This afternoon/evening my friends Pang, Emily, and I went to the yonsei poongmulnori club meeting between the sunbae (alumni) and the hobae (current club members). We got to ttaebang (the poongmul room) at 3 pm and didn't get back until 11:30 pm. I have to say, I think I've just had a once in a lifetime experience; it was a really interesting combo of tradition and college life. We arrived around 3:00 and people trickled in for the next half hour. We were then split up into two groups, the new people, and the old members. The newbe group consisted of me, Pang, Emily, DaeGil, and HoSuk (two freshman). We were to come up with a skit to present to the sunbae to "amuse them." It took us a while to decided; there was some communication issues. We decided to do a skit that demonstrated how to get ready for a date. We used one guy, HoSuk, and one girl, Emily, for the couple. Pang sat behind Emily and I sat behind HoSuk and we used our arms to apply make-up, brush their teeth, do their hair, and eat. It looks funny because the people sitting behind can't actually see what they are doing. So, we headed to GrandMart to buy a toothbrush and back to Casaville to gather necessary items. When we got back to ttaebang, everyone moved over to a bigger room in the Student Union. Most of the current members were dressed in their poongmul outfits. They set up an alter in the room with an old buk in the center. Someone had drawn on on the buk to make it look like a pig head. Dahwa, the leader read from a piece of paper and then lit the paper on fire - their wishes for the new year were written on the paper, and they burned it to make their wishes come true.
Four members played while everyone from each group went up and bowed. Our group started. We went up and did two traditional bows and one normal bow. Then we drank makoli (traditional rice wine). I was last to drink and there was still more left in the cup. I tried to give it back but Dahwa said we had to drink it all, so I took another sip and passed it back down the line - apparently, I was supposed to just down the rest of it. The current members went next, and then the sunbae went last - then, Dahwa sprayed us with a bit of leftover Makoli.
After, all the players started messing around and ended up playing for quite a while, which was really fun to watch. Then we headed over to another room in the same building that was even larger. They laid newspaper on the floor in a circle for us to sit on and placed dishes of snacks around. There were also a
bunch of liter bottles of makoli and pop. We all sat down and everyone received a dixie cup full of makoli to make a toast with.
First, everyone introduced themselves to the group. Then they explained that all the new initi-ees had to drink makoli out of a gwengwari (small gong used in the ensemble). They would be called one by one to the center of the circle. We were to introduce ourselves (there was some specific saying, but we got out of that because our Korean isn't that good) and then take the gwengwari to our "favorite" person sitting in the circle. That person would then fill it with makoli and what ever else they want... anything goes.
Of the current members, some had yet to be initiated, so they went first. The people they chose did things like rub their hands all over the floor and then wash their hands in the makoli, crush various snacks into it etc. pretty gross, however, they had to take a sip of whatever concoction they made before giving it to the initi-ee. (It was all in good fun). Then everyone from their designated group was to come into the circle and take a drink while everyone else chants a song. The person who's turn it was had to take the first sip and then finish whatever was left after everyone had taken a sip.
After that, their group members would go back and sit down and the group chanted this cheer and person would have to do some sort of skit, like sing or dance until everyone in the room was satisfied. I was soooo nervous! Our group had five people, so we had to drink five different concoctions. The first person from the newbe group was Daegil. His concoction was the worst; it tasted like pure dirt. He asked one of the sunbae to do his. He washed his hands in the makoli, put some of it in his mouth, swished it around, and spit it back out into the gwengwari, and he rubbed his hands all over the floor (the room was extremely dirty) and then washed them in the makoli. The second guy, HoSuk, asked Dahwa. She started to take off her sock with the intent of washing it in the makoli, and everyone groaned, so she refrained. She washed her hands in it and drank some and spit it back out. At the last second, she took her sock off and washed her foot in it as well. Suprisingly, it didn't taste too bad. I went third. I introduced myself and then asked Ome to pour my makoli. She got all embarassed and was really nice; she did nothing to it! She took a sip, because they have to before giving it to you and I was expecting her to spit it back into the gwengwari, but she just swallowed and gave the gwengwari to me! For my skit, I sang san toki toki yah, complete with actions. I was thinking about doing the macharina, but one, I wasn't sure if people would even know what I was doing, and two, I wasn't sure I remembered all the actions. Everyone was way nicer to us, and let us off the hook easy. I was allowed to leave when I finished my song. I think everyone thought it was really cute because everyone else had sung pop songs or something like that... but san toki was the only Korean song I could think of that I was confident enough to sing. Pang went next and asked SooAh to fill her gwengwari. SooAh put instant coffee into it. It tasted gross, but I knew there was nothing really dirty. She sang a traditional Hmong song. Emily went last and asked ClrClr (everyone in ttaebang had nicknames, her's stands for Clean and Clear). I think she spit into it and washed her hands. Not bad. Emily sang part of I Believe I Can Fly.
