Every semester, the Graduate School of Culture Technology (GSCT) organizes the KAIST Culture Festival for students, professors and faculty members. Throughout the four months, various genres of performances and events – from opera to musicals to indie band performances – take place in the KAIST Auditorium. Professor Boncheol Koo of GSCT is one of the organizers of the events.

Can you briefly introduce yourself?
Hello, my name is Boncheol Koo and I have been at KAIST as a visiting professor since the establishment of GSCT in 2005. While KAIST is renowned as a school for scientists and engineers, I studied music, sound composition and performance. Currently, I teach a course called Sound Design and Programming. Moreover, I help manage the Youth CT Experience “NaDa” Center, also run by GSCT. At the NaDa Center, we organize science- and culture-related educational programs for young adults in order to expand popularization of science culture by providing CT information.

When and how did the KAIST Culture Festival begin?
The KAIST Culture Festival has been running for over 20 years with over 500 successful programs so far. Professor Myung-Suk Kim of the Department of Industrial Design originally organized it. Previously, it was called “Friday Culture Festival” as it was held only on Fridays. Nowadays, however, the events have gone under a series of changes. Still, all are directed to promote the combination of science and art, creativity and artistic sensibility.

Who is your main target audience for these events?
With so many KAIST students spending time in laboratories, we first aimed to invite these students to attend and enjoy these cultural events. Recently, more people from districts outside the campus such as the Daeduck Research and Development Center have also been attending these events. Though we did not initially intend this, it just occurred naturally. It is great to see that we are getting larger audiences since we have such valuable performances and events that we would like to share. We hope to expand further in the future by providing culture to the district we live in.

How does GSCT determine which group partakes in the Culture Festival? Can students offer their suggestions?
Twice a year, we accept applications from groups or organizations that would like to participate in the event. The number of applications we receive has increased significantly in the past couple of years as people became more aware about these events at KAIST. On average, we receive around 80 to 90 applications for only eight or nine spots per semester. A total of 17 or 18 works are performed each year.

When choosing events, we always emphasize the diversity of the genres. Out of, say, nine events each semester, we choose seven works from applications and use direct casting for the other two groups. Many students have suggested casting indie bands to perform at KAIST. In fact, two bands came last semester and we plan on having two more at the end of this semester.

The play University of Laughs (performed on September 23) was very popular among students. How effective do you think these events are for KAIST students?
The festival definitely has positive effects on students. First, students seem to recognize these events as their own and bring themselves to these events. This stands as proof that the Culture Festival does have benefits. On a more personal note, I hope the word “culture” can be redefined through these events. Cultural events should be seen as more of a festival than a performance which requires you to schedule to attend at a certain time.

What is the goal you seek to achieve by providing these events?
I don’t think culture itself needs to have a hard-set goal. I do hope that by attending these events, the separation between professors and students can be brought down. This could be a way to bring students and professors closer together.

What are some of the most memorable events for you personally?
Though I do not have any specific groups in particular, I do enjoy piano performances. Many students have written reviews and given positive feedback on various events. Last semester’s indie bands Chang Ki-ha and the Faces and Broccoli, You Too? were especially popular.

Though it was not in this semester’s Fall Culture Festival program, the creative musical Naro was held last week. As the composer of the musical, could you briefly introduce Naro?
Naro is a space musical that was produced in celebration of KAIST’s 40th anniversary and GSCT’s sixth. Continuing from last year, the musical [was] held [last] week on campus with a different cast. Hopefully it will take place next year as well. Naro is a significant work created by GSCT with two main goals: improving what we already have by adding technology and the skills we have acquired, and significantly lowering the cost of producing and running this project.

What are some events, plays or bands that we can expect to see at KAIST in the future?
None are planned so far. However, GSCT is always monitoring rare events happening within Korea, hoping to invite more foreign works to KAIST. Instead of inviting these groups by paying them, we seek to exchange our skills through memorandums of understandings, like the one with Children’s Musical Theater San Jose.

Do you have any last comments for our readers?
Please come to the festival. Feel free to come by and enjoy these events without pressure. Thank you!