Go & Get Your Dream! The enthusiasm of students enjoying Daedong-Je covered Pusan National University (PNU) for three days. This year, when all COVID-19-related regulations were lifted for the first time in four years, students enjoyed the Daedong-Je in a free atmosphere. 

The Daedong-Je was held for three days from May 16th to 18th. During the festival, the streets with food trucks in front of the Humanities Building, and NukNukHan-Teo (Nuk-Teo), which is the center of the Daedong-Je, were filled with crowds. From the existing Esports competition, performance stage, and healing concert, to the newly prepared air bounce, tell me your wish, and performance by Lotte Giants cheerleaders, various programs have been completed successfully. 

Before the festival, many students made various wishes on a large tree in the center of the nuk-teo. The wish tree was filled with wishes written by students one by one. Freshman Moon Soo-Jung (Dept. of Atmospheric Sciences, 23) said, “It's my first time at a university festival, and I felt the romance of the campus that I've only seen in dramas. I hope the wish on the rope will come true.”

The festival began with more than 40 booths, including the PNU's institutions, departments, and clubs. Students lined up to participate in booths prepared by each institution. Among the booths, a four-legged walking robot prepared by Professor Lee In-Ho (Prof. of Electronics Engineering, PNU)'s CAMEL lab attracted students' attention and added more attractions. During the daytime, when there were no performances or other events, 17 teams continued to perform for three days on the temporary stage set up on the one side of the Nuk-Teo. The students stopped and enjoyed the festival by listening to the song or singing along together.

The "Air Bounce" beside the booths also added joy. Students climbed uphill or passed through narrow gaps, stepping on fluffy rubber tubes. Jang Seo-Young (Dept. of Clothing & Textiles, 22), who used the air bounce, laughed, and said, "I feel like I'm back in my childhood."

On the 16th, an opening ceremony was held to announce the opening of the newly grassed Nuk-Teo before the performance. School officials, including President Cha Jeong-In and Student Council President Kim Yo-Seop, all held hands together to celebrate the re-creation of the Nuk-Teo through a performance of stepping on the Nuk-Teo's lawn for the first time.

In the final presidential basketball tournament, "Max" and "Live" faced off. Cheers for each team filled the basketball court throughout the game. After a fierce match, the trophy went to Max. Choi Joon-Hyuk (Dept. of Industrial Engineering, 19), chairman of the Max Basketball Club of the Department of Industrial Engineering and Department of Aerospace Engineering, said, "I am grateful for the good results thanks to my excellent juniors and seniors who gave me generous support." In the final of the president's e-sports competition, Kim Min-Sung (Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 23) in the FIFA category and "ULT," a team participating in the e-sports central club "Ultimate" in the LOL category, won the championship.

The haunted house, which will blow away the early heat, also drew attention. The inside, with dreary background music and the sudden appearance of ghosts, caused the participants to scream. The props stepped on with each step were enough to create tension. Lee Seo-Hyun (School of Global Studies, 23) said, "It was much more thrilling and fun than I thought." Kim Min-Jae (School of Economy, 22), who runs the haunted house, said, “I hope that students who are inundated with studies will relieve their stress with these programs. I was proud and rewarded to see students surprised.”

On the second day of the Daedong-Je, there was a long line from early morning to receive a bracelet for the entrance to the Nuk-Teo performance. Seo Min-Ki (School of Economics, 23), who entered No. 34, expressed expectations for the performance, said, “I liked both Kim Bum-Soo and Oh My Girl, so I stayed up all night and waited at the Nuk-Teo from 3:30 am.”

A performance stage prepared by PNU departments and clubs was held from 6:10 pm. Several stage performances followed, including bands, magic, dance, and ballet. Jeong Soon-Hyung (Dept. of Business Administration, 17), a member of Magic P.N.U., a magic club that performed magic using paper bags, said, “I was able to enjoy the stage with the admiration and strong applause that burst out every time I did magic. I was asked if I had planned it with my classmates who came up to the stage and helped me with magic, but I have never met them before.” Moon Seung-Joon (Dept. of Political Science and Diplomacy), who performed as a member of the band club "Hadobe" of the College of Social Sciences, said, “It's not a big role, but I'm proud to have contributed even a little to the wonderful performance in front of thousands of people. Thank you to all the audience members who responded.” 

Following the heat of the performance stage, the audience cheered enthusiastically when Kim Bum-Soo and Oh My Girl, invited singers to the healing concert, appeared. Kim Bum-Soo melted the audience's eardrums with his singing ability that seemed to have played a sound source, and Oh My Girl sang five songs, including the hit song "Dolphin," saying, "We came to PNU to create a splash." The audience responded by sincerely enjoying the performance, singing along with shouts, and chanting "Encore." 

PNU students' passion was hot despite the heavy rain on the festival's last day. In preparation for the news of rain, the student council of PNU uploaded a post on its official SNS on the night of the 17th, the previous day, with notices such as the normal progress of all programs and the necessity of bringing raincoats for performers. Students who visited the Nuk-Teo were also busy enjoying the festival in raincoats. Choi Hyo-Won (Dept. of English Language Education, 22) said, "It is a pity that it rained, but I'm going to enjoy the festival because it is the last day of the festival.     It was fun because there were more things to enjoy than last year.”

PNU's Got Talent, which was held this year following last year, is an event where students from PNU take the stage to perform songs, and the audience's text voting determines the victory or defeat. There were performances where the victory or defeat was clear and the ones where it was difficult to predict the result until the end, as the success or defeat was decided by only three votes. After the PNU's Got Talent, Park Joon-Hyung, a member of GOD, who is known for "Junny Hyung," made a surprise appearance and heated the atmosphere. Students cheered for his performance of rap with PNU jumper.

Lotte Giants cheerleaders also visited our university. After the introduction of baseball rules by Cho Ji-Hoon, the introduction of Lotte Giants and players, and the cheering squad, by Cho Ji-Hoon, ,a captain of cheerleaders, there was time to learn cheering songs and dances with cheerleaders. In the audience were PNU students wearing Lotte Giants uniforms and waving cheering tools. The cheering squad's intense movements and energetic support further heightened the atmosphere. 

It was also followed by a healing concert many students were looking forward to. Singer Lee Moo-Jin, who took the stage, enthusiastically sang "Rain and You" in line with the rainy weather at the scene, drawing positive responses. STAYC received cheers as all members appeared in jumpers of the PNU department. The fireworks that erupted during the healing concert were the finale of the Daedong-Je. Even in the pouring rain, various fireworks decorated the sky, sparking cheers from students.

Kim Yo-Seop (Dept. of Korean Language Education, 20), president of the student council, who was in charge of the festival, said, “As it is a festival that began in earnest after COVID-19, the budget has grown a lot. On the last day, there were difficulties due to bad weather. Still, it seems that the three-day Daedongje Festival was completed well because the classmates cooperated in an orderly manner according to the guidance.” He continued, adding, “We will do our best to gather the feedback left from this Daedongje and plan better events in the future.”

Reporter Jung Hye-Eun

Translated by Lim Chae-Kyung