Following KAIST's first recruitment of student PR models last year, a club was also established to help these students get involved beyond the routine photography work. The KAIST Herald met up with Woojin Jeon, president of MOKA, to learn more about their work.

▲ Woojin Jeon, president of MOKA

Please introduce yourself to the readers.
Hi, my name is Woojin Jeon. I am from the entering class of 2010 and I double major in the Department of Mathematical Sciences and the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering. I was briefly a member of ELKA and later joined KFAC, where I was club president. I applied to become a student model last year and was fortunately selected. Later on, when the formation of MOKA was confirmed, I was voted as the president.

Can you introduce your club, MOKA?
MOKA was formed last year with the help of the KAIST Public Relations Office. Since photo shoots only take place occasionally and the student models did not meet up otherwise, it was difficult for us to get to know each other. I actually suggested the creation of a separate club for the student models to meet up and spend time together, which the PR office agreed to. Our main objective is still to take part in promotional photography, and our members include both undergraduate and graduate students.

When picking new student PR models, what is the selection process and judging criteria?
Our selection process involves application forms and interviews. As for the judging criteria, we are looking for students who will take on the full responsibility of representing the university as models who appear in photos and videos. Also, we are hoping to find students who put effort into their appearances, and those who are sociable and active. Of course, we would happily interview students who are new to KAIST or have thus far focused mostly on their studies and participated less in other aspects of school life.

What activities are MOKA members involved in?
MOKA will have both regular and annual activities. As for regular activities, we plan on having the Best Dresser event, which will involve taking photos of students on campus (with their permission, of course). During club meetings, members will decide on the best-dressed students for the week, and these students will receive prizes and their photos will be put up for other students to see. We hope that this can encourage students to take more interest in their fashion and hopefully, they too can be chosen as best dressers in the future. We also plan on providing fashion advice to students. As for annual activities, we are considering fashion competitions during the spring festival, for which we hope to get sponsored by fashion companies. During the fall semester, our idea is to hold fashion workshops where students can check out exhibitions put up by famous brands, and perhaps a chance to purchase clothing on site.

How does it feel to work as one of the representatives of KAIST?
I personally don't think that student models are representative of KAIST. On the other hand, I do believe that every student at KAIST is a representative of our university. When you look at students attending other top universities, they are usually proud of attending their universities and even wear their school or department jackets outside of campus. KAIST students, on the other hand, seem reluctant to reveal their university affiliation. I hope that KAIST students can all come to view themselves as proud representatives of our university.

What do you hope to achieve during your presidency at MOKA?
We are planning on uploading Best Dresser photos and fashion advice onto our Facebook page. Hopefully many students check it out and help publicize MOKA's activities. Another goal is for the members to become closer with one another and create a positive atmosphere so we can continue to attract many new applicants every semester.

And finally, is there anything you would like to tell our readers?
For students who could not apply this semester but are interested in taking part, I hope that you will apply next time as we receive applicants every semester. I hope that KAIST students can put in the effort into their fashion so that our university can be better perceived as a beautiful place. 

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