Smile with Ewha, the 137th Daedong Festival, took place from May 10 to 12. One of Ewha’s largest events, the festival organized activities and booths run by various student clubs and department student councils held across campus.
According to Ewha student council emergency committee, about 180 booths and 35 performance teams participated throughout the three-day festival. The Daedong Festival Task Force team was organized to oversee the operation of various booths and events.
“The 137th Daedong Festival, ‘Smile with Ewha,’” was designed based on three themes: a happy festival for all Ewha students, a festival that coexists with the community, and an eco-friendly and sustainable festival,” explained Rye Joeun, a junior majoring Social Science Education from the Department of Social Studies Education and current vice president of the student council emergency committee.
According to Ryu, the TF team consists of eight teams, with a total of 35 members. As all of the team leaders are members of the central steering committee, Ryu explained that there were difficulties in preparing the festival as a member of the TF team and a president of her college.
Especially in April, the members had a hard time studying for the exam and preparing for Daedong Festival at the same time.
“I was so busy that I missed all the classes because I had work all day, but I felt rewarded by seeing the smiling faces of students enjoying the festival,” Ryu expressed. “Like the title of this year’s festival, I hope the memories of this festival to remain and make Ewha students smile.”
At the festival site, the aroma of delicious street food and a variety of eye-catching merchandise enticed students. For several weeks leading up to the festival, the management team of each student club put great effort into preparing goods and foods that best represented their clubs.
Shim Kyusol, the president of the amateur orchestra club ESAOS, prepared merchandises along with delightful tuna canapé and drinks with the club members.
At first, Shim decided not to run a booth as running the booth would be a burden to the club members. However, many members expressed enthusiasm about the rare opportunity of taking part, so Shim and her club members began preparing a booth.
“A senior who founded our club about 30 years ago visited us,” Shim said. “It was such a heartwarming surprise and her visit alone came as a great help and support. It was a day that brought me many pleasant memories.”
Additionally, numerous booths run by each department’s student council could also be spotted. Yoon Juwon, a sophomore from the Division of Design, participated as a member of the division student council’s booth. Yoon’s booth made and sold colorful cotton candy for three days.
“It was hard to make cotton candy under the heat all day, but I was proud to see people taking pictures with the cotton candy I made, and eating it enjoyably,” Yoon said.
Furthermore, Cho Eunseo, a sophomore from the College of Nursing, sold tacos in the college student council’s booth for two days.
“The preparation period was short, but we were able to be ready in time by coordinating opinions and supporting each other,” Cho expressed. “It would be a lie to say that the two days of running the booth were not hard, but it was a good experience to get closer to the members.”
In addition to booth management members trying their best to make delicious food, countless students enjoying the festival to the fullest could be seen all over campus.
Jung Yeonwoo, a junior from the Division of Communication & Media, enjoyed her third Daedong Festival by trying many different kinds of street foods and watching student performances.
To raise the school spirit, Ewha distributed 3,000 Ewha Green t-shirts from May 10 to 11. Due to the distribution, Jung saw many students wearing green clothes throughout the festival, which made the festival atmosphere even better than the previous Daedong Festivals.
In regard to enjoying the Daedong Festival, Park Chaehyun, a senior from the Department of Elementary Education, spent her last Daedong Festival as an undergraduate student with her friends.
Park picked tteokkochi as the most memorable food. She had failed to purchase it repeatedly because of its great popularity. This year, however, Park finally tried it after waiting for 40 minutes. She shared that she was glad to finally eat the tteokkochi that she had only heard about before her graduation.
“As Daedong Festival was held in early summer this year, it was very attractive because the campus filled with vivid green colors reminded me of Ewha Green,” Park said. “It was impressive to see that students made various efforts for eco-friendly festivals, such as discounts on using tumblers and personal containers.”
Daedong Festival’s unique events make memorable moments
The festival held not only booths but also various events. On May 10, the Yeongsan Juldarigi (Tug-of-war of Yeongsan) event, which is also a national intangible cultural property took place. The following day’s highlight was Ewha’s Turntable where singer CHEEZE and rock band LUCYperformed at the grass field with Ewha students queuing for hours to earn front seats. On the last day, May 12, I Can See Ewha’s Voice and the Ewha Green film festival were held.
Freshmen enjoying their first festival at university were also spotted. Lee Serim, a freshman from the Department of Christian Studies, spent a memorable time at the festival managing her club’s booth and as a customer of other booths.
Among the various events, Lee picked Ewha’s Turntable as the most memorable one. Although she could not enjoy music by jumping and dancing due to the school’s narrow and weak stage space, Lee expressed her delight about listening to the music on a mat with her friends, and she was able to realize her dream of enjoying university festivals she dreamed of when she was a high school student.
“When I was a high school student, I felt sad that I could not enjoy any festivals or sports competitions due to the pandemic,” Lee said. “But I was happy to have a lively Daedong Festival this year, and I am already looking forward to next year’s festival.”
One of the festival’s main event, I Can See Ewha’s Voice, an event held on the last day, was a program designed with the motif of famous TV programs “I Can See Your Voice” and “King of Mask Singer.” The program was conducted in a way that participants wore Ewha Green masks and were divided into two groups: the talented group and the characterful group to sing or lip-sync, and the audience guessed the identity of each participant.
Kim Soomin and Jung Jiye, both sophomores from the Department of Political Science and International Relations, took the stage as MCs for I Can See Ewha’s Voice.
Kim and Jung applied for the position of MC as they wanted to have an unforgettable and unique memory together. As a 30-second video was needed for application, they wrote a short script and edited the footage. Although the preparation process was harder than they had expected, both of them expressed their gratitude for the opportunity to be a part of such a memorable occasion.
“All the participants sang ‘Time of Our Life’ by DAY6 together at the end of the event, and watching participants singing hopeful lyrics under the sunset was an impressive and romantic moment,” Jung said. “I wanted to be on stage at the festival someday, and I was really happy to cross this off of my bucket list this year and to make a precious memory that will come to my mind first when I think of Ewha even after graduation.”
Proud of having memorable experience which will last for the rest of their life, both of them emphasized the hard work of the festival’s staff andthanked them for making a valuable experience.
“I would like to thank the hardworking staff members who spent their time and effort organizing the program,” Kim said. “It was indeed an honor to serve as the MC for the event. I sincerely hope more programs in the next Daedong Festival will be held so that even more Ewha students can have the chance to fully enjoy the festival.”