the snu quill – volume 45

8/12/2019 The SNU Quill Volume 45

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Volume 45 September 2013

Intelligence Agencies :Status Quo

Chong Haksenghwe :What are they up to?

The SNULife Affairs

Course Registration Blues

Fall Fashion / ArtNine

Big Brothers Aroundthe Globe

The Seoul National University English-Language Journal


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Editors Letter

Feature

Intelligence Agencies : Status Quo

The Abrupt Dissemination of NIS Information

Editorial : The Big Brother State

SNU Society

Campus News

Chong Haksenghwe : What are they up to?

The SNULife Affairs

Course Registration Blues

A&C

From Sleeve-Less to Sleeve-Full : Fall Fashion

ArtNine : the Nuovo Cinematheque

Perspective : Odds of Korea

Volume 45September 2013

CONTENTS

FROMSLEEVE-LESSTOSLEEVE-FULL ARTNINE

CHONG HAKSENGHWE : WHAT ARE THEY UP TO?

The End of the AhnPhenomenon

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After a sweltering summer, the Quillreturns with its brief yet entralling-as-ever fall

issue. During the break, a barrage of political issues have bombarded the headlines

including the humanitarian crisis in Syria, alleged intervention into the Korean

Presidential Election and the revelations regarding the National Security Intelligence in

the USA. It is on the latter subject that Volume 45s feature section focuses on. The

section kicks-off with information concerning the relatively unfamiliar history and

structure of the National Intelligence Service. It then delves into the most recent issues

regarding the agency from the Presidential election in Korea to the Mannings case,

the Snowden case and the most recent Miranda case. Meanwhile, the SNU Society

covers particularly captivating issues, with the new SNU Student Council setting out a

myriad of unprecedented policies that have been impaired of for a long time as well as

consolidating on the ongoing controversy regarding the schools online forum - Snulife.

Much mistrust and complaints with respect to the fall course registration is also

analyzed. Finally, the Arts and Culture section is intriguing as ever with tips about the

upcoming fall fashion and the introduction of a new form of cinema - ArtNine. The

section further encompasses a compelling read on the perspective of a foreigner living

in Korea, before finishing off with a culture calendar for those craving to make the most

of cultural events this fall.

The Quillhenceforth promises to be more profound in its quest to deliver the most

accurate and up to date news on the campus, simultaneously incorporating analysis of

key global events. As well as being more informative, the journal will be substantially

more reflective and understanding of the perspectives of SNU students and specialists.

Last but certainly not least, the Quill, as is the custom, is recruiting this fall semester. We

most easgerly welcome any enthusiastic and passionate journalists from writers,

photographers to designers who would like to work with the Quill. If you are interestedor have any enquiries, please feel free to email us at [email protected].

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF,

HAESOL KIM

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May 2013. Vol. 44

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THESEOULNATIONALUNIVERSITY

uill Staff

Chief Managing Director Yeun-il Jeong

Editor-in-Chief Haesol Kim

Vice Managing Director Diana Dahyun Cho

Feature Section

Seo Kyoung Lee

SNU Society Section

Editor Eun Hur

Young Min Son

KyeongHwan Kim

Bora Lee

Seung Hoon Bae

Arts and Culture Section

Tselmeg Chuluunbaatar

Celine Jeong Hyeon Moon

Creative Director

Suzanne Park

Photographer

Yeun-il Jeong

E-Mail [email protected]

Website www.facebook.com/snu.quill

Advisor Professor Eli Sorensen

Professor Eui Hang Shin

Printing Late Spring (0222698030)

Design Sun Hee Kim

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November 2012. Vol. 41

FROM

THE EDITOR


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September 2013. Vol. 45

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Intelligence agencies are organizations that are responsiblefor the collection, analysis, and exploitation of informationand intelligence all in support for national security,

defense, foreign policy, and of course, the rule of law. Theyusually are separate entities from the federal government of

each corresponding country, and sometimes act asantagonists of the government, who advocates foreign policyand looks to uphold diplomacy as opposed to pureclandestine activity. Of course, all discretion is done under aresponsible patriotic outlook for good of the country.Throughout history, they have been known to give earlywarnings of impending crises, protected national security,and played integral roles in promoting defense planning.Even in the very first presidential State of the UnionAddress, George Washington requested that Congress

establish a secret service fund for clandestineorganizations. This was necessary against the outnumberingBritish, especially in the occasion with Paul Revere, whospread the word throughout the countryside via horsebackwhen British troops were first spied. In Canada, it is called

the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), China,the Ministry of State Security (MSS), Germany, the FederalIntelligence Service (BND), and India, the Joint IntelligenceCommittee, just to name a few.

But this lookout also involves a series of complicatedcovert affairs, often challenging gray lines of morality andsensitive borders of individual sovereignty. The very objectof intelligence often goes hand-in-hand with espionage,cryptanalysis, cooperation with antagonists, assassination,communication interception, and other acts that would stunt

diplomacy. And perhaps this term, this euphonic roll of thetongue, cushions the shocking implications that thecommon Joe could easily overlook.

Just as a brief history, espionage and formal acts of unifiedclandestine activity appears in Egyptian hieroglyphs, whichreveal a strong presence of court spies who were trained touncover disloyal subjects and seek out weaker links whocould be conquered and enslaved. The turning point andneed for codes naturally came with the introduction of

written messages, and these Egyptian spies were among thefirst known to use toxins from plants and snakes to carry outacts of assassination. Other highlights of espionage includethe incident with the Trojan Horse, a mammoth woodenstructure the Greeks gave to Troy as a gift, but actuallycontained several hundred Greek soldiers seeking vengeance.The Trojan Horse not only won the Greeks the war, but alsobecame a historic symbol of Grecian potency andintelligence prowess. The Greeks would have been unable tobecome such a great empire without the underhanded planto get within the castle walls of Troy.

