Korean Culture Club

We started the academic year with an introductory event where we refreshed our knowledge of hangeul while meeting other students. During both semesters the club held handicrafts events - during both the autumn and spring semesters we held an event focusing on learning norigae (Korean knotting). Additionally, in the spring semester we also hosted an event where we practiced traditional Korean painting techniques. The club also continued our regular lecture events - in the autumn semester we held a mini-lecture event, where speakers held short lectures on topics related to Korean culture and society, and in the spring semester we hosted a Korean guest lecturer Dr. Kang Byoung Yoong. Lastly, we also continued holding game events in both semesters - in the autumn semester we focused on Korean board games, and in the spring semester we played games featured in the Korean hit series Squid Game.

To celebrate the publication of the Estonian translation of Han Kang's Vegetarian, the club held an event to introduce the novel and its author. Our guests were Anni Arukask, who translated the novel to Estonian, and Triinu Tamm, who is the head editor of Loomingu Raamatukogu, a series in which the novel was published. The club members also continued to organise regular movie nights. During the 2025/24 academic year, we held 6 movie nights - 3 on both semesters. The movie nights focused on women directors in Korean cinema. During the autumn semester we focused on films by filmmakers associated with New Korean cinema and watched Take Care of My Cat (2001), Waikiki Brothers (2001) and The Way Home (2002). On the spring semester we watched films by upcoming female directors - A Girl at My Door (2014), Microhabitat (2017) and Lucky Chan-sil (2019).

We started the academic year with a guided tour through Tartu Botanical Garden, where we focused on plants that can be found on the Korean peninsula. During both semesters we had an event that focused on learning the Korean language and hangeul - during the autumn semester we learned hangeul with the lyrics from well-known Korean songs and during the spring semester we further refreshed our knowledge on the Korean alphabet. We continued with our regular lecture events - on both semesters we held mini-lecture events, where speakers held short lectures on topics related to Korean culture and society. Lastly, we also held game events in both semesters - in the autumn semester we focused on traditional Korean board games, and in the spring semester we played games that are often played during variety shows in Korea.

The club also started organising regular movie nights. During the 2023/24 academic year, we held 12 movie nights - 6 on both semesters. The movie nights were collected under the name Korean Cinema 101, where we focused on the classics of Korean cinema. During the autumn semester we focused on classic films from the 20th century and watched The Housemaid (1960), An Aimless Bullet (1961), March of Fools (1975), Seopyeonje (1993), A Single Spark (1995), and Joint Secutiry Area (2000). On the spring semester we watched contemporary classics from the 21st century - My Sassy Girl (2001), The King and the Clown (2005), The Host (2006), Moonlit Winter (2019), Kim Ji-young, Born 1982 (2019), and Escape from Mogadishu (2021).

We started the academic year with an event celebrating Chuseok. We continued with our lecture events - during both semesters we held events where club members introduced their Korea-related academic research. We also held workshops related to Korean culture - in the autumn semester we held a workshop on Korean traditional painting (minhwa) and in the spring semester we explored the art of tea ceremony and made our own jogakbo bookmarks.

During the spring semester, we focused on deepening our knowledge of the Korean language by holding a two-part workshop, which focused on learning Korean with the help of webtoons. The first workshop focused on speaking skills and the second one on reading and translating. We also held a movie night during both semesters - in autumn semester we watched Scandal Maker (2008), and in spring semester Korean animated film Leafie, A Hen into the Wild (2011).