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Editor’s Letter

Campus News

Cover Story: The Tuition Controversy

Hackers, a noble crusader

or merely a greedy corporation?

Campus: Yale Model United Nations

Teaches a Lesson to Seoul National University

Sae-teo, is it truly a learning place for freshmen?

Freshmen College

Arts & Culture: Dae-Hakro, a place that offers a wide

variety of plays.

Book Inc.

The Current Situation

Feature: A Fresh Perspective: Welcome, Freshmen!

March Culture Calender

Volume 36March 2012

CONTENTS

DAE-HAKRO BOOK

SAE-TEO

FRESHMEN

Education and its prize

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March 2012. Vol. 36

CAMPUS NEWS

BY SONG-UG YOON EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Cafeteria menu prizes raised by 800-1000KRWSince the beginning of March school has increased the

prizes for cafeteria menus by 800 to 1000KRW for non-SNU students. Verification does work with a valid studentID or the K-Cash system but the new regulation has alsocaused some critique since it is regarded as too tedious andalumni have to pay the full prize.

3290 new students! This year, SNU is going

to welcome 3290newstudents in its 15colleges.About 200 of them arecoming from aninternational backgroundwhich will help globalizingour school.

2012 has been so far a very intense year. Kim Jong Il died

and his son, Kim Jong Un succeeded him in the typical king-like

manner we expected. A former candidate for the office of

president of student council, Sun-Ah Park from the College of

Agriculture and Life Sciences attempted to erect an altar on

campus to his honour but eventually the schools admission could

stop her. It is a shame to see that a person who claims to

represent the student body neglects the fact that we also do have

a lot of students with North-Korean or political refugee

background and that she did not have the sensitivity to respect

their past and their circumstances.

Especially now, when the South-Korean government and

other NGO’s try to fight for the rights of North Korean defectors

in China in order to prevent that they are send back to North-

Korea where severe punishment is awaiting them.

With the beginning semester of 2012, SNU will be fully

incorporated and we will have to expect many changes - Quill

will keep on informing you about new developments. We would

also like to thank some of our senior reporters and editors who

are going to leave us this semester in order to try new fields.

These reporters have done an excellent job in making Quill

what it is and we will try to keep our level for the future.

This month’s issue is mainly going to deal with the various

problems of college admission and preparation. We will report

about the “Hackers Incident” as well as the decrease of tuition

fees and other current topics. We will also have some interviews

with Freshmen students and end this issue with some book

recommendations by Abhas.

Finally, we would like to say hello to the Freshmen of 2012

and wish everybody a good start for the new semester!

BY SONG-UG YOON

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

THE SEOUL NATIONALUNIVERSITY

uill Staff

FROMTHE EDITOR

Chief Managing Director Bae Su Hyen

Editor in Chief Yoon Song-Ug

Cover Story & Feature Section

Jeong Yeon-Il

Chae Youn Hwan

Campus Section

Hong Hee Joo

Oh Josefina

Arts & Culture Section

Editor Jung Jiyun

Maskey Abhas

Chung Hyung Chung

Cover Design Hee Won Lee

E Mail snuquill@gmail.com

Website club.cyworld.com/thesnuquill

Sponsor SNU College English Program

Printing Late Spring (02 2269 8030)

Design Kim Sun Hee

The central library agency has announced a plan to build a new building.

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March 2012. Vol. 36

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Cover Story

student body unimpressed at best.After hours of negotiations between

student representatives and theadministration, Seoul NationalUniversity finally agreed to reduce itsundergraduate tuition by 5%. Theresulting outcome has been met with atepid response from the IndependentColleges Student Council (a coalitionof representatives from each college’sstudent council that act in place of theabsent university student council).Nine days after the tuitionannouncement, the Student Councilcalled for a press conference andcriticized the negotiations handled bythe Tuition Review Committee.Although stating that the reduction intuition was good news, the StudentCouncil criticized the negotiations as asimple formality. The Student Councilstated that students of crediblerepresentation had not participated indiscussions and the students were notprovided with sufficient time to reviewthe proposed materials for tuition cuts.Furthermore, the Student Councildetermined that the student body wasnot given an unbiased representationin the Tuition Review Committee asthe administration had chosen thestudent representatives. In response tothe criticism, the administration statedthat such decisions were made in orderto meet the deadline and that althoughthe school had proposed creating aconsultative body, the students refusedto take part in it. Meanwhile Yoo Su-jin of the Student Council counteredthe accusation stating that by agreeingto be part of the consultative body,students would implicitly recognizethat they had been adequatelyrepresented in the Tuition ReviewCommittee and had ultimately agreedupon the decision on the meagertuition cuts.

Meanwhile, private universities inSeoul are under further scrutiny bystudents for disappointingly lowertuition reduction rates. For example,Korea University, Yonsei Universityand Ewha Women’s Universityreduced tuition by 2%, 2.3% and 3.5%respectively. To protest against the lowreduction rate in tuition, studentsfrom Yonsei University have takenextreme measures by resorting tohunger strikes. The president of theStudent Council of Yonsei University,Kim Sang-yeol, who had requested theadministration for a 10% decrease intuition, set up camp in front of theuniversity library to protest against theadministration.

