In May, you can feel youthful energy from many festivals held at various universities. Most university students look forward to those festivals happily. However, the hidden side of those festivals raises concerns about the drinking culture of college students. In recent days, through the media, many cases highlighted the excessive and enforced drinking habits of several universities.

Alternatively, Daeduk College’s Department of Military Technology students have a club called “Jeol-Ju-Ga-Rak” which is trying to make a society where students practice temperance and spread such behavior to others. They are hosting student orientations with no drinks thereby being a model among universities that are tainted by an inappropriate drinking culture. “Jeol-Ju-Ga-Rak” has been selected as a leader amongst drinking moderation groups for six years. The Argus met the superving professor of “Jeol-Ju-Ga-Rak” to listen to how it started and what the activities of this club are like.

The Argus: Can you introduce yourself and the club “Jeol-Ju-Ga-Rak” to The Argus readers?
Kim Il Jin(Kim): I am the Chair of Military Technology Department at Daeduk College. Our club name was made by the first president of the club and “Jeol-Ju-Ga-Rak” means ‘how pleasant it is when practicing temperance’ in Chinese characters. This club was created in 2010 and this year will be our seventh year that we have been running our club. “Jeol-Ju-Ga-Rak” is one of the clubs that are government-designated. It was first designated to promote friendship between members and then it was changed to improve the drinking culture of universities.

The Argus: Why did you create this club?
Kim: There were some students who wanted to change the drinking culture of universities and I thought it was important to abandon the ruined culture of drinking on campus. University is considered a place where there are mostly students with great brain power gathered together. So, to improve the drinking culture we started this club.

The Argus: What kind of activities does “Jeol-Ju-Ga-Rak” do?
Kim: “Jeol-Ju-Ga-Rak” has been promoting moderation in drinking through events that include drinking. For example, there would be an MT, athletic meet or festival on campus. We encourage students not to pressure one another to drink and enjoy drinking moderate amounts. In particular, we think it would be way better if there is absolutely no alcohol at events. The members of the club conducted a temperance education program together with the local health center and conducted various experiential activities around the campus. Also, we held a campaign to get signatures from students who are willing to practice temperance and we collected about 600 students’ signatures.
The Jeol-Ju leaders club, which is run by the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Korean Public Health Association, selected “Jeol-Ju-Ga-Rak” as one of the most outstanding clubs among the temperance university clubs in Korea.

The Argus: What is an activity that you conducted that means a lot to you or a memorable one?
Kim: When we held campaigns in the past, at first, everyone asked us if our activities were pursuing no alcohol. But as I said, we are not advertising anti-drinking culture. To persuade people that we promote moderate drinking was the hardest thing. Since there are not many clubs like this in Korea, student members found this to be a hard activity club because they did not know what to do. But I told them this was the activity that someone has to do anyway.
Also, since we are a university club, when we promote moderation in drinking around the pubs in university town, we had to walk on eggshells to mind the owners of the pubs. However, we went too many other local universities to work together and exchange periodically. Because of that, I think members felt proud and considered this activity a worthwhile one.

The Argus: How did people react to this club activity?
Kim: This club pursues moderate drinking but the members of the club major in military technology. Therefore, people often get confused because our major is not related to welfare or health. But I think these kinds of acts are something that someone should do anyway. There were many cases in recent years regarding inappropriate drinking parties in and around campuses in Korea. Through the media, we can see and experience that drinking culture should change. So, we consider this to be volunteer work and enjoy working altogether with members and students from other departments.

The Argus: What were the difficulties you have faced and how did you overcome them?
Kim: One of the difficulties was awkwardness. The members of the club were very shy to step up and actively work as a group like this. But as time went by, there were senior members and gradually members followed along very well. Moreover, they are very proud of what they are doing and they are producing great voluntary experiences during their college life. As the chair of the club, that is what I must do, make them proud of what they are doing and spreading this spirit to others to change our drinking culture.

The Argus: What is the difference in the drinking culture between now and the past?
Kim: In recent times, there have been many accidents that occurred as a result of drinking on campuses and trips such as MT in Korean universities. I think the reason is because most students do not know how much they can drink and how to control themselves. In the past, a drinking culture existed but it was more of a face-to-face talk with professors about their majors or their future accompanied by a small amount of alcohol. Yet nowadays, drinking is considered a part of the entertainment culture. Therefore, students do not consider this to be a serious problem and lose control.

The Argus: Currently, the media has cast light on inappropriate drinking culture, what do you think is the reason for this and why does such a drinking culture still exist?
Kim: There is an old saying ‘drinking should be taught by the elders.’ However, current drinking culture reflects the youth having a wrong understanding of drinking. I think it was wrongly delivered from seniors. The important problem is that university students regard drinking as entertainment. Young people should change their understanding of drinking.

The Argus: How do you think the drinking culture of university students has changed and what are the future plans of “Jeol-Ju-Ga-Rak?”
Kim: I absolutely think that drinking culture should be changed. For example, students can avoid drinking if there are more than three people at drinking parties or avoid drinking at events held by the university. Students should understand that drinks are not food people can be forced to drink. Our members are students who look forward to work in the army. In order to prove themselves as leading students, we are going to keep working to spread an appropriate drinking culture throughout Korea.

After the hard work of entering a university and being prepared to take a step towards participating in society, for students, alcohol has become a common thing around the campus. However, most students were not given an actual education about how to control drinking habits. Also, currently around campus, clear solutions to such problems haven’t been given or suggested to students. Like the “Jeol-Ju-Ga-Rak” club, there are some students struggling to solve this problem. Through these kinds of acts, young people can reconsider our drinking culture and change society.