미지센터의 청소년 국제교류이야기

(Image provided by the Metropolitan museum of Art)

                  I decided to revisit the museum on September 24^th because of the vast collection of valuable artworks. In order to cover the most popular artwork galleries, I have reported on Egyptian art, Arms and Armor, European Paintings, European Sculpture, and Medieval Art last month, and this month I will be covering Ancient Near Eastern Art, African/Oceania/American Art, Asian Art, Greek and Roman Art, and Modern Art.

From Babylon to Cyprus

                Near Eastern art, for many visitors, seemed to border Eastern and Western art. For a minority of visitors viewing Near Eastern art produced in the Late Period, they mistakenly believed that they were looking at Greek art (from which Near Eastern art was influenced). Some of the later sculptures, such as the ones depicting a sphinx and a man wearing a laurel crown (a crown that Roman emperors wore to display their power), have heavy influences from Greece and Rome. Near Eastern art produced in the early period resembled art produced in India, with many statues depicting the faces of deities in very high detail.

“If I was a Babylonian or a Persian, I would have been awed by the sheer size of some of these sculptures,” said a visitor, “just like a human being is awed by seeing a supernatural being.” Another visitor seemed to find similarities between Middle Eastern and Egyptian art. “Stone sculptures, murals that depict different creatures, and the enormous statues...looks like Egpyt influenced Middle Eastern art, or maybe it’s the other way around!”

From the Far East

                For many tourists that seek diversity from Western art, Asian art is a must-visit. From massive sculptures of inland China to the porcelain pottery of Korea, there are many different types of artworks. The majority of China’s sculptures and murals depict Buddhist deities, Taoists, or monstrous demons in Chinese lore. Chinese artworks dominated the Asian gallery, where over 3 gallery spaces (along with a giant hall) are dedicated to them. One of the interviewees joked, “The number of Chinese art is as massive as the number of Chinese tourists!” There were also a large number of Japanese artworks, where most of the artworks consisted of embroidery and clothing rather than statues and metal ornaments. However, there was seldom number of visitors in the Japanese wing, unlike those housing Chinese artworks. “I think I am seeing the same number of designs over and over again,” remarked one visitor exiting the Japanese wing. “A homogenous mishmash of this and that,” said another.

                One disappointing aspect for the Asian wing was the lack of artworks from Korea. Although the collection wasn’t small, there weren’t a significant number of them. “I think I would be more interested if there were more works present,” remarked 2 visitors. According to 20 people who visited the Korean section of Asian art, 15 of them said that the wing could use more Korean artworks. “Korea is rising,” remarked Ann Cheng (a tourist who agreed to share her identity), “and to spread its cultural knowledge, people should know more about its culture.”

AAA: American, African, Aboriginal

                Perhaps one of the most unique of the exhibitions, in terms of how these cultures express their artistic side, is the art gallery of African, American, and Oceanic art by Aboriginals. Many of these cultures have displayed their artistic talents with totems, ships, clothing, and personal items over paintings and sculpture. None of the works used metal, and very few used material other than wood or other biological materials. For this reason, this particular gallery seemed to display the distant tribal past of human civilization. The different geographical regions also seemed to play a role in the themes of the artworks created. From the tapestries of the Peruvian Andes to the patterns carved by the Maori, all of the artworks seemed to be different and unique from each other.

                When I interviewed 30 tourists who visited all the galleries, I asked them to choose their favorite galleries. When I asked the 4 people, who have chosen the AAA galleries as their favorites, why they chose the galleries, the 4 people replied that the galleries have shown the most unique way of displaying their artistic sense. For one visitor, it was “their method of displaying art seems more spiritual than that of other cultures, and I was impressed by that.”
 

Olympic Art

                Greek and Roman culture, the foundations of European civilization, created unforgettable artworks. Although Greek and Roman art seemed to concentrate on sculpture like the Egyptian and Middle Eastern art, the proportions and details of the face and body are incredible, even more so than Egyptian or Middle Eastern art. The artworks from the Renaissance period, shown in the previous article, resemble and emulate some of the techniques and subjects from the art of the Classical period. The main materials used seemed to be metal and marble, but the Romans also utilized paint, glass, and other diverse materials.