However, despite the low rates ofthe tuition cuts, universities areconcentrating on scholarshipprograms in order to address thefinancial difficulties that plaguestudents and their families. Forexample, Yonsei University hasdecided to increase its scholarshipfunds by 13.3 billion won. The Yonseiadministration states that throughscholarship programs students wouldexperience an overall 6% decrease intuition in comparison to the actualreduction of 2.3%. In order to appeasethe frustrations of students, theKorean government has also been

active in assisting universities toprovide affordable tuition. TheNational Scholarship Program willprovide 1.75 trillion won forscholarship funds for students in need.

SNU has taken upon similarscholarship initiatives to target thestudents who are in most need offinancial aid. By addressing a solutionto students individually, theadministration believes the studentbody will experience an overall tuitionreduction rate of 10%. 5 billion wonhas been injected into scholarshipfunds and the administration expectsthe scholarship acceptance rate toincrease to 46% from last year’s39.3%. Furthermore, the school plansto increase scholarship funds by 2billion won annually and anticipates ascholarship acceptance rate of over50% within two years.

The controversy regarding tuitioncuts at SNU and other universities hasbeen put on hold due to school eventsfor the coming semester. However,the issue will likely be presented againas soon as the semester officiallybegins. Hopefully, the student bodyand the administration can achieve acompromise that is beneficial to bothparties without further controversy.

Calls for drastic cuts in universitytuition in Korea have finallybeen heard and solutions are

being implemented for the comingsemester. The economic burdens thatafflicted students have been addressedwith tuition cuts, and manyuniversities will attempt to alleviate thefinancial pressures of students and

their families. According to a recentstudy, 70% of graduating studentshold an average of 13 million won indebt and students cite universitytuition as the main cause. Due toincreasing tuition costs, students andfamily members protested in 2011,campaigning for an ambitious goal ofcutting university tuition by half.

Despite these protests however, thetuition rate for the coming semesterhas decreased by an average of 4.2%,hardly a victory for the students whodemanded tuition to be halved. SeoulNational University (SNU) is also partof the 337 universities that havereduced tuition costs but its handlingof the matter at hand has left the

SOCIETY

In response to the protests for tuition reduction in 2011, universities in Korea have implemented

initiatives in order to reduce the financial burdens placed upon students. However, student

organizations have reacted with disappointment and concern towards the meager changes.

BY YUN HWAN CHAE

“Yonsei University has been criticized for the lowtuition reduction rate for the coming semester”

“One of the many protests in the summer of 2011 that demanded for university tuition cuts”

The TuitionControversy

March 2012. Vol. 36

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Cover Story

the reason why such project wasconducted has various elements indifferent levels of concerns. In termsof the Hackers group’s stance, theirreason is rather straightforward. Inorder to gain reputation and thusultimately more money, it was onlynatural for them to slightly go beyondthe boundary of law and ‘refer’ to whatis the real deal; the test materials sothat their clients would meet theirneeds of better study materials whilepreparing for the tests. As for theclients, they feel that the testingcommittees’ position upon the leakageof test materials is unjust since itwould be very hard for them toprepare for the exams if they were leftwith nothing to ‘refer’ to. (Note thatmost of the English certificate tests arebased on questions picked out of theitem pools.) Their opinion is that thetest conductors should open their testresources freely to the public. Thestance of the test conductors is ratherobscured for they had not clearlystated their positions. However, it isgenerally known that they feel that theleakage of test materials wouldeventually lead to demolish thereliability of the exams.

What we need to note in this hecticcontroversy is the main reason whythe so-called English certificate examsare so popular in Korea. If youthought of the word ‘spec’, you’veguessed it right. As the Korean societyemerges to be an ever morecompetition-oriented one, English test

scores have become one of the mostbasic things that you have to acquirebefore even trying to do anythingthese days. Students and job findersare preoccupied with the idea ofgetting higher scores so that theycould become eligible to apply forwhatever their dreams are.

It all sounds familiar but there is anew problem in hand. Knowing thatthey are popular, the test conductorsseem to take the test takers forgranted. Not to mention the fact thatthe fees for taking such exams areincredibly high, (TEPS: 36000 won/TOEIC: 42000 won/ TOEFL: 170 USdollars. TEPS and TOEIC have evenraised their fees this year.) but alsothey do not give out comprehensibletest results. That is to say, they do notgive us specific details regarding howwe have done in the tests. With theambiguous ‘standard score system’ inprogress, test takers often find it hardto accept their scores since they do nothave access to the info about what theyhad gotten right or wrong. Moreover,these tests are conducted so oftenthese days that it is hard for peoplewith unsatisfying test scores to neglectthe temptation to take the tests overand over again while having to pay agreat amount of money.

With this in mind, we all could askourselves. Is Hackers a noble crusaderwho fights for the test takers’ rights tohave a better chance to study Englishand gain better scores in the Englishtests or is it merely a greedycorporation who seeks means togather up more clients and earn moremoney through illegitimate acts? Inthis case, we could say that it has a littlebit of both sides to it. Since Hackers isindeed a company who thrives on themoney it earns, we cannot say muchabout its objectivity to be moreefficient in terms of its capitalism-oriented mindset. However, if we

think about the current circumstancewhere few English tests are providedand how these tests exploit us, the testtakers, one could say that Hackers ismanifesting a sacrificial crusade to helpprotect the rights of the test takers byhelping them get out of the huge sinkhole of money and time which the testconductors had created.

Beside the main point, thisphenomenon also has a lesson for usall. Even though the general idea ofhaving better specs for a better futureis something that we should notpreach upon, such excessivephenomena would give us anenlightenment upon what is reallyimportant in our lives. That is to say, itcould be said that a competition is agood one when its conductors andcontenders both play fair and are ableto develop progressive spirits within it.

