Countless Hanyangians are holding on to unique hobbies and interests along with their studies with passion. Some, with this passion, have recruited other Hanyangians with the same interests and have formed unique gatherings, which are differentiated from the preexisting school clubs in the sense that they are less formal and do not require the school’s recognition. News H met with three of these gatherings: HyES, Han-tteok and Hy-beer.

 

Who wants to play games with me?
 

“I actually tried to start this gathering back in 2014 with my passion towards games. I just didn’t have enough executive abilities back then,” Lee Yee-seok started off (Materials Science and Engineering, 3rd grade). However, as he came back from the army, he decided to do it promptly. HYES (formerly known as Ganking, now as Hanyang E-Sports) is a now-newly-starting gathering for people who like and want to learn various games. Already having executives and over 70 members, students are more than passionate. People are already having sudden online get-togethers through ‘League of Legends’, ‘Battle Ground’, and ‘Overwatch’. The students who aren’t so good at games try even harder since they believe that it’s a great chance to improve their skills.

 

Lee has the big picture in front of him. He is planning on a competition within the gathering and with other school students. However, solely playing games is not what his is wishing for. “I want to motivate our members to try different games and give constructive feedback to them. Moreover, I want to produce various youtube content with all of our members’ participation,” said Lee. He mentioned he wants to change the misconceptions of students playing games. “We could create a channel on youtube or facebook, so that other people could also be interested in playing games. I’m sure playing games can be very productive,” said Lee. He also mentioned that he would like more students who are willing to play games, as he enjoys teaching his knowledge to others. “I am working on changing the prejudice on gaming. Passion is the only trait required!”

 
 

Having a tteokbokki mate

“I went on a two-month trip to Europe during my summer vacation, and that became a crucial motivation for me to create this gathering,” said Kwon Yi-kyong (Clothing and Textiles, 3rd grade). As she hadn’t been able to eat a lot of Korean food during her stay in Europe, she had tteokbokki (spicy stir-fried rice cake) every day for two weeks after she came back to Korea. “My parents ate tteokbokki with me at first, but they gave up as that was all I was eating for two weeks,” laughed Kwon. However, as she tried to eat tteokbokki alone, she couldn’t eat all of the fried dishes and sundae (Korean stuffed sausage) on her own. Since she felt the need to have a tteokbokki mate, she created a gathering starting with 40 people with the name of ‘Han-tteok’
 

Han-tteok met once every other week officially, but they had sudden get-togethers very often. “After a semester starts, it’s a great chance to make new friends and eat what they want at the same time!” said Kwon. Currently with around 80 students only within four months, Kwon introduced their unique MT as well. “We went to an MT right after the semester ended. We made four groups to make the best tteokbokki in an hour,” reminisced Kwon.
 

She is still working on the management of this gathering. “We don’t have an official activity yet, so we’re having hardships getting to know everyone. I’m planning on making one in the near future,” commented Kwon. She is also thinking of selling tteokbokki in the school festival to better advertise their gathering. “All Hanyangians, including all international students, are welcome anytime!”

 

Beer, there’s more than you think!
 

When people hear the word beer, they tend to only think of it as ‘fried chicken’s best friend.’ However, there is much more you have to know about beer. Lim Sung-ju (Education, 3rd grade), with great interest towards the information of beer, started a gathering named ‘Hy-beer.’ “I actually visited Europe to learn more about beer. I first started meeting up with a couple of friends to visit pubs,” reminisced Lim. However, through coming across various clubs in other schools related to alcohol drinks, Lim decided to start one himself. Starting from the second semester of last year, Hy-beer gave me the chance to learn about different types of beer with any willing Hanyangians.
 

Lim started with a humble mind, thinking about a lot of people who wouldn’t be interested in beer. However, 40 students applied and Lim had to make a sorrowful decision of only recruiting 20 members for better management. One week, he would buy various types of beers and open a small tasting event. The next week, they would visit a fine pub and gradually find their taste between the various types of beer. Through the repetition of these two weeks, Lim found this activity worthwhile. “As we first started this gathering, a lot of the members asked me for recommendations when we visited a pub. As they experienced various beers, they seem like they are finding their own beer,” said Lim.
 

Lim is now planning on an official recruitment this March. “I am planning to recruit more people then before, so that more people can enjoy these activities,” said Lim. He mentioned that even though he might not know beer like a professional, he is still continuing his studies. “A lot of people have misconceptions on gatherings of alcohol. However, the purpose of this gathering itself is to enjoy the mood, without focusing on the amount of beer. I wish anyone who has interest in beer, even though they can’t drink well, to join our gathering.”



On Jung-yun        jessica0818@hanyang.ac.kr
Photos by Kang Cho-hyun