[Revitalized PNU Life] See You Next Year, Daedong-Je

"Finally, Daedong-ed." Daedong-Je was held once again after being canceled due to the accident of the Fine Arts Building in 2019 and then due to COVID-19. Pusan National University (PNU) Busan campus was packed with many people, and the performances brought a fever. The student self-government and PNU members tried hard to fill out the empty spaces of the last four years. 

From May 17th to 19th, the biggest festival of PNU, Daedong-Je, was held in Nuknukhan-Teo (Nuk-Teo) and places around the Building of College of Humanities (BCH) and Mun-Chang Hall, which were filled with a lot of people. Daedong-Je of this year was made up of Basketball Competition, E-Sports Competition, Concert Performance, PNU Song Festival, and Healing Concerts, with various food and experience booths. 

Daedong-Je in 2019 and Daedong-Je in this year were different. Last Daedong-Je, many snacks were prepared by each department and a "night market" Was held. However, this year, the BCH to Mun-Chang Hall was filled with food trucks and tables to enjoy the food. A variety of food menus such as steaks, crepes, and more snacks delighted students. Park Jun-Kyu (21, Dept. of Public Administration) said, "All the food was not that expensive, and it was all delicious. It was perfect for campus students."

The formation of booths was all different a little bit during the three days. In Nuk-Teo, many stalls were held, and the experience booth operators promoted their booths by holding signs or wearing costumes. The booth area was composed of 34 different booths every day, such as the Escape Room, Open Microphone, Game, Blind Date, and so on. The freshman Kim Eun-Hye (22, Dept. of Philosophy) said, "The festival was bigger than I thought, and many people enjoyed various booths. I enjoyed it a lot."

The “Escape Room” caught much attention from students. This is content set up by PNU student start-up company “Team Catharsis” and PNU Emergency Planning Committee. Park Jun-Hyun (18, Dept. of Korean Language and Literature), the president of Team Catharsis, said, "I thought that first-year students would not be able to use the campus for several years due to COVID-19. So, I was thinking about a way to enjoy the campus in a fun way, and I decided to create content that combines an outdoor room escape and a stamp tour."

Each College, Department, Club, and other student organization also prepared booths. Lee Ga-Eun (20, Dept. of Sociology), one of the operators of the booth of the student government of College of Social Science “Haram,” said, "I've never experienced a festival since I was a freshman. So, it was so exciting to be together with others this time, and it was fun while preparing for the festival." 

Also, the basketball court, where students only passed by, attracted attention full of enthusiasm. About 100 spectators filled the court with cheers. Jung Woo-Je (18, Dept. of Naval Architecture & Ocean Engineering) of the winning team “Ace” said, "I prepared a lot with effort with my members, and I am pleased that the results came out well."

“E-Sports Competition” was divided into Cart Rider and League of Legends with the Commentator, Chun Yong-Jun. Even when the first-place winner sign of League of Legends disappeared, the audience laughed out loud, with the witness making the third-place sign into a first-place by hiding the number three with their hands. Kyung Gun-Woo (18, Dept. of Economics) said, "The commentator Chun enjoyably held the program, and it was planned well. I enjoyed it."

On the second day of Daedong-Je, the Concert Performance was held on the Nuk-Teo stage at 6 pm with performances by PNU clubs. Lee Ji-Won (21, Dept. of Korean Language and Literature) of dance club “Raonjenna” said, "It was difficult to get together to practice because there are many members in the club, but I prepared hard by practicing until dawn. It was the moment that I could meet many students and feel the fever of PNU." After the Concert Performance, Jung Sang-Su (03, Dept. of Korean Music), a rapper who graduated from PNU, participated and led the students' fever again. 

On the last day of Daedong-Je, at the PNU Song Festival “PAMA,” the winner was decided by text votes. After the two teams had their turns on stage, the students could vote for their favorite team with a designated number. The method prepared the audience and performers to breathe together and increased the level of participation and heightened the tension between victory and defeat. 

After “PAMA,” famous Korean singers, Gummy, Beak Ye-Seul, and Winner, held a “Healing Concert,” and the atmosphere warmed up. More than 10,000 people shrugged their shoulders and sang along to the song together, reminding the audience of the meaning of togetherness. The festival also reached a climax with fireworks shows that filled the sky. To enjoy their performances, the line from early in the morning was filled with spectators. At the beginning of the show, even the areas behind the fence and behind the flowerbeds in the playground were filled with people. 

On the other hand, before the festival, PNU announced on May 13th that graduate students could not buy reservation tickets for the “Healing Concert.” Some opinions about it were uploaded in “Everytime,” the online students’ anonymous community. A lot of resentments such as "Aren't the graduate students even members of the school?", "Can't it be planned together with the graduate student council from the beginning?" and so on. Also, during Daedong-Je, voices were complaining about delivery motorcycles and vehicle control due to safety risks.

Jung Se-Yun (Dept. of International Trade, 18), the president of EPC, said, "I did not have any information about Daedong-Je, since it stopped for three years. Therefore, there are some difficulties and regrets about planning this big festival without specific information. Thanks to PNU students, who remember the festival as a happy memory, EPC will try its best to cover defective parts and to put more synergy for all the events."

However, PNU students, who regained their enthusiasm for the festival after four years, expect a better campus life from now on. Lee Su-Jin (18, Dept. of Art Culture and Image) said, "It's good to see a lively campus like this after a long time only seeing our empty campus due to COVID-19."

Reporter Kim Hyun-Kyung

Translated by Yun Chae-Eun