Blackpink, BTS, Parasite, Squid Game, and Dalgona Coffee. Do you recall any of these words?
Over the past few years, South Korea's culture has been widely known to the public. According to Air University’s article, BTS was the most streamed group on Spotify in 2021, and Squid Game was ranked number one on Netflix in 90 countries at its release.
There has been global success with K-pop, Korean dramas, movies, fashion, skincare, and beauty. Even Korean words are becoming more familiar, such as Mukbang (translated to ‘eating broadcast’ in English). KASA (Korean-American Student Association) is hosting a ‘Korean School’ Co-Curricular activity this year. The Korean School will teach students about South Korea's culture, such as the language, writing, music, history, food, and games.
The president of KASA, Rock Choi (junior, exercise science), had first brought up the idea for Korean School to his officers. "I wanted to bring a deeper understanding to parts of the Korean culture that are less widely explored. Through different hands-on activities and crafts, Korean School will give students a broader understanding and a better appreciation of our rich and unique culture."
After talking with the president, I spoke with the cultural vice president, Leah Kim (senior, medical laboratory science), who oversees the activities for the Korean School. She shared how she was worried that only a few people would come as this was KASA's first time doing this. To her surprise, however, over 35 students had arrived at the Korean School. Leah Kim explains what she wants people to learn through this Co-Curricular Activity. "I want to introduce students on campus to not only widely known aspects of Korean culture, such as K-pop or K-drama, but also the more ordinary and less conspicuous aspects of Korea, like history, traditional stuff, and food.
After much preparation, the first session of Korean School started on October 2. The activity was in the Leadership Lab in the Campus Center at 11:30 a.m. For the first half of the session, KASA's cultural team taught students to read and write in Korean. In the second half of the session, KASA officers handed out bookmarks so students could practice writing their names in Korean. On October 17, KASA taught the history of the Korean language, Hangul, and the story behind its creation by King Sejong (ruler of Korea from 1419 to 1450). This happened in the lobby of the Center for Faith Engagement office (CFE office).
After significant success of their previous sessions, KASA is even more excited that many people are interested in learning about Korea. The following events for Korean School will be every other Tuesday in October at 11:30. This means the Co-Curricular activity will happen in October on the 3rd, 17th, and 31st. This is to celebrate and recognize two Korean National Holidays in October: National Foundation Day (Gaecheonjeol) and Hangul Day. Afterward, Korean School will happen once a month. Updates on the location and activities of the Korean School: the officers recommend checking KASA's Instagram page (@aukasaclub) for more information. More activities for KASA coming up are Sadie’s and Pepero Day later in the next month.
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of Andrews University. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, Andrews University or the Seventh-day Adventist church.