You are on page 1of 22

Student Council

Brief History, Interview and Student Opinion

SNU Festival
Activities. Bands. Cuisine. Drinks.

Student Study Habit


A Survey

V olume 38

June 2012 APPey ROAD, KLETO, Sorijigi

A perspective on the SNU student life


The Seoul National University English-Language Journal

Editors Letter Campus News Cover Story: An Evening Interview Sesh A brief history of SNU student election Inside the Campus 2012 and the Student Council Campus: The Spring Festival SNU studentsstudy habits

Disabilities, Money, and Literature The Rise of Startups Smart SNU APPers KLETO, the road onto the sea of Korean literature waves

Arts & Culture: Peter Jensens Muses - a high- fashion scene experience The passion of SNU, ChongjangBae The Sorijigi Way In Mt. Gwanak, there is Beodulgol Pictures from the festival Cheap, Tasty and Convenient

Perspective: Scooters - a safe vehicle or a hazardous trip? Editorial: This is the wonderful IT era Salvaging individualism through technology May Culture Calender

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40

CONTENTS
Volume 38
June 2012

An interview with the new school president

THE SPRING FESTIVAL

SCOOTERS

THE SORIJIGI WAY

June 2012. Vol. 38

FROM THE EDITOR


What you are holding in your hands is the 38th issue of the Quill. This issue will be the last for this semester and we have some good news for you. First of all, our situation improved since the OIA and the CEP are now willing to support us financially! I am really happy about the results of the hard work our Managing Directors, Su-Hyun and Yeun-Il put for the cause of the Quill in this affair. The second great news is that finally, after years of non-existence, the student council election vote was successfully held. We are excited for what the new president and his staff will put through and are wishing him good luck. You can find an interview with him and the vice-president in this months issue as well as some background information about the history of our student council. We also changed the design and the structure of the layout for this issue, we are still experimenting and trying to figure out what will suit best. A new editorial section was added where our writers Yun Hwan and Sung Hoon will express their thoughts and then there is a section called Perspective where Tselmeg is writing about experiences she makes in her daily life on campus as a foreign student. May is coming to an end - this semester could have been a good one, a perfectly enriching one if there were not also some dark spots in our timeline (you know that facebook is going to force you to have the timeline, right?). There was uncontrolled, excessive drinking causing the campus police to intervene during the school festival, sexual harassments of fellow female students outside campus by one of our alumni and the tragic death of a freshman two weeks ago in the school dormitory. What can WE as students do to prevent such things? It is on us to care for our fellow students and ensure that everybody can live happily on our campus grounds. Dont look away if people are having hard times, try to help and support them as much as you can. Everybody should take a minute and try to reflect on themselves Finally we want to say that we are really thankful for having such great readers who support us with emails and feedbacks on facebook and snulife. We will not fail the expectations you have in us and will always try to fulfill the expectations you have in our journal. We wish you all the best with your final exams and wish you a good and well deserved summer vacation! See you next semester! BY YOON SONG-UG EDITOR -IN-CHIEF

THE SEOUL NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

CAMPUS NEWS
College of Business Administration
On 23rd May, the College of Business Administration held a flamboyant festival to mark 50 years of its establishment. A myriad of diverse events were prepared with colossal amounts of money poured into the event. The scale of the event was emphasized by the fact that the festival was not constrained to just one place; football, basketball and tennis finals (with the preliminary contests already fought out before Dday) were held in Gwanaksa while the baseball final took place in the field opposite the CBA building. Furthermore, a Biz Got Talent show took place with 5 teams competing for the grand prize of 1,000,000 won. Celebrated announcers, singers and musical actors all attended to congratulate the CBA, Psy expectedly entertaining the delighted crowd. CBA students were provided with lunch and dinner as well as a barrage of other benefits such as coffee, chicken and ice cream. There were plenty of events to enjoy throughout the day for all CBA students!

uill Staff
Chief Managing Director Bae Su Hyen Editor in Chief Yoon Song-Ug Vice Managing Director Jeong Yeun-il Cover Story & Feature Section Editor Chae Yun Hwan Kim Haesol Lee Da Eun Campus Section Editor Oh Josefina Chuluunbaatar Tselmeg Hwang Johannes Tae-In Ko Sung Hoon Park So Hyun Arts & Culture Section Editor Jung Jiyun Chung Hyun Chung Maskey Abhas Go Dae Ho Kwon Inhwa Song Bohye Cover Design Hee Won Lee Kim Nu Ri Photographer Woo Minsoo E Mail snuquill@gmail.com Website club.cyworld.com/thesnuquill Advisor Professor Eli Sorensen Sponsor SNU College English Program Printing Late Spring (02 2269 8030) Design Kim Sun Hee

College of Education
As the whole concept of baseball is catching on in the nation, more and more people are getting interested in playing the sports while still enjoying the comfortable state of spectating. Consisting of 18 members, the Masters is the newest baseball club in campus. Founded this year, the members are mostly students from the college of education. The teams main scheme is to create an atmosphere where anyone can join and actually enjoy playing baseball unlike the other clubs where only the most competitive players have chances to actually stand on the mound. Of course, winning is the biggest goal, but the team emphasizes more on actually taking pleasure in practicing baseball. In order to fulfill this intent, the team also goes to ballparks and enjoys watching some games on a regular basis. Though they only got to play once in the SNU league this semester, the future is bright for this young team. If you are interested in friendly ball playing and also want to be able to play at serious league games, the Masters is the just the right answer for you.

College of Social Sciences


The College of Social Sciences student government held its thirtieth Hae-Oh Reum Festival on the evening of May 10th. Many students gathered in front of building 83 to receive free beef and Makgulli. The scenery of the students enjoying the food in groups sitting on the aluminum mats seemed like a large picnic smack in the middle of the campus. Student clubs performed a variety of shows on the stage from Korean traditional Mimes, rock band performances, to dancing and singing by Go-Ahead and Triple-H. The Mime dancing to old Korean songs highlighted the tradition of the College of Social Sciences and accentuated the uniqueness of the Hae-Oh Reum Festival. At which college festival would you be able to view such interesting Korean Mimes? Overall, the festival provided an opportunity for the College of Social Science students to strengthen their solidarity and to think about the role of the student governments.

BY KIM HAE SOL, JEONG YEUN-IL, BAE SU HYEN

Cover Story

June 2012. Vol. 38

An Evening J Interview Sesh:


Getting Chummy with the New Student Council
BY LEE DA EUN

u Yong Lee, the student vice president, warmly greets me as I walk into our scheduled interview in room 436 of the Student Center. The mangy arrangement of an oval desk, three chairs, and a sofa is the one and only student council office apparently and it strikes me as a bit startling, in deep contrast to the image of an immaculate if not swanky office in my mind fit for the new caretakers of our on-campus welfare. They are the ones looking out for our best interests after all and probably deserve a little more than this humble jam of space. Nevertheless, this sort of inconvenience seems to be the least of their worries at the moment. Two unidentified council members look slightly flushed debating in restrained tones about an issue which I know not of and the student president, Joon Kyu Oh, and the vice president, Ju Yong Lee are both sitting down at the desk with their attentions directed at me. They look calm yet radiate with spirit and vigor - they make a nice duo without a doubt. After exchanging greetings, a word of thanks, and pleasant smiles, so it goes.

administration in 2011. We talked a lot and discovered we held similar ideas about the general direction of school reform. Ju Yong: The election? It wasnt part of our grand plan initially. We just shared the same passion about the need for school reform and later realized there was no other way to it than taking ready action ourselves. So we decided to take the plunge.

We understand that there were a few hardships during the whole span of your election campaign. Tell us about some.
Ju Yong: I guess the biggest detour in our whole election was the failure of our first election due to the shortage of votes. If it had been a loss to the other team, we would have more or less come to terms with it. But the shortage of votes told us the biggest problem was in the students indifference. We felt the way to make change was to get students interested first. We could not afford another vacuum of power in the student council. It would put everything on hold the issue of half-priced school fees, the incorporation of SNU, etc. So we decided we would run for a second election; this time we turned out to be the only running team. The second big problem we faced was the schools nonnegotiable attitude. We thought that if two parties had a common interest [the welfare of SNU students], they would be able to work out some kind of compromise no matter what. The reality was vastly different. Every time we [students] requested some kind of action on the schools part, they only responded by turning a blind eye to the problems. Complaints, demands were piling up but all we heard back from the administration was a Yes, we will take care of it, without practically anything being done. So we reached the conclusion that the strongest option for us was to call an all students meeting, a chongwhae, and show the school our determination. We would go over the list of all school issues together, finalize our choices on what actions to take and officially notify the administration. We thought this was the most effective way of giving them pressure making them see that they had to answer directly to the students.

structure inside SNU. All issues concerning the schools finances are voted on and decided by an all-powerful board of directors, consisted of prominent members in society. None of the students can say for sure through what kind of screening process they got to those positions. How are we supposed to know whether they are even qualified when the board holds meetings outside of school (usually in hotels) and remains impervious to our surveillance? We believe that since it is our interests and welfare that these men juggle with, the board should be nominated and selectively chosen by the students themselves. The thing is, if the school proceeds to become a corporation as planned, the government will intervene even less and the school board will come to have almost unrestrained power. We cannot have that. We need an effective system of checks and balances to make sure the decision makers of our school prioritize student welfare and student rights.

