The members of “Mokbang” were quietly crafting their wood, which would become their own pieces of artworks when Ewha Voice visited their club room.
Founded in 1985, “Mokbang” is the only amateur university club in Konkuk University where members can learn the art of woodcraft.
“Mokbang” is special in that a close affinity exists between the juniors and seniors. When a student first joins the club, he or she has a weekly study session in which the older members guide him or her to feel the art of woodcraft. What’s more, the graduated seniors of the club fund the new members by sending them to a woodcraft academy during summer vacations, where the new members learn about the art of woodcrafting from veteran craftsmen.
“The awkwardness and stiffness that might exist between senior and freshmen members cannot be found in Mokbang,” said Lim Dong-wook, the president of the club. “As the new members and seniors naturally bond with one another through constant interaction of woodcrafting, we are very comfortable with each other.”
As if to prove their point, the 28th president Kim Min-chul of the club was also in the room, quietly teaching another member about woodcraft when Ewha Voice visited Mokbang.
The club also holds annual exhibition in the fall semester, which is one of the primary events. In the spring semester, the club participates in various school events including the school festival. The club partly covers their budget by selling the accessories and works they have made in the festival.
“Years ago when 2G cell phones were prevalent, the woodcrated cell phone chains were a great hit in the school festivals,” Kim said. “However, since the beginning of the smartphone era, our sales have fallen sharply and we are looking for new items that could substitute the chains.”
The members are now coming up with new ideas to boost the sales, such as getting students involved in games with the pieces that the members have made. In the game of dots, the club provides the students with handmade arrows.
“Although participating in the events is a lot of fun, I believe that the core part of the club  is the annual exhibition,” Lim said. “Since it is the time where we can proudly present our year’s hard work, it has been most meaningful to all members.”
He also expressed his astonishment about the progress that each member has made  whenever he looks at their works in the exhibition.
However, to accomplish such achievement, the members put their uttermost efforts to create their masterpieces. As members have different tastes and perspectives in the woodcraft, their artworks vary as well, each one having different list of their best marks.
“My personal best, or the woodcraft that I liked the best was a wooden ring I made,”  Kim said. “Although they may not require the same degree of hard work as those of metal, they still can take quite a while to finish the work. However, my hard efforts were worth the price, because the rings came out looking very nice that when my friends saw them, they asked me to make several more.”
To save their artworks as a memoir, the members take photos of their woodcrafts and the progress, and collect the pictures to put them into photobooks. To see all their hard efforts in a photobook is another souvenir for the club members that they can cherish along with their experiences and artworks. 
“To be honest, woodcraft is not all about having fun,” Lim said. “As we cut all the woods and craft them with our own hands, some of the tools and working processes can be dangerous; which is why we have the new members actively interact with the senior members so that we can guide them into a safer direction. It may not be all fun and games, but once we master the woodcraft and produce our own woodworks, we feel a sense of pride and accomplishment which are different from the achievements we get from our studies.”

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