When I joined the Department of English Education in September 2010, I had many reasons – good ones, I felt – for choosing Chonnam. Firstly, as a state university, Chonnam charges far lower tuition fees than private institutions do – though I still worry that students from poorer backgrounds may struggle. Secondly, Chonnam aspires to serve the surrounding community – something that many universities in the UK, my home country, have ceased to do. And thirdly, Chonnam’s regional spirit is far from xenophobic, balanced by an international outlook and a receptivity to ideas, students and tutors (such as myself) from overseas. 

In counting the attractions of CNU, let’s not forget a fourth that enriches our daily lives – the grounds themselves. Exquisitely manicured, expansive and even, this stunning garden campus – hardly the norm on Korea’s rugged peninsula – is cycle-friendly. It reminds me of the leafiest Chinese campuses where I have taught, yet I relish the characteristics that make it recognisably Korean: the rounded pine trees that are absent in Beijing or Chengdu, the artistic touches that remind us we are in Gwangju, a city known for art as well as democracy.

There is a more political, fifth reason for choosing Chonnam. The campus’s proud democratic associations, known internationally, are one of the best reasons for opting to work or study at CNU. Last semester, Marxist critic Terry Eagleton referred to Gwangju’s Democratic Uprising when he chose to lecture here as well as in Seoul. Journalist and author Simon Winchester mentions Chonnam, and how the resistance to dictatorship started here on 18^th May 1980, in his travelogue Korea: A Walk Through the Land of Miracles. For those of us lucky enough to live and work at CNU, the most spectacular reminder on campus is the democracy mural.

The May 18^th Institute, which documents and celebrates the Democratic Uprising, occupies another prominent spot on campus. This museum is housed in the stately red brick building that greets visitors after they have entered through the main gate, passed along the tree-lined avenue with its sublime vistas of Mount Mudeung, and admired the dragon-phoenix sculpture. The May 18^th Institute is an outstanding educational resource right on our doorstep. And as democratic uprisings and brutal crackdowns ripple across North Africa and the Arab world, there has never been a better time to pay this institute a visit. Talented student ambassadors can offer excellent tours in English.

Much of my ‘Media English Reading’ course this semester has revolved around democratic issues. We are especially fortunate to be having such discussions on a campus, and in a city, where democratic resistance to dictatorship is actively remembered.

 

*Pull-out quotation to enlarge:“There has never been a better time to visit the 5-18 Institute.”