The Media Festival, is held annually and sponsored by the Division of Media Studies. This year’s festival was carried out under the theme “Dream.” On the first day, students had a chance to meet and interact with alumni from different job fields ranging from journalism to marketing.
On the second day, a series of lectures were carried out by Joo Chul-Hwan, the president of Open Broadcasting Station, who used to be a professor at Ewha; Hwang Soo-kyung, a renowned Korean anchor woman; and Jung won-hwa, a chief director at Cheil Worldwide. On the final day of the festival, an exclusive concert was carried out for Ewha students.
“We’ve put tremendous effort in planning this festival. However, out of the three days, we spent more time and effort preparing for the concert, which was held on the third day,” said Lee Eun-kyu (Media Studies,3). “We invited Lee Soo-Geun, a famous Korean comedian, to be our host for the evening, and Lee Sung-gyoon, a famous Korean actor, as our guest speakers. But the most meaningful and significant part of the concert was during the moments when the dreams of Ewha students became a reality on stage.”
The student council of Media Studies collected several requests of dreams that Ewha students dearly wanted to fulfill. “Besides some unrealistic dreams such as ‘I want to meet SHINee, a popular Korean boy band,’ or ‘I want to go on a trip with my friend,’ we chose three dreams that were feasible. The three include ? a student who dreamt of dancing on stage with B-boys, another student who wished to perform her own song on stage, and lastly a student who wanted to make a meaningful memory with her mother before graduation,” said Lee, who added that the stories that these students had behind their dreams were what made them all the more special and unique.
Park Yeon-chan had always imagined herself on a huge stage performing her self-choreographed dance to upbeat music. This was simply a pie in the sky for Park who is not a dance major or a professional dancer. This once in a lifetime chance to prove herself as a passionate dancer on stage was a huge gift for Park.
“A few days before the concert, I could not stop practicing because I was so excited and nervous for the performance. I even stayed up the whole night rehearsing my moves,” said Park. “However, since I was doing something I really enjoyed, I was not tired or frustrated during the whole process.”
On the other hand, Park Ji-sook’s passion for singing and music was too strong to be stopped even with her mom’s objection.
“I am not a genius musician, but I do compose songs and of course love singing. My mom fiercely objected my devotion to music since she thought I was not fulfilling my duty as a student ? meaning, I didn’t study hard enough,” said Park. “I was fortunate to be given the chance to perform my own music on stage. I was challenged at first, at times doubting myself if I could manage this well. However, with the help of my friends I finally did it!”
Her parents were not at the concert. However, her greatest supporter Chung Goo-young, her boyfriend, prepared a little surprise. He proposed to Park promising his forever love to her.
“It was a surprise to see my boyfriend at the concert. I felt like I was at the center of the world,” said Park. “I feel unfortunate my parents could not make it to this concert. But I am planning on showing them a video clip of my performance. I hope a change of thought occurs in their minds after seeing this clip.”
The 2008 Media Festival was a great success, not only because of its grandiose level, but also because it implanted a sense of hope in the hearts of Ewha students.