At KU, the start of the semester means many things. Students are full of vigor to study with an urge to get high grades, but also to recruit as many students as possible to their club. Among clubs in KU, students can see most of the brochures and posters related to the fields of business and political science. The KU Literature Club, however, does not post any fancy posters around the West Gate. A question arises––then how it is possible for the Literature Club to find members without such effort; because despite this, a weekly literature meeting on September 6 in a small café brought dozens of members, old and new alike. Together, they started a hot discussion session reading Geumgaksa, a non-fiction Japanese novel written by Mishima Yukio.

 

In the past, the club was the home of KU students who went on to be famous writers and poets. Among them, Choi Seung-Ja (’71, German Language and Literature) is a poet who savored the 1980s lyrical poems. She is still publishing her poems, and her latest collection is called Written on Water. “We are proud that she was once member of the KU Literature Club,” Cho Yong-Chan (’08, Korean Language and Literature), president of the club, said. It is not an exaggeration to say if Yonsei University (YU) has Yoon Dong-Ju, KU has Choi Seung-Ja. Due to illness, she stopped publishing poems in 2001. However, she has recovered and is again putting rigorous effort into writing poems.

 

Cho offers an anecdote for why he joined the literature club. Cho said “I am a senior studying Korean language and literature. Since I was young, I have been interested in literature and poetry. Also, I had more chances to participate in literature seminars when compared with students of other majors.” He stated that he became interested in the KU Literature Club while attending KU. Then, he was introduced to a poetry seminar put on by the KU Literature Club in 2008. He added, “It was March 2012 when I met the former president of this club. He asked me to join and now I am glad that I can lead seminars and weekly discussions as a leader.”

 

The question regarding the essence of literature brings too much pressure on a person’s own will to write. Yet Cho said, “The essence of any genre of literature lies in the students’ pure passion.” He elaborated, “Writing an essay or a poem is not difficult after all, but what matters is the beginning or the determination before writing one’s own piece.” From the determined voice of the president, it seems true that passion and motivation are two huge factors contributing to the quality of a literary piece.

 

The KU Literature Club does not require any superb writing skills or literary sense to join. It is open to anyone who wants to read what he or she are mainly interested in. As long as students have an urge to write and express themselves, they are welcomed into this club anytime. Cho explained the diverse individuality of students from different majors. He mentioned, “Although our club discusses and investigates literature, students studying Korean language and literature make up only a small portion of the club. We have many students from College of Liberal Arts, Medicine, Interdisciplinary Studies, and the Science Campus.” He further commented, “Unlike other student clubs, there are a large number of upperclassmen in our club. There are few freshmen, but most of other students including myself are seniors or juniors.”

 

Shin Doo-Hyeon (’11, Interdisciplinary Studies) looked back on his past memories and said, “Once, I had a chance to write a poem during my class. I wanted to write better, and I also felt that I had not read many books compared with my friends. So I decided to join the literature club.” He further commented, “I enjoyed everything I did during my active years in this club. I learned about poetry, life, and most importantly, the guidelines for living faithfully.” The KU Literature Club is not only a place where members meet, read, and write, but it is also a gathering where underclassmen can learn much about life itself.

 

As the KU Literature Club welcomes anyone at anytime, students who are already participating in other clubs can come in and join the discussion. Cho discussed, “Once a week, on Thursdays, members gather around and read a piece. It doesn’t really matter whether it is a novel, a poem, or an essay. We are trying to discuss various literary works in this club.” He further noted “We also create our own works as our literary senses mature. If there is a member who creates a literary piece, then we gather every Tuesday and give our feedbacks. There are more literature meetings outside KU where members can receive intellectual inspiration from writers and poets.” For a long time now, the KU Literature Club members have gone on various feedback sessions whenever a member creates new work. The KU Literature Club opens an annual exhibition of illustrated poems. Moreover, it hosts a lecture which involves famous literary figures. The latest exhibition hosted by the KU Literature Club was at KU’s People’s Square, from September 27 to 29.