After that we moved yet again, to an even larger room. This time the member did their actual performance; AWESOME! It was so much fun to watch! They played four different sets, each featuring a specific instrument: sogo, buk, gwengwari, and janggu. After their performances, the sunbae all got together and played Uttari NongAk. It was fun watching them because they were all following each other trying to remember the piece. They did a fantastic job considering... some of them were pretty old, they grad. in '97ish.
Then, they played around and had the "audience" aka other club members join in. I tried out sogo and buk. It was really fun. I think I loosened up quite a bit towards the end because I got a bit buzzed from all the makoli I drank. My face turned bright red! Pang told me my face was red but I thought it just a little pink. But when I got up to go the the bathroom I realized I was a bit dizzy and I was super embarrassed when I saw my face in the mirror! I really wasn't drunk or anything, but my face turns red really easily... someone asked me if I was hot after running around drumming during the ending because my face was red. Anyhow, tonight Kangta (former member of Korean pop band HOT) had a concert at Yonsei, right above the ttaebang, so when we got back, we could hear him singing! It was pretty cool. We tried to sneak upstairs which didn't works so well. There was lots of security, but I did get to look into the auditorium. However, it was too dark and to far away to really see anything. I heard a lot of screaming girls waving glow sticks though. We went to eat afterwards with ttaebang people. I hadn't eaten since lunch, so I was kinda hungry. We were getting ready to leave the restaurant; putting our shoes on etc. when we got called back by the sunbae. They wanted to meet us and give us a drink. We went over with SooAh, a fellow group member who is fluent in English. The sunbae poured SooAh a full shot of soju. Pang groaned (she doesn't generally drink) and so when they were pouring for me, SooAh told them chogum (just a little); they poured us all half a shot. thank god. haha! Anyhow, they never let us pay for anything because we are "freshman." They count your class not by the year you graduate but by the year you enter. Since this is our first (and only) semester here, we are considered freshman. Ironically, we are older than most of the other members, most of whom are sophomores. All the girls can't believe we are really born in '87 because we look so young, especially me. They told me I look like I'm 16... haha. Most of the other girls are '88 or '89 and the two other boys in our initiation group are '90 and '91. I feel old. Wow! I've been up 22 hours. Well, thats all for now.
After, all the players started messing around and ended up playing for quite a while, which was really fun to watch. Then we headed over to another room in the same building that was even larger. They laid newspaper on the floor in a circle for us to sit on and placed dishes of snacks around. There were also a bunch of liter bottles of makoli and pop. We all sat down and everyone received a dixie cup full of makoli to make a toast with. 
First, everyone introduced themselves to the group. Then they explained that all the new initi-ees had to drink makoli out of a gwengwari (small gong used in the ensemble). They would be called one by one to the center of the circle. We were to introduce ourselves (there was some specific saying, but we got out of that because our Korean isn't that good) and then take the gwengwari to our "favorite" person sitting in the circle. That person would then fill it with makoli and what ever else they want... anything goes. 
Of the current members, some had yet to be initiated, so they went first. The people they chose did things like rub their hands all over the floor and then wash their hands in the makoli, crush various snacks into it etc. pretty gross, however, they had to take a sip of whatever concoction they made before giving it to the initi-ee. (It was all in good fun). Then everyone from their designated group was to come into the circle and take a drink while everyone else chants a song. The person who's turn it was had to take the first sip and then finish whatever was left after everyone had taken a sip. 
