Dear Readers,

Firstly, I’d like to briefly introduce myself. My name is Ji Ha Kim, and I am the new Editor-in-Chief of The KAIST Herald. I’d like to begin by thanking our readers in your continued interest in our newspaper.

This issue of the Herald features a look into the band and music culture of our very own school. Upon reading this section, one might be surprised to find out that KAIST has a fairly large number of bands covering various genres of music including, but not limited to, heavy metal, punk, fusion jazz and pop.

It seems that smart and intelligent people are not limited in what they are good at. Most of us KAIST students work diligently and efficiently in our studies, and if we apply these working habits to areas such as music, there is a very low chance for failure. Club bands practice day and night to prepare for their performances, with many members often complaining that they slept through all their morning classes or that they didn’t have time to study for their quizzes because of late-night practice sessions. For some, it might seem puzzling to see these people continue pursuing their musical interest despite all their complaints, but the answer is very simple: they love doing it.

However, it is unfortunate to see so many empty seats at these shows. As a firm supporter of amateur music (by amateur I mean lesser known, not untalented), I regularly ask my friends to attend these shows with me, only to receive polite declinations. And so I often go by myself, but it turned out that I wasn’t the only one playing it solo. As previously mentioned, these performances don’t really attract large crowds, but it seems that the people who come do so alone.

Our heavy shoulders are weighed down by our responsibilities to maintain good grades and do well in our classes. However, it is important to note that learning does not only come from studying. It is through experiencing new and different things that we discover who we are and better ourselves as a person. Maybe this point is very obvious since many students, especially KAIST students, are lectured about this all the time. But it’s hard to transform what we think in our heads into actions.

I’d like to encourage the readers of our paper to try and attend these performances (or any other cultural event, for that matter) held in school. You might be losing some time that you could be allotting to study for your quizzes, but I assure you that you can gain something else by going to these shows: a new love for a certain kind of music, a restored sense of hope through seeing passionate performers, or merely a breath of fresh air away from your textbook. It doesn’t have to be related to music; try and invest your time in an area outside your field of study that interests you, and you might be able to achieve far greater and more valuable things.

On a similar note, I’d like to introduce our new Assistant Editor, who shows more eagerness to contribute to our newspaper than any other reporter, an enthusiasm that I admire. I’d also like to welcome our new and returning reporters, who I hope feel a great sense of pride and achievement from being part of our publication. And I sincerely hope that you, dear reader, will also enjoy continuing in your readership to The KAIST Herald.

Regards,
Ji Ha Kim
Editor-in-Chief