What do you plan to achieve during your term? Tell us about your ideal vision of SNU in the long term.
Ju Yong: We believe that all important decision making processes at SNU should rightfully include its students. From managing school finance, charging school tuition, distributing scholarships to electing the school president. students have a right to know and intervene where their vital interests are at stake. The administration needs to see that. They need to put student rights and welfare as their first priority and make all transactions transparent to us. That s the only way they can earn trust and cooperate together with the students. This is the kind of vision we have and seek to achieve.

How did you guys find each other? When did you first start to talk about entering the student council elections?
Joon Kyu: I am enrolled in the College of Law and Ju Yong is in the College of Liberal studies. And since the two colleges do joint social gatherings in the freshmen year, we naturally had the chance to get acquainted with each other. We didnt know each other that well back then, but we became close when we met during the protest for half-priced school tuition fees and the student takeover of the school

Any additional comments?


Joon Kyu & Ju Yong: Another all students meeting is being held on May 31st in front of the administration building. Please join us there if you wish to take part in making a better future for our school. It would mean a lot!

What do you see as the most fundamental problem in our school?


Joon Kyu: The foremost problem is the murky governing

Cover Story

June 2012. Vol. 38

Well, its about time...


A brief history of SNUs student election
BY JEONG YEUN-IL
The graph depict the voter turnouts of the last 15 consecutive student elections in SNU.

ts been finally settled. The new student council of SNU has emerged as the final result of the election was revealed on 24th of May. The 54 th student council of Seoul National had been successfully put through as the voter turnout reached 50.37%, with 8703 votes. (Note that the turnout rate of 50% is the minimum requirement for the confirmation of the election.) Since this election had only one candidate, Mr. Oh Junkyu (College of Law, 08) as the school president and Mr. Lee Juyong (College of Liberal Studies, 09) as the vice, the voters were given their choice to either concur or object to their being elected president. The result was astonishing as 83.33% of the voters cast their votes marked as concur showing that most of the voters were in a quite welcoming mood for the new school president. Let aside the preference for the new presidents course of agenda for the school, the electorates of SNU were happy to finally bear a student council after the heartbreaking incident in last November when the attempt to elect the new student council was met with dreadful failure. (The most recent election is, in fact, the re-election of this one.) As the voter turnout rate merely reached 48.74% back then, (even with extended voting days)

SNU had no other choice but to accept the numbers and facts. Moreover, abiding what is stated in the SNU student council regulation, the electorates had to let the presidents of each college student body form the joint conference. The tragic state, however, is not something that is totally new to SNU. In fact, the SNU student council was under many perils since the start of the new millennium; with 13 cases of extended voting days and 6 elections foundered. The reason why this article puts its emphasis on the term millennium is because before the year 2000, there had never once been a period when there was no student council due to the shortage of votes. It was in the year of 2003 when the student council of SNU foundered for the first time in its history and ever since then, the turnout rate had always been hanging by a thread. Before the new millennium had begun, voting for the student council was recognized as a direct act to preserve democracy. During the 70s and the 80s, the implication held some of its literality as at that era, the student council performed its function as a means to rally the student force to go on protests against the nondemocratic government. Even after democracy was achieved, this trait was

still significant for the student council of SNU even in the 90s. When the new millennium came, students had to change their mindsets within the course of conversion. There were no more dictators or social injustice to fight against. One might still believe that this statement is untrue, but at least that is what the majority of students believe in these days. So instead of taking interest in social engagement, the children of the new era began focusing on their own being; their career plans, their wellbeing, etc. This is precisely when the voting turnout rate started to decline. After the foundering of the 47th student council in 2003, practically every election went through extended voting days. (The re-election of the 47th student council and the re-election of the 50th student council were the only two without the extended days among 14 elections.) Apart from the new trend of selforientation, several cases of corruption

actually contributed to the indifference. Although there had been several cases of alleged corruption of the SNU student council throughout the history, the impeachment of the acting student president due to credential embellishment in year 2006 was perhaps the most significant one. Then-president Hwang Rayeol was accused of fabricating his previous work history (Being admitted to the college of pre-medicine of Korea university, being a licensed Muay Thai martial arts performer which were both found to be fake) and was found guilty in a press conference. After that, SNU had no other choice but to make him resign during his term. Another grim history of corruption occurred in 2009 when a series of absurd incidents had happened. One of the campaigns had apparently succeeded in manipulating the votes by getting access to the ballot box and opening it. The evidence that had contributed to their exposure was a recording that was produced also during an act of yet another corrupted campaign who had actually planted recording devices (bugs) at the site where the ballot boxes were kept at night. (Sounds familiar?) After this had happened, the student body of SNU had evidently lost their confidence in the student council in

whole and the next student election was foundered yet again leading the school to leave the chair unattended for the longest period (over a year) in the history of the school ever since the student council was re-introduced in 1984.

Above: Park Jin-hyuck being found guilty of attempting to manipulate the ballot box in 2009

Even though they are not directly related to the corruption of the student council, there had been some minor incidents that had to do with putting dents in the credibility of the SNU student council. One of the executives of a past school president office was indicted for counterfeiting SNU meal coupons in 2009. The person in subject, Choi Sangwon was found guilty of forging school meal coupons and selling them at a lower price than the regular price and illegally earning 5,000,000 won in total. Even though he was no longer a part of the student council, the voters were outraged by the immoral act of this figure and thus lost faith in other members of the campaigns that were rooting for the future elections.

As seen above, there seems to be a lot of reasons for the declining concerns regarding the election of the student council but that does not mean that the students are all that indifferent with the existence of one. They had now experienced what it is like to not have an acting student council. Even though the so-called, joint conference still operates behalf of the missing student council when elections are foundered, having a leader figure and having a reluctant group of many members who are already busy with taking care of their own college departments are not the same when it comes to taking actions against a bigger power; the school authorities. One might say that the school board is doing just fine but as history has it, great power requires monitoring, intervening even, to see if what they are doing is in fact beneficial for the public; in this case, the students not the beaurocrats of the school who tend to take their joy of having distance from the students. Now is the time to change, yet again, the tendency of taking interest in school politics; it is now that we should remind ourselves of the real meaning of the student councils existence and even engage by enthusiastically casting our votes when the election season comes back.

Cover Story

June 2012. Vol. 38

Inside the Campus


BY KIM HAESOL

not helping the school, so ultimately, I did indeed vote. Next time, I would like to find out more before I vote so that I can actually participate democratically in making the school a better place for myself and fellow students. Kim Dong Young is a junior at the College of Business School. He has gracefully given up his time to share his opinion about this years Student Council and their pledges.

: Student views on the Student Council

2012 and the Student Council


BY CHAE YUN HWAN

the schools Student Council?


To be honest, I know very little about the Student Council in our school. In fact, I am not aware of what kind of events they are involved in and what roles they are exactly meant to fulfill. I came to this school while everyone else was in their second semester thus I havent been very well informed of what goes on in this school. I dont think people are informed well enough about the role or even the existence of the Student Council in SNU. I believe people need to gain more interest for the Student Council. However, to do this, there seems to be a need for more advertisement and interaction with the students about school events.

What do you think about the 50.37% turnout during this years voting?
The fact that the voting period had to be extended by another three days is obviously disappointing. I think people fail to ultimately vote because they simply cannot be bothered to or are completely indifferent to school issues. This may be because it is not related to them or the Student Council is not advertised enough. I hope that in the future people give more attention to the Student Council and participate more in the voting procedure.

What is your opinion about the Student Councils pledges?


I think it is very right for the accounting information of the school to be made transparent so that everyone in the school knows what is going on in the school and where their tuition fees are being spent on. As for the tuition fee problem, I think it is an ongoing issue so it would be wise to set up a separate committee that deals specifically with that issue. Moreover, the pledge of making a general student committee wouldnt be bad either because student opinions will be reflected. Of course we do not know yet to which extent it will be increased but having an establishment that represents the students voice would not be a negative policy.

hat were SNU students attitudes to the 54th Student Council elections that needed 3 extra days to validate itself? This article explores in depth differing student opinions about this years Student Council as well as the Student Council in general. Kim Chang Duck is a sophomore at the college of mechanical engineering. He entered the school during the second semester of last year. As a special case of admission, he has thankfully shared his opinion about the SNU Student Council with the Quill.

Have you ever taken part in a Student Council vote in our school?
This semester in our campus, I suddenly came across an event to vote for the next Student Council. People suddenly approached me on my way to class, telling me to vote. There was a booth with some information about the Student Council candidates. Even though I had actually voted, I did not feel good since I hadnt heard of this event or the candidates plans beforehand. Yet not voting felt like

How much do you know about

he drawn out effort to establish the general student council body has finally come into fruition this semester with a staggering approval rate of 83.33% for the single party candidate Ready, Action. The 54th student council election of Seoul National University (SNU) had already taken place in the previous year, however the election had failed to materialize as the voter turnout rate did not reach the needed 50% of the student body population, a requirement of election regulations. For potential candidates this year, new strategies were needed in order to garner more interest in the elections. t is noteworthy that this years election was historically the first time that only one party was in contention in the race for the general student council. The election also attracted the highest voter turnout rate since 2007 of 45.53%. Despite the overall success in electing a student body, the election still required the extended voting period, a following procedure if voter turnout rate fails to reach 50% during the standard voting period. The annual tribulation of electing a student council body ultimately calls into question whether new measures should be taken for a more effective method to stimulate a lethargic voting population.

