On Sat., March 29, the line in front of the Student Union Ballroom had become so long that it stretched down the stairs and took up two floors. New arrivals were shocked to see how long the line was but nonetheless eager to join. After all, no one could miss the Korean Students Association’s biggest event of the year (KSA).
As by the event’s Campus Pulse, Streets of Seoul is “KSA’s flagship event, meant to bring a taste of Seoul, Korea to the student population.” Previous years have had successful turnouts, and this year was no different. According to KSA President June Ahn, the event has taken place every spring for 18 years, but this was its first time featuring guest artists from outside the Five Colleges Consortium.
The ballroom had been transformed for the event. Muted string lights mimicked the atmosphere of a street at night, an illusion furthered by the cardboard model of the Namsan Tower near the stage. One corner had been turned into a photo booth starring a cardboard cutout of Jungkook. The remaining corners were occupied by canopies housing food vendors.
Upon arrival, each guest was handed gifts from the event’s sponsors, including Indomie instant noodles, Texas Roadhouse appetizer cards, Poppi soda cans and CLE hand cream samples. The menu consisted of tteokbokki, kimchi fried rice, pork and vegetable dumplings, pork and beef bulgogi, hot-and-sour chicken and white rice.
While we waited to receive our food, a promo film was presented. The 10-minute film, written and directed by KSA videographer Jean Hur and starring students Michael Yi and Haeun Lee as the romantic leads, parodied many tropes from K-dramas, beginning with a couple accidentally running into each other in a hallway. While the humorous parts elicited laughter, the romantic scenes drew “aww’s” from the audience and the twist ending left us unexpectedly devastated, though the actors appeared afterward to assure us they were alive.
Following the film was a list of performances by student groups from UMass and the Five Colleges. These included dance performances by DBJ, KDC, VDM, +86, a Chinese yo-yo performance by TASC, a martial arts demonstration by KSA’s Taekwondo group and the debut of a band consisting of KSA members known as Seoul II Soul.
Between each performance, a raffle ticket was drawn for one of five gift baskets. There was also the grand prize, a Samsung smart TV, whose winner was not announced until the end of the event.
After the last performance and raffle draw, a 30-minute intermission began, during which dessert was served. This was chocolate, vanilla and matcha-flavored ice cream. After that, it was time for the guest artists.
The first guest artist was Hohyun, a Korean R&B artist whose single “Sunset Boulevard” has garnered over 12 million streams on Spotify. Hohyun’s morose, self-reflective lyrics were contrasted by his lively personality onstage. He frequently paused singing to urge us to dance along or to give shoutouts to audience members whose dancing he liked. After accidentally disconnecting a mic stand, he even brought an audience member onstage to act as his “human mic stand” until it got fixed. He also took a break between each song to chat with us, and through this, we learned that it was his first time in Massachusetts.
A few songs in, Hohyun said he wanted to talk about something serious. He was an advocate of mental health, having recently been diagnosed with ADHD and depression.
“I’m being medicated, and I’m much better now,” he said. “But I know it’s not as easy for everybody, and it’s not as easy to talk about it; especially as an Asian person, it’s not at all encouraged by parents or the culture. And I just want to encourage all of you guys, if you’re going through something right now … I really encourage you guys to get some help because it really does help, it really made a difference for me in my life.” He then played an unreleased single, titled “Tomorrow,” which he wrote “for the hope of a better tomorrow.”
The second guest artist was PRYVT, a global indie rock band formed on Discord in 2023 which has since landed on Spotify’s viral 50 charts in several countries. The band members present were singer Hanuel and guitarist JT. While they did not reach the same level of audience intimacy as Hohyun – who spit water on a willing fan after asking if anyone wanted to get wet – they nevertheless captivated the audience with their atmospheric sound and blend of English and Korean lyrics. They performed songs from their album “&SCENE” as well as an unreleased single and a song from their next album.
After their last song, the audience sang “Happy Birthday” to Ahn, whose birthday fell on the day. The event concluded with an optional meet-and-greet with Hohyun or PRYVT, while the grand prize’s lucky winner was sighted exiting the hall with four friends, all five carrying the 55-inch TV together.
Such an event could not have been prepared overnight. Ahn and Vice President Janelle Lim started planning the event in the summer. The lengthy process involved reaching out to the guest artists’ agents, as well as applying for internal and external grants to fund the event.
“I’d say, for Streets of Seoul, this year has been the biggest year,” Ahn said. Lim added, “And each year, we add more and more, and we try to keep growing as an e-board and just the event itself.”
Reem Fan can be reached at [email protected].
