Celebrity Appearances Drive Success... Who Is the Star of the University Festival?

Minimum 30 Million KRW for Celebrity Booking
"Only Celebrities and Alcohol" Criticism Arises
Need for Various Ways of Communication and Entertainment

[Image source=Yonhap News]

At around 10 p.m. on the 26th, three students played guitar and sang at a pub in Hanyang University. Students who were drinking also sang along. At around 10:30 p.m., the 4-member girl group ‘aespa’ arrived, bringing their performance to an end. The students shouted, "aespa is here, come quickly!" and ran to the open-air theater where the performance was held. Although the open-air theater was already packed with people watching the show, the students watched the girl group from a distant spot where they could barely see. After the performance ended, the students walked back to continue drinking. A procession heading home followed.

With most social distancing measures lifted, university festivals have spectacularly revived after three years. Among major universities, Seoul National University (from the 10th to the 12th), Sungkyunkwan University (from the 11th to the 13th), and Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (from the 17th to the 19th) held festivals, while Hanyang University is holding theirs from the 25th to the 27th, and Korea University from the 23rd to the 27th.

The festivals were organized around popular idols and singers, just like three years ago. Korea University booked celebrities for all four days of their festival. On the 23rd, Younha performed; on the 24th, BewhY, BIBI, and Yuto; on the 25th, Boramiyu and Jannabi; and on the 26th, aespa and Akdong Musician performed. Hanyang University also featured celebrities for all three days, with renowned singers such as PSY, Dynamic Duo, and Zico filling the lineup. University students focused on famous celebrities and shared lists of booked entertainers from universities in the Seoul metropolitan area on community platforms.

Booking famous entertainers is directly linked to the success of the festivals. Financial concerns come later. A representative from a metropolitan university said, "Regardless of rank, booking entertainers requires at least 30 million won," adding, "More than half of the festival budget is usually spent on booking entertainers." The money to hire these entertainers comes from the university foundation. A university official stated, "As the student council fee payment rate continues to decline, the university foundation is increasingly covering the costs," and added, "I’ve heard that some universities cover nearly 100% of the entertainer booking fees."

Some members of the university community harbor resentment toward festivals that highlight only entertainers. University student Lee Myung-jun (26) said, "No matter which university you go to, what you can enjoy are entertainers and alcohol," adding, "For students living near the university, it comes as noise, and I wish that money spent on booking entertainers would rather be used to improve the quality of university classes." Because universities compete to book famous entertainers, it is common to see the same entertainer at multiple universities. PSY was booked by Sungkyunkwan University, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Hanyang University, Dankook University, Sangmyung University, and Cheongju University, among others.

There are also opinions that instead of inviting entertainers, time and space should be provided for students to enjoy themselves. For example, Sunmoon University in Asan, Chungnam Province, held a small festival on the 11th without booking entertainers. Instead, it was composed of various contents that students could participate in directly, such as photo zones and DJing. Although there were no entertainers, students said it was a day to create memories. Kim (25), a student at Sunmoon University, said, "Rather than entertainers, it felt like becoming one while watching stages prepared by friends," adding, "It was a festival held after a long time, and I was satisfied even without entertainers."

There is also a persuasive argument that booking entertainers is inevitable. A public relations team member from a metropolitan university said, "MZ generation university students tend to be more individualistic than previous generations and are passive in activities such as student councils, academic societies, and clubs," adding, "The prolonged COVID-19 pandemic has built up stress, and festivals provide an opportunity for members of the university community, alumni, and local residents to meet, communicate, and create memories through events. Inviting entertainers is a necessary condition, but not a sufficient one."