The KAIST Acoustic Guitar Club (KAGC) is having its third recruitment this month. KAGC is a guitar-playing club for faculty members in KAIST. They attend many school events and have regular performances four times a year. The KAIST Herald met with one of the members of the KAGC, Jong Seok Lee.

Please briefly introduce yourself.
Hello, my name is Jong Seok Lee and I am the team leader of the KAIST Language Center. Though I am not the president of KAGC, I am one of the members who started this club.

What is KAGC?
KAGC started in May 2012, and members include our school faculty members, some students, and sales people who work at KAIST. School faculty members are the regular members while students and other staffs are considered as associate members. There are no differences between regular and associate members except the fact that only regular members have the right to select the board members. Our club has a total of 35 members.

What are the activities done in KAGC?
We regularly have Wednesday practice sessions, where members gather around and practice playing the guitar. Members are divided into four groups depending on their level of playing. Three groups consist of members who have played the guitar for less than six months. One group consists of members who are experts or have been playing the guitar for more than one year. Therefore, some members learn how to play guitar through lessons given by other expert members, and other members practice on their own. We also have our own regular recitals every three months and perform at school events, such as faculty workshops, athletic competition events, and many more.

What was the motive for starting the club?
We started this guitar club because there are not many music related clubs for faculty members. In fact, I think there is none except for choirs. We chose the guitar in particular because it is an easy instrument to start with and many people are interested in playing it. And now, it is already our third time recruiting new members.

Tell us more about the performances that KAGC has done.
As I mentioned earlier, besides our regular performances, we volunteer to perform at school events. We had also volunteered to perform at the KAIST Family Night held last November. Furthermore, we perform at nearby bars that have music facilities. For these performances, we have extra practices after our regular practice sessions.

What kind of music does KAGC play?
We usually play pop music that is publicly well-known. There are some cases where few of our great performers play more classic guitar music, but mostly, we practice and perform pop music.

Are there any hardships in practicing and performing?
A big inconvenience is that there is no proper designated space for our club. There is no clubroom for our members to meet. Also, as our club consists of faculty members and others with jobs at KAIST, it is hard to figure out a time for everyone to participate. Each member has his or her own personal appointments or extra work, so it is hard for every member to attend the regular meeting. We usually have about 20 members showing up for each practice sessions.

What are the future plans for KAGC?
After sufficient practice, we would really like to make a donation with our talent. I heard many people offer talent donations and we would like to participate too some day when we are ready. It would be great to visit schools for the elderly, nursing homes, and hospitals, and to perform for them.

Do you have any last comment for the KAIST students and the readers of The KAIST Herald?
If you are interested in playing the guitar but did not have the chance to learn it while at KAIST, contact us and join our club. Thank you.