Recently, one of the majorEnglish study institutes basedin Korea, the Hackers

corporation was indicted forduplicating and leaking the testmaterials owned by the TEPS Englishtesting committee and the ETS who isin charge of conducting the two majorEnglish certificate exams TOEFL andTOEIC in Korea. The charges readthat the company who thrives upongiving its customers lessons regardingthe tests had illegally copied andduplicated the test materials throughvarious means while the test was inprogress in order to provide them toits clients. Though the contracts givenby the test conductors specificallyregulate that none of the test materialsare to be discharged, the Hackersgroup had uilized its employees byhaving them take the tests andmemorize them so that they couldproduce the same questions given inthe tests right after the exam sessionwas over. Their methods of such actwere utterly cunning and systemized,in fact. As for the reading and writingtest materials, each employee wasassigned to memorize two sets ofquestions and given examples so thtthey could rewrite them right after thetest session was terminated. In case ofthe listening parts, small recordingdevices were utilized while secretlycarrying them into the examinationrooms. In some circumstances,sophisticated devices such as mini in-ear recorders and micro videorecorders attached to fountain penswere used to conduct such act. Thepolice report states that a total of 38individuals who are current employeesof the Hackers group were the allegedaccomplices of the project and theyhad been leaking test materials sincethe year 2007.

Apart from the controversy overthe scheme’s legitimacy and illegality,

Hackers, a noble

crusader ormerely

a greedycorporation?

EDUCATION

BY YEUN-IL JEONG

Despite the recent indictment, business seems betterthan ever for Hackers

Campus March 2012. Vol. 36

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create new experience. As many similarities there are with

Seoul National and Yale, a crucial,missing similarity is the existence of anational Model United Nationsconference. There are a variety ofModel UNs held in Korea hosted byKorean organizations such as YonseiMUN, Hankook University ofForeign Studies MUN, Korea MUN,Model UNESCO, and MUNOS.However, the nation’ s mostprestigious university has never hosteda nation-wide, or even a city basedmodel UN in its sixty years of history.Thus, the significance of the YMUN-SNU Conference comes from the factthat it is the first official MUNconference “supervised”by SeoulNational University. One could rebutthat SNU has been organizing a MUNin its own way; SNU-IR MUN isorganized by a student club in theDepartment of Political Science andInternational Relations. In 2011, theSNU International Relations MUNopened its 24th conference, fromwhich one could conclude that itshistory is 24 years old. Yet, the “SNUInternational Relations Major MUN”is not a conventional conference in thesense that only SNU students canapply and the participants, incooperation with the chairs, createscripts, which in turn makes the MUNconference into a MUN “ play.”Whereas SNU always advocates for itsaspirations of becoming a more globaluniversity and compete shoulder toshoulder with the worlds’recognizeduniversities, one must wonder how it

will do so if SNU has not evenorganized an open MUN, fund theSNU English News Magazine, orsupport other international studentactivities. Seoul National should workon organizing a MUN conferencewith the existing student organization,but there are a few things that it shouldbe aware of.

Model United Nations has almostbecome a necessity to a university thatwishes to promote their internationaloutlook, and also on student resumes.Although Model United Nations’initial objective has been to providestudents the opportunity to participatein an intellectual discussion regardingthe environment, human rights, theinternational finance system, and soon, one could notice that MUN itselfhas become part of a device for notableinstitutions to garner money fromstudents willing to pay as much asthree hundred dollars for a MUNparticipating certificate. A mother of astudent participating in YMUN notedthe obvious that, “Honestly, my childis participating because of his ‘spec’(resume).”It has become an activity toplace on one’s resume; an activity thatyou cannot refuse to take part inbecause everyone does it. Seok JiHoon, a sophomore at Peddie HighSchool in the United States,uncomfortably explained that he is notthe right person to interview becausehe also applied for his resume. Butthen he clarified that YMUN was hisfirst MUN conference so he expectsto learn more about it.

While some students applygenuinely for the sake of adding onemore line to their college applications,others participate for their aspirationsand passion. Park Jae Hoon, a junior atHanyoung Foreign Language HighSchool, stated that he applied becauseit could be “ a fun and goodexperience.”Kim Yoo Jin from Ewha

Foreign Language High School alsosummarized that she wishes to be adiplomat and simply enjoys modelunited nation conferences. Yoo Jinexpects qualified participants withskills because YMUN is hosted byYale and SNU. When asked about thenegative aspect of YMUN, Yoo Jintimidly complained that it would havebeen better if lodging was available,since her house is far away from SNU.In the United States, a reason for acostly registration price is due toproviding campus rooms for students.In the case of Korean Model UNs,including YMUN, most do notprovide lodging accommodations.Therefore, if legible institutions do notutilize Model United Nations to gainfinancial power, and if students noticethe genuine benefits of participating indiscussions about world problems,MUN would be revived to itsoriginally ideal state of giving thedelegates an acute understanding ofthe world.

Despite MUNs’ weaknessesexploited in this modern age, MUNhas helped many students dream ofinternational careers and given hopesto solving urgent internationalproblems. Yale Model United Nationsin Seoul National University hasbrought awareness of the lack of alegitimate MUN society in Korea’snumber one university and thenecessity for a real live MUN. SeoulNational should continuously strive toachieve its globalization efforts, notthrough ‘significant’projects, butthrough sponsoring student activitiesthat focus on international issues andpromote international activities on astudent basis. And maybe one day,SNU MUN may reach the ranks ofYMUN, perhaps in a few years.

