After the last COVID-19 pandemic period, our daily life is recovered. Since March 20 this year, the obligation to wear masks in public places as well as public transportation has been lifted, and various festivals have been held nationwide. Seoul National University has also been conducting face-to-face lectures and events since 2022, revitalizing the campus. We met Kim Min-wook, a senior of the Department of Agricultural Economics & Rural Development, to find out the students' thoughts on the changed college life before and after COVID-19.

 

: Hello, I'm Kim Min-wook, majoring in Agricultural Economics & Rural Developments. 

 

: I think 2020 was a really chaotic time. The opening of the school has been delayed by about two weeks. There were few legal restrictions, but everything was restricted by our own. It is natural to wear a mask now, but it was not necessary to wear a mask until mid-2020. There was no limit on the number of people or time. But in the case of school events, almost all activities including new learning centers, were canceled and drinking parties seemed to have shrunk considerably. I think it's because that's a time when everyone's fear of COVID-19 was severe. I remember that school became mess if there was even one confirmed case at school.

 

: I mainly focused on club activities. My major class was almost non-face-to-face, so I rarely had a chance to meet my friends in the same department. So I met people in various clubs. Although it was a poor environment, the school also paid attention to make students participate in various activities. They conducted a new learning center on face-to-face with non-face-to-face at the same day. Oh, and I was very grateful to see a lot of efforts in the executive branch of the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, such as holding online game competitions and holding various events.

 

: I thought I have enjoyed my school life a lot in my own way, and had a lot of fun during COVID-19. But after I go to school in 2022 and 2023 and I thought that "I missed a lot as 20th graders." It makes me feel a little bit bitter. It’s true that we don't know unless we try. Probably, there will be many classmates who had more interesting and meaningful school life than me. But in my own, it's sorry that I couldn’t experience a lot.

It’s really delightful that almost all activities were normalized in 2023. I was worried if the school would be quiet even we have a complete face-to-face meeting due to the generation break, but it was a needless worry. I felt difficult to adapt face-to-face classes, perhaps because I still have the habit of getting up at 9:30 and turning on the computer. At the same time, I feel better because there are people taking classes next to me.

 

: As I said earlier, I'm most sorry about couldn’t getting close to my friends in my major. I took my major class only non-face-to-face, and by the time the non-face-to-face is resolved, I don't have to take my AERD major classes, so there are still many friends in the department who don't even know my face. Of course, this may because I didn't participate much in our department...

And I couldn't participate in school events such as ‘Sae-teo’(An school event to greet freshman) as a fully enjoyable position. The good thing is that I got used to non-face-to-face activities. Since we have a lot of extracurriculars and meetings non-face-to-face, it seems that there are some things that are comfortable with each other.

 

: I will graduate soon, and I am preparing for my career, so I will not be able to do any special activities anymore. However I will enjoy events such as school festivals as possible as I can.