                “Marble and metal is the main attraction of Greek and Roman art, and I like it,” quipped a tourist. “European culture has never been able to measure up to the success of Greek and Roman culture,” remarked an elder visitor. 16 out of 20 people said that they liked Greek and Roman art, but 15 out of the 16 people said that Greek and Roman art did not have much variety in terms of subject matter. “Roman and Greek art was cool and everything, but it’s like having 200 different alterations of Mona Lisa,” said the same tourist who remarked about the marble and metal used in Greek and Roman art.

MoMA?

                When I visited the modern art section of the Met, I at first thought that the Met collection wouldn’t be as impressive as its other collections. The main reason for formulating this unproven hypothesis, shared by other tourists that have visited MoMA (Museum of Modern Art), is that New York already has an excellent museum dedicated to modern art. According to a survey of 25 people who have visited MoMA before visiting the Met’s modern art section, 15 of the 25 people told me that they didn’t expect to see a good collection. “New York already has a museum dedicated to modern art,” said one of the interviewees. “Why have this gallery at all?”

                Fortunately, this idea was proven a misconception. The Met does have an excellent collection, including Van Gogh’s, Picasso’s, and Pollock’s works, albeit smaller than that of MoMA. Some works, although contemporary, have been transferred to European or American paintings. For some of the tourists, this was to some degree frustrating. “I want to look at modern art in the modern section, not the Europe section where older paintings dominate the walls,” remarked a tourist. However, many of them found the gallery to be rewarding. “I was able to see many unique and flashy works,” said a visitor who was with his family, “and I think that having the same thing over and over again is boring. I like the pizzazz, the bang-bang, and the wow factor.”

Comedi-art

                      Because the exhibition is fairly recent, many tourist groups or visitors do not have much foreknowledge of the artworks, if they had any previous information about it at all. However, it doesn't mean that they don't have opinions about this peculiar gallery. "I found this to be the only gallery with laughs," said a tourist from a school trip. Many of the comments referred to the strange, if not ridiculous, appearance of the artworks. "Laughs throughout the ages," remarked the same tourist.

Checkout

                Mere words cannot cover all the wonders of human creativity found in the Met, and neither can my 2 articles. Many of the ancient treasures predate the museum that houses them, and even predate the city that houses the Met. The deep and rich history, as well as the creative strokes and genius that went into the works of art, will surely impress those who decide to visit the museum that lies on 5^th Avenue. As the human mind creates even more masterpieces, the collection of the Met will ever become fuller.

I could not understand why people in Africa laid tens of children when they could not raise them all healthily. Neither could I comprehend why an enormous continent, Africa, with so much resource left underground, they would not dig them up and make use of them. But as it turns out, we were lucky that we were not born in Africa. Most chances are that we too would be suffering from extreme poverty and malnourished if we were simply out of luck. Just as we are protected, since birth, under a relatively stable environment, African children did not choose their destiny either.

‘Phew, that was close..’ Sure. We successfully made a narrow escape from not being born in Africa. But this is not an attitude to be encouraged. We cannot put off solving the seemingly endless chain of poverty forever. As a same human being with a sense of compassion, we feel sorry to hear their everyday lives. We will never experience that pain but 2 billion populations is covering their stomach, not in hunger but knife sticking pain.

There was a lecture by Song Shin Hye (The Korean Committee for UNICEF, Manager of Education Development Division) in MIZY center (Seoul Youth Center for Cultural Exchange) in July 20th, with the topic of ‘MDGs, for A World Where Every Child is Happy’. The lecture was originally for the Youth Reporters of MIZY, but it became open for anyone who is interested in child well-being and MDGs.

Song Shin Hye, Manager of Education Development Division, The Korean Committee for UNICEF alks about how UN can be compared to a galaxy.