Seoul National Universityhosted the first Yale ModelUnited Nations (YMUN)

Korea conference from March 8th toMarch 11th, jump starting the 2012school year with a new fervor forinternational causes. Yoonji Woo andEugene Jung, students of Yale andmembers of the Yale InternationalRelations Association (YIRA),founded YMUN Korea in 2011 andhave been working with the Office ofInternational Affairs (OIA) to recruitthe Under Secretariat Generals ofSNU, reserve conference rooms, andsecure other necessary items forholding a large conference. While theaverage SNU student may not havebeen aware of the conference that tookplace during the late night times andthe weekends, almost 340 high schoolstudents scurried around theunfamiliar campus to participate insessions held mostly at building 83.

For those that have been interestedin international relations or extra-curricular activities, Model UnitedNations would be a familiar term sincenowadays, most universities orinstitutions hold a MUN conferenceto raise awareness of the significance ofworld peace and cooperation. ModelUnited Nations is a literal term, for itis a model United Nations conference;generally, the conference is composedof many committees (of the UN) andstudents follow a parliamentaryprocedure to discuss aboutinternational issues and come up witha resolution paper. The participantstake on the role of a delegate from acountry that is a member of the UN,giving the students a chance to think inthe shoes of a country representativewhen solving world problems.

The purpose of YMUN-SNU is toprovide the students in Korea anopportunity to experience the YaleMUN as it is held at Yale University inNew Haven. Each year, more than1,350 students participate as delegatesinternationally to attend the thirty-eight year old distinguished modelUN. This year, YIRA, the originalorganizers of YMUN, brought theconference to Seoul, making it the firstdestination of YMUNs soon-to-be

many international conferences.YMUN Korea has the sameconference structure, committees, andis aimed at replicating the exact MUNexperience at Yale. On registrationday, the YMUN secretariats organizeda ‘Yale Students Info Session’onwhich they promoted Yale Universityand explained the colleges, extra-curricular activities, financial aid, andKorean student clubs. Thesecretariats’detailed descriptions oftheir exciting and stimulating life atYale resembled some aspects of life atSeoul National as well. The liberal artseducation at Yale enables students totake more than twenty classes otherthan their major classes allowing themto ‘expand intellectual horizons.’Seoul National also aims to providestudents with an all-rounded liberalarts education, with the College ofLiberal Studies as its exemplarystandard. When a high schoolparticipant asked what a negative partof Yale was, Niko Efstathiou repliedthat being overcommitted and tryingto balance out studying with extra-curricular activities has decreasedsleeping time for him; this aspectperhaps coincides with the busyschedule of many SNU students whoare always eager to study, socialize, and

Yale Model United NationsTeaches a Lesson to Seoul

National University

MODEL UN

BY SU HYEN BAE

March 2012. Vol. 36

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Campus

In 2010 school decided to start whatis now known as “ FreshmenCollege”to us. The aim of this

project was to introduce campus lifeand help finding new friends.Freshmen students were put togetherin groups and a mentor, mostly asenior student, was instructed to helpthem. Like in real campus life,Freshmen could choose betweendifferent lectures which were notdifferent from what is taught normallyon campus but additionally, the schoolalso offered programs which weremeant to help “finding oneself”.

But now after two years of having“Freshmen College”on campus, theschool decided to change the program.Freshmen were sent to a resort in thecity of Pyongchang, GangwonProvice. What has caused muchtrouble with this years “FreshmenCollege”was the curriculum whichdiffered heavily from the previousyears.

Instead of teaching how to get alongin school and introducing the differentfields of science and philosophy theprogram seemed to rather focus onimage making. Especially studentrepresentatives heavily criticized theprogram which offered courses like“How to receive attention in a Club”or “How to do the perfect campusKing/Queen make-up” for itssuperficiality. The course “How to

have a beatiful campus relationsship”was taught by Song Chan-Min, who isalso known for publishing numerousbooks on dating.

Another aspect which was heavilycriticized was the fact that the schoolpaid student clubs for theirperformance. It is a common thing forclubs to peform during MTs and otherevents to attract new members but thishas always been done without anyform of financial payment. A studentclub member was anonymously statedto received 500.000KRW forperforming with his club perperformance.

But this year’s “Freshmen College”also brought new positive aspects suchas the fact that many students felt thatthey could socialise themselves betterwith their fellow Freshmen andadditionally received the almostobligatory college jackets and hoodies.

It is undeniable that the “FreshmenCollege”program is an important onewhich should be held in the future toobut there still has to be a lot of changesfor the future and a bettercommunication with the student bodyin order to find a good way tointroduce campus life.

This winter, as usual, manydistinguished high schoolstudents got admissions to the

SNU. Newly admitted SNU studentsare excited yet worried about theirfreshmen life because university life isimmensely different from that of highschool students’. They are awkwarddealing with all the unfamiliarsituations. Sunbaes, therefore, are inneed. Among sunbaes, sophomoreswho went through the samedifficulties a year ago prepare helpfulprograms such as teaching how toregister for courses to implementduring welcoming parties and sae-teo.Freshmen students have rights tochoose whether to attend welcomingparties and sae-teo or not but many, ifnot most, freshmen regard sae-teo asmore of an obligation. This article willbe focused on sae-teo and its pros and

cons.Sae-teo is an abbreviated word for

“Saenaegi Baeumteo,” which means alearning place for freshmen students.Usually, each department arranges itsown sae-teo. For instance, the studentcouncil of College of Social Sciencesand representatives from eleven classesgather in meetings to arrange sae-teo.The primary objective of sae-teo is toshow freshmen what is a university lifeand provide them with a breakthroughso that they could easily becomefamiliarized with fellow freshmen andsunbaes. During two nights and threedays of sae-teo, freshmen participate invarious kinds of games, such asflipping colored planks and explainingwords only with their bodies. Becauseeach class has confrontation againstthe rest of the classes, freshmen andsunbaes raise their voices and root for

their classes to win. The competitivecheering contributes to the solidarityamong members of each class. The lastnight of sae-teo is the peak becausefreshmen and sunbaes gather to drinkalcohol and enjoy all night long.

