Despite being an amateur sports club for students who are interested in rowing, KU Rowing Team seems to go beyond the amateur level, especially in terms of the members’ endeavors. They participate in training sessions twice a week to develop basal physical fitness, and visit the Misari Rowing Stadium once every other week to row the boat that the club owns. During summer vacation, they even go on a camp training for four weeks near the stadium to enhance team work and cooperation. Such high effort was reflected at last in the annual competition held in July among amateur rowing teams of the five following universities: Seoul National University (SNU ), KU, Yonsei University (YU), Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (HUFS), and Inha University.

 

Although rowing is not the most popular sport in Korea, it has gradually become familiar to the general public through media broadcast, such as MBC’s (Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation) variety show “Infinite Challenge.” Ryu Sik Yeol (’83, Statistics), an alumni of the KU Rowing Team, introduces rowing as a sport that unites the members together. “We often say, ‘we are in the same boat,’ in situations where people have to share the same destiny or overcome difficulties together. This is the spirit that the rowing team requires,” he says. Ryu continues, “Rowing allows students to become more collaborative in the rather carefree college environment.” Thus, this sport emphasizes the need of teamwork in that the boat would not be able to proceed even with the absence of a single member.

 

Because the victory of a rowing game is decided on how fast the team reaches the end, it is advantageous for it to consist of members who have good physical condition. “Although we try not to be so harsh on height when recruiting new members, it is general for players to be at least 180 centimeters tall. The recent team consists of members who are 175 cm or taller,” Ryu says. However, it is not only physical condition that plays a pivotal role in rowing. High mental strength is strongly required so that crews can overcome hardships together. Captain Park Hyun Gun (’12, Geography Education) mentions, “Rowing does not require a ‘star player’ in the team. All crews have to cooperate and work in harmony, and so KU Rowing Team emphasizes the individual’s responsibility.”

 

 

As aforementioned, the competition among five universities is currently the largest event for the rowing team. KU Rowing Team had performed well consistently, but showed rather regrettable results in recent years’ competitions. “Another school’s team members actually major in physical education, meaning that we have comparably lower physical strength than them. This might be one of the reasons that we did not do so well this year,” says Choi Ho Seung (’12, Education), a crew of the team. From 1971 to 2002, the biggest competition was the annual match between the rowing teams of KU and YU. However, because YU lacked in team members, the match has been temporarily suspended for several years. Still, it is expected that it will revive in two years.

 

When the members were asked about their memorable experiences within their club life, they agreed that it was their summer camp training. “The camping environment was poor; it was like a PVC greenhouse where it lacked also of the most basic of living needs. But I think it was this poor surrounding that made our training fun,” says Choi. Ko Sung Hwa (’12, Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering) shares a similar point. “During the time in camp, our daily schedule was monotonous; it was a mere repetition of training, so at first I wondered why I started this. However, toward the end, I felt quite wistful.”

 

The recruiting process for the rowing team is held at the start of the spring semester. Recently, the team has been making efforts in promotion to diversify student sex and major, and now there are also female members participating. Nine male members and five female members are recruited, and although age is not a significant criterion, it is ideally for freshmen. Selected students are recommended to continue their activities for at least two years. Currently, the team consists of 10 male and five female first-year members.

 

KU Rowing Team is going to celebrate its 50th anniversary this month with alumni. Currently, there are approximately 200 members who went through and achieved the requirements of the rowing team. Ryu says, “Compared to the long history of our club, the number of alumni is not that high. However, I believe that this fact demonstrates the toughness of our activity.”

 

After graduating school, those alumni take part in another group called Hojeonghoe. Ryu mentions, “Hojeonghoe does not only focus on rowing, but also on other activities such as hiking and playing golf to maintain intimacy among members.” This factor eventually leads to strong attachment among graduates and current members. “Although decades have passed since I graduated college, I even know freshmen members because I get to see them at least ten times a year,” Ryu says.