I was surprised to hear there were so many close relations between MDGs and children. MDGs are Millennium Development Goals, approved by UN in 2000, Summit Meeting. It has designated 8 conundrums to be solved upon decided percentage by 2015. (See below for more information) She declared very shocking statistics from the beginning of the speech, that 50 percent of the social class to be protected by MDGs is children, by definition, people of five to eighteen years old. They are vulnerable; immune system is to be developed by thorough nourishment. Yet, overwhelming number of children in South-West Africa, for instance, is heavily dependent on infrequent, unsustainable foreign medical aids. They are so depended on those aids that the number fluctuates according to the foreign aid given.

MDG declares: ‘As leaders we have a duty therefore to the entire world’s people, especially the most vulnerable and, in particular, the children of the world, to whom the future belongs. ’ However this promise is not being kept very well. The average life expectancy for people in Zimbabwe is 36. A third of children are dying of malnutrition. Pneumonia derives from simple cold. Many African children suffer from diarrhea because they drank filthy water. Malaria is easily overcome than common mosquitoes’ bites but they are known to be deadly because people in Africa have weak immune system to fight against malaria.

                                                               MDG slogan

UNICEF is facing several responsibilities: First they must increase maternal health (MDG Goal 5: Maternal Health). When mothers are healthy, entire household becomes healthy (MDG Goal 4: Child Health). Children do not have to work instead of their parents but go to school. This is how universal education comes true (MDG Goal 2: Universal Education). People become more intellectual, and develop their insights towards the world through education. This leads to eradication of extreme poverty and hunger (MDG Goal 1: End Poverty and Hunger) in the long run, because educated people are more likely to have better jobs than simple labor or going through trash. Someday, female version of Nelson Mandela will be leading Africa. At this moment, women are less educated compared to male, but through ‘universal’ education, more women will fight for gender equality and empower women (MDG Goal 3: Gender Equality). Ultimately, national strength and sovereignty will come to stand firm, and their governments will focus on basic sanitation as their life quality increases. HIV/AIDS and other diseases will be eradicated (MDG Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS) by increased sanity.

                                           UNICEF(United Nation Children's Fund)
 

There is a time limit to MDG goals. Until 2015, all the goals should be met. However it seems to me it would be very hard in any goal to reach the expected level. Nevertheless, I think we should keep going like we used to. It doesn’t mean the world will end in 2015, the time will pass but people stay the same. The time limit exists to give pressure and prevent from nations saving the issue for later but encourage instantly putting action to it. Whenever we believe it is already late, it is the earliest it can get.

 

Now: how can you contribute to UNICEF and to the world’s being?

Go to https://www.unicef.or.kr/donate/main.asp

You can send gifts or monthly donations. 1,000 won a day can save a dying child. In your pencil case, you are carrying lives of 10 children. What would you do? It is in your hands.

 

 

 

MDG goals

Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger

           - Halve the proportion of people living on less than $1 a day

           - Achieve Decent Employment for Women, Men, and Young People

           - Halve the proportion of people who suffer from hunger

Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education 
       - By 2015, all children can complete a full course of primary schooling, girls and boys

Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women
        - Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education preferably by 2005, and at all levels by 2015

Goal 4: Reduce child mortality rates
          - Reduce by two-thirds, between 1990 and 2015, the under-five mortality rate

Goal 5: Improve maternal health

      -       Reduce by three quarters, between 1990 and 2015, the maternal mortality ratio
-       Achieve, by 2015, universal access to reproductive health

Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases

      -        Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS
-        Achieve, by 2010, universal access to treatment for HIV/AIDS for all those who need it
-       Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the incidence of malaria and other major diseases

Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability

      -  Integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programs; reverse loss of environmental resources

      - Reduce biodiversity loss, achieving, by 2010, a significant reduction in the rate of loss

      - Halve, by 2015, the proportion of the population without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation (for more information see the entry on water supply)

     - By 2020, to have achieved a significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum-dwellers

Goal 8: Develop a global partnership for development

     -        Develop further an open, rule-based, predictable, non-discriminatory trading and financial system

     -       Address the Special Needs of the Least Developed Countries (LDC)

     -       Address the special needs of landlocked developing countries and small island

     -       Deal comprehensively with the debt problems of developing countries through national and international measures in order to make debt sustainable in the long term

     -        In co-operation with pharmaceutical companies, provide access to affordable, essential drugs in developing countries

     -       In co-operation with the private sector, make available the benefits of new technologies, especially information and communications

 

On June 1, 2011, 'baby factory' in Nigeria was raided by the police.

