Korea's university clubs offer unforgettable memories with unconventional activities

K-campus

Published: 20 Jun. 2023, 16:10 Updated: 20 Jun. 2023, 17:00

Korea's university clubs offer unforgettable memories with unconventional activities

Three members of the Cave Exploration Research Society stop mid-exploration for a photo. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Riding motorbikes, going on cave explorations, and feeding stray kittens are some activities most students probably wouldn't imagine doing in a university.

While academic programs, community service activities and sports clubs are considered the standard extracurriculars for students, trying out the same activities you can do in your home country can be considered a lackluster choice. For international students' years abroad in Korea, trying out clubs unique to their universities can be an even greater opportunity to earn experiences that can be cherished for a lifetime.

A group picture of Sejong Riders during their yearly retreat to celebrate the start of their seasonal tour [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Sejong Riders (Sejong University)

Founded in 2010, Sejong Riders is a club for motorbike fanatics at Sejong University in Gwangjin District, eastern Seoul. Being one of the very few clubs in Korea catering to bike riders and students interested in the riding lifestyle, Sejong Riders regularly holds driving sessions in Seoul once a week and overnight national tours once a month.

International students are also welcome to join the club, and there are student riders of different nationalities active. Students can find short vlogs by international students of the bike trips taken in the club on the club's Instagram account.

"I was a solo rider before I joined the club, so my first ride around Seoul was unforgettable," Kim Se-young, the club's president, said. "It was a really special experience for the riders to gather one by one and form a bond."

The club values a "long, safe and fun time" together. The club aims to establish a safe and enjoyable two-wheeled vehicle culture on campus. It also aims to take the lead in improving college students' biking culture and overall awareness of bike riding. So far, it is mainly conducting trips around Seoul, but it plans to hold sessions in more cities later in the semester. Members can expect joint trips with motorbike clubs from other universities in the future. The club is currently organizing a trip to Jeju Island.

Members of Sejong Riders pose with their motorbikes during a regular monthly trip to Jamsu Bridge in southern Seoul. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Students interested in joining Sejong Riders don't necessarily have to be riders. Anyone can join, even if you don't have a bike or scooter, and can practice with motorcycles provided by the club. The club provides license training for motorbikes and safety training each semester at the start of their activities. Even if new members don't have licenses, students acquire licenses through Sejong Riders' systematic training before their first trips. If members are not interested in operating the bikes but are more interested in riding in the back seat, students are welcome to join as passenger riders, given that there are enough bikers.

Kim pointed out that the ratio of drivers and passenger members tends to be a problem for the club. When the inflow of passenger members is faster than that of the rider members, not all members can go on the rides due to the limited number of drivers.

"Even if you don't have a bike, and even if you don't have a license, if you're interested in Sejong Riders and what we do, you are welcome to join," Kim said. "We aim to make riding as safe and enjoyable as possible for everyone." Interested students can find more information on its Instagram account (@sejong_univ_riders).

A member of the Cave Exploration Research Society explores a pit cave in Gangwon during a monthly expedition. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Cave Exploration Research Society (Dongguk University)

The Cave Exploration Research Society (CERS) at Dongguk University is a club where members hike different mountains in Korea to explore caves. The Covid-19 pandemic has posed difficulties to their activities, but they are now scheduling regular bi-monthly explorations, mostly consisting of eight to 10 club members.

Kim Myeong-hyeon, the club's leader, said the society was organized in an effort to explore Korea's caves in the hands of Korean researchers.

"In the 1960s, the news that Japanese cave experts came to Korea to explore our caves was headline news of the JoongAng Ilbo," Kim said. "After seeing this, Dongguk University's biology professor Lee Hae-pung and his students thought the geographic survey of Korean caves should be done by Korean researchers, not experts from other countries. And that is how the club was founded in 1970.

"As you know, the inside of the cave is cool, but if you stay for a long time, you feel like you'll freeze to death," he said. "On the first day of entering a pit cave, which is a very vertically steep cave, there was a student who was not in her best physical state. Because of this, it took her an hour to climb out of the vertical cave when it normally takes 15 minutes to do so.