The question, however, is thatwhether the primary objective of sae-teo to help freshmen adjust touniversity life is achieved or not. Someoutgoing freshmen would contactsunbaes and make appointments tobecome more intimate. In this case,sae-teo definitely contributed tofreshmen’s adjusting to college life.However, freshmen who are shy andfeel awkward even after sae-teo wouldnot dare to contact sunbaes and ask fora meal. It is undeniable that two nightsand three days of sae-teo merely leadsto freshmen and sunbaes getting torecognize each other by sight. What ismore, freshmen who could notparticipate in sae-teo for their personalreasons believe that they are the onlyones left out from their classes becauseit seems to them like other freshmenare already very close.

The aforementioned shortcomingsof sae-teo could be complemented bysunbaes’ hearty care towards freshmen.Sunbaes should care for all freshmenstudents including those who couldnot participate in sae-teo so thateveryone gets along well and nobodybecomes outsiders.

Sae-teo, is it truly a learningplace for freshmen?

FRESHMEN EVENT

BY HEE JOO HONG

FreshmenCollege

FRESHMEN EVENT

BY SONG-UG YOON

Class of Psychology R participated this year’s sae-teo arranged by the student council of College of Social Sciences. The true meaning of “finding oneself”?

Synopsis: A young doctor suffersfrom a mental illness that makes himforget all his memories, including thelife he has been living since childhood.Due to his mental insanity he creates aworld of his own in which, as a doctor,he possesses an imaginary practiceroom. Unfortunately, his imagination

is strengthened by his nurse, who is perfectly conscious of thedoctor’s illness but simulates to be a real nurse just to be next toher old college love. To complicate things more, there is anotherwoman who completes a triangular relationship. She representsthe real girlfriend of the doctor, whom she used to date before hisillness. This lady comes to the office almost every day to try toremind him who she is and what did she represent for him in reallife. This comical love story keeps developing on behalf of aninsane man, whose love is being fought for by two women.

“I am hungry” is an outstanding play because it keeps itsspectators with anxiety and joy throughout the wholeperformance. Even though only three actors appear in the entireplay, the quantity of actors does definitely not affect the qualityof the play. Another remarkable feature is that spectators are notonly observers. They are constantly encouraged to participateand take place in the play. “I am hungry” might be arecommendable play for couples, since it illustrates theimportance of a relentless and unconditional love.

If we want to get a short break from our daily lives, it is notnecessary to go out for a trip investing so much time and money.We can find a pleasant and inexpensive experience right away.Theaters are the perfect place for a short but revitalizing break.And Dae-Hakro offers what we are looking for.

Synopsis: “Im-Irang Jiugi”(“Erasing Im-Irang”) is oneof the few plays that fill itsseats almost completelyduring every performance.Im-Irang represents aseventeen year old youngteenager living in the year

2047. She is portrayed as a girl full of hostility and regretagainst the world. Her mother died during her delivery.She thinks her father considers her guilty for hermother’s death and therefore hates her. Those are thereasons why Im-Irang intends to commit suiciderepeatedly but, unfortunately, she fails in every attempt.Because she cannot be dead as she wishes, she decidesto go back in time and prevent her parents fromknowing each other. That way, her existence in thisplanet will not occur. She turns to a time-travelingagency and goes back to 2011.

“Erasing Im-Irang” is a play that combines scenes oflaugh, with Im-Irang’s unrestrained attitude, andgloominess, because of her sorrowful past. It not onlymoves people’s heart with laughter and melancholy, butalso reminds us the importance and irreplaceable role offamily. “Erasing Im-Irang” might become a moremeaningful play if it is watched with the whole family.

Anew year begins along with people’s expectations to continue living abetter life fulfilled with hope and positive energy. Students feel a stepcloser to becoming grown-ups by starting a new year at school and adults

aim to bring to their professional careers further progress. These new motivationsthat New Year always carries along with are not very easy to maintain. A life full ofwork, duties and stress probably ends up by frustrating us and pushing us furtheraway from our prospects. However, combining our world of commitments andresponsibilities with a short distraction might help us carry on with our everydayroutine with a relaxed mind and an energetic soul. The theater might be the idealplace to free our minds from our daily lives and just observe the life of anotherperson. In that sense, plays offer a wide range of different characters that we mightcriticize or empathize with. It might be shorter than a book or a movie but still weare moved by its content. And certainly it represents one brief escape from oureveryday life.

Dae-Hak-ro is located in Hyewa-dong and it is famous for its diversity oftheaters. Its reasonable and economical prices attract many people, whose agescover a wide range. But the spectator’s age is not the only thing characterized forits diversity. Theaters also offer plays of various genres. Tragedy, comedy, dramaare only some of them. Here are, as recommendations, two plays that are beinghighly rated for their performances and popularity.

