The Seoul National University (SNU) Fall Festival was held from September 29-October 1 this year, offering activities such as outdoor karaoke, performances by university dance and music clubs, and diverse food stalls. One of the most highly anticipated events of the festival has become the SISA International Food Festival (IFF) at which foods representing different countries are sold.

The SNU International Students Association (SISA) hosts the International Food Festival every semester. SISA is run by a group of international students under the guidance of SNU’s Department of Student Affairs.

It begins preparing for the IFF by receiving applications from students who would like to represent their country in the International Food Festival.

The IFF first began in the year 2007 and since then has become an essential part of the school’s spring and fall festivals. This year, a total of twelve countries — Cambodia, Germany, the Pacific Rim, Indonesia, Pakistan, Thailand, Mexico, Vietnam, Brazil, China, the USA and India — participated in the event. A wide variety of dishes representative of each country, such as tacos from Mexico, brigadeiros from Brazil, and mie goreng from Indonesia, were available for purchase.

The interesting aspect of the IFF is that it is entirely prepared and run by students. Each dish is prepared and cooked by the students, which can be a challenge because of the difficulties they may face in finding the necessary ingredients to bring out authentic flavors.

However students have obviously been quite successful.

Among the many activities at the festival, the IFF is one of the most popular every semester. The ticket line to purchase the dishes is quite often swarming with students.

The president of SISA, Uuganbayar Belegdemberel (Mongolia, College of Social Sciences), explained that the IFF has grown in size and scale.

While in the previous years there had only been around five or six participating countries, now there are twelve countries participating every semester. This is evidence of the increasing efforts SNU has made to become more international, with increasing diversity among the student population in the past couple of years.

SISA has also developed a more systematic method of purchasing food by creating meal tickets worth 1,000 KRW each (with the cost of meals ranging from 1,000 KRW to 3,000 KRW) that can be used at any IFF stall on any of the three days.

They have also incorporated a voting board on which every country’s name is written, and customers can vote on which country’s food they liked best. This allows for more interaction with customers.

For many students in Korea, trying different foods from around the world is a rare chance and can be expensive. Not only is the IFF an occasion for Korean students to try foods from other countries but it is also an opportunity for foreign students at SNU to showcase their culture.

Ana Karen Velázquez Martínez (Mexico, College of Social Sciences) shared her experience participating in the IFF. “This festival was an opportunity for me to show Koreans and people from around the world what real Mexican food looks like. I could share with them the way we cook in Mexico, the ingredients we use, and how we eat certain kinds of Mexican foods. But more importantly, through my food I could spend time letting my culture and country be known to a lot of people.”

The International Food Festival has become an integral part of the SNU spring and fall festivals where the sharing of cultures takes place.

Uuganbayar Belegdemberel expressed his hopes for the IFF. “I hope that the IFF gives a chance to both international and Korean students to get closer not only in the context of studying but also through the culture that they share and the friendships that they build.”

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
Proofread by Brett Johnson, SNU English Editor, morningcalm2@gmail.com