During March, every wall on the campus was loaded with posters and fliers promoting either clubs or the thoughts of student associations on issues like the topic of war, or the cost of school tuition. When these thoughts are hand written on a big piece of white paper, they are called Daejabo , which literally means, big paper conveying a message in Chinese characters.
Daejabo was first introduced in
Joanna Liu (International Studies, 4) said, “Daejabo can’t be seen in
In
But, Sung Ji-hyun (Political Science and Diplomacy, 3) said many students still read Daejabo carefully. “I often receive text messages from students saying ‘I enjoy reading your Daejabo,’ or ‘I have a different opinion.’ This shows Daejabo is still alive,” said Sung. “Daejabo may have changed in some aspect. However, they still contain political issues and students’ opinions on the school’s policy; the difference is how we deliver it,” said Yang Kyung-eon, President of the Student Government Association (SGA). Yang said, to make Daejabo disseminate information effectively, the SGA uses easy words and examples related to students so it is easily understandable.
With the evolution of democracy in
“We used to post Daejabo, and run away because it was forbidden to criticize the government or the school in our time. Although we plastered them, they were always torn by the policemen. But now, I see an interesting phenomenon. Posting Daejabo was more like a one-way communication back in my days but now, when students criticize the school, the school explains its position regarding the issue through the Internet or other means, which makes it interactive,” added Professor Cha Hee-won (Media Studies).
Professor Cha said that it was not the role of Daejabo that had changed, rather the change was on the students’ attention. “When I was a student, if the SGA suggested protesting against a certain issue, we did. These days less students care about the SGA’s activities, and less about Daejabo since Daejabo are the main means the SGA uses to express its opinion,” said Professor Cha.
The form of today’s Daejabo is also becoming more diverse than that of the past. The traditional Daejabo was written with a black marker on a white paper. Now, techniques are more diverse. “We use color sprays and papers to make our Daejabo stand out,” said Kim Seul-ki (Nursing, 3).
“Although some say that the Internet is replacing the role of the Daejabo, the timeliness and easy access to information Daejabo provide will make them to survive in this era,” said Yang.