“If You Plant Humanities in Advertising” ... Dongmyeong University Advertising PR Department Reading Club ‘Seosamdok’ Story

Members of the Seo Sam-dok gathering from the Department of Advertising and PR at Dongmyung University.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] ‘Seosamdok (書三讀)’ means to read three times. The reading club of the Department of Advertising and PR at Dongmyung University took its name from this phrase.

The activities of Seosamdok are attracting attention. At Seosamdok, current and on-leave students of the Advertising and PR Department who are interested in communication and reading are active members.

These ‘book lovers’ decided not to rush through their reading. They aim to deepen their understanding by combining humanities with their major, communication studies.

The name Seosamdok was born from the idea that “one must read a book three times: reading the text, the author, and the reader themselves.”

Seosamdok was initiated by third-year student Noh Seong-ung, who wanted to integrate humanities into communication studies.

Second-year student Lee Ji-hyun, third-year students Kim Ji-soo, Park Chae-yeon, Go Mi-joo, Ma Ji-hyun, and fourth-year student Lee Soo-jin gathered. Professor Lee Jeong-gi of the Advertising and PR Department and Dr. Hwang Woo-nyeom, a cultural communication expert from Hanyang University, also participate as regular members.

The professor’s role is limited to connecting the members. The books to be read are selected by the members themselves, and the person who selects the book sets the discussion topics and leads the discussion in a systematic way.

The concept of this club is to freely discuss a variety of books?from psychology and philosophy to pure humanities?to understand both the author’s world and the reader’s world.

So far, students have covered books such as Jeong Sera’s “I Can’t Love the Earth as Much as Earthlings Do”, Adler’s psychology book “The Courage to Be Disliked”, Erich Fromm’s “The Art of Loving”, Hino Okio’s “Water the Flowers Today Even If You Leave the World Tomorrow”, Nakajima Atsushi’s “Tiger Hunting”, Hermann Hesse’s “Demian”, and Guillaume Musso’s “Will You Be There?”.

Student Noh Seong-ung said, “I thought it would be great to have a club where I could add my own thoughts to books and share and discuss them with others,” adding, “Seosamdok activities have greatly helped improve my humanities knowledge, sensitivity, and creative creator capabilities.”

Professor Lee Jeong-gi said, “I learn a lot from the passionate students who create a pure humanities club, read books enthusiastically, and engage in discussions,” and added, “I will strive to return the diverse perspectives I have learned back to the students.”

The Department of Advertising and PR at Dongmyung University operates various curricula that harmonize theoretical education and practical courses, including the advertising startup club Beyond (advised by Professor Gu Ja-hwi) and the video startup club Tak (advised by Professor Han Eun-jung).