Among 347 universities around the country, the case for two brothers getting into same college in the same area is so rare. However, here is family where two brothers are attending the same university; and even their father went to the same school.
The name of the family members are Ahn, Seoungro (father, Civil Engineering Major, ‘78), Ahn, Hyunjoong (older brother, Department of Forestry, ‘07) and Ahn, Jongwon (younger brother, Forest and Environmental Systems, ‘08). I covered this story about two brothers who went to Kookmin University down the same street their dad used to take.

Q. I heard your father graduated from KMU. Did he influence you guys to go to KMU by any chance?

Hyunjoong: Yes. When I was an examinee, I applied to many universities during the nonscheduled admission period. They were all different sorts so I had a tough time deciding where I should go.

At that time, my dad suggested to me to go to KMU because he went there. I think that influenced me a lot. In my head, KMU had a good image and it felt close to me since childhood. Also when I visited KMU, the campus was so beautiful.

Jongwon: My idea was quite similar to my brother’s. But in my case, I could take advantage of getting a scholarship for brothers if I entered KMU. Also, I could see my older brother more often. These were big reasons to choose KMU. We had been attending the same schools from kindergarten through high school, so I hoped to go to same university together!

Q. Could you let us know about any tips your dad may have told you guys?

Jongwon: My dad’s major was Civil Engineering, I am in the Department of Environmental Systems and my brother’s major is Forest Products & Biotechnology.
We all have different majors so dad couldn’t give us specific tips about studying.
However, he always told us that we should value senior-junior relationships and the schoolmates we met in university and take care of those relationships. He emphasized that university is like a small society, so we should learn how to maintain relationships in order not to get in trouble when we went out into real society, and that guidance still affects us in our school life.

Q. Are you participating in any of the same clubs like your father or doing the same activities?

Hyunjoong: When my father was at KMU, he was cheerleader of the Yongduri Cheerleading Team. He showed us pictures but I never visited the Yongduri team. However, during my school days, I had an experience that made me realize my dad was my senior. It happened at the RCY festival. Alumni and current members all got together and one alumnus, who had the most seniority, told us that my dad was three years ahead of him in the same major, and that they spent the school year together. After hearing his story, we were amazed because the fact that our dad is our senior felt real.

Q. You two are attending the same school; are there benefits because of this?

Jongwon: There are so many good points. My older brother went to school one year earlier that me, so he tells a lot of good information and tips based on his experience. Even though both of us have different majors, we are in the same department, so many classes overlap. My older brother usually gives me useful tips for registration. We can share job information and class information related to our majors right away, so both of us have more benefits than other students.
Another good thing is that when it comes to items we forgot. When we leave something at home, we can ask the other brother to bring them when he arrives at school. (Laughs)

Q. Even though there are many benefits, I guess there must be some uncomfortable facts; by any chance, have you ever experienced any?

Hyunjoong: Well... well, I don’t feel anything uncomfortable in particular because of my younger brother. On the other hand, there are more good points. However, if I had to pick one, I would say that we can’t hide or lie about our scores because the other will find out eventually. For example, if one of us doesn’t study hard or does something else not related to study, the other one will find out. Sometimes, we take the length of each other’s foot. But these are all just kidding. Sometimes, if my younger brother did something wrong, I would admonish him when he was caught for his wrong behavior. I think it was annoying for him. (Laugh)

Q. Do you take part in any activities inside of school together?

Jongwon: We took classes such as Earth Science and House of Interior Research together. I think there are many possibilities of signing up for the same classes as we live together. We all were members of the RCY club. Through that, we had many chances to do various activities such as a blood donation campaign, volunteer work in a farming community and traveling. This club is more meaningful for us because we have been participating in it since we were in high school.

Q. Has your dad told you guys about nearby pubs or secret places?

Hyunjoong: Our father doesn’t drink alcohol so he doesn't have any favorite pubs. Besides, when he was in school, the KMU campus didn’t have a nice landscape, parks and gardens even though the playground was much bigger than now. Even Bukhan Mountain was an off limits area so he was not able to go there. He said he only went around the school, library and home. (Laugh).

Q. Can you share your father’s school year story as he told to you guys?

Hyunjoong, Jongwon:
He doesn’t tell us his school stories as both of us are his sons. He usually says he studied hard and we think it’s true because he got a job at Sindorico early on and has been working there for 30 years.
Mom, who had been seeing dad since she was 19, said he studied really hard when he was in school. Also he talks a lot about how he played guitar and sang during membership training and of his love stories with mom. They usually went to a roller skating rink, or did flower viewing and walking around. They didn’t have enough money so they chose ddeokbokki (seasoned bar shaped rice cake) which is one of the street foods in Korea eaten instead of rice.

Not long ago, a professor said that he feels sorry for university students these days because they can’t make real friends in school due to fierce competition despite not playing well. Actually one of the worrisome things for college students is that most of them feel lonely even they have friends. However these brothers were different. These two guys, who have been attending the same schools from kindergarten to university for the reason of wanting to be together, are able to share useful information in order to help each other succeed. I think they, who are not only family but also true friends and can look out for each other whether in trouble or in good times, are hard to find in campus life these days. I’m thankful they shared their real stories about the old and new KMU.