Dynamic Act I, Scene 2: 

Residential Life at Taejae (Spring 2024)

 

 

 

 

 

Han Youl Kim

 

Residence Coordinator (RC), Global Initiative Institute (GII)

 

 

 

DYNAMIC

Dynamic. I bet this is the best word to describe Act I, Scene 2 of Taejae University freshmen who have just completed their second semester. While living in a new student residence building in the trendy Hongdae area of Seoul, Taejae students have been engaged in various activities, including but not limited to: 

 

-  Revealing their hidden artistic talents to the public (holding an art exhibition full of artworks created by Taejae students);

 

-  Stepping into an enchanted forest of melodies that bring Shakespeare's tale to life with every note (watching the opera “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”);

 

-  Discovering their hidden Robin Hood genetics (one-day archery experience);

 

-  Boldly trying to defy the law of gravity (indoor rock climbing);

 

-  Solemnly wielding knives in a duel for supremacy (Masterchef Taejae, a cooking competition for Taejae students); and

 

-  Turning mud into magic with hands and fire (one-day pottery class). 

 

 

  At Taejae, students have a memorable residential experience as each cohort lives together in the student residence while traveling to different countries (the U.S., Japan, China, etc.) during their four-year undergraduate program. In the spring semester of 2024, which was the second semester for the students of the 1st cohort (the first class of students who came to Taejae University in the fall of 2023 or simply, TJ23), TJ23 moved into a new student residence building called Local Stitch Creator Town Seogyo to begin a new semester.

 

 

NEW

The new student residence called Local Stitch is a trendy co-living & co-working space in the Hongdae area (which is one of the hottest spots in Seoul and also known as the mecca of urban art and indie music culture in Korea). This new student residence building has a large lounge and many meeting rooms for studying, a shared kitchen for cooking, and a gym for working out. There are also shelves full of comic books, massage chairs, a terrace, and … even a robot cafeteria - believe me, they have an unmanned cafe run by a robot arm! Thus, in the second semester, while enjoying all of the above amenities, each student lived in a single room at Local Stitch, which many students found even more satisfying than the triple rooms of the previous semester.

 

 

 

 

After classes or on weekends, students would relax or go out to explore the city of Seoul. In order to enrich the students’ lives, Taejae had various extracurricular activities and among them were residential activities called Residential Campus Programs (RCPs) organized by the Residence Coordinator (RC) and Residence Assistants (RAs). 

 

Another new thing about this semester was the student Residence Assistants (RAs). Beginning from this semester, a few Taejae students were recruited as RAs to lead the RCPs and assist the RC with other residence affairs. 

 

 

 

 

While last semester’s residential activities were sourced and run by the university, this semester Taejae decided to empower the TJ23 students to plan and run the activities themselves. And thanks to the work of our four new student RAs (Aigerim Kakimzhanova, Harren Kim, Jihoon Choi, and Sejun Kim), TJ23 enjoyed this semester’s RCPs which consisted of four categories: social events, academic events, arts & culture programs, and health & sports programs.

 

From March to June 2024, there were a total of eighteen RCPs. Eight of them were social events which were community-building events where students socialize with each other and build a sense of community. Social events also included a volunteer activity to serve the local community. Moreover, students had five health & sports programs, which were basically sports and physical activities to enhance the health of the students. There were also four arts & culture programs, which allowed students to immerse themselves in diverse cultures and histories. This involved a visit to an art gallery or museum. Finally, there was one academic event, an extracurricular seminar or workshop designed to satisfy the students’ passion for knowledge.

 

 

 

In a nutshell, in a new residence building, in a new neighborhood, and with new student RAs, Taejae students enjoyed adventurous, community-oriented, energizing, and inspiring activities in the spring semester of 2024.

 

 

ADVENTUROUS

Trying new things in a new place inevitably involves adventure. In their second semester, TJ23 had many new experiences but one of the biggest adventures TJ23 had this semester was organizing an art exhibition in the student residence building.

 

 

Taejae Student Art Exhibition “Door”: Revealing their hidden artistic talents to the public (edited from the text written by TJ23 RA Sejun Kim)

 

It was late at night but the lights were still on in a meeting room in the student residence. Six students were there to bring to life their biggest project of the semester - an art exhibition. Jihoon Choi, Jaehong Park, Hyein Kim, and Joanne Lee had a deep interest in art before coming to Taejae University. Jihoon has created many profound paintings on oil canvas or with an iPad, especially when he lived in South Africa and Italy. Jaehong is also a prolific painter who worked with an iPad in his room in the student residence. Hyein has been drawing things with her pen for a long time and Joanne had a great passion for photography. Their passion for art did not stop at Taejae, and when the four students met Sejun Kim and Clara Chang, the idea of an art exhibition named Door was born.