But perhaps the most famous ancient civilization thatrelied most extensively on intelligence information tofunction was Rome. For over a millennium, Romans builttheir famous empire with modern-like infrastructure andbureaucracy, through the employment of spies and

intelligence agencies. Rome spied on neighbors to providemilitary reports and potential strength and even went on tomanipulate alliances. It has been a widely accepted theoryamong professionals that this underhanded method ofdiplomacy actually allowed the Romans to become thewidely influential empire that it was.

As for modern intelligence, otherwise known as the Ageof Empires (1700-1900), industrialization, economicexpansion, and diversification of political regimes shook theworlds intelligence community.

Sources, as well as technological implications ofintelligence further developed, and in the dawn of the 20thcentury, marked by the Cold War, transformed into a highlytechnical field, involving cyberspace. Of course, breaches inprivacy and diplomacy regarding intelligence agencies cannot

be told without mentioning the United States and its CentralIntelligence Agency. Only after World War II did theUnited States, under President Franklin D. Roosevelt,coordinated on a country-wide government basis. A warheronamed William J. Donovan became the first of theCoordinator of Information, and later head of Office ofStrategic Services. This organization (OSS) had a mandate tocollect and analyze strategic information. Then PresidentTruman signed the National Security Act of 1947, therebyestablishing what is today known as the CIA. It allowed for

the nations intelligence activities correlating to andevaluating intelligence affecting national security. ThenPresident George W. Bush signed the Intelligence Reformand Terrorism Prevention Act which marked the beginningsof a huge reconstruction of the Intelligence Community bycreating new positions that oversaw the NationalCounterterrorism Center and Intelligence Communities.This increased their power and gave way to problems andissues that we see rising now in light of basic citizen right

violations.

Mainstream media outlets spared some of their attentiontoward the cyber-industrial complex and therefore it moved

from field operations and became more based in research andanalysis. Now, even in the slightest unlikely instance inwhich privacy infringement or border-line illegal or illegalgovernmental activity comes into light, the potentially illegalbehavior goes unpunished and even unnoticed; for example,even calls by Congress to investigate the Themis conspiracywere blatantly ignored by the Department of Justice, whichset the whole thing in motion to begin with. This basicallysets the stage for all the years and problems to come; asystem so broken that there is no turning back. People allacross the world are asked to trust the intelligence agencyand private firms with increasing and accelerating access toinformation. We are at a stage where even the most limitedlaws in place can be broken with a swipe of impunity on partby the powerful. This all happening even as journalists and

activists cross such people are targeted for destruction andterrorism by the state-corporations who use cybertechnology, propaganda techniques, and surveillanceauthority to use the status quo to their advantage.

And recently especially with Edward Snowdens disclosureof the extent to which the United States and Western allieshave been monitoring its own citizens and in the processviolating many of their privacy guarantees, it becomes moreimportant than ever before to pay close attention tointelligence agency movements.

BY SEO KYOUNG LEE

Feature

Intelligence Agencies

: Status Quothe history and current state of Intelligence

Agencies around the world

CIA (Central Intelligence Agency of America was established in 1947.


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Reports that the US governmenthad, for several years, tappedinto the information of even its

allies has perplexed leaders all aroundthe globe; the revelations are untimelyand unexpected at the very least, yetalso unprecedented in its scope. Theexposures revealed by Edward

Snowden, a former contract employeeat the US National Security Agency,have never been fully justified by theUS government and there is littlechance it will ever be. Hence it must bethe priority of the US government tohalt any more potential disclosures if itdoes not wish to lose its allies and thetrust of its citizens. Yet the relativeinaction of the governmentsconcerned, who have apparently beenspied on, has also meant thatsurveillance and spying is in factprevalent and is nothing new in theinternational political scene. In fact, it

may be regarded as presupposed and afundamental right for citizens. Indeed,taking into consideration the scope ofthe leaks, no government has beenmarkedly vocal in denouncing the USgovernment with only rights groups atthe vanguard. Bloggers are morecurious about the path of EdwardSnowden, rather the extent to whichtheir lives have been tapped on by their

own government. This may all point tothe very fact that citizens regardnational intelligence services asgenuine protectors from enemy forces.That has always been the defense ofofficial government sources, who,whilst admitting that surveillance isgoing on, insist that it is only executedfor the sake of their protection of theirown citizens against terrorists andspies. It is a dilemma for allgovernments, who must decidebetween infringing the rights of itscitizens by mass surveillance orinfringing their lives yet

simultaneously gaining information onpotential enemy forces. Indeed, thecurrent US government has chosenthe latter as the Bradley Mannings casecorroborates. Mannings, a US ArmyPrivate, was convicted on 20 counts ofleaking mass US defense informationto Wikileaks. Fortunately he wasacquitted of aiding the enemycharges, but the very fact that he mayhave endangered the lives of UScitizens was enough to sentence himto a harsh sentence. Albeit AmnestyInternational lamenting the harshdecision, citizens were more

concerned with their own safety thefact that Mannings may have genuinelyendangered themselves through thoserevelations. This further substantiatesthat a Big Brother society can betolerated by the majority if their livescan be protected in an age whereterrorism has become rife. Rather thanthe truth, citizens have become moreconcerned about the very safety of

their lives and their loved ones. Yet towhat extent people will citizens allowsuch surveillance? The politicalimpasse in Korea may provide someanswers to this question where theNational Intelligence Agency isaccused of directly interfering in thepresidential election. Spying andsurveillance has been a common issue,especially when Interior Ministers talk

of additional CCTVs in our cities orthe threat from the North, but theNational Intelligence Service actuallyinterfering in the election process isunprecedented, even worldwide. Thishas led to mass protests nationwide,although President Park seemsunlikely to give in and apologize. Thesituation is likely to exacerbate afterthe head of the NIS, Won Sae-Hunrefused to swear an oath in the duringthe investigation regarding thepresidential election interference.Through protests and SNS, citizenshave expressed their outright fury atwhat they call the real Big Brother

Society, where the most importantprocess of choosing the nations leadermay have actually been rigged by anorganization which was established toprotect the lives of the citizens. It hascaused far more controversy than theSnowden process, not least becauseeven the investigation process andcorrelated protests are barred frombeing aired impartially in the media.The case demonstrates that, unlike theutilization of intelligence services tomonitor potential criminals andprotect its citizens, manipulation ofthe presidential election is too

humongous an issue to ignore and thatthe truth will be pursued on until thevery end. Nonetheless, with thedevelopment of technology,governments must be cognizant ofbeing watched too as Wikileaks hassuccessively proven. The governmentsarent the only ones watching theytoo are being watched.

