Under the clear blue sky last September 23rd, foreign students wearing the Korean traditional costume Hanbok created exotic scene at the basketball court. Also, they enjoyed Korean traditional plays like archery (Yanggung) and stone hitting (Biseokchigi) with Korean students and tasted Makgeolli (unrefined rice wine) and Pajeon (Korean-style pancake). The bustling personnel were also foreign students. Let’s peek into the gathering of Korean traditional plays that was the place of harmonization among Kookmin*People regardless of nationality.

The International Exchange Club of the Student Council that planned this event is newly established this year and it takes charge in the welfare of the rapidly increasing foreign students in Kookmin University. Following the Bibimbab event last semester, the gathering of Korean traditional plays was planned. What makes this event unique is that all personnel promoting Korean traditional plays are all Kookmin*People from other countries like the U.S., Japan, Germany, France, and Russia. These foreign personnel helped foreign students understand Korean traditional plays while encouraging more participants. In fact, many foreign students participated in the event this time compared to previous events.

Besides traditional plays, it was possible to experience unique traditional Korean culture like pounding rice cake, flogging with Gonjang (traditional club), and Hanbok wearing. Among these, Hanbok experience was the most popular among foreign students. The foreign students who wore the Korean traditional costume Hanbok for the first time walked around the event venue without changing clothes as they seemed to like Hanbok very much. Also, it was possible to taste the rice cake after pounding rice so it was popular among both foreign and Korean students.

 
▲ Makgeolli - It’s up to your choice.

At a corner of the basketball court, there was a food court. Including seafood pancake, Kimchi pancake, Makgeolli, rice cake, Korean traditional beverage (Sikhye), and Korean hard taffy (Yeot), various delicacies were provided with their price directly set, allowing people to enjoy the experience even more. How much a person paid did not matter. But all profits were donated for our neighbors in need. Around the closing of the event, the donation box was full of charity made by Kookmin*People.

Recently, the number of foreign students got increased in Kookmin University. It’s all thanks to the active overseas exchange program of Kookmin University. However, there have been not many opportunities to share, communicate, and harmonize with foreign and Korean students in the campus. Thus, the significance of this event shines even more. Since it was promoted by the Student Council, it is considered to be more meaningful. Through the continuation of such efforts, Kookmin University is expected to become a global advanced university where foreign and Korean students harmonize.