 

The six students took the initiative to showcase their own artwork (paintings, sketches, and photographs) to the public, and finally, they held the exhibition from June 3 to 17 in the student residence. The exhibition displayed over thirty pieces of art in the common area of the student residence, integrating their work into their daily living environment. The paintings and photographs were installed on the wall next to the common kitchen where they cooked and ate, on the wall around the laundry machines where they did their laundry, and on the shelves near the tables in the lounge where they sat and studied everyday.

 

 

 

Around 200 people visited the exhibition, and the visitors consisted of Taejae students, their families and friends, high school students interested in applying for Taejae University, Local Stitch tenants, Hongdae neighborhood residents, and Taejae University faculty and staff. One of the most notable things was that the art exhibition was not merely an in-school event but it was open to the local community. Some citizens of Seoul happened to see the exhibition while visiting Local Stitch for another event (for example, a monthly organic vegetable market). In fact, it was a community-based project that gave Taejae students a good opportunity to interact with local people.  

 

 

 

 

In retrospect, the event was significant for both the students and the school. Through the exhibition, Taejae students gained communication and collaboration skills, as well as experience in project management from planning to execution. In addition, the exhibition was even reported in the newspaper and attracted the attention of Local Stitch tenants in particular. In fact, it was a great opportunity to promote Taejae University to the public. Most importantly, the event inspired other Taejae students to take an initiative in their residential life. It is expected that next semester the students will be more proactive in exploring the opportunities in their residential life in Seoul.

 

 

COMMUNITY-ORIENTED

TJ23 had other residential activities that fostered a stronger sense of community, diversity, and sustainability among the students. For example, they held events that focused on caring for other fellow students in the residence (e.g. mid-term care package). In addition, some students joined a volunteer activity for the local community. 

 

Masterchef Taejae Season 2: Solemnly wielding knives in a duel for supremacy

(TJ23 RA Aigerim Kakimzhanova)

 

Since the first season of Taejae's Masterchef was such a hit, the students were excited to have the chance to compete again. So the RAs organized the second season, which was held at Local Stitch's kitchen studio. For the event, the participants were divided into two random groups:

 

 

Group one (shawarma): Shahar Bezalel, Michael Kim, and Sejun Kim.

Group two (burger): Lina Jellibi, Harren Kim, Dahee Chun, and Jaehong Park.

 

 

The atmosphere was electric as the viewers eagerly awaited the culinary showdown. The teams worked hard to impress the audience with their professionally cooked dishes. Group one decided to cook shawarma, a flavorful Middle Eastern delight packed with spices and tender meat. Meanwhile, Group two took on the classic challenge of cooking well-known burgers.

 

 

 

 

For one intense hour, the kitchen studio was alive with activity. The enticing smells of marinated meat and sizzling burgers filled the air. The spectators watched eagerly as the teams chopped, fried, and plated their dishes. The chefs showed impressive skill and creativity, transforming simple ingredients into culinary masterpieces. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When the cooking timer buzzed, the teams unveiled their dishes to the eager audience. The shawarma boasted perfect seasoning, while the burgers were stacked generously with unique toppings. As judges, the spectators enjoyed each dish, relishing the flavors and recognizing the effort put into every bite.

 

 

 

 

 

Finally, it was time to vote. An anonymous poll was conducted to decide which team would be crowned the Masterchefs of Taejae. The competition was intense, but in the end, the Burger Team emerged victorious, winning over the crowd with their tasty dish.

 

 

 

The second season of Taejae's Masterchef competition not only highlighted the impressive culinary talents of our students but also brought the community together in a celebration of food and creativity. Congratulations to all the contestants for their outstanding efforts and to the Burger Team for their well-deserved victory. The students can't wait to see what culinary delights next season will bring.

 

 

 

ENERGIZING

A sound mind in a sound body. Several events this semester encouraged Taejae students to have an active and healthy semester. These included sports events such as basketball, archery, and table tennis, as well as a refreshing picnic at Han River Park in Seoul. In addition to these in-school activities, TJ23 students also had a sports day event with international students from other universities.

 

Archery: Discovering their hidden Robin Hood genetics 

(TJ23 RA Jihoon Choi)

 

Archery is a rare sport to experience. To provide students with a new, memorable experience, an exciting RCP Archery event was held on April 19. TJ23 Students went to an archery café in Sinchon and began with a short step-by-step lesson on how to correctly aim, shoot, and ultimately hit the Bulls-eye to score higher. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The students were divided into two groups of eight, and each group proceeded with the lesson separately. After the lesson, the students had the chance to show off their shooting skills by competing against each other. During this RCP event, some students, especially Dawit Chun and Shahar Bezalel, found their inner Robin Hood genetics hidden inside of them.