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Feature

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ever have intelligence agenciesbeen the subject of suchsubstantial scrutiny on the

political agency. Everything was meantto be clandestine, faultless andproficient. Yet in the past few monthsan extraordinary turn of events has hadobservers question their veryexistence.

The affair burst forth in May whenEdward Snowden, a former contractorand systems analyst for the CIA,leaked details of extensive surveillanceby the NSA. The Guardian unveiledNSA documents orderingtelecommunications company Verizonto hand over all its telephone data tothem on an ongoing daily basis. That

report was promptly followed byrevelations in both the WashingtonPost and Guardian that the NSAtapped directly into the servers ofFacebook, Google, Microsoft andYahoo to track online communicationin a surveillance programme known asPrism. To make matters worse,Britain's equivalent, GCHQ, was alsoaccused of gathering information on

online companies using the sameprogram. For his part, Snowden hasbeen charged in the US with theft ofgovernment property, unauthorizedcommunication of national defenseinformation and willful communica-tion of classified communicationsintelligence. Currently though, he hasbeen given temporary asylum inRussia. Meanwhile, it was furtherrevealed from the Snowdendocuments that GCHQ was tappingfiber-optic cables that carry globalcommunications and was actually

sharing substantial amounts of datawith the NSA. In fact, the operation,codenamed Tempora, had beenrunning for 18 months, tapping into200 fiber-optic cables and monitoring600 million communications daily.Albeit not being extra-legal, mediaoutlets criticized the GCHQ forapplying the law in an extensivespectrum in order to gather suchimmense volume of data.

Yet t he re velations did not stopthere - it is still ongoing; whilsttemporarily in Hong Kong, Snowdenfurther exposed that the NSA had

more than 61,000 hacking operationsworldwide, including many in HongKong and mainland China, with theChinese University, public officialsand businesses being the main targets.Furthermore, in late June, GermanysDer Spiegel magazine claimed thathaving itself examined leakeddocuments from Edward Snowden,the NSA had also spied on European

Union offices in the US and Europe.This included tapping the EU Councilof Ministers and the EuropeanCouncil in Brussels, with Europeanpositions on trade and military mattersapparently eavesdropped on in orderto gain an upper hand in US-EUnegotiations. Even traditional alliessuch as France, Italy, Greece, Japan,South Korea and India were tapped onwhich included a broad range ofmethods such as bugs, specializedantennae and wire taps.

The US Secretary of State John

Kerry simply responded that suchactivities to protect national securitywere not unusual in internationalrelations, whilst the US Congressvoted in favour of continuing suchoperations. Yet the recent scandalconcerning the detention of DavidMiranda, the partner of a Guardianjournalist who initially revealed thedocuments, in Heathrow Airport, theapparent interference of the KoreanNational Intelligence Service in the2012 Korean presidential election aswell as the US defense informationdisclosures by a US private named

Bradley Mannings, has all severelyimpaired the intelligence services.Whilst some have justified the actionsof intelligence agencies as necessaryfor security, others have labeled theorganizations as immoral, deceptiveand encroaching. Certainly, any moredisclosures on a mass scale will likelypermanently damage the reputation ofintelligence agencies.

BY HAESOL KIM

An apocalyptic denigrationthe abrupt dissemination of NIS information

Editorial : TheBig Brother State

BY HAESOL KIM

David Miranda, a Guardian journalist, is being

questioned about revealed documents of

governmental intelligence agencies.


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CAMPUS NEWSCollege of Business AdministrationSNU CBA opened the 2013 Summer Company Visit Program for Business

students as well as double-major students. The 3-day trip includes tours to thecentral offices of Amore Pacific, POSCO, Hyundai and Samsung. Despite the

relatively cost-efficient trip (60,000 Won including accommodation andtransportation) the program is always in need of more participants. The program islaunched every year sponsored by SNU CBA as well as different large corporationsin Korea. As enriching the experience is both for your career search andnetworking, dont miss the chance to participate in the next Company Visit Program.

College of HumanitiesIn partnership with the Seoul National University Park, College of Humanities is opening a Young Professional Animal

Life Development Project. There are four sectors to choose from: Pet Adoption and Care, Wild Animal BehaviorEnrichment Education, Firefly Proliferation Education, and the Experience Developing Training Team. The program will befrom September 2

ndto December 31

st, with 15 workers needed. Any student interested in the environmentally-friendly

objective of the College of Humanities and the SNU Park can contact (02)500-7712.

College of Natural SciencesThe College of Natural Sciences (Building 24 near the central student center) has undergone construction that is expected to

finish by 2014 March 14th. The width of the footpath will be narrower and the parking lot road will be altercated as well. The

construction includes improvements in the external facilities and internal design for a more modern and clean atmosphere forboth students and visitors.

SNU Womens Football ClubThe SNUWFC have trained with their upmost effort this

summer (four full days in a week dedicated to training only)for the upcoming Seoul National University WomensFootball Tournament that will be held in our SNU campus

this year. 12 different participating universities will show theirschool spirit through the competition during September 28th

and 29th in the SNU campus soccer field in front of theMuseum of Arts and the College of BusinessAdministration. Let out the SNU school spirit by cheeringfor our proud SNUWFC!