Dae-Hakro, a place that offers

a wide variety of plays.

ENTERTAINMENT

Erasing Im-Irang

I’m hungry

Im-Irang, secretly watching her parents date

If we are looking for a break from our routine, Dae-Hakro is what we are looking for.

With its diversity of plays and economical prices, Dae-Hakro attracts children,

teenagers and adults.

BY CHUNG HYUN CHUNG

March 2012. Vol. 36

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Arts & Culture

March 2012. Vol. 36

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Arts & Culture

Author Mario Puzo is more widelyknown for his all time classic,internationally acclaimed “TheGodfather” but The Sicilian turns outto be an equally comparable explosiveread. Puzo’s descriptive abilities aretruly well known, well appreciated andwhen he has a great story line on topof that, his books become instantclassic. The Sicilian is one of those.

Many readers claim that the book tobe a sequel to “The Godfather”however, if you look at the characterthat’s been focused throughout, youknow that’s not true. Yes, MichaelCorleone does return but only so forthe story to be complete. Puzo createsthis amazing modern day RobinHood protagonist, Salvator Guiliano,someone who is entwined in a bloodypool of vendettas and violence. Awarrior, true womanizer, and ultimateSiciliano, Guiliano’s bandit tale is forall to experience.

Book Inc.

The Sicilian_Fiction

Like food, books have

power. The power to inspire,

astonish, shock, excite,

delight and impress.

Why not meddle with your

emotions a little more?

BY ABHAS MASKEY

3 Idiots is now a well known,“everyone has watched it” cinema.With critically acclaimed actors suchas Amir Khan, it is hard not to seehow. However though, huge creditmust go to the story line and thecrucial message that the movieradiates.

Now, imagine something that has abetter plot and is far comical to whatwas on the big screen. That’s exactlywhat 5 point someone is all about.

You could say IIT is the MIT inIndia, only that it’s a lot more difficultto get into. The story surroundsaround 3 IIT students studyingMechanical Engineering similar to themovie. Based on his own experience,Chetan Bhagat has been able to write ahilarious observation of his time inIIT. Although the characters are allfictional, the novel has been actuallybased on true events that took place.Bhagat’s plain and simple way ofexpressing anecdotes is the one thatshould receive plaudits. In a GPAfocused world, where you are madeout of the grades that Professorsstamp on your forehead rather thanthe character you develop, the booktends to show the lighter side of lifewhere it is not always about that.

5 point someone(3 idiots is loosely basedon the book)_Fiction

For some of us, reading has been away to escape the harsh realityand for some, plainly to

ascertain more about the world we livein. Whatever the reason, booksprovide you the perfect platform toexercise your ability to focus andcreate a world inside that little head ofyours. Here is a short list of booksthat are very entertaining read and willsurely keep you hooked up in yourworld of imagination:

BOOK REVIEW

Chef Anthony Bourdain is widelypopular (goes both ways) in theculinary world. His TV series “Noreservations” has gone to receive manyawards and nominations while hislatest mini-series “The Layover” hasbrought in a whole different conceptin travel and dining.

But before he went out on toproduce these exceptional travel videoseries, his book “KitchenConfidential” had already taken theculinary literary world by storm.Bestselling author of several fictionaland non fictional books, Bourdain’sfood philosophy is for all to read. Inthis updated version of the bookthough he forks over the knowledgeabout the secret life behind swayingimpact doors of an everydayrestaurant, has chunk of hisautobiography and has notes aboutrestaurant “wars”. And on top of that,an added flavor of cooking hints and apinch of his cynical humor.

KitchenConfidential:Adventures in Culnary

Underbelly

_Nonfiction

Written in Ernest Hemingway’susual terse style, this 600 page bookfocuses around a particular bridgebombing mission in the Spanish CivilWar of 1936-1939. With flashbacksand narrative subplots, Hemingwayaptly reaches out to larger incidentsand issues of war from the central plotto create an epic scope.

The main character, Robert Jordan-An American Spanish Professor- islike most of the character Hemingwaycreates. He has a life filled withenjoyment of simple, sensuouspleasures- the experiences of drinkingand eating, brotherhood of comradesdedicated to living life fully and of theamazing bond between man andnature. As the story climaxes, Jordanends up doing what he set out to doand in doing so, earns the respect ofthe reader.

With an exception of World War IIstories, most retellings of war comefrom a prospective that all war isterrible and unjust. Although thebook undeniably shows the horrors offighting a war, it also manages toexplain the necessity of such painfuland costly action.

For Whom the Bell Tolls_Fiction

The idiot_Fiction

There is no question about it, “TheIdiot” is no page turner. Flawed,occasionally tedious or ratheroverwrought this book can sometimestest your patience. However though,in the world of literature, the book isjust as important as the denselydramatic Brothers Karamazoc. Set inlate 19th century tsarist Russia, thebook chronicles the exploits of onePrince Lyov Nikolayevitch Myshkin, anepileptic returning to his native Russiaafter spending much of his lifereceiving care abroad in Switzerland.He is labeled an “idiot” by all thosewho encounter him, due to hisepileptic fits and innocent nature.

