Taekwondo class
In Seoul National University there is a wide array of sports courses offered every semester, which many international students are not often aware of. Sports courses are two-hour classes that are worth one general course credit. There are two grading systems for sports courses: the regular A-F system and the S/U (pass or fail) system. Receiving an A may be challenging because university regulations allow only a small percentage of students registered for the class to receive an A. Thus, many students opt for the S/U system which nearly ensures all students to pass. Because sports courses accept only a limited number of students (every course allows no more than 30 students, a small number in proportion to the entire student population), it is very challenging to successfully register for the course. One must constantly be looking at the course registration site to see if a slot has appeared.
In the seven semesters I have been at SNU I have taken a total of twelve sports classes. Below is a short review of three classes I have experienced. But remember to take what I say with a pinch of salt, for all that is written refers to my own personal experience.
Volleyball
Volleyball is a sport I played since middle school up until varsity level. Even then it was never my favorite sport to play, but I decided to register for this class because of the nine-man volleyball SNU plays. In the class I was able to learn about the nine-man volleyball, which has a few variations from the regular six-player volleyball, such as a different rotation pattern. Because a lot of students enrolling in this class are not familiar with volleyball, the professor begins with the basics of the sport. For the first few classes students learn how to simply set and bump the ball.
In the middle of the semester the professor teaches spiking and makes students practice this rigorously. I remember being drenched in sweat at the end of spiking training and feeling quite accomplished. The professor also films students practicing so that we can see how our posture is and what we can improve. I recall that this monitoring really helped me improve my spike. What was most memorable about this class was the feeling that we really became one team. Maybe it has to do with the coordination and mutual trust necessary to play volleyball, but by the end of the semester everyone in the class became a tight-knit family.
Badminton
If there is anything that has taught me not to judge something before getting to know it, it is precisely this badminton class. I remember sauntering in class, thinking it was going to be a breezy sports class. But it turned out to be much more exciting than I imagined. In this class we practiced just hitting the shuttlecock back and forth, until the professor started making individual rounds. He would spend around five minutes with each student, but those five minutes would be very intense.
I remember he would make me move farther to reach the birdie, hitting it in very odd parts of the court. The birdie would dart past me, and using every ounce of energy I would just barely pass it over the net. But the professor would repeatedly yell, bellowing that I needed to hit the shuttlecock faster, with more precision. The professor really had a way of pushing you to improve. And after every class I would think, ‘Man I never knew badminton was so tiring.’ But this training made me realize that any preconception I had of this sport was wrong.
Another plus side of this class is that because you rotate partners every class you are forced to adapt and find ways to collaborate as well as look out for each other’s faults. On a more practical note, this class requires you to have your own badminton racket.
Taekwondo
In Korea it is common for parents to send children to Taekwondo classes from a very young age. Despite being Korean, I never learned Taekwondo and I registered for the class knowing very little about the sport. Our Taekwondo sabeom (senior instructor) was a professional athlete when he was younger and now actively instructs Taekwondo to younger generations in order to preserve the traditional sport. He emphasized the need to get our bodies ready for the movements necessary for Taekwondo, so the class was focused mainly on the warming-up exercises. The most predominant movements are jumping exercises, such as jumping with both legs, with one leg, above a crouching person, and above a person grabbing his or her ankles. Imagine doing this for over an hour, going round and round the room. Things get sweaty soon.
After an hour of these exercises, the Taekwondo sabeom explains our bodies are finally warmed up to practice the movements necessary in Taekwondo. We began to learn basic standing positions, head-height kicks with both legs, and punches. In this class I was forced to contort my body in multiple directions. Because head-height kicks are emphasized in Taekwondo, I had to force my legs to stretch above my head. But interestingly, Taekwondo provides an inner peace, a sort of connection between the body and the soul. This is because the sport demands endurance combined with restraint. The student must concentrate to get all his or her energy into balance; discipline is essential. The sabeom would instruct us to yell at every kick, every punching movement we did. This yelling allowed us to release any stiffness, bringing out our tense bodies in a more harmonious state.
Taking sports classes at SNU has been quite an experience. Each have been memorable, some more challenging than others. But I learned more about my body and myself in situations where I am required to exert physical strength in addition to mental power. SNU is not known to be a sports university and is much more academically oriented compared to Korean universities in general. However, it does have a lively and popular sports program that provides challenges and interesting opportunities for everyone.
Like the Latin aphorism, “Mens sana in corpore sano” which translates to “A sound mind in a sound body”, in order to be healthy and excel intellectually, a healthy body is necessary.
Written by OH Jung Eun, SNU English Editor, josefinaoh@snu.ac.kr
Reviewed by Eli Park Sorensen, SNU Professor of Liberal Studies, eps7257@snu.ac.kr