BY EUNHUR

SNU Society

SNUPOs 43rd annual concert poster

SNUWFC players training for

the upcoming SNU Womens

Football Tournament

SNU CBA 2013 Summer Company Visit Program

participants

SNU Philharmonic OrchestraSNUPO have practiced for an extended period of time in preparation for the 43 rd

annual concert that will be held September 2nd

in the SNU Cultural Center Auditorium.Audiences this year will be able to enjoy L. V. Beethovens Coriolan Overture, J. SibeliusViolin Concerto, and A. Dvoraks Symphony No. 8 from late 7 p.m. with no entrance fees.


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SNU Society

The SNU student councilknown as the ChongHakse nghwe is the student

government within Seoul NationalUniversity and covers all aspects inrelation to the student body of SNU.

The council is made up of a president,vice-president, presidents of eachcollege within SNU and the presidentof the student associations or dongaris.With a total of fourteen people, theSNU student council is a strongcouncil that manages to hear out theproblems and issues that face thestudents. That its ups and downsthroughout the school history alongwith the councils various revisions andchanges has shaped the organization isa certain fact. Furthermore, as anygovernment or association is prone to,criticism is an inevitable problem, yetChong Haksenghwe has shownimmense participation and willingnessto seek the improvement of the SNUsociety.

First and foremost, the council hasbeen active, along with otheruniversities councils, by condemningthe governments lack of disciplinetowards the alleged scandal interferingwith Koreas presidential elections last

year. The Korean Herald published anarticle based on the conference theSNU Student Council held in front ofthe Supreme Prosecutors Office onJune 20th. It should also be noted thatthe SNU Student Council has a strong

perspective on government and theirpolitical views are highly influential as aleading university in Korea. In regardsto this recent political seminar,comments on the councils webpagehave criticism from those whocomplain about the lack of attentiontowards plagiarism within the school.A large portion of the criticism thecouncil receives is due to what issuesare taken into consideration: the factthat the coucil holds responibility as asolely school-related association, issueswithin the SNU campus, versus thefact that it is also a group that feels theconcern towards other out-of-schoolissues, i.e. politics.

On a more positive note, thecriticisms may have been replied withthe councils recent conference withthe school officials this past August11 th. This important gatheringconsisted of four Chong Haksenghwemembers with eleven of the schoolheadquarter officials. The following

topics were discussed: therequirements of the ShiheungInternational Campus, the regulationsand withdrawal of jang teo(marketplace), the GeneralNominating Committees regulations

and insurance of establishment and theparticipation of students in the Boardof Regents.

The four main topics were discussedin depth and in regards to each issue,the council requested student opinionsto be strongly taken intoconsideration. The ShiheungInternational Campus topic was statedto have had no final decision on whatwas to happen, but the councilrequested on information to beprovided. The second issue, jangteo

policies, has been tightened and aconsensus on the reduction ofjangteosand stricter rules on students havingjangteos. This issue first sprung due topolicies on alcohol intake on campusas well as the students lack of

responsibility in cleaning up after theevent. The council also requested forguarantee on the regulations ofnominating committee members thatprofessor, officer and student all areput together when ballots for votednominations are counted along withthe insurance for studentsparticipation on the board. The mainissues were discussed thoroughly andsome decisions were made whilst somewere implied, but the student councilmanaged to make points clear.

The council managed to also discussother issues concerning registration feeprocedure, on-campus shuttle busroutes.

The recent meeting held was ChongHaksenghwes 48th meeting with theschool officials and was the first in21months. The 49thmeeting isanticipated for some time inSeptember and there are high hopesfor many of the students demands tobe met.

The expected issues to be discussedfor the 49th meeting are not only theunresolved issues, if unresolved, fromthe above, but also more recentproblems students have hadspecifically with thesugangwebpage

for class registrations. This was a veryrecent issue that was brought up to thecouncil due to the sites instabilityduring the class registration periodcausing students to be unable to applyfor needed classes. The council has

already informed the school of theissue, but final conclusions have yetbeen made.

Chong Haksenghwe has indeed beeninvolved both for on-campus issues aswell as off-campus issues as

messengers of the students of SNU.The hard work that they have doneover the summer vacation has clearlybeen paying off with new resolutionsand compromises for the bettermentof the SNU society.

Chong Haksenghwe :What are They Up To?

BY DIANA CHO

Photo of the four Chong Haksenghwe members

with the school officials at the 48th meeting.

Photo taken by ganaa @snu.ac.kr.

Scene of the manifestation against the recent affairs of the National Intelligence Service at the City Hall Plaza.

SNU students and Chong Haksenghwe members holding signs that state We condemn the National

Intelligence Services Political Intervention. Another protest against the presidential elections. Photo taken

by daehakga.kr.


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this decision, the writer and someusers protested against this action andthe post was revived with an apologyfrom the operators for bringingconcern to their users.

The problem lighted up when theusers thought the operators werediscriminating certain posts. The ideathat an anonymous individual maydelete another users post can beuncomfortable. However, at the timewhen there was no system to allowusers to evaluate the uploaded material,

it is clear that the operators weremonitoring the site with the bestintentions. Like any other rumors, therumors concerning SNULifeoperators misconduct has spreadrapidly suggesting that the operatorsdeleted uploads that containednegative views on the operatorspersonal issues.

