<April Fool’s Day on Campus>

On April 1, students enjoy fooling each other because it is April Fool’s Day: the only day you are tacitly allowed to make jokes.

However, this day means a lot more than making jokes to college students in Korea. Have you ever seen students wearing a school uniform on campus? Indeed, there is no such thing as a university uniform. Instead, Korean university students appear with their high school or even middle school uniforms to take classes on April Fool’s Day. This event has been cemented as the culture of college students in Korea for quite a long time. After classes are over, they have a drink with their friends, still wearing their school uniforms.

This year, because of the pandemic, few students had the chance to visit the campus and join in the event with their friends on April Fool’s Day. Nevertheless, some could not help fooling around during their online classes. For example, one student from University of Seoul (UOS) appeared on camera in the Sociological Theory class wearing a cartoon character’s mask. He even behaved like the character during the class, making all the students and the professor laugh.

In this way, Korean university students begin April by fooling around, having fun, and making many happy memories with their friends. Nonetheless, April Fool’s Day is not only for students but also for other people with various jobs in Korea. It is good to see all of them enjoying the day on their own despite the unfortunate situation.

<Cherry Blossoms Coming with Some Changes>

The cold winter has passed, and the blooming season has returned. One of the first things that come to mind when you think of April is cherry blossoms. Among university students, there is a saying that the flower language of cherry blossoms is a midterm exam. Although they are in their early twenties, a time in which many beautiful memories can be made while viewing cherry blossoms, there is also the burden of studying to consider.

However, under the cherry blossoms, a new romance often begins for university students. April is the time when campus couples are most often made. The spring atmosphere and the beautiful flower scenery can make their hearts flutter. The popular belief that your love will come true if you catch the falling cherry blossom petals shows that many university students fall in love in April.

This year, however, there were several special circumstances regarding cherry blossoms. First, climate change has accelerated their flowering time. According to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA), this year's flowering time for cherry blossoms was the fastest blooming since the KMA began observing in 1922. The ecosystem is rapidly changing due to fossil fuel-dependent industrial development and reckless destruction of nature. It is not good to see cherry blossoms arrive earlier than usual.

Second, the way of viewing cherry blossoms has changed due to COVID-19. For the first time this year, the "limited viewing" of cherry blossoms in Yeouido has begun. This process allows only applicants who were drawn via lottery to walk down the cherry blossom road. Following last year, many spring festivals were canceled or turned online. For example, Dongdaemun-gu decided to make a video and release it on YouTube so that residents can enjoy the beautiful spring flower at home.

The UOS Times hopes that next year, college students can see cherry blossoms as much as they want without fear of COVID-19. Moreover, we must address climate change to continue to enjoy the beautiful cherry blossom scenery of spring in the future.