Author Fyodor Dostoevsky proceedsto show that this “idiot” is the sanestman in all of Russia. Yes, he isforgiving to a fault, naive and has atendency to love with his whole heart,but he is also not caught in the viciousroutine of creating drama for the sakeof drama. Myshkin is also intended tobe a Christ-like character. It isinteresting that the author chose anepileptic to represent Christ (he wrotethis at a time when he was epileptichimself and was flirting with suicide).It speaks to a belief that mental illness,or for these purposes, idiocy, is not amedical ailment but rather an ill ofsociety. Who defines what is normal,what is acceptable? Yes, Myshkin wasill, but he was also kind andcompassionate. In the end a depravedsociety caught up in its own decadencedestroyed him, evidence that societywill chew you up and spit you outonce you no longer amuse it.

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Feature March 2012. Vol. 36

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Jiin (Sarah) Yoo (College of Business Administration ‘16)

Sarah grew up in Guatemala whereshe studied in an American school.She will be entering as a freshman inthe College of BusinessAdministration. She is fluent inSpanish, English, and Korean.Studying in Korea will be a first forher.

How would you describe yourcurrent emotions about being afreshman in SNU?Excitement would describe it all.

A Fresh Perspective:Welcome, Freshmen!

INTERVIEWS

BY JOSEFINA OH

Entering college is a momentous step in one’s life. It is a transitional time of leaving behind the

familiar nest and taking a leap into the next chapter of life. Nothing can compare to the thrill of

entering college: the high expectations of meeting new people, the thirst for inspiring professors

who speak only words of wisdom, and the fear of new surroundings. What will the cafeteria food

taste like? What if my roommate and I don’t get along? What if I get lost in the vast SNU

campus? But no worries, freshmen; you are not alone. Say hello to three freshmen from the class

of 2016:

At SNU even the sky is

not the limit.

I’m really excited for the upcomingcollege life and I can’t wait for it tostart! Before, I was fearful of thedifferent culture and environment butafter meeting up with the people, I’monly filled with excitement.

What expectations do you have(academic, social, etc...)?Even though most sunbaes say you

have to enjoy it all when you are afreshman, I am planning to balance mysocial and academic life. I am not reallysure whether I can but as of now, Idon’t plan to miss out on classes andhang around with friends all day. Ofcourse, I don’t expect all A’s butneither do I plan on getting all F’s!Socially, I plan to make as manyfriends as possible.

How well are you adjusting tocollege life?I have already met many people and

from what I’ve seen so far, I love thepeople and the culture. I was kind ofworried before since I’ve heardnegative things about the Koreanpeople but they are caring and easy toshare thoughts with. Things mightchange but as of now, I enjoy beingwith my class.

What is your opinion on schoolfacilities?I have been in campus several times

and I’m satisfied with the schoolfacilities provided. However, I’d likethem to increase the amount of shuttlebuses so that students can easily gofrom buildings to buildings. SNU isBIG!

What aspects do you like aboutSNU?I like that SNU has many activities

even before school starts! As a result, itis easier to make new friends and meetsunbaes. I also liked that they leaveextra seats in the classes [regardingcourse registration] for only thefreshmen.

So far, what would you changeabout SNU?I did not like the fact that the school

provided a special program “FreshmenCollege” (새내기 대학) only for theKorean students. As a result, theinternational* Korean students couldnot be part of the fun activity and itbecame harder for them to integratewith the Korean culture. Even thoughthe international Korean students havea different culture and mind, I believethey have the same rights.

What do you think about thesunbae/hubae (senior/junior)culture?Even though I am an international

Korean student, I was kind of exposedto the Korean culture beforehand.Therefore, it was not shocking to mewhen I first saw it. I actually liked theway Koreans distinguished sunbaes andhubaes since sunbaes buy food tohubaes! However, I am still confusedwhen it comes to a hubae who is olderand a sunbae who is younger than me.

*International Korean students arethose who have received all twelveyears of education abroad.

Young Hoon Song (College of Humanities ‘16)

Young Hoon grew up in Bangladeshand attended the AmericanInternational School of Dhaka. He isentering the College of Humanitieswhere he will be majoring in English.Here is his fresh take on SNU.

How would you describe yourcurrent emotions about being afreshman in SNU?Excited, but also intimidated.

Friends who have enrolled lastsemester told me about howridiculously smart their colleagues are.I hope I can catch up with the studies.

What expectations do you have(academic, social, etc...)?The cafeteria food better be good.

How well are you adjusting tocollege life?Contrary to my fears, I’m adjusting

quite well. The only letdown aboutcollege life is the size of the campus.Some may not agree with this, but thedistance between facilities actuallydemotivates me to study.

What is your opinion on schoolfacilities?I’m in the College of Humanities

(English) so all I need are books andblack/white boards. From what I hearthe equipment in the college ofsciences are far from par compared toother big name colleges in Korea. Ifthis is true, I hope the studentsdemand better equipment.

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What aspects do you like aboutSNU? It allows students to freely learn.

Also, the tuition fee is comparativelycheaper than other universities becauseSNU is state-owned. An interestingand admirable quality about the schoolis that the lack of ethnic diversity trulyunites students to reach for specificgoals. The ambition of an individualseems to encourage others to workharder.

So far, what would you changeabout SNU?Modify the stairs so they aren’t too

steep.

What do you think about thesunbae/hubae (senior/junior)culture?It’s a double-edged sword. The plus

side about the culture builds a close-knit community and allows hubaes torely on the sunbaes in many ways. Thedownside has students limit theirfreedom and comfort.

Sung Mo Park (College of Social Sciences ‘16)

Sung Mo grew up in South Koreaand moved to Shenyang, China in the5th grade of elementary where heattended Shenyang InternationalSchool. He came back to Korea andgraduated from Kangseo High School.He will be entering the College ofSocial Sciences.

