On May 23, the Gwanak Residence Halls (GRH) Sports Fest was revived with great fervor after a long COVID-19 hiatus and over a month of planning. Organized by the resident assistants of Seoul National University dormitories, the event brought together both local and international students. Starting in 2013, the sports fest has been a longstanding SNU GRH tradition for dormitory residents. Due to the impact of COVID-19, the sports fest could not be held in 2020, was held with public health restrictions in 2021, and was replaced by Oreushya (Climb SNU) in 2022, the latter being a program themed around hiking and walking. This year, the sports festival could return to its former glory. Dormitory residents took part in various activities that took place from 7 to 11 PM, and the event was a great success with a turnout of over 120 participants. In addition, several organizers were also present to run event logistics and man the first aid tent, as well as two hosts who led the event in English and Korean simultaneously.
Organizers gathered near first aid tent
Source: Gwanak Residence Halls
While international students might have expected this event to be a traditional track and field sports competition, GRH Sports Fest introduced them to Korean games or Korean variations of well-known games that were often more like team-building games than official sports. This allowed international students to have a special experience and learn what sports festivals are like in Korea, where they are less focused on competition and more about building stronger relationships within the community.
According to Hakyung Park, head resident assistant, the 2023 GRH Sports Fest was aimed at building a healthier and richer sense of community in GRH and facilitating a sense of familiarity and friendship among SNU dormitory residents. Many participants remarked that prior to this event, due to their busy student lifestyles, they had little opportunity to get to know their neighbors. The festival, however, provided an opportunity for students to befriend their neighbors.
Musical chair representatives from Global team
Source: Gwanak Residence Halls
Upon arrival at the dormitory sports field, participants were greeted with water, energy drinks and snacks, as well as SNU GRH shirts in one of four colors that represented their team. The four teams consisted of residents from Global Buildings 915-917 (Global), Building 919 (919), Buildings 921-926 (92X), and Buildings 900-905 and Building 918 (BTL). After opening remarks by organizers, international students experienced a gookmin chejo (“national gymnastics”) session in which they were guided through stretching exercises done in unity, reminiscent of similar exercises conducted in Korean elementary schools.
Group stretching
Source: Gwanak Residence Halls
After the collective warm-up, seven games were played in tournament style, with first place being awarded 500 points, second place being awarded 300 points, and third and fourth places receiving no points. The games included team-building, “partner” dodgeball, jegi chagi, relay race, musical chairs, “super” volleyball, “catch the tail,” and a trivia game. To add to the competition, the hosts awarded surprise bonus points to teams based on how enthusiastic their participation was.
Team-building activity representatives from Global team
Source: Gwanak Residence Halls
“Partner” dodgeball is a Korean adaptation of dodgeball, in which male players must ensure that their partner does not come into contact with the ball, while female players must hold on to the male player throughout the game while dodging the ball. “Super” volleyball is the same as conventional volleyball, but distinguished by a gigantic volleyball that required several team members to work together to propel it over the net. For many international participants, this was their first time playing Korean versions of common sports, adding to the fun. Participants were able to display their strengths in different games, which required teamwork, speed, strategy, agility, and trivia knowledge. One Korean member of the global team was particularly good at the traditional Korean game jegi chagi, managing to set the highest record at an overwhelming 25 kicks in succession.
Blue and green team facing off in the “super” volleyball final
Source: Gwanak Residence Halls
Between each game, a raffle was held for a range of prizes especially chosen for their utility to students living in dormitories, including sets of protein bars, cup noodles, multivitamins, probiotics, cordless vacuum cleaners, a coffee machine, headphones, and an iPad. Most prizes were awarded to between two to five participants each. The final winning team was also awarded gift vouchers valued at 1,500,000 won total.
Due to fierce competition, tiebreakers were required in many of the tournament rounds. Ultimately, BTL placed last at 1800 points, and equal second was shared by 919 and 92X at 2200 points. Global took first place at 2300 points, with each team member taking home 50,000 won worth of gift vouchers. The global team was able to persevere and turn the tables after having no points from losing the first two tournament rounds.
Team Global celebrating after their win
Source: Gwanak Residence Halls
The RAs of the Global team kindly bought pizza to celebrate the great effort and success of their team. The event ran smoothly, thanks to the organizers standing by and cheering teams from the sidelines, always ready to help. Park, the main organizer, was proud to be able to host a revived Sports Fest that participants were so enthusiastic about. She hopes to create more programs for the wellbeing of dormitory residents, such as the upcoming dormitory festival to be held next semester.
Organizers of the 2023 Sports Fest
Source: Gwanak Residence Halls
The event was a great success in bringing dormitory residents closer together. Several students left the sports field exchanging social media and making plans to meet up or eat together.
Erlend Sun Dragland, a computer science student on a year-long exchange from The Norwegian University of Science and Technology, was delighted to be part of the winning team at the sports festival, and appreciated the opportunity to meet other dormitory residents. “I also got a lot of new gym buddies that I’ll probably see a lot of, which is great!”
As a GRH resident herself, the editor can also attest to the sense of community that is built by living on campus and thereby being easily able to access social events like Sports Fest. Living at GRH allows students to observe individual or cultural differences in lifestyle, helping international students to adjust to life in Korea and providing local students exposure to diverse cultures and the opportunity to bond with friends from around the world. Despite it being only one day, Sports Fest provided students with lasting memories.
Written by Sneha Karri, SNU English Editor, sneha@snu.ac.kr
Reviewed by Professor Travis Smith, Department of Asian Languages and Civilizations, tlsmith@snu.ac.kr