After that, their group members would go back and sit down and the group chanted this cheer and person would have to do some sort of skit, like sing or dance until everyone in the room was satisfied. I was soooo nervous! Our group had five people, so we had to drink five different concoctions. The first person from the newbe group was Daegil. His concoction was the worst; it tasted like pure dirt. He asked one of the sunbae to do his. He washed his hands in the makoli, put some of it in his mouth, swished it around, and spit it back out into the gwengwari, and he rubbed his hands all over the floor (the room was extremely dirty) and then washed them in the makoli. The second guy, HoSuk, asked Dahwa. She started to take off her sock with the intent of washing it in the makoli, and everyone groaned, so she refrained. She washed her hands in it and drank some and spit it back out. At the last second, she took her sock off and washed her foot in it as well. Suprisingly, it didn't taste too bad. I went third. I introduced myself and then asked Ome to pour my makoli. She got all embarassed and was really nice; she did nothing to it! She took a sip, because they have to before giving it to you and I was expecting her to spit it back into the gwengwari, but she just swallowed and gave the gwengwari to me! For my skit, I sang san toki toki yah, complete with actions. I was thinking about doing the macharina, but one, I wasn't sure if people would even know what I was doing, and two, I wasn't sure I remembered all the actions. Everyone was way nicer to us, and let us off the hook easy. I was allowed to leave when I finished my song. I think everyone thought it was really cute because everyone else had sung pop songs or something like that... but san toki was the only Korean song I could think of that I was confident enough to sing. Pang went next and asked SooAh to fill her gwengwari. SooAh put instant coffee into it. It tasted gross, but I knew there was nothing really dirty. She sang a traditional Hmong song. Emily went last and asked ClrClr (everyone in ttaebang had nicknames, her's stands for Clean and Clear). I think she spit into it and washed her hands. Not bad. Emily sang part of I Believe I Can Fly. 
After that we moved yet again, to an even larger room. This time the member did their actual performance; AWESOME! It was so much fun to watch! They played four different sets, each featuring a specific instrument: sogo, buk, gwengwari, and janggu. After their performances, the sunbae all got together and played Uttari NongAk. It was fun watching them because they were all following each other trying to remember the piece. They did a fantastic job considering... some of them were pretty old, they grad. in '97ish. 
Then, they played around and had the "audience" aka other club members join in. I tried out sogo and buk. It was really fun. I think I loosened up quite a bit towards the end because I got a bit buzzed from all the makoli I drank. My face turned bright red! Pang told me my face was red but I thought it just a little pink. But when I got up to go the the bathroom I realized I was a bit dizzy and I was super embarrassed when I saw my face in the mirror! I really wasn't drunk or anything, but my face turns red really easily... someone asked me if I was hot after running around drumming during the ending because my face was red. Anyhow, tonight Kangta (former member of Korean pop band HOT) had a concert at Yonsei, right above the ttaebang, so when we got back, we could hear him singing! It was pretty cool. We tried to sneak upstairs which didn't works so well. There was lots of security, but I did get to look into the auditorium. However, it was too dark and to far away to really see anything. I heard a lot of screaming girls waving glow sticks though. We went to eat afterwards with ttaebang people. I hadn't eaten since lunch, so I was kinda hungry. We were getting ready to leave the restaurant; putting our shoes on etc. when we got called back by the sunbae. They wanted to meet us and give us a drink. We went over with SooAh, a fellow group member who is fluent in English. The sunbae poured SooAh a full shot of soju. Pang groaned (she doesn't generally drink) and so when they were pouring for me, SooAh told them chogum (just a little); they poured us all half a shot. thank god. haha! Anyhow, they never let us pay for anything because we are "freshman." They count your class not by the year you graduate but by the year you enter. Since this is our first (and only) semester here, we are considered freshman. Ironically, we are older than most of the other members, most of whom are sophomores. All the girls can't believe we are really born in '87 because we look so young, especially me. They told me I look like I'm 16... haha. Most of the other girls are '88 or '89 and the two other boys in our initiation group are '90 and '91. I feel old. Wow! I've been up 22 hours. Well, thats all for now.