The title of system operatorcomes with certain roles andresponsibilities. As long as theproblem of possible misuse of thismonitoring system exists, it is easy tosee how manual monitoring can bemisused. If it was possible to deletesomeone elses negative commentabout you with just a few clicks, whatwould you do? Despite the fact thatother readers will not give a secondglance, the fact that this offensive postwill remain online for anyone to readcan be irritating. After all, the uploadwill quickly get buried under otheruploads. What difference would it

make to just simply delete it?A user can easily upload or delete his

or her posts and even report offensivefeedback. If there is one thing a usercannot do is to delete other usersposts. Deleting other peoples postsdefeats the whole purpose of having anopen community. Hence, managerswith the access to selectively removeposts can seem like a violation of usersrights. Neither the user nor theoperating team has an upper hand.This is a two way street. For this once,

this incident can be forgiven as anhonest mistake but the SNUcommunity should not have totolerate another incident like this one.After the renewal of SNULife, thenew SNULife is going to change theusers inability to delete offending orinappropriate posts. Luckily with thereconstruction of SNULife, systemoperators have decided to operate asanction by allowing users to reportwhat users consider to beinappropriate. How this saction will beoperated has not yet been confirmedbut with the sanction in place, theusers will be able to determine whichpost gets to stay or leave.

SNULife is also currently fighting abattle with anonymity, sinceguaranteed anonymity can furthercomplicate the problem of onlinetransparency. Providing absoluteanonymity so that the uploaded filescannot be traced back to the writer canlead to infinite number of problems

itself. The problems associated withanonymity may be more disastrousthan the concern of misusing personalinformation. The word anonymity isto some extent like an oxymoronwhile it suggests a free, opencommunity; it also guaranteesuntraceable privacy. The problemconcerned with withholding personalinformation seems pretty simple.Being able to trace back informationback to the writer can be useful undercertain circumstances. This does not

mean operators should have a fullaccess to other members personalinformation but it may still benecessary to store personalinformation for unexpectedcircumstances.

SNULife operators have had theirups and downs. They may have madesome mistakes in the past but it wasnever intentional. In addition to theadded security to enhance privacy ofSNULife users, the reconstruction ofthe website will have new functionsthat will help users to easily managetheir posts and comments.Furthermore, the operators willincrease accessibility of the columnsection and improve the sharingfunction between users. It is impotantto note that although SNULifeoperating system may not be perfect, itis continuously evolving to bettersupport the SNU community.


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SNU Society

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The transparency of onlinecommunities is alwaysdebatable. In comparison to a

handful of members with unlimitedaccess to all information; the majorityof the users have a rather limitedaccess. While the majority of the usersactivities are limited to what otherusers give access to read and comment;the system operators have full accessto all users movements on the web.Although system operators full accessis necessary for maintenance, few users

are wary of the invisible hands of theoperators, and these concerns are to noavail. As a user, there are two options

either to blindly trust the operatorsto be honest and fair or to turn a blindeye to their influence. Neither optionis satisfactory but it is not easy to finda working solution.

Seoul National University onlinestudent community, otherwise knownas SNULife (http://www.snulife.com)has recorded over a hundred twentythousand members this year, keepingits title as the biggest online universitycommunity in Korea. SNULife wascreated in 1999 by five graduatestudents when the traditionaluniversity culture of gathering at theuniversity square was losingpopularity. As the name suggests,SNULife was organized to allowstudents share information aboutSNU life. Now, SNULife allow usersto share anything from their favoriterestaurants to their political views.

More often, however, users like topost their personal concerns oropinions and communicate with theSNULife community through thecomments that can be posted belowthe original post. Despite the amicableatmosphere, maintaining SNULife hasbeen a real challenge. SNULife systemoperators have been bombarded withcriticism in the past. In November of2006, SNULifes flimsy security wasrevealed by one of its users. The userswere not only enraged by the fact that

non-SNU members could easily createSNULife account through falseaccreditation but also that strangerscould easily view private messages thatwere being sent within SNULife.Seoul National University CentralInformation and Computing Institute,responsible for operating SNULife atthe time decided to temporarily closedown SNULife, only to officiallyreopen the site three months later onJanua ry 2007 after rest orin g itsdatabase.

Few months back in April, theconcern for privacy resurfaced whentwo SNULife users got into anargument. One of the members statedin comments that the member willask SNULife operator, anacquaintance, to find out personalinformation about the other member.Although no personal information wasrevealed, the mere thought ofsomeone having access to personalinformation brought out uneasiness

within the SNULife community. Soonafter the heated debate concerningaccess to personal information,SNULife system operators elucidatedthat only a limited number ofSNULife operators (two operators)have access to limited personalinformation such as the membersname and student number formanagement purposes only. Theoperators further expanded on theirconcern by stating that there havebeen numerous talks within the

operators concerning removal of allpersonal information not necessarilyfor ethical reasons but for the possiblesystemic failure.

With the April affair still lingering,SNULife has been swept underanother rumor. This time the problemstarted inside the SNULife operationteam, when an anonymous SNULifeoperator selectively removed uploadson SNULife. The operating teamexplains that after the elections inKorea, there were lots of suggestionson imposing some form of sanction onuploads. Therefore it was decided tomanually monitor the bulletin until asystem is set in place. Meanwhile, auser had uploaded a post of anindividuals personal issue usinginappropriate language. At the time,the operator responsible formonitoring the message board decidedthat the post contained too muchprofane language and thereforedecided to remove the post. Soon after

BY YOUNG MIN SON

AffairsThe

The SNULife has been under renewal since the last week of August.

Photo: www.snulife.com


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The beginning is the half ofthe journey is a proverbtrue and understood among

students, especially on course selectiondays. To obtain popular or essentiallectures, students have been usingmacro programs and even cash toacquire the desired outset of schedulefor the semester. As much as SNU hasadvanced in course selection fromanalogue to digitalized format for allstudents to have a shot at, it still lackssecurity and dependability.

Such was the case of this semesters

course selection when the connectionerror was created from overloading theservers of outsourcing companies thatSNU relied on. CollegeAdministrative Building has explainedthat due to greater amount of macroprograms, servers were unable to holdback. Troubling news is that there maynot be a sufficient way to be redeemedfrom what has happened. Unlike 2009only the odd number students wereaffected and for such reasons, therewill be more acceptances for paperapplications. Courses with greaterpriorities like Biology 2 areirreplaceable, yet out of lack of choicestudents are removing their actualplans and resorting to non-mandatorylectures.