How would you describe yourcurrent emotions about being afreshman in SNU?Today I would say I am living the

best moment of my life till now. Butthere is a little bit of anxiety since I amabout to start another chapter of mylife.

What expectations do you have(academic, social, etc...)?As a student of the College of Social

Sciences wishing to major in PoliticalScience/International Relations, I lookforward to building a steady base formy future career during my freshmanyear. Also, I would love to make newfriends who will share beautifulmemories of university life together.

How well are you adjusting tocollege life?So far, I am adjusting very well to

college life. I had preciousopportunities to meet and interactwith many students even before thesemester started, and many of thembecame fantastic friends. I am sograteful that I am looking forward to ahappy college life with a lot of friends.

What is your opinion on schoolfacilities?I cannot say that the facilities of

SNU are the best in the world, but Iam pretty satisfied with the currentfacilities. We students can cover thelacking aspects of any facilities withour enthusiasm for academicachievement! But if there is thesmallest possibility of remodeling theSocial Sciences building, I would bemore than happy to welcome thedecision!

What aspects do you like aboutSNU?Overall, I love SNU, but to pick one

great aspect of the university would bethe great students and facultymembers. I believe every one of thestudents was a so-called “ace” back intheir high school years, and thegovernment is trying hard not todisappoint those students. I think thisis why SNU can remain the bestuniversity in Korea.

So far, what would you changeabout SNU?If I could change anything about the

university, I would like to change theimage of SNU. Because of SNU’sunique characteristics, many peopleview SNU students as nerds who donot know anything but studying (evenI thought so before I came to thisschool). However, now that I metmany sunbaes and friends, I know thatthis is not true and there are tons ofcool people in SNU who do muchmore than just study.

What do you think about thesunbae/hubae (senior/junior)culture?I think the sunbae/hubae culture is a

great culture. Usually, freshmen arenot really aware of what to do whenthey first come to university. But sincethere are many sunbaes around thosefreshmen, they can adjust and starttheir college life smoothly. But there isa clear need for us to lessen theauthoritative aspect of thesunbae/hubae culture.

Feature March 2012. Vol. 36

1SNU Choir& Orchestraconcert at Munwhahall, SNU

Sweet Sorrow concert(~3rd) at Blue Square

2 3

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

4Calligraphy clubexhibition(~9th), SNU

5 6 7 8 9 10

11Duran Duran concertat Olympic hall

12 13 14A Cappella club“Instru” concert , SNU

15Monni Concert at EwhaUniv. (~18th)

16 17

18Photography clubexhibition (~23rd), SNU

19 20Charice concert at AX-hall

21 22 23 24

25Movie club “Cinecom”festival at Durae culturehall, SNU

26 27 28 29SNU choir concert atMunwha hall, SNU

30 31

March Culture CalenderBY JIYUN JUNG

SCHEDULER

Honorable Mentions

Cheon Soo JinChief Managing Director 2011

Arts & Culture Reporter 2010

To Have or To Be

Hwang JohannesEditor-in-Chief 2011

Cover/Feature Reporter 2009, 2010

What is important in life is what youchoose to make happen.

An Eun Joo Campus Editor 2011

Arts & Culture Reporter 2010

To me, life is all about love - findingwhat I love to do and enjoying themerits of life with the ones I love.

Chung Hyun Young Arts & Culture Editor 2011

Arts & Culture Reporter 2010

No Pain No Gain

Hong Hee JooCampus Reporter 2010, 2011

Live with Passion!

Special Thanks Cho Hyun Min for his years of dedication to the

SNU Quill

Professor Ryu Doo-Sun for advising the Quill on

its future path

College English Program for sponsoring the

SNU Quill for the past seven years

CEP Assistant Budget Manager Eric Nam for

ensuring that the SNU Quill could be

published every month

Latespring for making every issue a piece of art

Readers for reading the SNU Quill and keeping

us on our toes

Follow the SNU Quill on Twitterwww.twitter.com/snuquill

Read our past issues on the SNU Quill cyworldclub.cyworld.com/thesnuquill

Email the Quillsnuquill@gmail.com

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Dear Quillers and Readers,

Thank you for picking up volume thirty six on your way to wherever youwere heading. Because of your efforts, the reporters and members of the SNUQuill could muster the courage left in our hearts to keep the Quill publishedand distributed monthly for seven years. The SNU Quill has experienced itsups and downs, even in its short history of seven years, and I am sorry to saythat year 2012 may be the hardest that the Quill has ever had to encounter.

Until now, the SNU Quill received funds from the College EnglishProgram and the Language Education Institute with the help of oursupervisor Professor Shynne Gwanghyun. However, from the year 2011, ourbudget has undergone severe cuts due to the Language English Institute nolonger funding the Quill. In 2012, the corporatization (or privatization) ofSeoul National University and the budget cut of the CEP has begun tothreaten the existence of our small student organization. Regardless, the SNUQuill promises that it will fight to publish the ONLY English language mediasource of Seoul National University.

We do not need a room for our organization; we do not ask for moneypayments for our articles; we do not need all the members of the SNU societyto read our journal (although that would be a dream come true). All we askfor in return, is YOUR attention and love to the SNU Quill.

Once again, thank you for reading the SNU Quill, and please send us anemail, just so that we know we are loved!

Chief Managing Director,

Su Hyen Bae

A Letter fromthe Chief