▲ The concert was held in Jukjeon Campus.

University festivals, which were temporarily postponed in a showing of respect for the victims of the Sewol ferry disaster, have resumed. Most universities invite famous celebrities and open up campus bars. However, the drunken party atmosphere on our campuses has gradually disappeared, since the university wants to the green the campus.

Dankook University held festivals at both the Jukjeon and Cheonan Campuses. From September 26, the Jukjeon Campus festival took place in conjunction with the annual sports festival and ran for 8 days. Unlike last year, the sports festival was simplified. Cheonan Campus also held joint festivals beginning on October 6. The Dankook Herald (DKH) covered the festivals and reported on their good and bad points.

▲ ‘Sweden Laundry’ was singing in Jukjeon Campus.

<Jukjeon Campus>
On the first day, the Festival Zone was designated behind Hyedang Hall and started at 2;00 p.m. Dankookians were able to roller skate for 500won per head, enjoy air bumper cars and amusement machines. However, there was no information about money for using amusement machines. Some machines were turned off. As nightfall approached, more students gathered as famous
singers took the stage and captured the attention of students like; Girl’s Day, 10cm, and Sweden Laundry. Crowds were thrilled when the barricades were moved forward.

On the second day of the festival, in front of Hyedang Hall, there were a lot of games to enjoy. Just like last year, a haunted house which showed life-like ghosts garnered the most attendees this year. Jung Mi-gyung (sophomore, School of Journalism and Communications) thought the haunted house was well made. She said, “The life-like ghosts hiding in the front, back, and bottom sides of the walls were a big surprise. Also the plastic severed hand covered in imitation blood that lay on the desk was interesting to see.”

The Dankook Music Festival (DMF) was hosted by the College of Music on the open ground from 6:00p.m. After the DMF, a joint club festival opened. Muse and NRSC also performed a concert. A variety of singers came and added to the entertainment. Dynamic Duo, MONNI and Kim Bo-gyeong all put on wonderful stage performances.

Fickle weather continued for the last day of the festival. University officials allowed class cancellations after 2 p.m. for lots of students to enjoy the festival fully. However, in the afternoon, it was quiet. There were not enough students, and definitely not enough excitement. It changed when the clock hit 6 p.m.

▲ DJDOC getting along with Dankookians.

New events were also introduced during this year's festival. For three days, the Open Ground show was lead by ‘MC Prime’. After the show was over, Club Day DJ’s performed in the Futsal Court from 10:30 p.m.

Also at this year's Jukjeon campus was a nightmarket in Peace Square, Seok Juseon Memorial Museum, and parking lot in Law School. Graduate Schools. In the past, the market was held underneath the Business and Economics Hall and the College of Social Science.

Given the limited space for the market, Hye- Dang Hall was a mess. Even as each departmental manager checked on things, they couldn't deal with everything. Secondly, as the school didn't restrict access to Hye-Dang Hall, the water purifier was used for students who worked at the night market and the toilets were used for trimming vegetables, and dish-washing which inconvenienced others.

We generally got a sense that the festival at Jukjeon had been simplified. When the night market was situated on the upper side, there were no problems with students accessing purified water. The use of Hye-Dang Hall was disappointing. DKH interviewed Kim Jong-chan (Chief of the Division of Students) for more information on the festival.

With regards to the feeling that the festival was simplified, Kim Jong-chan said, “It was not simplified. We held events on one side of the campus so that the students who were still studying would not be disturbed. We put the night market on the upper side only so that students could enjoy the festival, while not disturbing those studying. It is killing two birds with one stone.” He later added, “About the purifier, we installed pot-and-pan sinks, but some students used water to make food. Maybe it would have been a better idea to supply water in bottles. Also about the use of Hyedang Hall, we were thinking about attaching an announcement to the building, but because of conflicts with Student Council, we were behind schedule.”

About the rain on the last day of the festival, he said, “To be prepared for the rain, we wrapped the tent, tied the bulbs of the line, charged the electronic team to handling any faults, and prepared a multiple- tap. With regards to the slippery stage, the student council was unsuccessful in their stage preparation. He suggested these problems will be addressed before next year's festival. ”

<Cheonan Campus>
The Cheonan Campus festival was launched on Oct. 6. The festival theme called ‘Feel’ consisted of diverse programs. On the first day of the festival, LINC held ‘The RAK Festival’ from 1 p.m. A lot of industries set up booths to show off their businesses and offered employment counseling for students.