Kim Jin Hyeon (Dept. ofEngineering, freshman) stated his case.My student number ends with an oddnumber, so I started to warm up mycomputer and began by clickingnumerously on August 1st. The first

semester resulted in a disastrousoutcome which gave me motivationnot to repeat such mistakes again.However, thanks to anxiety I couldnot sleep until 3 AM. I had every partof the operation set up completely;alarm clock aligned at 6:30 AM,computer turned on. As soon as itbecame 7AM, I was clicking themouse but for a long while it onlyshowed the loading screen. Kimfound that it was due to the usage ofmacro in hindsight. The firstsemester, I turned off without

knowing and lost many courses Iwanted to. This time, I messed upbecause I did not turn off the loadingscreens. No complaints were made, asI was not even aware of the situationso far until very recently. I willsubstitute the non-mandatory lecturesduring grace period.

Yu Dae Hyeon g (Dept . ofHumanities, freshman) tells yetanother story. On August 1st Ilogged into sugang.snu.ac.kr as usual inPC cafe near Hankuk University offoreign studies. I made plans separatelyin case a macro infestation appear onloading screen and prepared for thedesired course among my lectures;freshman seminar for linguistics studyin cinema. My rituals involved usingsecurity codes for preventing errors orany other misuse of my ID duringsuch important sessions. Yet the PCfroze up and I had to make a switch todifferent plans after all the courses Iinitially planned were taken by odds

and evens system.These are familiar stories to most

colleges. Many popular courses likefreshman seminar and statistics 101have fiercer competition due toadvantageous time slots or smalleradmittance numbers. Even basis ofdiscipline lectures and non-mandatorylectures are acquired through illicitexchanges if required. Primary cause ofthese underhanded dealings is due tothe controversial odds and evenssystem of course selection. SNU usesesoteric halving system that divides

course selection from end numbersgrouping. Sometimes the demands aremet from each side, but sometimesthey are not. When courses happen tofall into luck of the draw orcoincidences where the popularity fallto one side, it causes needlesslimitation for already-spirited courseselection.

The administration board has nottaken kindly to macro usage andimplemented new plans with littlesuccess. Primary example would be thesecurity code input for every time anindividual wishes to make changes incourse selection. Another feature wasto block dual screen by logging outafter 10 minutes of inactivity. As weknow, these measures introduced in2012 were overrun this year. Above allelse, SNU must firstly stabilize theservers to provide an opportunity forall students and come up with a meansto prevent macro program usage.

BY SEUNGHOON BAE

SNU Society

CourseRegistration Blues


10/13

16

1. Slouchy Track PantsThink back to when Isabel Marant put the jogging

pants on the runway for SS 2012. Paired with IsableMarants wedge sneakers, it looked awesome and itworked big times. Such sportif attire has long been amajor symbol of what is truly luxe and this fall is noexception. Stella McCartney and Suno came backthis season with classic sportive pants without frillsand without noisy colors. Chloe brought up a blueleather baggy pants that narrows tight on the ankle.The Row and Calvin Klein added the chic versionsby letting the garments flow straight down in dark

colors.

2. The Sleek, Straight, Over-the-knee bootsIt starts to snow and you want to stay fashionable

without getting your clothes messy. What do you do?

From Zara to Theory and to Chanel, shoppers feethave been busy trying to fill up the closet with thecolors of summer and the heaps of energy that

comes with them. Neon hot pants with MACsCandy Yum Yum lips were hot and Lana Del ReysSummertime Sadness called for sleek blue sleevelessdress. Now however the August rush of storm andendless sun rays are gone: it is time for some coolwind for a change. No matter how much moneyyou have spent on filling up your summerwardrobe with what was most trendy andfashionable, you only have much more to spend onthe fall-winter wardrobe that is right at the brink offalling on top of our head (and onto toes). Note thatweather never waits for you to get readily dressed up.

Not to worry though. Here are some guides you canfollow to make sure every penny you spend on fashionis worth its value and that you are not behind what ismost current.


17

FROM SLEEVE-LESS

TO SLEEVE-FULLTREND FOR THE FALL: FROM COUTURE TO STREET

BY CELINE JEONG HYEON MOON

You get a pair of boots. Boots are the annual answer for thefall and winter seasons. Only the details change. This yearstrend seems to be the skinny and lengthy. If one dayduring Fall, you woke up late and you have ten minutes toget dressed up, you go straight to your closet, pick any kind

of little black dress you ownand a pair of tights andmatch them with the over-the-knee boots. If it iswinter, throw on a coatwhether long or short. Youwill look as polished andmodern as any womanworking for Vogue.

3. The Fishermans SweaterWhat is classy is what lasts because it is

good for us, because it is timeless. Thefishermans sweater seems like a clich?,but it comes up with the most

distinguished, elaborative details. MarcJacob s, The Row, Ralph Laure n,Kenzo, Alexander Wang, Burberry, andso many more designers contributed tothe parade of fishermans sweaters,each with different lengths, fits, seams,and textures. Go out for a shop andpick up the one that matches yourpersonal aura the most. That is all that

matters because the sweater isversatile; it goes well with

just about everything fromwide-leg pants to long ruffled skirt. Getthe rich look now!

4. Rounded ShouldersThis fashion-forwarding look

makes the fall and winter lookabsolutely amazing no matter how

thick your layers may get under the lowtemperatures. It is a posh but toughfeminine look that ranges from sport drop-sleeve shirts to cocoon coats and to

cocktail dresses with full sleeves. With rounded shoulders onyour top, you can look both modern and retro, reminding usof the 60s when Givenchy designed dresses, suits, and coatsfor Audrey Hepburn, and when Balenciaga created a newmeasure for high fashion through his precise tailoring. The

curvy major details, instead of strict edges that are oftenspotted at Carolina Herrera, give soft, yet bold impressions.Alexander Wang, Stella McCartney, Jil Sander, andChristian Dior are some of the good examplesthat you can take a look at.

