As most colleges and high schools in America have very zealous homecoming games that spew school spirit, Korean Universities are no different, or at least the at the University that I attend. So, recently it was the school’s annual YonGoJeon (연고전) which is a weekend that consists of five different games against the most intense school rivalry within all of South Korea. The games were baseball, basketball, hockey, rugby and soccer. Nothing too special, right? I attended the basketball and rugby games, and what hit me when I was there, was that everyone, and I mean EVERYONE was cheering….the ENTIRE game. I have absolutely no idea how the players were able to play with all of that noise.
Additionally, the visual prominence in which school a student belonged was impeccable. Similar to any other sporting event, fans come dressed in their favored team’s color, but for some reason, the distinct line where the red (for Korea University) starts and the blue (for Yonsei University) begins, throws me back every time. And again, the cheering exerted so much energy and concentration, that I had absolutely no idea what was happening the game, especially during rugby. (It does’t help that I didn’t understand the game prior to my attendance.) Overall, it was a memorable experience, and was probably one of the moments in my life where I displayed so much school spirit.
Below is my video that I made from my footage I took that weekend!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHjWsG_8P9Y
For those interested in the actual games that I was able to see, Korea University posted a overview of them on youtube, and they are linked below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pkjLG4m4m0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upCWpXAIpoo&list=PLELEicNC6TamedSFGOy1X2fW4P89SYMyj&index=3