Although the student council election is conducted annually, active interest and participation of the student body is dubious as extended voting periods have been conducted for nine consecutive years since 2003. The nearly decade long trend is alarming as it points to a rather reserved character of the voting population. Last years election had been disappointing as the elections had come during a period of the impending process of privatization of SNU that has had great impact on the student body. At a time whe student voice and participation was crucial, the election had instead folded. Although the election results of the 54th student council sends out a glimmer of hope through the overwhelming support for the elected representatives, it may simply be a corollary result to a one party race. Rather than conducting a democratic procedure of electing a party the voter truly supports, the recent election can be criticized as a desperate attempt of student leaders to attract more voters by streamlining the candidate list. Ultimately, two scenarios seem to be likely: either the current representatives succeed in stimulating the student body to more proactive participation in student affairs or they fail and the vicious cycle of uninspired

elections continue. Administrative measures such as changing election regulations by reducing the required 50% voter turnout rate may solve the apparent problem and such measures have already been taken in place in other universities in Korea such as Sogang University. However, if taken they will fail to address the inherent issue of voter passivity. The elected representatives are already tackling the issue in a postive direction as they have called a general student body meeting to address their particular concerns with the issue of privatization. The student councils ability to mobilize and motivate the entire student body remains to be seen, however, the alternative of changing election regulations will be yielding to the aloof stance of the student body regarding student politics. Privatization may be a godsend opportunity for the student council to inspire the student population. The issue has influence on all aspects of student life at SNU and should be tackled by a united student front. The new student council has the potential to vitalize the student population in this crisis and hopefully, 2012 could become a turning point for what had been an uninspired student body.

Campus

June 2012. Vol. 38

Activities. Bands. Cuisine. Drinks.

The Spring Festival.


BY KO SUNG HOON

ay 15, 16, 17: a triumvirate of activities, beer, and culture; a celebration coalescing the countless congruent, contrasting characters that comprise this campus into one. It is, though a

limited time, a gregarious one, one that allows for the invisible barriers of cliques, majors, and other social marks to vanish, as the inhibitions initiated by society wash down with the alcohol and food.

The location of the Festival, covering much of the campus, is multifaceted. A bunch of booths clusters about the Student Center. A strafe of international food stands lines the passageway behind the

Administration Building. Scattered around the rest of campus are other stalls, but the Festivals prime venue, where crowds of customers blanket the grass, is the field facing the Administration Building. Here reside not only booths, but also trampolines, arcade games, and small markets. Overseeing it all is the stage. Small performances are on display throughout the afternoon into the evening, though only a few people stay to watch. Once the sun sets, however, the mood, along with the number of spectators, rises. For the rest of the night, center stage belongs to Seoul Nationals most famous bands, singing clubs, and dance groups, with a performance finisher by celebrity guests. Though the acts are over, people remain. They keep drinking. They keep eating. They keep laughing. Even if its just for another hour, students sit amongst familiar friends and unfamiliar faces, many drunk, some sober, all content to stay where they are. Although some conveniently continue to converse, the rest remaining begin to clean up. Community service, religious, and other school clubs pick up the bottles, plates, and utensils left by guests. Among these kind-hearted societies is Choo-Kah-Sah. If one were to stroll around campus today and peruse his surroundings, hed have not the slightest idea that previously this month Seoul National University hosted its annual Spring Festival. No traces of trash lie around. No booths stay standing. The Festival has gone, as quickly as it came.

Club Highlights

hoo-Kah-Sah: the organization responsible for coordinating the Spring Festival. Without it, SNUs Spring (and Fall) Festivals would not be as they are. Choo-Kah-Sah began in 2003. Prior to its existence, SNUs Festivals constantly changed in theme and characteristic, as the Student Council, who decided how the Festivals would be, also changed. Essentally, Choo-Kah-Sah serves to maintain the Festivalsconsistency. After Choo-Kah-Sah was founded, Seoul National Universitys Festivals improved in quality and garnered more guests each year. Additionally posts on SNUlife, a social forum site for SNU students, have commented on the Festivalsgrowing popularity and fun. However, as more and more people come to SNUs Festivals, the more work Choo-Kah-Sah has to do. Thinking of exciting activities and guest celebrities, to ensure a more successful Festival than the previous, is a lot of pressure. Furthermore, the growing number of Festival participants means more leftover trash needed to be thrown out by Choo-Kah-Sah and other organizations afterwards. Nonetheless, planning out the Festival is what Choo-Kah-Sah is all about, and the organization enjoys what it does. But there is nothing more rewarding than being recognized for ones hard work. If you happen to see someone from ChooKah-Sah, or if you stop by their room in the Student Center, make sure to express your thanks! They deserve it.

Campus

June 2012. Vol. 38

study habits
BY HWANG JOHANNES AND OH JOSEFINA

SNU students

he South K o r e a n education is oftentimes praised for its good results; among others high profile persons such as Obama, the President of the USA, has stated that the South Korea education model should be copied by U.S. students. PISA scores (Programme for International Student Assessment) show that Korean middle school students are among the best in the world but also among the most inefficient (24th out of 30 OECD countries, 2008). It is very common to see children spending a huge amount of time in afterschool academies or together with private tutors. Moreover major exams such as the college-entrance exam drive up suicide rates for students and South Korea s suicide rate is one of the highest among OECD countries. While the Korean education model might produce good results the method of studying might not be the most efficient and could negatively affect mental and physical health. Dozens of wellwritten articles exist about study habits of secondary-level Korean students, which criticize the overachieving yet ineffective methods that children practice from a young age, there is surprisingly little to no information regarding the study habits of Korean students at higher-level institutions. Thus, The Quill decided to examine the study habits of Seoul National University students and how it affected their mental and physical health. A survey was conducted with eight questions asking about the surveyorsstudy habits, how content they were with their study results, health and social life. The purpose of the survey was to find out how students felt about the above mentioned factors depending on how much they studied on average per week.

Study time total

How many hours on average do you spend studying per week? a. Less than 5 hours. b. 5-10 hour. c. 10-15 hours. d. More than 15 hours.
Contrary to popular belief it seems that a significant percentage of SNU students spend less than five hours a week on average on out of class studies. However, 61% of students spend at least five hours a week studying and as much as 21% spend more than 15 hours on average per week on their academics.

Campus

June 2012. Vol. 38

How do you organize your study time? a. Study a lot throughout the semester. b. Study throughout the semester but more around exam periods. c. Study almost only around exam periods.
Total
15 hours or more 10-15 hours 5-10 hours Less than 5 hours

Do you get sufficient sleep? a. Agree to a large extent. b. Agree. c. Disagree. d. Disagree to a large extent.
Total
15 hours or more 10-15 hours 5-10 hours Less than 5 hours

On average we can see that a large majority of students tend to study mostly around exam periods. However, when dividing the surveyors into groups depending on how much the students study per week we can find some interesting results. Students who study 15 hours or more per week study throughout the semester much more than the average student. Furthermore, students who study 5-15 hours a week seem to be somewhat similar in that they study throughout the semester but mostly around exam periods. Not very surprisingly those that study less than 5 hours per week seem to be the group that study almost only around exams. While the other groups are closer to the average as much as 72% of those that study the least seem to study only around exam periods.

A majority of SNU students believe that they get sufficient sleep but as much as 44% would actually like to sleep more. When analyzing the individual groups those that study 5-10 hours seems to fare the best. Only 19% are unhappy with the amount they sleep. Individuals who study the least also seem more happy with time for sleep while students who study 10 hours or more seem to want more sleep on average.

Are you content with your results? a. Very b. Pretty much c. Fairly d. Not at all
Total
15 hours or more 10-15 hours 5-10 hours Less than 5 hours

Do you have time to properly take care of your body (exercise)? a. Agree to a large extent. b. Agree. c. Disagree. d. Disagree to a large extent
Total
15 hours or more 10-15 hours 5-10 hours Less than 5 hours

The average student is not very content with their study results. As many as 32% are unhappy with their results, in comparison just 1% are very happy with their performance. When looking at the different groups the results are more consistent than in the previous question. Most notably the 5-10 hour group seems more content than other groups while the 15 hours or more group have very few that are pretty much content.

A majority also feels that they have sufficient time to take care of their bodies; however, the margin is once again minor. The answers to this question show similar results as in the previous question where students who study 10 hours or less have more time over for exercise while those that study 15 hours or more seem to be busier.

Campus

June 2012. Vol. 38

Do you feel stressed due to studies? a. Agree to a large extent. b. Agree. c. Disagree. d. Disagree to a large extent.
Total
15 hours or more 10-15 hours 5-10 hours Less than 5 hours

Do you have sufficient time for hobbies or other activities? a. Agree to a large extent. b. Agree. c. Disagree. d. Disagree to a large extent.
Total
15 hours or more 10-15 hours 5-10 hours Less than 5 hours

SNU students clearly seem to be stressed overall. Only 19% did not feel stressed due to studies. Among those studying 15 hours or more as much as 65% agreed to a large extent that studies caused them to feel stressed. Only 6% in this group did not feel stressed. Even spending a little time on studies does not seem to help with stress as students spending 5 hours or less per week also showed rather high levels of stress. Surprisingly those that study 10-15 hours seems to experience less stress than other groups.

