First Face-to-Face Festival in Three Years, Daedongje (University Festival) ‘Small but Strong, Sogang,’ Successfully Held in May 2022

An in-person Daedongje (university festival) was held from Thursday, May 19, to Friday, May 20. The idea of this Daedongje was “Small but Strong, Sogang,” and various activities were arranged for the festivities throughout the campus. The festival was held in much anticipation following a three-year period without face-to-face festivals due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Daedongje Filled with Various Activities and Things to Eat, Watch, and Do across the Campus

The two-day ongoing activities included “Sodam Night Market,” “Street Karaoke,” and a “Cute Slide.” Ten food trucks were on site to sell snacks, barbecued meat, ice cream, etc., all arranged on the street between Kim Dae-gun Hall (K Hall) and Geppert-Nam Duck Woo Hall (GN Hall), and proved highly popular. The Festival Preparation Committee (FPC, hereafter) set up an eating zone on the Sports Ground for visitors to enjoy the food in comfort. Elsewhere, a large slide was installed in Youth Plaza, and a water-gun team game of “water-pong” was held in the evening. In addition, each unit offered its own activity so that festivalgoers could enjoy snacks, experiences, games, etc., across the campus.

At 8 p.m. on Thursday, May 19, the “Insignificant Film Festival” was held on the Sports Ground. The FPC decided on the film to be screened through a vote on Instagram in advance, and the film “About Time,” which received the most votes, was shown at the festival. On Friday, May 20, the two-part “Bean Busking” performance was held between 3 and 9 p.m. The Central Club, conference groups, and individual students performed on the stage, offering various kinds of shows, including dancing, singing, and other performances. All the spectators who filled the Sports Ground offered hearty applause and cheers for every performance.

 ‘Love and Passion for You’ 2022 Cheering Festival TROS Held

The grand finale of the university festival was conducted through the Cheering Festival TROS with Tripathy, the university’s cheering squad. Tripathy performed its own cheering songs “Here in Sogang,” “Cries of Sogang,” “For Sogang,” “Night at Sogang,” and “TROS,” and the venue was filled with enthusiastic cheering for the first time in three years, as the crowd waved their banners and shouted Sogang’s name in unison with arms around each other’s shoulders. The TROS performance, which lasted about an hour, was rapturously received by the huge crowd on hand, closing with “To You,” a song by late alumnus Shin Hae-chul (Philosophy, ‘87).

“It’s been a long time since a face-to-face festival was held here, and I was very excited as I’m part of a performance team,” said Yoo Hyung-sun (Economics, ‘20), the 12th director of Tripathy. “It was a pleasant and touching moment, and I hope that there will be more opportunities for Sogang students to come together, cheer, and have fun in the future, as we have all survived through difficult times.”