There are 3170,000 self-boarding people in Korea according to Statistics Korea. Tough it may be for those living alone who must deal with their daily obstacles. Nevertheless, they are not alone and much wisdom can be found with little effort.
Feeling the frigid air of morning, Kim Jin-myung (Economics, 2) wakes up in her small rented room where she has been living alone since last semester. For breakfast, she decides to cook shrimp rice porridge.
Although such a dish seems complex amid the rush of getting ready for school, it actually takes only two minutes to cook the luxurious cuisine.
“You just need to pour saewookang, the shrimp-flavored snack that can be bought in any nearby supermarket, into boiling water and stir it for about a minute,” Kim said.
That’s all there is to it. Actually, all she did was to refer to an online video posted under the name, “Master of Self Boarding.” It is a series of short videos available online for free which provide various information and know-how for students living for themselves.
The 13 short video clips have received enthusiastic response ever since it was created in 2009 by nine university students including Kim Kyung-sun (Kwangwoon University, 4) and Min Jung-hyup (Hansung University, 4).
The concept of the videos is both educational and comical: a student who is the “Master” hands down its own secret methods of self boarding to her “Disciples.”
“I never expected I would receive such hot response from people. I think people enjoyed our fresh ideas and funny scenario,” said Park Sun-bin (Sungshin University, 4) who appeared in the video as a disciple.
The videos are indeed a compact of their more than four years of a self boarding life experience. The “Master” who defines instant Ramen as “everything” for students living alone introduces recipes to cook dozen different dishes with typical instant Ramen.
Somewhat bizarre but very useful tips are also introduced. Leftover chicken bones can be recreated as a delicious chicken soup. The outside rind of watermelon is a nice cooler if put in the refrigerator for an hour. Daily necessities like water and tissues are available at school without spending a penny. Some useful tips for students when facing a cockroach in a room or a way to dispose food waste are also introduced.
“When I first started self boarding, I didn’t know how to cook,” Kim said. “Recipes introduced in the UCC, like making Japanese buckwheat noodles with instant ramen or cooking chicken soup with leftover fried chicken was very helpful,” wrote a netizen called Youngwha in a message left after watching the video.
With the help of enthusiastic support from its fans, “Master of Self Boarding Season 2” has been made this year. More varied tips are introduced through the new season.
“Since I’m living alone, filling up a food waste garbage bag in a day is impossible. So, I used to suffer from the waste smell for couple days,” said Shin Hyung-jung (Economics, 3), who has been living alone for three semesters.
The solution was simple. As introduced in the new season of the video, all she needed to do was to put the half filled garbage bag into the freezer. She could get free from the stink, not wasting any garbage bags.
“We just wish to share ideas, and communicate with lonely self boarding students. I hope this video to be the opportunity for us to stick together and share our feelings,” Park Sun-bin said.