an art fair. “I want people to join the art from a closer distance,” said Hong Ji-ae, the owner of Sungan Coffee Gallery. “This café aims to be a place of communication among people who love and are prepared to enjoy culture. I am pursuing simultaneous co-respiration among café customers, an owner, and artists. I think the moment, ‘Sungan’, can be realized.”
    Inside the café is spacious and it makes visitors feel cozy and composed. Its young atmosphere attracts visitors. “The industrial interior which is quite famous these days attracted me. A high ceiling, grey toned but harmonious colorations! Furthermore, paintings of “Le Petit Prince” in vivid colors made me feel bright under the dim light,” said Go Dong-hyeon (Junior, School of Electronic and Computer Engineering). Sungan also has some attractive points to catch visitors’ eyes. In a deep scar of concrete cement wall, there is a hidden mirror, so that one can see oneself while overviewing the scar.
    Café Sungan has hosted exhibitions of young artists and influential artists in this area. The paintings displayed on the wall of the café change once every month. Last July, a collection of Jeong Gang-im, under the theme “Le Petit Prince” was exhibited. From August 17, two artists, Ryu Shin and Seol Sang-ho, have exhibited their artworks under the theme ”Sweet Temptations and Kidult Toys” and ”Lure” respectively.
The owner Hong hopes this place will be used as a cultural place for local residents and CNU students. She plans to offer coffee-related and art lectures, to create artists’ network and to provide a place for club activities. “I feel lucky to have heard that the owner will provide students with a place at the café if my campus club — CNU Orchestra — needs a place to have cultural activities,” said Kim Gang-san (Junior, Dept. of History Education).

 

▲ A wall of Café Archive decorated with various posters

 

Youth Culture Café: Archive
    It is not always the case that a place has only one special purpose. Who could ever imagine that a café is actually registered as a real library? Café Archive, located behind the College of Business Administration buildings, is not just a café, but also a small library. As it is located in a hideous location, the café is not famous among students, but regular customers call it ‘Hogwarts’ or ‘Agitpunkt’, a German word for hideouts. Antique lights and a deep atmosphere seem to make the café get such nicknames. “When I saw people talking to each other about a certain topic, I felt as if I was in a classroom,” said Lee Seong-jin (Freshman, Dept. of Library and Information Science.)
Opened in 1998, Archive is transforming itself to be a multi-cultural place. Used as a youth center before, a non-profit organization is now running this café. Once anyone enters this place, a gigantic bookshelf standing against the tables with numerous and various books might take their breath away. Actually, the café director registered this café as a small library in 2015. He also emphasized the role of a café in democracy. “I want to make this space not only a café or a library, but also a place of communication. With communication at the café, people can be open-minded. It is what makes our café different from others. Our role models are Caffè Florian, the oldest café in Europe and “Kyujanggak”, the royal library of the Joseon Dynasty.”
Café Archive has changed from a commercial coffee shop to a place of communication according to the director’s opinion about how to cultivate culture. “I hope this café could still remain a place of communication in the future,” said Lee Seong-jin, one of the regular visitors.

Cultural Spots with Potential for Student Culture
    Culture is a common interest for the owners of these café spots mentioned above. Thinking negatively about the commercial zone around the eastern gate of CNU, all of them agreed that it is better for students to have some places available to reflect by themselves to find deep meanings of life at any time. Their self-reflections and communications can work to cultivate student culture.
    It is hard to clarify what student culture is. Culture, as a collective terminology regarding various human behaviors, covers various human aspects. Therefore, there are a lot of definitions of culture. Some define it as the arts and other manifestations of human intellectual achievements, while others say it is the attitudes and behavioral characteristics of a particular social group. However, if we regard student culture as the characteristic attitudes and behavioral patterns of students, it includes things that they enjoy both on and off campus. Therefore, cultural spots like the above mentioned cafés near the university campus are big stepping stones to form a university student culture that they can join and actually be a part of various cultural events. The places’ purpose is to expand chances of communications and experiences to develop and maintain all of the diverse cultures in our region.
    Regarding the near-campus culture-themed cafés, the university authorities expressed positive opinions. “I am feeling really positive about those cultural places around campus,” said Jeong Seong-Taek, Dean of Office of Student Affairs said. “If CNU and off-campus cultural spots can collaborate in a sense of culture formation, CNU’s sound student culture could be formed.” Yang Yeong-hee, Vice Dean of Office of Student Affairs said, “I hope students can learn about active and creative attitudes from the owners. Adding something more, Sungan’s painting exhibition, for example, is really an impressive challenge.” If CNU students visit the off-campus cultural places, they can have various and meaningful experiences. Furthermore, if they are influenced by fertile cultural spaces they will be able to cultivate their own culture for boosting student culture.
 

저작권자 © Chonnam Tribune 무단전재 및 재배포 금지