When people hear the phrase “you don’t need to know,” most fail to reach the conclusion that it might be the name of a certain school club, and ask back, embarrassed. As one can easily presume from its name, Molldoe claims to become a free, unconstrained soul, trying to cast off the conventional image of magazines — rigid, strict and often authoritarian. “The most attractive aspect of Molldoe is that you can scribble about anything you want to write with no constraints,” said Lee Hae Hyun (’13, Psychology), the editor-in-chief of Molldoe.

 

The club started off from the inspiration its founders had when they encountered Waseda Koji, a handmade magazine made by students of Waseda University (WU), during their exchange student program to Japan. Moved by the exotic features of the magazine, students decided to make their own magazine when they returned at Korea University (KU), which became the first issue of Molldoe. The first issue was published on April, 2010, and the club was accepted as a central club in 2013.

 

“I joined Molldoe because I was fascinated by the fact that I could record the most trivial things that most people neglect. These are stories that will perish if we do not report them, but they deserve better than that,” says Lee. In Molldoe, unlike other official school magazines and independent press, there are neither constraints nor interventions in the writing processes from other senior editors; it is completely up to the reporter on how and what they will report about. This does not end in the writing and subject matter, but stretches out to the layouts and illustrations, which reporters can create as they see fit.

 

It is for this reason the club claims to stand between the verge of the press and pure creation. “When looking from the point that we report things, Molldoe can be seen as a form of media — everything that is recorded becomes history, and making history with seemingly trivial things is what Molldoe is aiming to do. Yet our magazine can be seen as the result of creations, when looking at the way we express the news and deliver them to the readers,” claimed Lee. The club started off from the affections to the unimportant, minor things, just like the club name Molldoe. These could have been forgotten if adequate attention was not given to them.

 

When looking at their magazine, one may feel like he is reading a letter from an old friend. Taking into account that the whole magazine is made manually, it is not surprising that the legibility of the magazine is not great, just like a handwritten letter. Yet when trying to concentrate and read it with care, one can feel a sense of relief and comfort. Reading the articles line by line, one can also spot the hidden wit and keen criticism that lie within the article.

 

Molldoe also successfully focuses on subjects that most students are interested in, and effectively delivers them with their own viewpoints in a clever way. When reading an article, the reader cannot help but be absorbed in the article and find him or herself reading to the very last line of Molldoe. Most of the articles in the magazine deal with subjects that most students are interested in, but do not dare to dig into, like the Korean sausage truck at the back gate of KU.

 

However, Molldoe does not concentrate only on delivering news about minor and trivial things. “We also try not to fall behind the flow of time,” says Lee. Rather, they also deal with serious issues like the Godaegonggamdae scandal, since student society and major happenings in Anam are not distinctive from the subjects Molldoe deal with.

 

Club members are in completely equal positions to each otehrs. For this reason, Molldoe can go a step further than just simply delivering news to students, and freely infuse their voices and criticisms to the article. “We try to make the article and sentences as interesting as possible, so that we can attract the reader’s attention more effectively, rather than simply recording the plain facts,” says Lee.

 

The club is also somewhat mysterious in some aspects — the club member’s identities are confidential, and the magazines appear for sale without prior notice, which they call surprise selling. However, the main reason for such acts is to provide opportunities to meet with readers and not just to make profits. “I think that can be seen as a concept of our club; it is a kind of tradition,” said Lee.

 

There are no designated meeting dates or conferences. There exist deadlines, but as the sub-name “almost every other month” implies — the deadlines are also flexible, and they avoid an authoritarian atmosphere. “We usually hang around in the semester, and work diligently when the deadline is imminent,” says Lee. It is for this reason Lee confidently presents Molldoe as the best club activity that can be done in parallel with academic activities.

 

Anyone who wants to join Molldoe is welcomed, as there are no limitations or restrictions. Students interested in Molldoe can contact the club anytime via facebook messages and email. Molldoe’s recruiting is not limited to a period of time; the door to Molldoe is always open. All that is required from potential reporters is the passion towards Molldoe.