To Many Wanna be Tryin' be but No Excess

Minjok Herald Related Work

Minjok Eating Place

What is happening?

By Sol Kim

     October 28^th, 2011, was the first Minjok Festival for me. I walked around the campus passionately with expectations, and for the whole day what I did was just eating, because almost every booth was selling food. Two hours passed and I had done nothing but only eating. It made me feel meaningless, and for the rest of the festival I spent my time in the library, playing board games. The festival was not a Minjok festival, but rather a Minjok eating place: everyone kept on eating and eating. Ms. Park (Counselor Park Hyesun), who has stayed in Korean Minjok Leadership Academy (KMLA) for a long time, said in class that she was sad to see the change of the Festival. The original purpose of it was displaying the accomplishments the circles made for the year, but now the festival seems to be focused too much on eating.

     Why did the festival become the Minjok eating place? The reason is the lacking variety of the booths: first, as mentioned, selling food was the main booths and only a few circles participated in activities other than selling snacks. There were contests-eating and drinking contest-but they did not work out well. This lack of variety has led to a big problem: wasting time. Since every booth was busy preparing food, students were wandering around for the first hour, looking for somewhere opened. If there were more booths doing something other than selling food, the students could have participated in those booths. Also, almost all of the booths were closed much earlier than the closing hour because they ran out of food, and the students had to wander around again, wasting their time until the Singing Contest.

     The lack of variety appeared during the opening of the Festival, too. Three circles, Daechuita, KMLA Orchestra and Samuchim, and teachers dressed in animal looks were all who performed during the opening. It was same for the past ten years approximately, and it needs more variety, just like what Mr. Hwang have said at the morning assembly. The opening was too simple, to say it short, and now it needs change.

     There is something other than the previous problem, and something that the KMLA students need to be embarrassed of. It is the cleaning up problem: 16^th wave Jo Namdo have said in class, that he heard the cleaning woman complaining about KMLA students not taking care of their own trash. The place she was cleaning was disastrous, with noodles all over and the plastic bowls left on the table. Not only there, but also there were numerous eaten-up instant cup noodles on the tables where the game contest had taken place. As a proud KMLA student, one should be responsible for what they do.

     There are some suggestions, however, to solve this problem: taking turns. The Legislative Council can decide (basically gathering ideas from class meetings) certain booths other than eating that seems to be necessary, and for every year circles can take turn doing those booths. Opening performances, also, could be like this: circles taking their turns to perform.

     Festival does not mean food party, but rather something that every students of KMLA can enjoy. I hope to experience a real festival next year!