Spare time for hobbies show similar result as the previous question. While SNU students seem content overall those that study the most seemed to have little time over for their hobby.

Conclusion
In conclusion one can see that those who study more are not necessarily more content or less stressed out during the semester. This can either mean that SNU students have enormously high standards or that their studying methods are not necessarily effective. However, it seems that those studying less at least have more time over for other activities; this does not on the other hand show lower levels of stress. This is probably because such students only study for exams and thus face a massive load of work that in turn stresses them out as well. It is necessary to find a balance in order to achieve maximum performance. The fact that students who study 10-15 hours experience less stress could perhaps show that studying too little or too much is both negative for ones stress levels. While more solid research needs to be produced, there seems to be a relation between efficient studying and health. Based on the results of this survey The SNU Quill advises university students to look over their study routines and perhaps change them if one feels too stressed or does not have enough time for basic human needs such as sleep and proper meals.

Do you have sufficient time to socialize with friends/family? a. Agree to a large extent. b. Agree. c. Disagree. d. Disagree to a large extent.
Total
15 hours or more 10-15 hours 5-10 hours Less than 5 hours

It seems that SNU students have more time over for socializing with friends or family than sleeping or exercising. 76% felt that they had enough time for their social life. The only group that did not feel content on average with time for socializing was students that studied the most.

Refer any questions regarding the survey, how it was conducted and the results to The SNU Quills official email: snuquill@gmail.com Or contact one of the reporters directly: Johannes Hwang: johannes.hwang@gmail.com Josefina Oh: josefinaoh93@gmail.com

Campus

June 2012. Vol. 38

hat do disability studies have to do with Comparative Literature? is the question that Professor Marc Shell threw to his audience in the lecture room of building 1 on the morning of April 27th. Professor Marc Shells ingenious works and outstanding accomplishments made him a perfect candidate to invite to Seoul National University for the Comparative Literature Graduate Program Special Seminar. Pleasuring the audience composed of graduate students and professors with his wit and sense of humor, Shell ignored the original topic of the Prospects for Comparative Literature in an Asian Century, and made the seminar into a truly personal one by sharing his experiences, works, and concerns about comparative literature as a study. Professor Marc Shell is a Canadian literary critic and the Irving Babbitt Professor of Comparative Literature and Professor of Engish and American Literature and Language at Harvard University. His areas of interest, mostly coming from his personal background, include, but are not limited to, money and language, nationhood, politics and language difference, kinship, and medical and disability studies. Due to his gamut of interest regarding comparative literature, Professor Shell gave time for each person of the audience to introduce themselves so that he would know which common topic to focus on. The intimate communication

Disabilities, Money, and Literature W


between Shell and the audience made the seminar even more intellectually stimulating as everyone tuned on to the same frequency. Returning to the first question, talking and walking are the same according to Shell. Hamlets difficulty is that he is paralyzed, and Achilles is depicted as being frozen in the air when he does not do anything; such examples demonstrate the relationship between physical disabilities with literature. Shell also takes interest in stuttering as a subject for literature since stuttering at core is language and there exists a relationship between sound and meaning. His book Stutter and recently completed manuscript Talking the Walk and Walking the Talk explores disabilities and literature further. In addition to Shells studies on disabilities, he also mentioned his works on money and language. Money as a language or an art has never been a topic in comparative literature until his introduction of it. Shell defends the topic by stating that money is not a language, but a language itself in a way that others are language. In Money, Language, and Thought, Shell explores the interaction between linguistic and economic production from the Medieval to the Modern era in literature of Shakespeare, Goethe, Poe, and others. In The Economy of Literature, Shell investigates how money and literature both provide a medium of exchange and the revolutionary change in philosophical thought and language brought by the

BY BAE SU HYEN

development of money. Comparative literature is cosmopolitan and that is a unique characteristic of the study, but Shell warned the graduate students that those studying comparative literature must always be prepared to handle the criticism of being superficial. Not focusing on a specific area makes them an easy target to be accused of superficiality and not knowing anything in-depth. However, the worst is when everyone assumes you know everything. After sparking the audiences interest through his novel works, Shell brought up more serious issues regarding the study of comparative literature. There has been a continuous tension between the view of comparative literature as a study that galvanizes together various departments of literature and the view that comparative literature is an entirely separate discipline. Furthermore, there is also a problem of including and excluding various literatures. Many political ideals of the moment reflect multicultural literature, cosmopolitan literature, and minority literature, but still 99.9% of world literature is excluded. The third issue is whether undergraduate students should be able to study comparative literature. At Harvard and Seoul National University, an undergraduate program for a comparative literature study is not provided. The past chair of Babbit once commented that all undergraduates are too ignorant to

study comparative literature. However, Shell, the current chair of Babbit, believes that undergraduates too, should be given an opportunity to study comparative literature as long as they fulfill the minimum requirement of knowing two languages. This encompasses the idea that unless you know two you dont know one. Surprisingly, an undergraduate student currently majors in comparative literature at Seoul National University. SNU endorses a program of Student Designed Majors, which is authorized and provided only by the College of Liberal Studies. Through the program, Kim Sumin (College of Liberal Studies, 10) is studying comparative literature created by her self-designed curriculum. The interview with Sumin about constructing her own curriculum despite the difficulties as an undergraduate depicts how genuine interest and passion should be the main factors in deciding whether or not an undergraduate could study comparative literature. In summary, Professor Marc Shells seminar on comparative literature enlightened the SNU students views on limitless boundaries of comparative literature, its hopeful prospects, and the hardships they may have to face during their studies.

Interview with Kim Sumin


Q: What makes comparative literature an attractive study for you?
To tell you the truth, I cannot say that I love literature. I enjoy it, but I decided that I could not pursue it all my life. The reason why I am majoring in literature is because I see the value of it. My ability to perceive somebodys way of thinking and to analyse it in detail developed from my literature studies. By being exposed to many diverse thoughts in the world through literature, I expand my knowledge and become sensitive to peoples logic, whilst being able to logically argue myself. What makes comparative literature attractive is that I can do all these with writers of different national history, culture, and customs. I like looking at things on a global level, and studying literature of different languages and nationality allows me to see the network of ideas on a bigger scale. You also get to see the different trends in literary history for each country, and how their unique histories had an effect on literary productions.

literature. Linguistics is another field that I cannot give up on. I have included some courses in English, French and German Linguistics, but have not taken any so far. I would like to especially experience studying French and German linguistics, which I was not able to do before.

Q: Some people argue that only graduate students should study comparative literature. What are the merits of studying comp lit as an undergraduate? In what ways is it difficult?
I can understand why Comparative Literature is generally offered at graduate level. It is difficult to study it intensely at undergraduate level, and one might miss the opportunity of studying literature of one language indepth with its various genres and time periods. However, if you enjoy looking at the cross-national picture, then you can develop your interests from earlier on. Currently, I am interested in exploring how the network between English, French and German Literature compare to the network between Chinese, Japanese and Korean Literature, although this would be a magnanimous field of research. I am just happy that I have the freedom from my undergraduate years to jump from Rabelais to Swift to Voltaire, or from Bruder Grimm to Perrault, and think about the same Romanticism in English, American, French, and German context. You end up developing a very wide perspective. I remember studying G.E. Lessings Miss Sara Simpson, a German play with an English setting, and Georg Buchners Dantons Tod , also a German play set in the French Revolution, and the English and the French elements come alive, because you have already made yourself familiar with them through English and French Literature.

Q: What are you studying? Could you give us a very simple outline of your curriculum?
For now, I am focusing on English, French, and German Literature. I have included some history courses to have background knowledge. At the moment, I am taking a course in Modern Southeast Asia and Imperialism, which exposed me to ideologies behind colonialism, nationalist movements, and postcolonial literature in Southeast Asia. I believe all these will help me when I start studying post-colonial literature someday, or when I want to expand my area of interest into Asian

Professor Marc Shell

Campus

June 2012. Vol. 38

The Rise of Startups


SNUs College of Business Administration is one the finest in the nation. No wonder they mold the next generation of young entrepreneurs. BY MASKEY ABHAS

hat are you doing here?

I turned around to see who it was. Hamza Lasri(College of Engineering 10) had just surfaced into plain view. I could not believe it. It is not every day that you bump into a fellow classmate from the engineering school inside the very core of College of Business Administration. I could ask the same question was my reply and we both burst into

laughter. Just then, a firm voice interrupted. Are you from the Quill? Gyu Seok Lee (College of Business Administration 05) was right on time. We exchanged greetings and then he led me into uncharted waters where we finally got to sit down and get straight into business. Lee with his team in MODU communications-a company he opened up with his friends-managed to publish their first issue of magazine MODU

in May of 2011. A year after, the company has managed to distribute its flagship magazine to all high schools and middle schools in Seoul and has managed to cover a third of the schools in all South Korea. In printing business, thats abrupt. Results show progress and MODU Communications seem to be definitely heading into the right direction.

magazine aims to minimize confusion and maximize confidence when it is time for them to choose a career path. But before they could do all that, the company had to face a lot of challenges, both with resources and business model. Stressing on resources he said, It is important that a start-up business has an intimate and dedicated team. Most people misunderstand that the idea comes first and the team second but as we have experienced this, we can say that the team is the most important thing in venture business. As for the initial capital, the team had to dig deeper into their pockets.According to Lees estimation, an initial investment of around $10,000 dollars is required for an IT company but costs a lot more if someone wants to open up a printing business like his. In Modus case, as each member of the team has equal capitalshares, it could get quite tricky when someone in the team suddenly decides to leave. Not only does it increase the workload, but it creates confusion regarding how the person gets his share back. Going back to his argument again, a dedicated team from the very beginning could potentially avoid this.

basically doing this with our own money. With our own capital which means that it is not much. We cannot hire people. We recruit people through our vision basically. If they have the same interest then thats all that it takes Tangible Ideas brainchild MEEPLE is such an app that provides Mentors and Mentees a platform to meet and discuss from anything personal to careers to assignments. This way, the students from middle and high school in Korea have the opportunity to connect with university students, allowing them to further broaden their knowledge on the subject of interest. Released this year in January, MEEPLE aims to connect about a hundred thousand users by the end of the year. The user base will receive a major boost once the Android application is up and running in May. Currently, only iOS users have access to the service.

