Voice of KAIST (VOK) is and has been the only broadcasting system at KAIST since its establishment in 1986. VOK is responsible for broadcasting not only various school events such as the entrance ceremony, Taewool Song Festival and KAIST-POSTECH Science War, but also their own regularly-scheduled programs and the annual fall broadcasting festival. This year, the theme of VOK's fall broadcasting festival is "holic." For their festival, VOK is filming several dramas, a documentary and a talk show all related to one common theme, and hopes to communicate with students through its works. The KAIST Herald met with the president of VOK, Youjung Shin, to hear more about its plans and stories of its upcoming festival. 

 

Hello, my name is Youjung Shin, the 27th president of VOK. I was appointed as the president of VOK in November 2010 and my term ends in November 2011. I am a junior majoring in the Department of Mechanical Engineering.

 

VOK is the official broadcasting system at KAIST, founded since the establishemnent of KIT in 1986. There are approximately 30 to 40 staff members, who are mainly freshmen, sophomores and juniors, working for VOK. Our work can be divided into three parts: regularly-scheduled programs, display services and monthly events. Also, as the only broadcasting system at KAIST, we broadcast various official school events live.

 

One of the biggest monthly events is the upcoming fall broadcasting festival. It will be held on November 23, under the theme of holic. The festival is all about exploring various ideas on a key issue through visual media. For example, last year the theme of the broadcasting festival was communication. We talked about its diverse aspects, such as communication with friends and the pros and cons of communicating through social networking services.

 

This year, we are hoping to share our stories about holic. The definition of holic is a person who is attracted to or addicted to something. If one is addicted to something that he or she likes and enjoys, such an addiction could be healthy and beneficial. Wethought becoming a holic for something once in a while is worth trying in our twenties and so this year, we would like to talk about something that can arouse sympathy among youths.  

 

We are filming four projects for the festival this year, and the genres vary from documentary and dramas to talk shows, etc. For the talk show, we have invited KAIST students who claim to be holics and we are planning to provide them with a comfortable environment to open up and have an honest talk regarding what they are addicted to and the pleasures they gain out of it. 

 

One of the biggest advantages of the broadcasting festival is that students can have their own time. Particiapting in the festival may not be as physically active and exciting as watching a rock band performance, yet it gives time for self-enrichment. Although our works are not filmed by professionals and may seem rough, these works can be the most touching since they are made by people your age who have the same worries and problems as yours. Sit back, relax and enjoy our works with a hot cup of coffee on a chilly fall night!  

 

VOK has been broadcasting at KAIST for over 20 years. However, since 2006, the number of speakers has decreased to only three, diminishing our transmissibility as a medium. In order to increase our influence as a broadcasting system, we started the display service  this semester. We set up monitors in places with large floating populations, and these display monitors play their role as a medium to provide information to students. Since it was difficult for KAIST students to obtain integrated information all at once, we came up with the idea of installing monitors and began planning since Jaunuary of this year. The display service gave us a good opportunity to expand our roles from audio-based to visual media. 

 

These display monitors are located in Areum Hall, Sarang Hall, Somang Hall, the first floor of Student Center-2 and in front of the cafeteria, working 24 hours everyday. There are mainly four pages: news from outside school which are updated on a daily basis, school news, announcements and notices and student opinions. Also, students can check various event schedules, posters and program promotions from VOK. 

 

I would like to thank all KAIST students who always pay attention to our programs and work; VOK will continue to work hard to become a trustworthy boradcasting system at KAIST. Also, I appreciate all the efforts of our staff at VOK. They have all done an amazing job at their respective positions, and they are the reason that VOK exists. Although my time as president ends this month, I will always trust all of you and work hard until the last day of my term. Lastly, I'd like to give special thanks to the vice president of VOK.