As face-to-face classes began from the first semester of 2022, extracurricular activities that have been suspended until then made a welcome comeback. In March, the first semester of the Ga-du Club Association was held for the first time in three years, and in April, the inauguration ceremony of the college student council was also held face-to-face. That was different for each college this time. College of Electrical & Computer Engineering held a ‘closed festival’ in the main auditorium called Gaesinmunhwagwan, and only freshmen could participate like before, while College of Engineering and College of Social Sciences held a ‘semi-closed festival’ in which all grades could participate but only related majors. On the other hand, Colleges of Agriculture, Life & Environment Sciences and College of Humanities held an event that was open regardless of the grade and college. To find out the meaning of this Haeoreumje, a CBT reporter conducted interviews with seniors who graduated, students from each college, and students who participated in the Haoreum Festival before and after COVID-19.

Q1. When did the Haeoreumje start, and what is the history and meaning of this?

  Lee Dong-hee(Dept. of Political Science and International Relations, 91): Since the 80s, the opening ceremony of the university student council was held at the beginning of the first semester, and as part of the opening ceremony, there were literary performances and protest songs. It was the time of the democratization movement, so it was a kind of an event to strengthen the determination of the struggle rather than a festival that everyone participated in and enjoyed. Since the late 90s, the name has been changed to Haeoreumje and its character has changed to a freshman-oriented festival. The Haeoreum system had been a problem due to the forced participation of freshman, and the coercive behavior of seniors in the practice process, but the problem has been solved to some extent now. I sincerely hope that it will remain as a festival to strengthen harmony between seniors and juniors, and each colleague as an event that everyone enjoys, not simply for the satisfaction of the seniors.
  Cho Min-gun(Dept. Chinese  Language and  Literature, 09): It is now called Haeoreumje, but about 10 years ago, it was called the ‘Crowd Song Festival.’ It is an event that paves the way for freshmen to spend a good year at school in the spirit of the democratic movement. To fit the mood, the BGM was old songs such as Wings and See You, which were related to the protest, and pig heads were presented for actual rituals. After a few years, people thought that the Crowd Song Festival didn’t fit the trend, so it has been changed to the Freshman Song Festival again.

Q2. Haeoreumje is a mandatory event for all new students, and there are some who feel that it’s a bad tradition. I wonder what you think about that.

  Cho Min-gun(Dept. of Chinese Language and Literature, 09): Traditionally, every freshman was forced to come out on weekends as well as after school and practice for about a month. It took a lot of time, and everyone felt pressured to perform, but as time passed, comradeship formed among the students. The seniors taught dancing and singing to freshman, and there was the first opportunity to rub shoulder with seniors, and at the time of the ‘Crowd Song Festival’, professors also participated, so it was almost like a ‘festival.’
  Jeon So-yeon(“Secretary-General” of the College of Humanities Student Council, 19): Up until the class of 2018, everyone was forced to participate in College of Humanities, but about half of the class of 2019 did not want to do it. Due to the bad experience at that time, College of Humanities Student Council conducted a survey to determine who wanted to participate in the performance that year. Unfortunately, there were no students who were interested, so this year the College of Humanities will hold a small festival instead of the Haeoreumje.
  Jeong Yeon-ju(Dept. of Environmental Engineering, 22): In our department, there was a desire from seniors that at least one team perform the stage. However, there was no sense of coercion. I would perform voluntarily, the preparation period was about 15 days, and it was good because the seniors took care of performers while preparing. If someone asked me to do it again, I would.
  Lee Jin-seung(A head of School of Electrical Engineering Student Council, 18): Sometimes there are students who express negative opinions about the Haeoreumje in the community, but they are instigating only the negative aspects of the Haeoreumje without participating. At that time, there was no coercion at all, rather, the participants had fun and enjoyed themselves. I like to dance, so I gathered my friends and prepared for the performance. While practicing, I ate late night snacks with my fellow students, talked a lot and got close. There was a little trouble in the process of selecting the song, but it was resolved quickly. I didn’t know many people, because I was a freshman, but it was an opportunity to promote myself, and after the Haeoreumje, I bought a good meal with the prize money I received, and it was really good!
  Kim Jin-seop(Dept. of Political Science and International Relations, 22): There was no pressure. Rather, more than 60% of the students participated in Haeoreumje thanks to the perfect preparation of the College of Social Sciences. In the case of the Haeoreumje in College of Social Sciences, there was an introduction of the professors and a mini-game in addition to the performance. Each professor participated and introduced himself, and stayed until the end and enjoyed the festival with the students. Also, a few representatives from the department went out to play games on behalf of the department, and it felt like I was at MT. The Student Council also produced a really fun performance preparation video, enabling students to remember the great memories.



Q3. This year, unlike other colleges, the College of Humanities held a small festival instead of the Haeoreumje. Could you tell us a little about the background and some of the detail?

  Jeon So-yeon(“Secretary-General” of  College of Humanities Student Council, 19): The biggest reason is that the students of College of Humanities have antipathy and low participation in the Haeoreumje. It may be a good memory in the future anyway, but the process itself is also important. In addition, the Haeoreumje is conducted with student fees, and it costs a lot of money to rent the Gaesinmunhwagwan, the venue for the festival. There was no need to push ahead, because there was no demand. It would be better to do something that all students, who are the main participants of the event, can enjoy. Even the current juniors in the 20th grade did not enjoy the proper festival, so the student council recommended a small festival that allows all students to participate autonomously at any time. A variety of booths, including polaroid photo shoots, temporary tattoos, treasure hunts, and various random games were on offer from 10:00 to 18:00, and from 19:00, the movie named La La Land was screened. The giveaways were limited to the students of the Humanities college, but other than that, all university students could join in and enjoy the event.

Q4. In this year’s Haeoreumje, the College of the Agriculture had the highest participation rate among all colleges. What is the reason?

  Kim Bum-soo(A head of College of Agricultural, Major of Horticultural Science, 17): No restrictions on grades and department seems to be the biggest reason. The class of 2020 haven’t enjoyed a proper festival, and there is a rumor that the Haeoreumje is a bad tradition that bothers freshmen, so the student council decided to implement the autonomous system. As a result, a total of 8 out of 12 departments participated, and 16 teams participated in the performance. In order to create the festival that can be enjoyed together as much as possible, the response was included in the performance score, and minimal chairs were placed so that students could freely walk around and enjoy the performance. The total number of visitors was more than 800, and the students’ reviews are good.

By Song Chae-i l kelly1526@cbnu.ac.kr