People behind Tangible Idea: Ingyun Baek and Shawn Byun

We started MODU because we had a question he states, A question as to why students in Korea rush to good universities and why everyone wants to be a doctor or lawyer or teacher. High school students dont have much knowledge about other careers, jobs or majors. MODU provides younger students the opportunity to learn about diverse career options that they can choose from. By allowing them to learn and comprehend about people who have chosen their careers in other fields and by providing them the right information about the job market, the

The people behind Tangible Idea, an app developing company formed in July of 2011, have similar arguments. Co-founders of the company, Shawn Byun (College of Business Administration 07) and Ingyun Baek (College of Business Administration 07) sat down to discuss their startup business. Finding the right people is actually the most difficult thing. We are

As both companys respective products are available for free for the end users there is no direct profit from sales. It is a true test of character and patience when it comes to managing such startup companies and these young entrepreneurs are often found to have to deal with stressful periods. As if juggling work with studies is not hard enough, having to put constant effort with no tangible cash inflow could get quite frustrating.

Fortunately though, these young, ambitious and equally talented entrepreneurs seem to find a way to be optimistic about the current and future status of their companies. MODU Communications MODU only recently reached profit levels after almost a year of financial difficulties. Now the company plans to expand to reach almost all middle and high school students in Korea. Although still without profits, Tangible Idea has further plans to release an international version of its MEEPLE application allowing students all around the globe to interact constructively. With an increased loyal user base, the company plans to attract advertisements. There is clear evidence that these startups have the vision and strength to contribute a lot more to the society. Startups that pertain to the betterment of society need recognition and support. Only then can they work towards their goals effectively paving the way for other startups to follow suit.

Campus

June 2012. Vol. 38

Smart SNU APPers


BY PARK SO HYUN

o you consider yourself a smart citizen living in todays ever accelerating smart world? Most people, especially the young, own so called smart devices like phones and tablet PCs, but not many make full use of the provided technologies that characterizes them. The most distinguishing element of the smart devices which makes them smart is the applications, most commonly referred to as Apps. They play a corresponding role in smart devices as computer programs do in computers. Compared to original PDA phones, which limited its users to using only

the built-in functions, smart phone enables new users to download whichever apps for whatever function they need. With growing numbers of participants in this field, apps are beginning to be developed for convenient uses in everyday lives. To keep up with the rapid development of smart technology, Seoul National University is providing many courses and competitions to encourage its students to become more involved in the app development. An apt place for app developer wannabes is SNU Mobile App Center, situated in building 138 on Seoul National Universitys Gwanak

campus. Established in March 2011, SNU Mobile App Center is actively providing its students with the opportunity to learn app programming for free. Over ten mobile app centers like the one in SNU are located all over the country; being the very first, SNU mobile app center is at the ready with numerous projects and courses for people to jump into. At the Mobile App Centers, not only are there courses pertaining to app programming, but also on the establishment of professional app store markets; this is because the distribution and utilization of apps is as crucial as its development. In a few

months time, during the summer vacation, several courses are opening up for future to-be app developers. With a minimum of 40 to 50 hours of work, students can become real app developers in android and iphone platform. The app centers main objective is to nurture and support young app developers. To do so, they have removed legal and institutional restrictions that arise in the course of app development and are aiding students in actual establishment of app related venture groups and enterprises. Many professors in the department of computer science engineering are lecturing and guiding students though courses run by the SNU app center and nearly as many experienced app developers currently working in the field are also coming to the center to share their practically acquired knowhows with the students. Futhermore, through various competitions on app development inside and outside school, students are being provided with the opportunity to meet other students who are interested in app development and share new ideas. Any undergraduate or post-graduate student of SNU is able to take part in the SNU App Development Contest and can apply as an individual or in groups of two to four. After application, students send in execution files and overview report on their app to be assessed. They are judged based on creativity, design, degree of completion, possibility of utilization and its compatibility with the smart device for which is has been designed. Students who take courses in the SNU Mobile App Center are granted with any expense needed in developing apps for this competition. Two groups of participants with the best entrees go on to participate in the Taiwan International App Competition. Apart from in-school contests, students of SNU also

participate in many outside school competitions like Smart Product Foundation Competition Exposition where they are judged for smart item and app service planning. In addition to the schools efforts in SNU mobile centers, many students of SNU themselves are initiatively participating in the app developing student groups. One recently formed group is "APPey ROAD"[pronounced as abbey road]. Although its history runs for less than a year, increasing number of students is showing interest. The current members of APPey meet twice a week in computer rooms inside the school or the SNU app center to learn app programming. New APPers, those with little experience in computer programming, first learn the computer languages, such as java for androids and objective C for iphones, and programs used during the process of app development. Simple apps can be made from programs inside the Operating Systems (OS) of the phones but to create useful and unique software, students need thorough understanding of the OS itself. After becoming acquainted with the system and language, they move on to bring their creative ideas into developing real life apps. APPey is recently running small

project groups specialized in certain themes like games and utilities, so that even the beginners can participate in real app development. Students feel that, by taking part in APPey, they gain practicable tips from each other about app development sources and programs. These numerous app development works done in SNU are indeed helping students to display their creativity and talent in the new smart field. However, abounding number does not know that these opportunities are available for them at no cost. For more SNU students engagement, they first need to be informed of what is offered. So far, there has been a high tendency of students in the engineering department to show interest in the app development but low participation rate from people outside the department. The activities that school offer requires no basic computer skills or programming knowledge, pure enthusiasm and creativity is more than enough in this newly spotlighted field. Combination of crisp ideas from students in different fields of study could bring out real synergy. Why dont you come and be part of the next smart era!!

Campus

June 2012. Vol. 38

KLETO,
the road onto the sea of Korean literature waves
We are quite surprised to find that many students are intimidated by the idea of translating Korean literature into English. We really want to say there is no need to be afraid at all. Not all of us are native speakers of English and translation is not about being experts of foreign language. It is more about understanding profoundly about the literature itself and trying to catch the subtle relationship between the two languages. Our door is open for everyone who loves literature and we are sure you will have wonderful new experience in translation once you join us. - Soyun Yang, the 4th student president of KLETO BY SONG BO HYE
week, KLETO has weekly seminars to discuss about the context and literary techniques of the original Korean text and takes the step to translate, faithfully considering the adequate poetic words, rhyme, rhythm and the main theme of the original text. For example, when the members try to translate a word , they think about which word among stone, pebble and rubble is the most suitable to express the meaning and impression given by the original text. Debates on the poetic expressions are such an exciting procedure to undergo, since through sharing the different perspectives the members have on interpretation of certain literary texts, they happen to get better understanding in the text of Korean literature and the method of translation. In the past, the members gathered in small groups of three or four based on their tastes and translation styles. However, all of the members now get together to deepen their comprehension and skill in translation work. While the students endeavor to introduce Korean literature to many people across countries, KLETO faces some difficulties. For example, since each literary piece has its own copyright, KLETO cannot share the translated pieces with the readers through publishing periodicals. However, KLETO looks forward to introducing translated Korean literature to the foreign readers and the SNU students by having exhibitions within the campus such as the tunnel of Central Library or Culture Incubator in Student Center. Through such activities that do not bring copyright problems, KLETO tries to communicate with the people who are interested in Korean literature. KLETO has selected the literary pieces freely of those they wish to translate. For the present semester, KLETO is proofreading the play Marriage by Kang Bak Lee, which KLETO had already translated last spring semester. As for the next semester, KLETO will try to translate diverse pieces, being more selective in choosing the texts under the assistance of its new professor, Sung Chang Park of Korean language and literature. Each semester, about ten students participate in translation work. The official site of KLETO is http://kleto. org/xe and the applications are downloadable from http://kleto.org/xe/pr. If you would like to get more information on KLETO, please access through http://club.cyworld.com/KLETO. You may apply for KLETO any time during this semester and starting next semester, you will be available to apply during the first two weeks of September and March respectively.

