Modeling for a Cause

One Saturday afternoon, MAINS students were invited to participate in an event that promotes fair trade and one of the activities in the program was to "walk in the ramp" wearing the different t-shirt designs of an artist to promote social issues and raising money for their organization at the same time. It was fun doing that with the young Korean students during that one hour fashion show; as you can see activism now comes in many form.

hi

hi everyone,

the subtle light from my lampshade gives a relaxing mood to write this welcome note and the view from where i am sitting while writing is beautiful especially now that the trees are full of green leaves and big Chinese roses are asserting their existence in between those trees. though in the evening you can only just see the shapes and shadows of those trees, it is still a beautiful view.

today is the first day that i finally started to set up my blog spot. i have been thinking about setting up one in the last couple of months but i have to wait for my friend Badrul @ che'GuBard from Malaysia to walk me through in blog spot making. I must say this is too "techie" for me not withstanding the responsibility that comes with it. Will i be able to sustain it? or will it be my first and last posting!!!

anyhow, here i am trying it out and hopefully, i will be a real blogger one day.

for starters let me say that i expect a warm welcome message from you bloggers out there and a little encouragement is not difficult to make this new "project" work.

let me however share with you a poem which i think fits this welcome note. it is from a book of A Flute Player - Poems and Essays by C.D. Pi and translated to English by Lee Jae-ho

THIS MOMENT

What a splendid reality
that this moment
i am looking at the stars!

although sooner or later
my eyes will turn to dust,
what a dazzling reality,
that this moment
i am hearing the Ninth symphony!

although my friends forget me
and fade away in my memory,
what a pleasant reality,
that this moment
i am laughing and talking with them!

someday my brain will cease to function
and my hands go to decay
but even nothingness cannot destroy the reality
that this moment
i am writing as i please.

Regional Summer School

we are in a summer regional school for a week and its now our third day in this beautiful place called "Future in Us" in the country side of Gapyeong, Gyeonggi province.

our summer class is a little bizzare because it has been raining since the night we arrived here, but the whether cooperated yesterday evening during our barbeque party.

this regional school is intensive because we have 6 hours of classes everyday discussing about global democracy, resistance, human rights, alternatives and globalization.

there is simultaneous translation from english to hangul because this regional school is composed of MAINS students and other Korean activists.

20th Anniversary Commemoration of the June 1987 Uprising

The President and First Lady of Republic of Korea, together with some members of the families of the martyrs of the Korean Democracy Struggle in 1987 graced the 20th anniversary commemoration held at Sejong Cultural Center. The President of the Korean Democracy Foundation is also at this photo, (second to the left).

Images of May 1980 Commemoration

the street drama reliving the May 1980 Gwangju Uprising, notice the smoke coming from the "tear gas"

the lanters of spirit of the fallen marytrs of Gwangju

May 1980 Gwangju Uprising Commemoration

Last May, the whole MAINS students went to Gwangju to participate in the peace conference and at the same time joined the commemoration at downtown Gwangju where the uprising took place.

It gave me goose bumps while the uprising was relived by the street drama. I saw many Koreans weeping. The big participation by the youth and students was also overwhelming. The “tear gas” smoke that covered the circle and the presence of young men in fatigue uniforms also gave us the feeling of “fear" and "anger” at the same time during that period.

The opera song from the background at one point was very moving while they were releasing a hot-air-balloon- like lantern into the air with burning candles that represent the soul and spirit of the fearless Koreans at that time who sacrificed their lives against Chun Doo-hwan dictatorship.

See for yourself the images of the commemoration shortly after this posting.

A Message to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi

In behalf of the students from 11 countries of MAINS (Masters of Arts in Inter-Asia Ngo Studies) at Sungkonghoe University, I am honored and privileged to be one of the well-wishers on the occasion of your 62nd birthday celebration.

Conveying our warmest greetings to you has always been a prelude to speak about your passionate fight for democracy in Burma. Your resilience continues to keep the faith of Burmese and other ethnic nationals, both inside and outside Burma that one day freedom from junta will come. Moreover, you have also kept our spirit of solidarity from many countries in the world.

As a human rights activist myself, I would like to share with you that we have our little contribution to support your struggle; I was founding member of the Free Burma Coalition based in the Philippines and the ALTSEAN which is based in Bangkok. I had also the opportunity to visit your country to interview the vice president of National League for Democracy (NLD) in late 1999.

I would remember marching the streets of Makati City leading to the Myanmar embassy in the Philippines while chanting, "demokrasiyesiye, doe, doe"! no end. I thought that my coming to Korea to study will cut off my links to the Burmese people but on the contrary; I have met more of them and have inspired me again.

I am sure that you would be more delighted if I/we are also wishing your countrymen all the best to continue the fight for democracy and human rights and I believe in my heart that there is no greater gift that you want for your birthday but a real democracy in Burma now.

Let me end my greetings by reading a poem entitled “leading light” composed by Moe Yu May in 2005 and translated to English by Dr. Maung Maung Hla Kyaing;

How brave the star leads upon the darkness sky
Here we will wait until see the sun
Though evils are creeping and filling up with their lies
Sit, comrades: look her sky, how bright with the light of freedom

We join, we sing and we pray for her brighten days
As great as she devotes for our soil
We vow, we unite and we build up for a country of our dream
As deep as she dedicates her life for our soil

Happy Birthday Daw Aung San Suu Kyi!


[photos to follow]