By Min-joo
In various places around the campus, there are many posters that catch students?eyes as they pass by. Among these posters, students will have had the experience of standing in front of a poster that includes a list of movies and feeling the desire to watch it. Another poster that has also become conspicuous around the campus recently is one that invites students to learn foreign languages in a fun and effective way. Participating in study groups enables students to have experiences that are not offered in their regular classes at school. Two study groups that are currently growing in popularity among students are the film club "Cinematheque" and the international friendship club "International Club-Republic Ha-Na,"called "Ha-Na"for short.
Though you may not have noticed the name, the club that regularly screens movies in the Student Union Building is, "Cinematheque."The club selects a theme for each week and shows movies related to the theme for students to enjoy when they have free time. It also holds regular study groups so members can gain more knowledge of movies during the vacations. Park Joo-young (Law, 2), the Director of Cinematheque says, "We hold seminars about the history of world movies similar to the way Professor Lee Joon-suh (German Lang. & Lit.) deals with in his "Literature and Movies"class. For example, if the movie of the day is "The Discreet Charm of the Borgeoisie,"we discuss the topic of realism portrayed in the movie,"said Park.
Members of Cinematheque say that the best part is listening to ideas that they have never thought of before. "The members of the study group change every year and I am looking forward to broaden my perspective this winter,"says Park.
Another study group that is attracting attention at Ewha is "Ha-Na," a club which students gather to improve their Chinese, Japanese and English skills. Meetings are held from Monday to Friday and are open to anyone that wishes to learn a foreign language, meet foreigners or experience foreign cultures. Each weekday meeting focuses on a designated foreign language. People who believe that attending meetings during the week are not enough, form study groups and gather to engage in in-depth study on the weekends as well.
The club meets in the heart of Sinchon at a cafe which even changed its name to "International Cafe & Pub, Hana,"because club members make up the bulk of its clientele. About 70 to 80 people attend most meetings, but on Fridays up to a hundred people come. Mujuki Yamamoto (Yonsei University), who has been attending the Japanese meetings said, "I have met a great number of Korean friends and I can feel that my Korean is improving."Organizers say they hope more foreigners will participate in the future, as they can improve their Korean language skills while, in turn, Koreans can benefit by interacting with these native speakers.
The club charges a fee of ten thousand won for each meeting, but club members say it is worth it to pay that amount. Oh Yu-na (Liberal Arts, 1) said that even though she attended a Japanese academy, her conversation skills did not improve as much as they did after she joined Ha-na."I believe the appealing factor of this club is indirectly experiencing their culture through engaging in conversations with native speakers. Academies are somewhat impractical to gain the natural touch of a language, so I recommend more Ewha students to experience this effective way of improving their language skills."
As the second semester is drawing to an end, the chance to experience various possibilities that were not open to students during the semester has come. When people who possess the same goal meet and cooperate by sharing what they can give to each other, a synergy effect is achieved and all members are usually a step better off than before. Yamamoto says, ? like the comfortable atmosphere and the people of the club, Ha-Na. It is important to think about our needs and find a place in which we can fulfill them to the fullest.?global1004@ewhain.net
**Correction
November 1st Issue
Theme: Photo provided by Geocites.com should be edited to Geocites.com/kaky-ry/paa.html, and photo provided by Naver.com should be edited to ID haroo 25 at Naver.com.