5. VelvetThe dense and rich tone that velvet brings

out from a single piece of clothes isextraordinary. It not only makes one looksuper luxurious, it also gives that warmbut edgy look that roots from theEuropean traditional clothes. Velvetreturns to the runways every winter,placed at different positions with altered

elaborations. Tom Ford used blackvelvet to draw creamy margin lines onthe skirts, while Valentino appliedvelvet on the skirt areas edged by blacksatin. Oscar de la Renta designed plumvelvet pants, while Duro Olowu and BottegaVeneta created divine lengthy skirts with velvet,decorated with colorful embroideries.

Whether you are going to a class, a meeting, a date, or anexciting night-out, you will want to be stunning, to beimpressive, and to be remarkable. Fashion is a way to showyour looks and project your modern sense to your boss,your friends, your lover, or even a complete stranger.Fashion, however, requires money, and money is not theeasiest thing to get. Being a constant tracker of seasonalfashion trends is being a wise spender. Never forget thatwhether you are buying a ten-dollar shirt or you are getting athousand-dollar skirt, fully knowing what you want, what isa must, and what you are purchasing is key to turning into atrend-setter from a trend-follower.

A&C


11/13

18 19

September 2013. Vol. 45A&C

I

f you are a frequent movie-goer and if you are also getting

somewhat tired of the recent Hollywood/Chungmuro flickscovered thick with cliches and over-done CG, you might

want to dig in a little further into the diverse areas ofcinematography. But since all the theaters nowadays seem to beonly focusing on major blockbusters churned out for the easypublic eye, one might find the cultural barrenness of Koreanfilm scene rather frustrating. At this point, what it comes downto can be summed up as one small question: so what otheroptions do we have? Having said this, boy have we got theright venue to guide you through your expedition towards thedeeper ocean of cinema. Yes, youve heard about it, thecinematheque. What you did not know, however, is that there isa cinematheque called ArtNine just up close around SNUcampus.

As we go up the elevator to the top floor of Megabox Isu, abeautifully set bistro awaits us and people can be seen having acup of coffee or munching brunch menus or pastas. Strollingdown the bistro, there is a big terrace waiting for us to enjoy theview of Seoul skyline and the Gwanak mountain. But wait,where is the ticket booth to the theater? As surprising as itsounds, the bistro itself is the ArtNine theater ticket booth.Instead of having two separate spaces to accommodate both acafe/bistro and a movie theater ticket booth, ArtNine decides tocombine these two and let the filmbuffs enjoy themselves whilesnacking, brunching and talking about film with their fellow

movie lovers before and after the viewing. ArtNine aspires not

to be a place where movie-goers just watch movies and leave,but a place to actually take time and discuss about what theyhave just seen.

In fact, the whole idea of cinematheque was built on theaspiration of letting the film-lovers have a place, a cinematicsanctuary, to enjoy particularly classic and art-house films andfreely discuss about the matter. That was what Henri Langloishad in mind when he first built the Cinematheque Francaise, thefirst cinematheque in the world, at the heart of the ChaillotPalace of Paris in 1935. Ever since then, numerouscinematheques has been sprouting around the globe and in1974, the Korean Federation of Film Archives (KOFA) had

been founded. Even though ArtNine is not the official Korean

Cinematheque, it aspires to hold the banner of a conventionalcinematheque by screening carefully handpicked art-house filmsthat are low in budget, yet high in cinematic quality.

Apart from the fact that ArtNine is the most brand new andalso very close to our home ground, the theater has its othersignificance as a cinematheque for it is the official hostingground of CineFrance. CineFrance, an event held by the FrenchCulture Institute of Korea, is a weekly event solely dedicated tofrench films carefully selected by the film master in order tointroduce the seemingly bottomless french film scene to thegeneral Korean public. Each month, CineFrance announces acertain theme of the movies that they will be screening and this

month, their main theme is about French cult films not very

well known to us.The fact that ArtNine aspires to be a hardcore art film theater

is a lure for not only us filmbuffs but also for those filmdomswho work in the field of cinematography. Just last week, I wasat the theater to enjoy an afternoon watching a movie starringMathieu Amalric and while talking about the movie with myfriend after the movie was done, Mr. Jo Jae-hyun, a famousactor showed up and sat at the table right next to us talking withhis friend about the movie that he just saw. As ArtNine grows,more and more filmdoms like him are anticipated to visit thetheater and enjoy watching good movies. Who knows? If youare lucky enough, you might actually meet Bong Jun-ho or LeeByunghun spending his afternoon there right beside yousomeday.

BY YEUN-IL JEONG

The Cinematheque Francaise in Paris CineFrance september theme is about French cult films. (Above is of April)

EatNine Bistro accomodates both the ticket booth for ArtNine and a cafe/restaurant.

Location: Isu subway station (Line 4&7) Exit no.7Megabox theater building 12th floor

Business hours: EatNine Bistro - 11am to 11pm

ArtNine Theater-8am to 11pm

Ticket price: 9,000 won / film

Fore more info

ArtNineTheater - cafe.naver.com/minitheaterartnine

CineFrance - www.institutfrancais-seoul.com


12/13

20

A&C

The feeling of melting into newcultures and experiencing it byfirsthand is something so

wonderful. Even after three years ofliving in Korea, I still find its uniquenessand new oddness everyday of which Iwonder if you can find anywhere else butKorea.

Korea is an overly foreigner friendlynation. They may seem a little shy atfirst, but when you rightly break the ice,even the language barrier is not aproblem, you will be bombarded withquestions about yourself. In no time,you will feel welcomed and close. Mostlikely, the next question after asking

about your name would be how old youare. In other countries it might come as abit rude; its something you get to knowas time goes by. But due to their culturalrespect for the elders, they will decidehow to address you accordingly. Also,one other thing about age is that it iscounted differently in Korea. But it isvery simple. You just add one more year

to your age, the time you spent in yourmommys belly. So you have to clarify ifyou are saying your Korean or the otherage. The next thing people wonderwould be your blood type. It was prettymuch bizarre to be asked to write myblood type on the application form formy students card. However, Koreansbelieve that the blood type of a personcan tell a lot about their personality.