 

“I liked how we were first taught how to do archery properly, considering that it was a first experience for most of the students. Not only that, but I also really enjoyed the competition. It made the event more interactive and created a warmer atmosphere.”

- Dahee Chun

 

“Since archery is known as a sport that Koreans are good at, I really wanted to try it before, and this was a good opportunity.”

- Joanne Lee 

 

After the whole archery experience, the students ate dinner together and shared their experiences. Some of the students even went back to the archery café after dinner for a few more rounds.

 

 

Han River Sports Day: Building new friendship in the midst of the cherry blossom trees (TJ23 RA Harren Kim)

 

 

 

 

TJ23 also participated in an exciting sports event at Mangwon Han River Park, alongside a group of international students visiting South Korea through the Institute for the International Education of Students (IES) program. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The day kicked off with engaging ice-breaker activities, including a Bingo game, which was a fun activity for the students to mingle and socialize. Furthermore, the Korean students introduced traditional Korean games like Yutnori (an ancient Korean board game similar to Pachisi or Ludo) and Gong-gi-nori (an old Korean game similar to Knucklebones), splitting everyone into groups, which added to the fun and offered the international students a taste of Korean culture. The sports session featured an enjoyable basketball game alongside the Han River, for Taejae and IES students to get along.

 

The event concluded with a dinner of pizza and kimbap. In the midst of the cherry blossom trees, everyone sat on the lawn and had Overall, the gathering was an excellent opportunity for the students to interact and build new friendships.

 

 

 

INSPIRING

“Genius is one percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration,” said Thomas Edison. In order to help the students get various inspirations during their residential life, some RCPs were implemented to get the creative juices flowing among the students. This semester, TJ23 attended an opera, had movie nights, and played an interesting mock negotiation game.

 

Opera: “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”: Stepping into an enchanted forest of melodies that bring Shakespeare's tale to life with every note

(TJ23 RA Sejun Kim)

 

On April 14, Taejae University students visited the Seoul Arts Center Opera House to watch an opera together. They watched "A Midsummer Night's Dream", based on Shakespeare's play of the same name, which was a new experience for the students who had never attended an opera in Korea before. 

 

 

The students had a variety of opinions about this opera performance. "The story itself wasn't incredibly engaging, but it was interesting to see how the characters' emotions changed, and it was impressive to see the slightly insane love of the characters and how their love changed chaotically through magic," said one student. 

 

Several international students and Korean students who lived abroad also mentioned, "I think the attitudes of Korean and foreign opera audiences are different, and I was surprised that people don't have to dress more formally when they go to opera houses in Korea." Others said they were surprised that it was more like a theater than the opera they thought it was.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The opera “A Midsummer Night's Dream” tells the story of love and conflict between lovers and fairies in a forest in the run-up to the wedding of the Duke of Athens. A love potion causes confusion among the lovers, but with the help of the fairy king Oberon, all problems are resolved and the opera ends with the marriage of three pairs of lovers, but the process of love and wandering in between is so dreamlike and strange. After the spell that caused all the trouble is broken, the main characters return to their lives as if nothing had happened, and it was easy to see why the opera is called “A Midsummer Night's Dream.”

 

After the opera, the students gathered together for dinner and enjoyed sharing their thoughts about the opera before returning to the Hongdae neighborhood. The opera experience was definitely worth it.

 

 

 

 

 

MEMORABLE

As the spring semester of 2024 draws to a close, the dynamic, adventurous, community-oriented, and inspiring activities at Taejae University have left an indelible mark on the students of TJ23. The variety of experiences, from engaging in sports and cultural programs to participating in social events and organizing an art exhibition, has enriched the students' residential life in profound ways. The new student residence at Local Stitch provided not only a comfortable living environment but also a platform for students to explore their interests, build community bonds, and develop communication skills.

 

 

The Residential Campus Programs (RCPs) have been instrumental in fostering a sense of belonging and camaraderie among the students. The successful implementation of these programs, led by the dedicated Residence Assistants (RAs) and supported by the university, has demonstrated the importance of empowering students to take charge of their residential life. From the excitement of archery and rock climbing to the creativity of pottery and art exhibition, each activity has contributed to a holistic educational experience that goes beyond the classroom.

 

 

Looking forward, the experiences of this semester set a strong foundation for future cohorts at Taejae University. The lessons learned, the skills acquired, and the memories made will continue to inspire and motivate students to embrace new challenges and opportunities. As TJ23 moves on to the next chapter of their academic journey and the students of the new cohort (the second cohort or TJ24) are going to join Taejae in August 2024, the vibrant community spirit and the drive for excellence cultivated during this semester will undoubtedly propel them towards greater achievements. The spring semester of 2024 has been a testament to the power of community, creativity, and adventure in shaping a fulfilling and dynamic student life at Taejae University.