Trampolines, air bouncing, soap making, and nail art were available to students for free.

At the back of the stadium, there were lots of booths set up by different departments to display their talents. There were many displays of henna, water pipes, eco-friendly bag making etc. Henna was in great demand compared to the high costing bag making activity. The College of Arts had their own party. Their singing contest and talent show was crowded with audiences and surrounded by
endless applause.

The opening ceremony was originally planned for 5pm with balloons being set free in the sky at the same time, but it was cancelled. There were only few people who came to participate in the opening ceremony because of the short notice for the planned event. The president of the student council was expected to give an opening ceremony speech that encouraged students to have fun and
enjoy all the events.

Busking, the festival’s smallest event, took place all over campus. They progressed from DKU clock tower to the front of the library then on to the College of Economics and Commence and so on. They consisted of club bands and dance clubs. They put on performances of routines they had been working on, and displayed some good raw talent. At the end of their performances, students showed their support with applause, particularly for the College of Den’s orchestra. But the overall performance progression and the ability of the MC to
stimulate interest from the crowd, were weak. Long delays between performances didn't help the mood. At 2:00 p.m. in the College of Science Building 3, there was a seminar on love. Students were drawn to the seminar because the lecturer was reknowned for a book on the topic.

▲ ‘Busking’ played in Cheonan Campus.

As the night approached, a concert kicked off at 8pm with Beige being invited to perform. The act was followed by performances from G-NA, EXID, and DJ DOC and many students sang along in unison. In spite of it being a cold and dark night, many students gathered and enjoyed the festive mood. When DJ DOC took the stage, you coulds see many students dancing and enjoying themselves.

On Oct. 7, the second day of the festival, there was a special event at the College of Foreign Languages. Students of the College of Foreign Languages wore the traditional clothing of their language of study in a fashion show. This talent show was a good opportunity for students to learn more about various national traditions.

▲ The winner team of ‘running man’.

In the Main Stadium was the ‘Running Man’ competition. On Oct. 6, during a preliminary round, four finalist were selected to participate. On Oct. 7, they proceeded to the final. The winning team was the ‘ROTC team’. During the Running Man competition, participants fought with each other and took off their clothes. As a result, the ‘Running Man’ ended in a one legged fight for the safety of the participants. Then, a cheerleading squad named AMADAS performed at 4:30p.m. While the event was not successful last year, this time, the performance gained huge popularity. They came down from the stage and performed in the crowd too.

▲ Players were trying to detach the name tag.

More singers such as DOK2, THE QUIETT, CRUSH, and Hong Jin-young were invited to close out the festival with a concert that began at 8:00pm. Most of the students turned on the flashlights of their mobile phones and cheered, elevating the already electric atmosphere.

While the event achieved some success, there were some setbacks too. There was a lot of debate surrounding the idea of whether or not to permit drinking on campus during the festival. To find out more about why, DKH interviewed the division of students head.

At first, DKH asked about the budgetary problems. “We can’t say exactly how much, but we supported more than 80% of what was planned and advertised on the hand-written posters. The budget was funded by each department, club, as well as our Student Council. Actually, the Student Council provided the greatest support,” they said. “Additionally, the word ‘compromise’ is not an appropriate description of this event. The student council made an agreement with the Office of Student Affairs that there would be no drinking of alcohol on campus. This campaign began last year and the student council pledged their support for this objective. However they did not keep the promise. Therefore, it was the Student Council that did not discuss this situation properly rather than DKU,” they expressed in frustration.

▲ Dankookians were attending O/X Quiz show.

Lastly, “Many Dankookians were unhappy about the dry festival that resulted from the ‘no alcohol’ campaign. While arguably the campaign had some good intentions, students were not used to it. If Dankookians had created fresh ideas or content, the festival would have been fun,” they said with regards to the complaints about not drinking on campus. In addition, they also expected
Dankookians to find their own way to enjoy the festival.

This festival had many good parts to it and despite the few drawbacks, the events were fruitful. All Dankookians collaborated and competed with each other in various activities. As for next year, we expect the festival to be better than ever.

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