University festivals become too much commercialized

It was on the menu of a bar at a university festival in Gangwon Province on May 11. Menus of other bars included “Fish cake soup that my boyfriend inserted” and “Bounteous yellow peach - 6,900 won.” You tilt your head at first but once you get a sense of the sexual meaning implied in them, you would feel unpleasant, instead of laughing. So did students at the festival. When a student took issue with some of the menus, the relevant college issued a statement of apology. That was it. There was neither investigation nor disciplinary action by the university. A university official said, “We cannot discipline students because the event is organized by the student council.”

One of the biggest characteristics of university festivals is commercialization, which leads to commercialization of sex and undesirable drinking culture. A video clip capturing a university festival in the Chungcheong provinces was uploaded on YouTube on May 17. It showed a group of four female students in short pants and a bra dancing intensely. One of them inserted a mic in her pants, as if she is having sex. Internet users criticized the video clip, saying, “Is it a university festival or an adult entertainment?”

The poor quality of food sold at the festival and rip-offs have happened at university festivals every year. Students began to quarrel over the issue when someone posted on the student community web site of Konkuk University that a fried food that is sold at 1,000 (0.89 U.S. dollar) won outside the campus is sold at 3,000 won (2.68 dollars) at the festival. In fact, food sold in university festival is generally 1.5 to 2 times more expensive compared to restaurants. There are mixed views. Some claim that it is too expensive considering that the sellers do not pay rent, others say they have no choice but to do it to make profits in a short period of time.

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