History
student, my friends and I would go downtown and have fun. Downtown still looks the same from the time when I was a middle school student. These days, middle school students usually go to USquare or the Sangmu area. What were some concerning issues at that time in the city and the country? Go: I have three brothers and two sisters. I am the fifth child in my family. At that time, my brothers were Seoul University students. While at university, they were eager to be part of the democratic movement in Korea. I remember my parents being very anxious about what they would do, since they were leaders of the democratic movement at their university. At that time, we didn’t have freedom in Korea, so even though I was young, I was very aware of political issues.
Before: Geumnam-no in the 1970s
After: Geumnam-no in the 1990s
K a n g : I remember the I.M.F. (International Monetary Fund) crisis was also a major cause for concern. Since Korea had to borrow a lot of money to settle its debts, people were unsure of Korea’s future. Also, when America was attacked by terrorism on 9/11,
people were scared of terrorists harming them. Then there was the 2002 World Cup. I was a first year high school student then, but during middle school it was a big issue.
Then: Yangdong Market in 1974
Now: Yangdong Market in 2010
What did you do for fun in your middle school days? Go: When I was young we would play hide and seek. I would also play house with my friends and family. Since there were no toys to play with, we would gather things like boxes and plastic items. We would often play with pebbles, since they were commonly available. We would also draw on the ground or play Ganggangsullae. Boys usually liked to play with balls and Jachigi (Korean traditional play, stick-tossing game). Kang: I would usually invite my friends to come over, or I would visit them, and we would watch TV. Also, we liked to go downtown and sing in the singing rooms or play board games in game rooms. By Will Rawlins Photos from Naver Blog
Gwangju News June 2011
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