LETO is a student organization in Seoul National University that translates Korean literature into English in order to enhance the understanding of Korean literature not only for Korean readers but also for people of diverse cultural backgrounds worldwide. KLETO is an abbreviation of Korean Literature English Translation Organization. It was established under the guidance of Professor Gwang Hyun Shynne of the English Department on 10 September 2009. KLETO seeks to translate various genres of Korean literature, including poetry, short fictions, plays and essays,

considering both grammatical differences and cultural contexts. Moreover, KLETO attempts to advance reflection upon the past, present and future of Korean literature and promote the richness and uniqueness of Korean cultural heritage. The logo image of KLETO is very interesting. The name KLETO signifies not only its full name in English but also can be expressed with five Korean letters: , , , , . Four of these letters are Korean consonants and one of them is a vowel in Korean language. Considering that the purpose of KLETO is to spread worldwide the beauty of Korean

language and literature, the logo of KLETO seems to be very meaningful as well. Students that participate as the members of KLETO take the opportunity to talk about what translation is and how it should be done. Moreover, they study translation theory to improve their understanding and ability in translation. The members also read the literary works translated by their seniors, try to evaluate the works and think about how to make better translation. After all these steps have gone through, the members of KLETO finally start to translate Korean literature into English. Every

A&C

June 2012. Vol. 38

Peter Jensens Muses - a highfashion scene experience


BY KWON IN HWA
designers creative are called Muses. Although these terms might seem complicated and sophisticated at first sight, it will definitely be a good shot to actually visit MoA and take a look at the exhibition on Peter Jensens Muses. It will be an inspiring experience to figure out what highfashion industry is like and who actually inspired the beloved designer. The exhibition - Peter Jensens Muses aims to introduce these muses, who have been the constant and endless sources for Jensens inspirations. Peter Jensen is a Danish fashion designer living and working in London who has presented collections at Paris, London and New York fashion weeks. His designs favor basic, everyday clothing made his own by incorporating idiosyncrasies or oddities that ensure they stand out in the crowd. Peter Jensens Muses presents clothing from 18 different collections, each accompanied by explanations and images of the collections muse. Some muses exist for real and some are fictional. However, regardless of the reality, clothes that the muses wear, show how Peter Jensen tried to actually embody what he felt from the muses. For

re you interested in Fashion? Have you heard of Fashion week and collections? Are you interested in specific designers? Unless you are interested in fashion like Blair from Gossip Girl, these words would not sound familiar to you. As to give you a brief summary, fashion designers are required to lead industry seasonally. This role demands bi-annual collections every February and September, which is quite tough. They are required to constantly lead the market, creating and presenting something new and hip to the consumers. Under this constant pressure, the ones that keep the

example, models in Jodie (Spring/Summer 2009) sported grey sweat suits and forties floral dresses, referencing specific films starring actress Jodie Foster. This exhibition will surely be such an entertainment to everybody, whether they love fashion or not. For those who are interested in fashion, this exhibition will be a chance to add something more to their fashion knowledge. The clothes exhibited are outrageous and simple at the same time. Examining the clothes will be an exciting experience. Also for those who are not interested in fashion, this exhibition will still be of a lot of joy. The colorful and intriguing designs are surely to catch the eyes of the viewer. Also, figuring out how the muses inspired the designer and who the muses are, will also be a delightful experience. Since next to each mannequin, wearing fabulous clothes, stands a small sign, providing information about the muse and how they inspired him, it will be an easy and fun way to get to know about fashion. With 18 mannequins standing for 18 muses, the exhibition is not actually a huge one. One might actually get disappointed at first, at the moderate size and humble way that the clothes are exhibited, if one has expected the extravagance usually shown at fashionscene. However, by taking closer look at each mannequin and actually getting to know details about the muse, one will find joy and creativeness the designer felt. Head to MoA today, and feel the inspirations and creativeness that lies beneath the splendid clothes!

The passion of SNU, ChongjangBae


Overall history
Every May a special athletic competition is held in SNU. In this competition which is officially called ChongJangBae Ball Game. Every athletic club and person interested and confident in ball games can compete for his or her honor and glory. This competition is supervised by SNU athletics department and the players fiercely compete in soccer, baseball, basketball, tennis, table tennis, and badminton. The origin of Chongjangbae dates back to the fall of 1948. Back then SNU decided to hold the 1st SNU art festival and the 1st SNU Athletic Contest. After that, the Athletic Contest has been held every autumn. But in spring, there was no particular Athletic Contest except for small competitions. So in 2003, people united to bind these small competitions to the whole university and asked the Physical Education departmnet to supervise the whole event. The 2012 Chongjangbae is the 10th competition.

BY GO DAE HO

identical with professional rules except few things. For example in soccer, each team can use 3 wild cards who are currnetly taking a leave or graduated. Also, all players must wear shin guards for leg protection and glasses are strongly prohibited to prevent injury. But there is no regulation about the number of participating teams which ensures anyone who is interested in ball games can enter the championship. In baseball, preliminaries consist of 5 innings and semi and finals consist of 7 innings.

Efforts of each clubs for victory


When one club wins Chonjangbae cup it means that the club grabs great glory and honor. They will hold the trophy forever (The related article is inserted in the regulation as well). So many clubs which desire to win try really hard to be the best. They carefully and strictly recruit, train very systemically, analyze other rival clubs, and make detailed plans to grab victory. When you go see big soccer or baseball match in SNU, you can find people who videotape their play while the match is being held.

Regulations and fun facts


Each individual or club that wants to participate in Chongjangbae has to send an entry list and the proof of enrollment in advance. In principle, the only qualified participants of Chongjangbae are the currently enrolled SNU students and faculty members. All referees of Chongjangbae are composed of students from the department of physical education. Usually each ball games regulations is

Improvements and debates


In the early stage of Chonjangbae there were debates and controversies because of the poor state of stadiums, the use of the Physical Education students as wild cards, expensive entry fee (over 150,000 won per team) problem etc. But these problems have been solved by various solutions

Exhibition schedule MoA Gallery 6 (02-880-9504) 13 May ~ 8 July Tue~Sun 10:00-18:00 Admission fee Snu students ~ free (student ID card required)

including introducing home and away matches to solve paying too much entry fee, discussing about the wild card problem (now students of physical education department can also participate in Chonjangbae like other SNU student), standardizing regulation such as the called game rule in baseball. Of course, many players and students are thankful for the referees and hosting organization: SNU Physical Education. But Chongjangbae has more things to be improved. For instance, there is the opinion that the entry fee is still expensive and sometimes some players know the referee personally and therefore problems about fairness arise. Also, some players play too harsh and injure opponent players. Furthermore critics say Chongjangbae is A league of their own which means it is that the event does not seem to welcome other students who are not playing. Actually, many ordinary people in SNU (especially female students) do not have a big interest in Chongjangbae. It is quite a critical problem because the purpose of Chonjangbae is to combine all SNU students into one. Although this years Chonjangbae is over, the players sweat and passion is clearly meaningful. In spite of its short history Chongjangbae is SNUs biggest athletic competition in spring.time Many players have been dignifing Chongjangbae by their devoted play, and many people will make their own legendary history each year by participating in Chonjangbae.

A&C

THE SORIJIGI WAY


ang Ju Ryul sits down quietly in his usual Monday morning shift at the Sorechigis Music Room at the Student Center. In the background, one can notice an impressive array of CDs and LPs stacked up neatly into rows of multicolored stripes. He works on some papers, then heads over towards the collection, promptly finds what he was looking for and finally lets the room reverberate with beautiful, soothing sound of classical music. Ever since his freshman year at SNU, Ju Ryul has been following the same routine. Now, almost in his junior year, he finds the process firmly engraved into his weekly schedule. The sense of pure passion for the music he loves seems to be a perennial source of inspiration for all the work he has put in for the club. He really does love what he is doing. Unfortunately though, the Quill decided to interrupt his usual free flowing work to talk about Sorijigi, classical music and more importantly, the issue of Sleepy Syndrome that his clubs music room induces. He begins by giving an insight into how he joined the club, When I first enrolled in SNU, I was looking inside the Student Center [Building no.63] for some clubs. I found out about the musical room in the first floor. I was like Oh wow! and I went in and actually requested a piece. He adds, It was interesting for me because before I enrolled into the University, there were not many people who were knowledgeable about classical music. I remember the interviewer [when joining the club] asking me who my favorite Conductor was. I was impressed. Sorijigi operates on a daily basis except on Sundays. On each day we have four sessions from 9-11, 11-1, 1-3 and 3-5. Each session has a one person responsible. So there is a cycle for four people and we operate on Monday to Friday but

