제 18 호 The Vivid Scene of Sangmyung University’s 2023 Annual Festival at Seoul Campus
Kicker: SM NEWS
The Vivid Scene of Sangmyung University’s 2023 Annual Festival at Seoul Campus
By Ye-Dam Hwang, Cub-reporter/ Hye-Su Kim, Cub-reporter
hwangyedam1108@naver.com/ hyesu4403@icloud.com
From the 18th to the 19thof May, 2023, Sangmyung University’s annual festival ‘Dae-Dong-Je; ARCHIVE – In My Camcorder’ was held at SMU’s Seoul campus. Since it was the first festival where students could participate without a face mask after COVID-19, it went on in an upbeat mood. At the festival, there were many booths of various student clubs and student councils. Several majors, including Major in Food and Nutrition, held food booths which sold various food items in limited quantities throughout the entire day of the festival to satisfy student’s hungry stomachs and thirsts.
Many exciting performances were held by students from the Dance Department and by several student clubs - such as Tornado (dance), Groovin’ 187 (hip-hop) to name a few. Celebrity artists including 10cm and Dynamic Duo were also featured to perform for the students. Food trucks and photo booths were also available so that students could enjoy the festival more and as per the name of this festival this year, to archive the memory of the festival.
About the booths of the festival
At the festival, there are many various kinds of booths. The food trucks sold many meals and snacks like black pork with rice, chicken skewers, pizza, and churros, so students could satisfy their hunger with these foods. Some majors, including English Education, sold foods such as naengmyeon, toast, takoyaki, and fruit punch. Some student clubs like ‘Jaha-Photo’ and ‘Sangnyanghaeng’, held some events such as claw doing machine game of keyring and taking a picture with a polaroid camera. Also, there were some photo booths in severeal places of the Seoul campus: students and many people who participated in the festival could take instant photos with the special frame like su-mung frame, so pepople could file away with good memories of the day.
About the performances of the festival
The Main Stage Entrance Bracelet given to me (Hyesu Kim, Cub Reporter) prior to entering the area
At the tennis court which served as the main stage for the 2023 Dae-Dong-Je, various performances were held from 3 pm to 9 pm by both students and celebrity artists. A student singing contest (‘Ja-Ha Ga-Yo-Je’) was held and prizes were given to the top 3 winners of whom had received the most votes directly from the audience through live QR code voting system. Perhaps one of the most remarkable performances of all, students from the Department of Dance had showed off their amazing choreographic expertise through many jaw-dropping performances that excited students and uplifted the festival’s mood as the sun was blazing and descending through the evening sky. Aside from the dance major students, many students from different performance organizations including singing (Yae-nol), dance (Tornado), hip-hop (Groovin 187), Band (Sori-Maeul) also held great performances for the audience.
Sangmyung University’s President, Hong-Seong-Tae, seen on stage at 2023 before artist performances
Performance by the students from Department of Dance
Around 6 o’clock in the evening, Sangmyung University’s President Mr. Hong-Seong-Tae briefly appeared on stage to celebrate the annual festival and commenced the start of celebrity artist performances. The artists invited for 2023 Sangmyung University’s Dae-Dong-Je were 10cm, Heo-Seong-Hyun (2nd winner rapper of ‘Show Me The Money’) and Dynamic Duo.
Band 10cm (Lead Singer Kwon-Jeong-Yeol) performing for 2023 Sangmyung University’s Festival
Rapper Heo-Seong-Hyun performing his famous rap songs for Sangmyung University’s students 10cm was the first to perform, and the band’s lead singer, Kwon-Jeong-Yeol, was wildly popular among both male and female students. He was seen actively engaging with the students by giving students a chance to get a closer look at the singer in person and even shook hands with the lucky few on the first row. Rapper Heo-Seong-Hyun also gave great rap performance for the students, further proving the trend that hip-hop and rap culture is rising in its popularity among young students in South Korea.
Dynamic Duo (Gae-Ko, Choi-Ja) seen throwing great hip-hop performances for Sangmyung University’s students
Namely the most well-known and established South Korean rap duo, Dynamic Duo (Gae-ko & Choi-Ja), performed many of their hits from dating back many years to their recent songs which were more than sufficient to “turn up” the whole festival, and they themselves loved and appreciated Sangmyung University student’s reaction to their performances by saying that we have always been akin to hip hop as they had been a guest performer for our festivals in the past.
After the artist performances were over after 9 pm, a DJ-session was available for those who wanted to continue enjoying the festival. I personally did not attend that part of the festival as it was already very late in the night. However, as my first festival experience at Sangmyung University, I am happy to say that I was more than pleased to have been a part of it and been able to enjoy the performances right in the front rows - even though it left my skin sunburned from prolonged sun exposure because I wanted to capture the best moments possible for this article for the SM HERALD!
Many people who participated in this festival felt satisfaction with the variety of the festival’s diverse constituents. Also, I think the Student Council who hosted the festival made an effort to make it go well. Therefore, thank you for all the people who worked hard for the two days so that people could enjoy the festival safely and pleasantly. We hope people who didn’t participate this time will have fun with the university festival next year.
Sources: All photos are taken by Hye-Su Kim and Ye-Dam Hwang
