[A Sip of Books] American Professor Felt Romantic Envy at the June Struggle Site

Robert Fauzer, author of 'Urban Reading' and 'Why Do Cities Preserve History?', hails from Ann Arbor, USA, and has had a long-standing connection with Korea since starting in Busan in 1983. Until 2014, he lived between Korea and Japan, serving as a professor at Seoul National University, Korea University, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto University, Kumamoto Gakuen University, and Kagoshima University in Japan. He lived in Korea for a total of 13 years, spending 11 and a half years in Seoul alone.

In June 1987, he inhaled tear gas in the alleys of Namdaemun Market. Witnessing the historic struggles of Korean youth of a similar age at the time, he felt a romantic envy. He also lived in Daejeon for a year and a half and visited Incheon, Jeonju, and Daegu whenever he had the chance.

In Japan, he lived in Kyoto, Kumamoto, and Kagoshima. He frequently traveled to New York and London, UK, and studied abroad in Dublin, the capital of Ireland.

'Urban Reading' is the author's exploration of cities, based on his long experience in various cities around the world. It contains his thoughts and impressions from 16 cities including Seoul, Busan, Daejeon, Jeonju, Daegu, Incheon in Korea; Kumamoto, Kagoshima, Kyoto in Japan; Dublin in Ireland; London in the UK; and New York and Las Vegas in the USA. Cities are objects of glamorous and wonderful lives that everyone dreams of, but at the same time, they symbolize tiring and complicated daily life. The author suggests that we properly recognize the cities we live in and think together about how to create cities where we want to live.

In 'Why Do Cities Preserve History?', he examines the background and meaning of why cities try to preserve certain historical landscapes. Influenced by his architect father, he believed from childhood that old cities should be well preserved. He thought that preserving historical landscapes is a virtue, while development tends to pursue individual interests over social public good and should be viewed with suspicion. However, seeing the rising housing prices in Bukchon, Seoul, he also pondered that as a result of preserving historical landscapes, citizens are ironically being alienated. Therefore, he explored the reasons, meanings, and values behind why cities preserve certain historical landscapes. He explains that the historical landscapes of Rome, Italy, and Kyoto, Japan, were preserved due to religion, and Hiroshima in Japan and Dresden in Germany became cities symbolizing today's peace because of their painful war histories.

To me, Seoul is Gangbuk and a few places inside the Four Great Gates. Gangnam is 'New Seoul,' and Yeouido and Yeongdeungpo are satellite cities. Although I lived in Seoul for a long time and still spend several months a year there, whenever I happen to go to Gangnam, it feels alien and unlike 'Seoul.' Yeouido feels like a very artificial planned city with no human warmth, and the area near Seoul National University feels like an extension of an industrial zone in Gyeonggi Province. (p.131, Seoul: Becoming Cosmopolitan, Protagonist of a New Era or at the Crossroads of Isolation and Decline)

When I visited Korea in 1999, I went to a close friend's house, and he proudly told me he had installed a cable modem at home. I had heard that cable modems were being developed in Japan, but I couldn't believe they were already widespread in ordinary Korean households. However, as if teasing my skepticism, my friend turned on his computer right in front of me and immediately connected to the internet. (Omitted) At that time, Korea was just recovering from the IMF crisis. Until then, there was a strong perception that Korea was diligently catching up with the advanced country Japan in many ways, and I was not the only one who held that view. For me, it was astonishing that a field where Korea was ahead of Japan had emerged. (p.147, Seoul: Becoming Cosmopolitan, Protagonist of a New Era or at the Crossroads of Isolation and Decline)

At the end of 2016, I saw South Korea's candlelight protests demanding the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye on TV in the United States. Watching that scene, I recalled the massive civil rights protests for African Americans that took place in Washington D.C. in 1963. Although the countries and eras are different, Korea and the United States share a commonality: they are both 'noisy countries.' (p.155, Seoul: Becoming Cosmopolitan, Protagonist of a New Era or at the Crossroads of Isolation and Decline)

