Wearing red, blue and yellow sashes, four students run and dance through the Quad clashing cymbals and pounding drums. As the sounds reverberate through the Quad, other students stop to see the sudden spontaneous performance.

This flash mob was one of three performances that the Korean Association of Syracuse University held on Friday to honor the anniversary of the Gwangju Student Independence incident.

The event honored the Gwangju Student Movement of 1929 when South Korean university students clashed with Japanese students in protest of the Japanese government’s colonial rule of Korea. This created nation-wide demonstrations that resulted in thousands of students being expelled, suspended, or arrested by Japanese police, according to the Gwangju Student Independence Movement Memorial Hall’s website.

Now the day holds great significance to Korean students. The Korean Association, to honor these past students, created the event to pay tribute to these students and to raise awareness of Korea’s history, said Yongchul Um, the public relations director of the Korean Association.

Um said another goal of the event was to show unity among North and South Koreans. They represented this with a tapestry of Korea with sky blue handprints of all of the students in the Korean Association covering it.

Korean Association students also participated in traditional fan dances and culturally significant songs by their choir that told the story of what the people of Korea faced during Japan’s control of the country.

This event is specifically significant to Um, whose family stresses the significance of knowing Korea’s history.

President of the Korean Association Hongjun Yoon said in the future, the organization aims to reach out to all international students and also non-Korean organizations on campus.

Yoon said this event is significant because it is the first large event the group has held since its formation in 2009.

Originally the event was going to be held in the Schine Student Center, but it was moved to Quad so there could be more participants, said Taejong Woo, the event coordinator and creator.

She stressed that although this event is a huge achievement for the group, “it means nothing for us.” In explaining this, she looked up the Korean phrase that means modest or humble. Woo explained that this is not an event intended to generate notoriety; it is to honor a significant event and to continue making strides in growth for the organization.

The most significant goal of the event is to show SU students that even small differences can result in big change, Woo said.

Published on November 8, 2015 at 9:50 pm

Contact Tara: trtolton@syr.edu