 This is only part of the story of human trafficking.
Human trafficking is an act of recruiting, transporting, transfering, harbouring or receiving a person through a use of force, coercion or other means, for the purpose of exploiting them.
Every year, thousands of men, women and children fall into the hands of traffickers, in their own countries and abroad.
The United Nation estimated that 12.3 million people are globally employed in sexual servitude or forced labor. The number of victims is more than at any point in human history according to 'Not For Sale'(NGO).  

Every country in the world is affected by trafficking.

As for South Korea, it has been regarded as a source and destination country for human trafficking.
The annual report on Trafficking in Persons(TIP), counducted by the U.S State Department, states that "South Korea is a source, transit, and destination country for men and women subjected totrafficking in persons, specifically forced labor, and women and girls in forced commercial sexual exploitation."

One of the most severe problems in South Korea is sexual exploitation.
Korean women are involved in prostitution in major cities in South Korea such as Seoul and Busan. Korean women are are forced into prositution not only in Korea, but also in foreign countries such as the U.S.,Canada, Japan, Australia.

Also,women and girls from Russia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, the People's Republic of China (P.R.C.), the Philippines, Thailand, and other Southeast Asian countries, are trafficked to become brides for South Korean men or to work in child sex tourism. Usually, destitute teenage girls and  women in other countries came to Korea in order to make a living. Traffickers deceive those women by making promises of better life.  
However, some people are trafficked against their will; they are sold by their family members and exchanged for goods or money.
Once traffickers extract victims from their home countries, they typically sell the children to slaveholders who run strip clubs, sex bars, brothels, karaoke clubs, or massage parlors.

Labor trafficking is another problem.

People work like slaves in factories without any payment.The most serious thing is that some employers possess the passports and wages of foreign workers, which means there is no way for victims to escape from their owners.
People are not aware  that the products they use in daily life have been produced through labor trafficking. A large number of conglomerates in South Korea have associated with traffickers and used labor trafficking for cheap labor. T-shirts and shoes you wear are made by victims' tears and sweats. Labor trafficking happens anywhere anytime and in you own backyard.

The South Korean Government has put a multitude of  efforts to put an end to human trafficking.
In response to increased sex trafficking of South Korean women to the United States, the South Korean police sent a delegation to the United States to improve joint cooperation in investigating  trans-Pacific trafficking in 2006. In addition, The 2004 Act on the Punishment of Intermediating in the Sex Trade and Associated Acts criminalizes commercial sexual exploitation.

However, despite the national efforts to alleviate the problem, human trafficking does not seem to be eliminated  in our society.
For instance, In April, 2011, four people were arrested for human trafficking and forcing 70 North Korean female defectors into prostitution.
On April 12, the Seoul Metropolitan Police revealed  that the group had forced femnale defectors into prostitution after buying them from Chinese brokers. 

Like this, human trafficking in South Korea is a huge problem that even the government can not easily rectify. So, people's great concern over this issue is very significant. However, unfortunately, not many teenagers in South Korea are well informed about human trafficking.

In order to know why the youth's participation is crucial, i interviewed David Quimby who is working with Not For Sale (NGO) as Student Abolitionist Movement manager.

(NOT FOR SALE is a non-governmental organization which equips and mobilizes Smart Activists to deploy innovative solutions to re-abolish slavery across the globe.)