"And because I was the one behind her hanging on the rope, I was stuck for an hour in the cold with only a T-shirt on and almost froze to death."

He said this type of experience left students with better patience and the ability to take on any challenge.

They had their 50th anniversary in 2020, making it one of the most historic clubs at Dongguk University in Jung District, central Seoul. Every year, through an event called the "cave festival," current members meet and socialize with club alums, go hiking and plan expeditions together.

Alums tend to financially support or even help current club members when they go on expeditions.

Kim said getting permission from government officials to explore caves has become difficult in recent years.

"Since caves are natural habitats that have been preserved for thousands of years, recently, the general public is reluctant to let people enter caves and potentially harm these cultural assets," Kim said.

Because of this, the club plans to go abroad in the future. It aims to expand the realm of cave exploration by exchanging with other cave exploration societies in Britain, Vietnam and Japan.

The club has not been recruiting international students because it is difficult to care for foreigners due to safety precautions. However, if the international students can converse in Korean or have prior cave exploration experience, there is room for change, Kim said. More information about CERS can be found on its Instagram account (@dgu.cave_).

One of the cats at Kyung Hee University takes a rest on KHUCat’s cat food container. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

KHUCat (Kyung Hee University), Meowhwa (Ewha Womans University)

At almost every university in Korea, you will be able to find a cat-care club that specializes in caring for the campus' feline friends. These clubs usually feed the campus cats and partake in the Seoul Metropolitan Government's trap-neuter-return, or TNR, program.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government launched the program in 2008, which involves capturing, neutering and then returning cats to their habitat to control the feline population in the city.

KHUcat at Kyung Hee University and Meowhwa at Ewha Womans University are two such organizations.

Cho Hye-rim, president and KHUCat, and Song Yu-na, president of Meowha, said they are committed to ensuring that stray cats live peaceful lives and coexist with community members of their schools through collective, systemic effort.

KHUCat members gather to build temporary shelters for stray cats to prepare for winter. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Cho and Song both said that any student, regardless of their nationality, is welcome to join their clubs. In the case of KHUCat, five to six of its 30 members were international students at one point, Cho said.

They said their biggest challenge in running the club is securing funding, as their activities are often questioned by those who doubt the utility of their work. They also face criticism for installing food stations for cats on campus, receiving complaints.

To address these concerns, KHUCat tries to find the middle ground between the cats, the organization and the stray cats.

The lack of funding also sometimes makes it difficult to cover medical expenses for the cats in need of care and caring for them in inclement weather, they added.

Other than regular feeding or participation in the TNR program, KHUCat and Meowhwa hold team-bonding activities.

"Every semester, we promote various events so members can foster teamwork by holding events like parties or retreats," Cho said.

In addition, "Meowhwa operates a booth at the campus festival every year. At the booth, we sell goods designed and produced by the club members," Song said. "We have prepared a variety of goods such as glass cups, cereal bowls, stickers, photo cards and wireless earphone cases."

All proceeds from the sale are used for stray cats on campus, Song added.

Cho and Song said that participating in the cat-care clubs is a great opportunity to do community service by caring for cute cats and growing a sense of responsibility for life. Students who want to see pictures of the cats they take care of and the clubs' activities can do so on their Instagram accounts (@khu_cat) and (@meowewha).

Meowhwa sells goods with drawings of Ewha Womans University’s cats and uses the proceeds to help stray cats. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

There are a plethora of unique clubs that international students can join. For instance, Seoul National University has a quidditch club, Seoul Puffskeins, where members play the sport from the movie Harry Potter weekly. For the foodies, Yonsei University and Korea University have clubs whose sole purpose is for the members to find the best fried chicken out in the market.

Clubs like these offer international students not only unforgettable memories but also unique experiences they will savor for the rest of their lives.

BY STUDENT REPORTER RYU JI-HYO [kjd.kcampus@joongang.co.kr]