June 2012. Vol. 38

Ever since the late 1970s, Sorijigi at the Student Center has been a constant source of classical delight for SNU students willing to take that musical hitchhike. The Quill caught up with Yang Ju Ryul to talk about the club and the music he adores. BY MASKEY ABHAS
on Saturday we only open from 9-11 [am]. Before we actually work on our own, we need to be trained by another person who is already working like a mentor. Mentee has to be with the mentor for one semester and then you can do it on your own. When you get into the club you are required to work for three semesters plus the training semester. He then explains the origin of the name, Sorijigi. Sore means sound, Jigi is keeper. Its like Sound

keeper. Sorijigi is well and truly in love with classical music. The clubs collection of the music is astonishingly magnanimous and with SNU providing funds every semester, it is growing even further. With such resources at its disposal, the club can afford to diversify. One of our main rules in Sorechigi is that we actually have to play songs that are as diverse genres [classical sub-genres] as possible. Some of us write out a list before we come. When asked how he defined the genre, he replied Thats a really big question. You can take a semesters course to answer the question (smiles) He does not leave the question unanswered though. The definition is getting vague. Modern classical music includes electronic elements as well. People do weird stuffs. [They are] Always experimenting but things are getting extreme, music from different cultures are being rapidly fused. About the [sub] genres, in music history, I think it basically divides to medieval, renaissance music, Baroque, Classical/Romantic music, 20th century music. He explains some of them Medieval music is either church music sung in a Capella (its polyphonic) and secular music like love songs. This was before a lot of musical instruments

were developed so it sounds like todays country songs because the violins and other instruments were not invented yet. That was the starting point. They didnt even have the piano. Vocals and organs were used. Lutes, which were like the guitar were also used. When asked where the Beethovens 9th symphony would fit in, he replied Thats romantic music He added, that was after Classical and Renaissance period. Beethovens symphony lasts like for seventy minutes. No symphony was that long before that symphony. So he was very innovative. He was the one who started the romantic era. Just before Beethoven were Mozart and Haydn. Their music is really pretty so to speak. So people cannot distinguish one from another because the mood is very similar. You could say it induces Happy mood. On the other hand Beethovens music is very serious (sings a tune). For readers who have hard time finding out which record to try out first, Ryal laid out a simple plan, Like I did, start with Beethovens symphonies. His symphony recording symphony number five, six and seven coupled together in two CDs and is conducted by Herbert Von Karajan. Another recording I can think of is Mozarts piano concerto made by H?l?ne Grimaud. She is a French

pianist. She played Mozarts piano concerto number 19 and 23.Thats a really cool CD. He goes on Robert Schumanns Dichterleibe . Its Poets Love in German and there is an English tenor called Ion Bostwick. He made a recording of it and its absolutely stunning. Talking more about Sorijigi and the people who actually turn up in the room to listen to what they have to play Ju Ryul had an observation to make, The male to female ratio is interesting one. Not too many girls in the room (smiles). When asked if anything was being done to let people know that they exist he replied, We dont really advertise about the room, I dont think there is much to gain. Some of students though have other plans in mind. People come here a lot to sleep, which is in a way sad but we can play something loud and decent just to wake them up (Laughs). I cannot blame people for sleeping. They are obviously tired with studying and so on but still. When I play my favorite tune and [if] people are sleeping, it could get lame. The plague of Sleepy Syndrome might have forced students to close their eyes but the guys at Sorijigi are happy as long as they open up their ears.

A&C

June 2012. Vol. 38

In Mt. Gwanak,
BY JUNG JIYUN

there is Beodulgol
I
n front of Yonsei University is a district called Shichon, and there are rows after rows of stores, restaurants, and bars where students from not only Yonsei but also other neighboring universities come to hang out. The district in front of Korea University is rather small, but still a bustling commercial and entertainment zone where students can spend their free time and go back home, maybe through the subway station gate that is directly connected to the College of Business building of the Korea University campus. Then what is in front of the Seoul National Campus? Nothing too much. To be more precise, trees, multiple-lanes-wide boulevard, and construction site to build, guess what, more road. To grab a drink, one should take a short bus ride to get to Nokdu street. The lack of commercial area around SNU campus is due to the fact that the campus is located literally on Gwanak Mountain. The campus is physically separated from the

surrounding areas by trees and steep gradients. However, SNU members who wants to get away from the stress of school is not rendered hopeless. Especially, during the spring and fall when the weather is beautiful, instead of going out of the campus, the students can grab their bottles of drinks and walk up to Beodulgol, which is about at the center of the four million square-meters wide campus. Located between College of Education and College of Engineering buildings, Beodulgol is a huge spread of lawn surrounded by trees and a small brook, neighboring the Outdoors Amphitheater and campus road. It is unclear how the lawn came to be, but Joongang Daily, one of major Korean newspapers, reported in April, 2010 that the lawn was the a part of the private golf club owned by the late Samsung Group chairman Lee Byeongchul, who donated his estate on Gwanak Mountain to late President Park Junghees administration, when it planned to relocate the SNU campus from Hyehwa in the 70s. All in all, this grassland is a beautiful and empty piece of ground, which is a rare phenomenon in Seoul, where the smallest scratch of land is filled with buildings, people, cars, etc. This small plateau on Gwanak Mountain, a rare geographic phenomenon in this part of the country, is a perfect place to get away and enjoy sunshine and outdoor activities, and a unique SNU outdoors culture prospers here. On a sunny spring day, the green field is taken over by groups of people picnicking,

drinking Makeolli, or listening to music between classes. During weekends, more organized events unfold. Some smaller student organizations hold their athletic events there. With the minimal etiquettes in mind, Seoul National members are free to get away to Beodulgol away from classworks and researches that can be stressful. The field is almost the last large piece of land in the campus where people can enjoy themselves in laid back manner. The soccer field in front of the College of Social Sciences is also a place where many people spend free time: playing sports, taking a walk, sitting on a bench. However, with the artificial grass, brown running track, and people walking to-and-fro between the Business buildings and Social Sciences building, the atmosphere is not the same as that of the more debonair Beodulgol. Even tourists from outside the school visit Beodulgol to picnic and rest. Gwanak Mountain itself is one of the frequented mountains that hiking fans in Seoul love for its rugged terrain. However, since Joogang Daily, one of the three major Korean newspapers, introduced the field in its travel section, a constant flow of outside tourists and mountain climbers stop by to spend some time. On the web, there are many blogger postings on Beodulgol, complete with the pictures taken during their picnic. Even though a visitor may not notice easily, the field is constantly maintained and managed by Bureau of Facilities Management. According to the Bureau official Myeongsik Yoo,

cleaning personnel from College of Education clean up the trash left by visitors in the morning. When grass of certain parts of the field is particularly damaged, the maintenance personnel put chains around the area to reduce the footsteps on it. Event held in the field are approved by the Bureau, which also notify users of the guidelines. Since the field is near some buildings of College of Education and College of Humanities, and the newly constructed dormitory for graduate students, there are often complaints about excessive noise from the field when special events take place. Also, especially after the media exposure, there has been great number of outside tourists who bring food or order delivery food into the field, which generate greater amount of trash than before. Thus, the Bureau is paying greater attention to allow more students, dorm residents, and outside visitors to enjoy the field in more pleasant way. I think we are so lucky to have such place in campus, said Kong Yeongjin (College of Social Science, 12). It is true that going to a school on a mountain has its disadvantages. The daily queuing up for shuttle buses, climbing up the countless stairs around the campus, and navigating through the complex roads and paths, can be very tiring time to time. However, Beodulgol is a unique and precious place which is rarely found in other college campuses, and the time spent there would become remaining memories for many members of SNU.

Cover Story

June 2012. Vol. 38

SNU Quill had its own Jang-teo!


A&C

June 2012. Vol. 38

Cheap, Tasty and Convenient


Unlike the artificial taste of most fast food dishes, find out new alternative tastes to Korean Fast Food in Ratinol. BY CHUNG HYUN CHUNG

ven though most students will head to the Neok-Du area because of its variety of restaurants with inexpensive prices, the SNU subway station area also offers a diversity of cuisines which you might be tempted to try. Ratinol is one of them. Located in Gwanak-Gu Office, behind the well-known restaurants of the main street, it is relatively unknown outside its frequenters. However, once you try one of Ratinols main specialties, you will be delighted by its taste and impressed for its attainable prices. When you first walk in the restaurant, an atmosphere of friendliness and coziness welcomes you. The yellow walls and the penetrating lights make the place look shiny and bright. On the right side of the restaurant, big windows are widely opened and connected to a small balcony full of plants. On the front side and left side you can find pictures

of the main dishes and set menus and a modern smart TV that entertains customers that are unaccompanied. Finally, red-covered menus that offer pictures and explanations of all dishes are orderly placed at the center of every table. The very name of the restaurant was not conceived randomly. Ratinol stands for the combination of the three most representative dishes of the place: Ramen, Tiguim (fried-vegetables and seafood) and Roll. By joining the first words of these dishes you can understand the meaning of its designation. As its name connotes it, Ratinol specializes in Korean fast-food. Five different types of Ramen occupy the first lines of the menu: Hot-Ramen, Sea-Ramen, ArmyRamen, Bean-Ramen and Ice-Ramen. The first three of them are mostly enjoyed by customers who like the fiery and deep taste of spicy food. Unlike the taste of the common ramen you buy at a supermarket, Ratinols ramen does not have an artificial flavor. The pungent and hot soup that results from the chefs secret ingredient, combined with the chewy noodles, has a mouth-watering and addictive effect. And for those who prefer less spicy foods, the Bean-Ramen or Ice-Ramen are highly recommended as well, for you can taste other types of flavors never expected before in this traditional Korean fast food. Noodles are not the only dishes that earned Ratinols popularity. Fritter and

rice cuisines share some of the credit as well. Different types of vegetables and seafood, like sweet potatoes, pumpkins, shrimps and squids are fried to the right degree, not too oily or greasy, so you do not feel too much remorse for eating fried food. Also, Korean fast food culture suggests that to better enjoy fritter we should order a portion of Topokki and dip them deep in the spicy and sweet sauce of it. Last but not least, rolls complete the main dishes that must be tasted in Ratinol. The traditional California roll, the Crunchy roll with its special topping consisting of pieces of walnuts, peanuts and other cutlets, and the Shrimp roll, are the three types of rolls offered. With colorful spices spread along the roll, this dish is not only visually appealing but also a pleasure for the palate. The design of the interior, the politeness of the ladies and the tastiness added to fast food dishes that might seem too tedious are the reasons why you should make time and have a meal at Ratinol.

