On October 4 and 5, KAIST Art & Music Festival (KAMF) 2013 was held to provide KAIST students, as well as the public, an opportunity to enjoy art and music along with nature. The festival consisted of three music stages, an art flea market, a picnic zone, and Festival Night Fever.

While 1,700 KAIST students had made reservations for the festival, 1,400 students haveactually picked up their tickets, whereas approximately 1,000 outsiders bought their tickets on YES 24, an online bookstore and ticket reservation website (http://www.yes24.com).

Geoltan Kang, the leader of KAMF Organization Committee, said that the committee focused mainly on improving the quality of the festival based on the feedback from last year. While last year’s tickets were free of charge for all KAIST students who reserved online, only about half of the students who made reservations showed up at KAMF 2012. This year, the student council decided to charge 10,000 Korean Won to instill in students a sense of responsibility to participate in the event. The ticket fees were used as a part of the event’s operation budget. Moreover, the committee tried to solve the sound quality issue at the Lyu Keun-Chul Sports Complex (E3), as most of the feedbacks pointed out. Though much improved from last year, some people suggested that the organizing committee still needs to further ameliorate the sound quality.

As a result of the efforts made by the committee, most of the students were highly satisfied with the festival this year. “I think it was because of the quality of culture life that KAMF 2013 provided. Unlike other university students living in Seoul, KAIST students have fewer opportunities to enjoy culture. Also, I think the popularization of indie music and rock festival events among college students have contributed to the popularity of KAMF 2013,” said Kang.

He further added, “KAMF was the largest event that the student council organized this year. There was a huge expectation from the participants, but that also meant high pressure for us, especially since the participants were not just limited to KAIST students.” The organization committee recognized that there still was room for improvement, and expects that in a few years, KAMF will be a festival appreciated by not only KAIST students, but also people outside the KAIST community.