Korean Student Association (KSA)

By Vong Phonsiri Jr.

Calling all Korean culture enthusiasts of San Diego! If you haven’t heard, the Korean Student Association at SDSU is bigger than ever and we’re kicking off the semester strong!

 

The Korean Student Association, otherwise known as KSA, is a student-run organization at SDSU, focused on celebrating all aspects of Korean culture, from the traditional to the contemporary. You might be someone who is excited to hear the latest songs in the world of Korean pop culture or perhaps you’re just trying to learn the Korean language of Hangeul. Whatever part of Korean culture you’re interested in, there are many other Korean culture enthusiasts at KSA who feel the same way too.

KSA hopes to help American students become more knowledgeable of Korean culture and customs especially with the growing popularity of Korean culture in the world. You could think of KSA as a safe place to really share your love for Korean culture with others who feel the exact same way! If you want to learn more about the Korean language, we have many International Korean native speakers  who join in regularly. And to those of you who are international students, KSA also has many American students eager to make friends with people around the world.

Currently, we meet every two weeks on Fridays at 2PM at SDSU’s Aztec Mesa 105. We also typically have one large social event per month in addition to our general meetings. And if that wasn’t enough, each year, we also are responsible for hosting SDSU’s Korean Culture Night, which showcases a well rounded taste of Korean culture from the traditional to the contemporary. In fact, last year we had a range of performances from the San Diego Kpop Flash Mob, a Taekwondo school, Korean traditional instruments, and many of the Korean language classes who sang and danced as well.

KSA is still in the process of growing, but I think we can really make it a great year for us. We’re planning to collaborate with other organizations here in San Diego and go where we’ve never been before. We would love to do things like sporting events with other clubs and going up to Korea Town up in LA sometime as a group too. Collectively, we’d love to help our members have a wonderful experience while learning about Korean culture.

Finally, one of the big themes I want to focus on this year as a group is friendship. I’d like people to come to KSA because of the people and not for the topics of the week. Learning about Korean culture here will come regardless, but celebrating Korean culture while you’re with friends is far more memorable. As mentioned earlier, we do have many international students who come to our meetings, and it’s quite a different experience getting close to them knowing that their stay is limited. But despite the feelings that it may be short lived, in the grand scheme of things, the friendship is still worth it. I’ve met some of the greatest people in these cultural organizations and I’m so grateful for their friendship. My hope this year, is that KSA becomes a place for people to cultivate amazing friendships with other Korean culture enthusiasts, regardless of where they are from.

And for the record, my name is Vong Phonsiri Jr., and I am KSA’s President for this Fall 2012 semester. Although KSA is still somewhat of a young organization, we wouldn’t have been where we are today if not for growing success of SDSU’s own Korean program, the work of past KSA teams, and of course my KSA family who make the meetings worthwhile. I’m super excited for this year and if you’re a fan of Korean culture, you’re more than welcome to come kick it with our KSA family here at SDSU!

Find out more at https://www.facebook.com/groups/KSASDSU/