 1.  Could you please introduce yourself?

Ans) My name is David Quimby and I am from Chicago, IL. I just got back from graduation at Olivet Nazarene University where I graduated with a degree in criminal justice and was part of the Criminal Justice Honor’s Society. I have been working with Not For Sale since January. I am taking part in the 6 month fellowship program that they offer. While with Not For Sale, my title has changed quite a bit. The least number of programs that I have juggled at one time are three and these are always changing. Right now, I am currently working as the Student Abolitionist Movement manager, Event planner, Investigator, and Free2work researcher.

My goal in life is to make a difference but I don’t want to be remembered for what I did, I want someone to be able to live their life that might not have had it without my efforts.

2.Do you think the youth’s participation can actually make a difference?

Ans) Students have been the major push behind the effort since it began. That is why we put so much emphasis on the Student Abolitionist Movement. Students have the skills necessary and the contacts needed to further the movement as well as get others in on the movement. One thing we can never have enough of is funding, being an NGO, we are always trying to create more avenues of funding so that we can further our mission. Students have been a major driving force for us with fundraisers, mission drives, and all kinds of other ideas.

 Without them, we wouldn’t be where we are at. Lives that we have touched because of their work might have been lost.

 3)  Is their anything else you would like to say to Korean students?

Ans) One problem we have is that people believe that human trafficking doesn’t happen in their neighborhood.
Human trafficking is all around us and when people realize that, they instantly want to make a change. One tool we have for this is called Slaverymap.org. If we are speaking with someone and they don’t think it happens in their area, then we can pull up this map that has plotted cases of human trafficking all around the world.

 

 

600,000 ~ 800,000 humans are trafficked internationally according to Not For Sale.
70 percent are female. 50 percent are children.
They are killed, abducted ,exploited, beaten, raped, deceived, starved, and threatened.
Human trafficking is modern day slavery. It does not just happen across the world.
It happens around us and victims are everywhere.

 

2011 January 29^th, in KOICA (Korea International Cooperation Agency), there was an event for VANK (Voluntary Agency Network of Korea) member students. The name of the event was called ‘VANK World Changer Education’. Such forum is held for the first time ever, but will continue to educate VANK students about contemporary global issues frequently from now on. 330 middle and high school students’ passionate minds to bring a better change in the world heated up the cold room. Students realized MDGs (Millennium Development Goals) were the challenges for young generations to solve.

 

MDGs are eight most imminent conundrums of 21^st century, of which should be solved upto certain level by 2015. “Some problems are a little bit more influential to our lives than others. However if you were to become a world changer, you should care them all.” , VANK leader Park Gi-tae said.

VANK leader Park Gi-tae introducing a Moroccan intern in VANK

 

Some people question the effectiveness of United Nations. ICUNIA (Information Center for UN and International Activities) representative Kyung-Soo Kim  told the students “OCHA(UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) makes sure that relief goods are handed out to every single corner of rural areas. This is one of the practical actions that nothing else but UN can accomplish.” And also, “There are so few Koreans working in international organizations. Your chances are big. Try before you give up. But first, be an expert in your expertise.”

Frankly, many students looked partially relieved to know their English did not have to be perfect to work in UN. With their passionate minds, respectable English proficiency and expertise on a particular section, they were already a part of UN.

ICUNIA (Information Center for UN and International Activities) representative Kyung-Soo Kim being introduced at the beginning of his lecture

 

Lastly, KOICA Global Village Project Assistant Jung Sunghoon gave a speech about ODA(Official Development Assistant). ODAs are various forms of aids given by developed nations or its governments to international organizations or developing nations purely for their benefit. The aid is never limited to financial aid, but also includes technological, humanitarian aids. South Korea is the only country to no longer receive the aid but give the aid. But there are problems to unconditional ODAs. Recipient countries may no longer be able to stand up for themselves without the aid, making them heavily dependent on the aid. Their governments are easily corrupted, and modernization / democratization are delayed. ODAs may help recipient countries temporarily, but if they are not used properly, it does more harm than good.

 

KOICA Global Village Project Assistant Jung Sunghoon giving a lecture about MDGs and ODA.

/MIZY Youth Reporters, Cho Rok Lee