For the University of Seoul (UOS) students who are into subculture, there is a perfect UOS club named “Geurim-nuri.” While a main culture refers to the behavioral patterns and values generally seen in a certain society, a subculture is a partial culture that exists within the main culture but also has unique characteristics in some respects. However, in Korea and Japan, the word “subculture” is also used to refer to the Japanese animations and comics culture, which is the so-called “otaku culture.” Although, the subcultures dealt with in the Geurim-nuri club encompass both various cultural elements corresponding to the term’s original meaning and the Japanese animations and comics culture.
The UOS Times interviewed the president of Geurim-nuri, Lee Gun-woo (Dept. of Public Administration, ’19).
Q. Please introduce the Geurim-nuri club and subculture to our readers.
A. Geurim-nuri is a social club for those who enjoy subculture, and we are also engaged in creating our own subcultural works. Our members conduct their activities to freely share friendships with other members who have similar interests and to create a new subcultural work.
Q. What is the club’s main activity?
A. Geurim-nuri is mainly operated in three sub groups for ease of operation. Currently, there are three sub groups: a drawing group, a writing group, and a rhythm game group.
The drawing group members come up with a theme every month and draw pictures in accordance with the theme. They also upload and share their drawings on an irregular basis. The writing group members write an article that fits the topic of every month and share their long-term serialized writings. Since the members of this group have a wide spectrum of interests, the topics of writing are diverse; from literature, light novels, and web novels to essays.
Until last year, the sub groups were operated mainly by those two creative sub groups. However, this year, for the first time, many rhythm game lovers have joined the club; thus, a rhythm game group was formed. The members gather at the arcade and share the records they have played.
Q. Please tell us about the socializing activities of Geurim-nuri and what the club plans to do this semester.
A. Currently, we are trying to make as frequent offline meetings as possible, such as a kind of flash mob as shown in the “Meeting in noraebang” picture. The executives also hold large-scale events such as a welcoming party for new members.
This semester, we would like to provide an opportunity for our members to grow further. The drawing group is currently working on drawing cartoons as a feature-length project. The writing group is also trying to create a feature-length novel beyond writing a short story every month.
Above all, the biggest event of our club is to make our club magazine. By the end of the second semester of every year, we collect the creative works of our members and make a club magazine. Everything from the cover to the content is made up of the imagination and dreams of the club members. If you look at the picture, which is the cover of our 2021 magazine, you can see that we freely drew our favorite characters and objects.
The club president Lee wishes to tell those who are interested in the club, “Geurim-nuri club is always open to everyone who loves subculture, so please feel free to apply. It is such a joy to be able to share what you love!” New members can sign up at any time through the KakaoTalk OpenChat link posted on Everytime, the university online community.
Kang Soo-ah
sue020324@uos.ac.kr