Direction
located in the Gwanak-gu Office area (straight from exit 2 of SNU subway station) find the alley between the Good at Champong restaurant (next to the Body Shop) and a pharmacy. After walking a few steps you will see Ratinol at your left. .

Price:
Ramen, 3,800 to Fritter, 3,500 Roll, 7,000 Toppoki, 3,000 5,000

Details:
24 hours Monday to Saturday 8a.m to 10p.m Sunday

Perspective

- a safe vehicle or a hazardous trip?


BY CHULUUNBAATAR TSELMEG

Scooters
near-by. So no one else was hurt. The two passengers were close friends of mine and regular foreign students from the College of Social Science. Heres how it happened, while they were going up the road beside the dorms, they saw their peer. Looking to their side for a second to greet him, the guy who was driving lost control of the scooter and they hit the pavement. They became unconscious and were taken to the hospital. It all happened in a span of second. Only one careless move and they had many stitches and some heavy injuries on their heads

June 2012. Vol. 38

ecently, there was a scooter accident near the school dorms. Two of the passengers were injured and taken to the hospital by an ambulance immediately. Luckily, there wasnt any car passing by or people

resulting with one of them receiving a minor surgery. All this happened because they were not wearing a helmet. They didnt wear their helmets because the destination wasnt far away. This silly mistake caused quite a lot of trouble for them and in addition it was the midterm exam period, so they had to miss classes and exams. Their family members were contacted from our school and an official from OIA came to the hospital in person to check on their students. They transferred them to the SNU Hospital branch- Boramae hospital. For weeks, they were in contact with the students asking for them if they are feeling better. When I first came to Korea, I was warned to be careful of the motorcycles and scooters. The bike culture in Korea is based on speed and efficiency. Especially for delivery drivers who carry packages and food since their speedy arrival translates into more income. What does using a scooter mean for these students? One answer is racing to school to be on time for class-even for those who are living in dorms. It is true that the SNU campus is rather big. It takes time to get from one place to another. It is a tough job going up the hill to the

engineering building by foot, or else taking the shuttle bus all the way around the campus. I used to have a hard time running and trying to make it to class before the TA calls for the attendance. Especially when you have class at one college and another straight afterwards at a different college. It was nearly impossible to arrive within 15minutes. A problem for foreign students in SNU is insurance. The medical service was delayed and had limitation until a guardian or a relative came for them since they were not insured. The hospital refused to continue their treatment unless they paid for the service that they had received. So one of them had to wait for three hours to get the next medical help and tests. Another big problem is, often there is a second person sitting behind the driver. Sometimes, even more people are on board. But most of the times, the driver is the only one with the helmet. People should understand they are risking the safety of several people, including the pedestrians. Not surprisingly, my friend was called at Gwanak police station for questioning and screening, especially since it was a case where a passenger was hurt. His friend had to submit a

paper saying he has no complaint against the driver to save his friend from punisment. But he is still expecting a call from the police officer, hoping he would have no problem exiting and entering the country this summer when he goes back home. There are few things you should know before getting a scooter. First of all insurance! Whether you own a bike or not, you should be insured for your own safety and health. Secondly, be sure to have the necessary paper for the scooter you buy and license plate that is registered at the district office. Needless to say that drivers license is mandatory. Also insure your scooter as well. Lastly, you should register your scooter at school, at the Office of Student Affairs. As for my friend, it caused him more problems than it helped him. His purpose of buying a scooter was to get to class on time from one building to another where you cannot go by bus and the walking distance is a bit far. Also the accident occurred not long after he bought his scooter. He mentioned it was a traumatizing experience making him unable to ride a scooter or any motor ride for a while. This led him to sell the scooter. Fortunately everything went well and

the guys are now sticking with walking. Whenever they see people who are not wearing helmet, they mumble words like its not right, its no joke. Clearly it was a big lesson to learn from. Dont look down on scooters or bikes because its small and easy to drive. They can be more dangerous than cars in the most dreadful scene. Besides, young people tend to enjoy speeding up and turning it into a dangerous trip. As seat belt is important for driving a car, helmet is a must for scooters! You can be pulled over by a police for not wearing one too. Always ensure the safety of yourself as well as others. And of course, driving by the rule is necessary!

Editorial

June 2012. Vol. 38

This is the wonderful

IT era.
C

BY KO SUNG HOON

Salvaging individualism through technology


D
ue to the accessibility of private inormation by social services, there are often claims that as technology advances, our personal rights are at stake. However, this general stance seems to be much too cynical and I'd take the contrary argument that technology rather empowers people of their individual rights. The tradeoff of personal information for individualism ultimately works in a beneficial way for the ordinary person. The recent developments in technology have led to a wave of innovation that has made productivity and social interaction possible within the palm of our hands. A single tweet can reach out to millions and a viral video can create a superstar. However, there are further implications to these services that may enhance our established concepts of individual rights. Through a plethora of social services, the concept of sharing ideas has been simplified and this seeming bastardization has rendered the traditional concept of owning intellectual property obsolete. Anyone can share anything. This possibility questions the essential need for distribution companies that have previously dictated content and direction of published works and barred ordinary individuals from being engaged in the public sphere. The concept of intellectual property gives exclusive rights to own intangible assets and these properties have previously been controlled through physical copies of media such as books, newspapers, cassettes, etc. Through physical mediums managed by distribution companies, intangible assets such as music were essentially manufactured in a controlled environment. This role held by mega corporations can only limit an individual's true motivation as a creator and because the ultimate goal of a company is to maximize profit, it distorts the input of the individual. However, as all these assets are currently being digitized into simply information, we realize that they are ironically being reverted back to an intangible state. But this time around, the assets are under the control of the creator. With technology, individuals have full control over distribution, reducing the need for the role previously held by distribution companies. What had been a repressed community of individuals yielding to demands of companies is now vibrant as ever through services like youtube and facebook. Social interaction serves as the building block of free speech and the virtual environment provides unlimited potential for expression. The new culture that appreciates individual expression has an implicit influence in encouraging individual rights. The services ultimately promote a fundamental aspect of democracy, the fair representation of individuals. Social networking services such as youtube, facebook and twitter act as mediums of distribution that ultimately promote the individual that you are. Thus, the tradeoff of personal information is a more than justified procedure for the benefits the individual. Ultimately, the technophobic worries seem to be minor and are more or less a fear of services malfunctioning from how they are intended to.

ommunication is so advanced, its now more often transmitted than it is verbal. Rapid technological progress has enabled individuals to surpass the human limitation of having to talk with one another, especially in public places like cafes or subways, and has permitted them to turn instead to their wonderful smartphones, where they can meet much more interesting people. Technology today has also allowed humans to save mouth and jaw energy by creating chat/texting applications for their phones. With the help of these programs, peoples thumbs hereafter have a chance to exercise and to improve hand-eye coordination. Millions and millions of years of natural selection have finally let these opposable appendages fulfill their now-obvious destiny. Social networking services, which were in the primitive stages of the IT era only accessible on computers, have recently been made available on smartphones, too. The long and productive hours spent on sites like Facebook and Twitter are no longer limited to the home. Instead of wasting time on less significant endeavors, like reports and presentations, people can check which funny status to like and see what their favorite celebrity has got to Tweet about, whether theyre at school, work, or on the bus. The Internet is quickly and beautifully evolving as well. Online forums, with their ability to let users be anonymous, have given people the power to be whoever they want. Those who cant criticize someone or something in person are now able to attack or vent about him, her, or it online, behind protected anonymity. This namelessness has so much potential that, with enough push, it can actually cause both regular folks and (more importantly) celebrities to commit suicide. This is the wonderful IT era.

BY CHAE YUN HWAN

Culture Calendar

SCHEDULER

June Culture Calendar


BY JUNG JIYUN
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri 1
Danny Jung Jazz concert at AXKorea

Sat 2
Yoon Sang concert at COEX (~3rd) IU Concert at Kyunghee Univ. (~3rd)

3
Vogue Moment, One Image Two Dreams exhibitions end at SNU Museum of Art

6
Madangpae Tahl Nawatday at the Lounge

7
Cellist Cho Yeongchang recital at Seoul Art Center

9
Incognito concert at Galleria Foret

10
Lee Hori concert at Yonsei Univ. Broken Valentine concert at Mapo Art Center

11

12

13

14

15
Epitone Project concert at Ewha Womens Univ. (~17th)

16
One Ok Rock concert at AX-Korea

17
Jisan Valley Rock Player concert at Hongdae V-Hall Baptiste Strotignon concert at Olympus Hall

18

19
Gangnam Symphony at Seoul Art Center Wouter Hamel at Hongdae V-Hall

20

21

22
Acoustic Blossom Music Festival at Sogang Univ.

23
Johan Kim concert at Ewha Womens Univ. (~24th)

24

25

26

27

28
Korean Symphony Orchestra at Seoul Art Center

29
Idiotape concert at KT&G Sangsang Madang (~30th)

30

*The Lounge refers to the lounge at the second floor of the Student Center of SNU. *The blue are in-campus event

You might also like