For students of Korea University (KU), stone buildings and college cheer songs have subconsciously settled as an indispensable culture in their lives. So it comes as a shock when a question suddenly occurs to oneself – how did these all begin?

To relieve this disturbing curiosity, the talk concert “From the Cradle to the Plains” concerning three themes, architecture, literature, and music, is being held in KU from October 20 to 30. It commemorates the 80th anniversary of the foundation of Anam campus and introduces the history that has moved from Bosung school of Jongno to KU of Anam. 

On Wednesday, programs related to architectural and literary accomplishments concerning KU took place in the Centennial Memorial Samsung Hall. Professor Kim Se-Yong (Department of Construction Engineering) lectured about the historical significance and the post-modernistic values portrayed behind the stone walls of Anam campus. After that, Professor Kho Hyung-Jin (Department of Korean Language Education) analyzed and recited the literary works written by KU students with a renowned literary critic, Kang Yu-Jeong. There were subjects that undergraduates could easily relate to, such as a dedicatory poem about makgeolli, a representative drink of KU.

Despite the lateness of the hour, both concerts ended successfully as more than sixty students and college faculty gathered to attend the lectures. “As a KU student, I feel like I’m part of something so big, so vibrant, and so overwhelming. It was an amazing experience,“ said Park Na-Hyeon (‘14, Political Science and Economics).

The talk concert ends on Thursday with musical performances based on songs composed by KU alumni which greatly influenced Korea’s music history.

▲ Professor Kim Se-Yong (Department of Construction Engineering) is explaining about the aesthetic values that the architect Park Dong-Jin portrayed behind the stone walls of Anam campus.Photograph provided by Kim Hyun-Soo