From February 1987 to August 1988, I lived in Daejeon for about a year and a half, teaching liberal arts English at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology. (Omitted) The first place I lived after moving to Daejeon was a professor's apartment in the Daedeok Research Complex. (Omitted) The first place I visited in the city was Mungyeong Bookstore. Although it was not as large as Jongno Bookstore, which I often visited in Seoul at the time, I was impressed by the surprisingly large number of English originals. I was honestly surprised to see English originals of Erich Fromm's 'Escape from Freedom' and Herbert Marcuse's 'One-Dimensional Man' on the shelves. I wondered how many people in a regional city would look for books by the Frankfurt School. Since then, I became a regular at Mungyeong Bookstore. (pp.164-165, Daejeon: Facing the Present of the Regional Old Downtown in the Heart of the City)

Then June came. As everyone knows, what was bound to happen, happened. (Omitted) Avoiding the police's coercive and violent response, I finally arrived at Seoul Station after winding through the alleys inside Namdaemun Market and took a train to Daejeon. Tears and mucus streamed down my face because of the tear gas. The protest sites fighting for Korea's democratization were full of young people of similar age to me who faced tear gas and police violence without avoiding them. I vaguely guessed what hardships they had endured to get here. Beyond admiration, I felt respect, and momentarily, I felt a romantic envy, wishing to someday stand at a historic struggle site to change America's problems. (Omitted) I heard the news of the June 29 Declaration in Paris. My respect for the Korean citizens who won democracy themselves deepened again, and I regretted being away from Korea at this historic moment. (pp.164-168, Daejeon: Facing the Present of the Regional Old Downtown in the Heart of the City)

The revival of Rome can be attributed to the complex relationship between the church and politics. In 318, Constantine I ordered the construction of St. Peter's Basilica across the Tiber River. At that time, the Catholic Church was weak in influence and had a very complicated relationship with Rome. The Roman Empire was the very entity that killed God's only son, Jesus Christ. Furthermore, due to the long history of persecution and oppression of Christians, it was natural for the Catholic Church to oppose the Roman Empire. However, the church also needed authority. The symbolic value of the city of Rome was worth utilizing. Moreover, if Rome fell to hostile forces, the church's safety could not be guaranteed, so it had to support Rome's security. (p.37, The Hidden Motives of 'Those' Who Actively Preserved Religious Heritage_Rome·Kyoto)

Since the medieval period, many towns in Japan developed around castles, called 'castle towns.' In Japanese, these are referred to as 'jokamachi,' meaning towns beneath castles. Despite Hiroshima's many rivers and unique terrain, it developed as a representative castle town centered on Hiroshima Castle. (Omitted) Hiroshima Castle, built in the 1590s, was the center of power for the Hiroshima domain for a long time. (Omitted) Despite the turbulent times, Hiroshima Castle was neither burned nor damaged. (Omitted) Osaka Castle, which was burned in 1868, was rebuilt in concrete in 1931, and Hiroshima Castle, which was well preserved without damage, was designated a national treasure in 1931 in recognition of its historical value. However, Hiroshima Castle, used as a military facility to defend against Allied invasion until the end of World War II, was destroyed in an instant by the atomic bomb. (Omitted) Hiroshima's reconstruction efforts differed somewhat from other places. Here, attention was paid to mourning the victims of the atomic bombing and commemorating them. (Omitted) For this reason, although rebuilt in concrete, Hiroshima Castle was relatively meticulously restored, opened to the public through the Hiroshima Revival Expo, and given historical significance by installing a local history exhibition hall inside. (Omitted) Hiroshima became a 'city of peace' thanks to the efforts of Shinzo Hamai (1905?1968), the first elected mayor in 1947. When the atomic bomb was dropped, Hamai was a civil servant of Hiroshima City. Almost all civil servants were killed or severely injured, but Hamai sustained relatively minor injuries. Having survived, he joined rescue activities with the army, was appointed vice mayor shortly after, ran in the first election in 1947, and was elected mayor. As mayor, he gave the first peace declaration speech at a memorial event for the victims on August 6, 1947, and since then, the Hiroshima mayor's 'peace declaration' has continued annually at this event. (pp.197-206, Leaving the Scars of War as Symbols of Peace_Hiroshima·Dresden)