Which might just have some truth in it.Who knows? I believe the concept firstcame from Japan.

Food is such an important thingculturally and historically. Koreans

believe eating and drinking togethermakes people closer rather than in aclassroom or an office. It was odd to bealways asked Have you eaten? orLets eat together sometime later(which sometimes never happens). Itslike a Hello, how are you?, a way ofshowing that you care. Popularity ofKorean food is massive all over theworld. Aside from its deliciousness, thescreens have made an important role. Afriend from Chicago said Seeing abroken hearted girl stuffing herself withbibimbap late night crying, drinking sojuat a tent bar on the banks of Han river,or ordering a jjajangmyun looks so

yummy on the dramas. I want to do it allwhile Im here.

Another thing the foreigners arestartled about is how dull Koreans are tothe threats from North Korean. In fact ithas become something so ordinary thatthe issues have been going on for yearssince they were born. Whenever tensionsrise between the Koreas, the foreigners

are anxious about the possibility of a war.Even the whole world, media is watchingover, but Koreans would say Its all justa fuss. Nothing will happen. Noworries. And nothing happens like theysay. I remember receiving a call from myterrified family about a shooting at the

YeonPyeong Island in 2010, while I wasat a movie theater. After, I rushed out toMyeongdong street, just to see Seoul allcalm and normal, everybody busyminding their own business.

The streets of Seoul is always bustlingwith people. You will get bumped, bumppeople, pushed aside, stepped and step

on peoples shoes. For me, in that case,people will apologize and shake hands(also an odd custom of my country,Mongolia). At first, I would stop andsearch for a hand to shake, buteverybody just carries on with their busylife, rushing somewhere. Now I do too.Since I come from one of the lowestdensely populated countries to thesecond largest metropolitan city in theworld, it felt so crowded. Lining up atthe shop counters, waiting to get a tableat a restaurant, subway packed withpeople, streets flowing with peopleshoulder to shoulder is not a commonscene youll see back in my country.

There is even more fascinating thingsyou will discover yourself. With all theseodds and new things; vast amount ofmore people are coming to live and loveKorea more. You learn somethingunforgettable along the way to cherish itall your life.

BY TSELMEG CHULUUNBAATAR

Perspective :Odds of Korea


13/13

SNU Wind Ensemble

Concert

Seoul Art Center

1

London Kings College

A capella Concert

Seoul Art Center

SNU English Musical

SNU Student Lounge

(~9.3)

SNU French Musical

SNU Dure (~9.3)

2

Exhibition Love

Impossible

SNU MoA (~11.24)

Kwang Young Chun

Exhibition

SNU Moa (~12.29)

3

New York Philharmonic

Chamber Orchestra

Concert

Seoul Art Center

Lee Sora Concert

Lotte Card Concert Hall

(~9.29)

4

Seoul International

Experimental Film

Festival

Cinematheque Korea

(~9.12)

American Idiot the

Musical Original Cast

Blue Square (~9.22)

5 6

One Hiphop Festival

Ilsan Kintex

Groove Drum Festival

Olympic Park (~9.8)

Paju Folk Festival

Imjingak Concert Hall

(~9.8)

7

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

8 9 10

Wednesday Cinema

SNU Culture Lounge

11 12

Silkroad Music Festival

LG Art Center

Kammersinfonie

Stuttgart Concert

Seoul Art Center

13

Lets Rock Festival

Nanji Hangang Park

(~9.15)

Kun-Woo Paik Piano

Recital

Seoul Art Center

Cho Sumi Park Concert

Olympic Park (~9.15)

14

15

Seoul Metro

International Subway

Film Festival (~9.30)

SNU Spanish Musical

SNU Student Lounge

(~9.17)

16 17 18

Steve Aoki Concert

The A Hall

19

Just Magic Concert

Lotte Hotel Seoul

(~9.22)

North Korea Human

Rights International

Film Festival

Film Forum (~9.21)

20

Yuhki Kuramoto

Concert

Seoul Art Center

21

Omnium Gatherum

Concert

KT&G

Sangsangmadang

22

Persons with

Disabilities Film Festival

Mokdong Broadcasting

Center (~9.27)

23 24 25

Seoul International

Extreme-Short Image &

Film Festival

(~9.30)

Indie-AniFest

Seoul Animation

Center (~9.30)

26

Gaeulbanghak Concert

Olympic Park

Hagen Quartet Concert

LG Art Center

27

Wouter HamelConcert

Olympic Park

Spyair Concert

Hongdae V-Hall

(~9.29)

28

29

Seoul Wind Ensemble

Concert

Seoul Art Center

30

Culture CalendarBY

SCHEDULER

Unai Urrecho

Trombone Recital

Seoul Art Center

European Jazz Festival

Mapo Art Center(~9.7)

LIFE Photo Exhibition

Sejong Culture Center

(~11.25)

Helmuth Rilling & Bach-

Collegium Concert

Seoul Art Center

Brazil Film Festival

Raemian Gallery (~9.16)

Korea-Japan Festival

COEX

Gangnam Symphony

Orchestra Concert

Seoul Art Center

Opera La Traviata

Sejong Culture Center

Radio France

Philharmonic Orchestra

& Myung-Whun

Chung Concert

Seoul Art Center

(~9.25)

Having joined the club in the fall of 2011, already two full years have passed since I started writing for the

Quill. By the time I was recruited, the SNU Quill was in no shape to be called sound and sustainable. The

club had just lost its academic adviser, professor Shin Kwanghyun, due to his sudden and tragic passing as we

all recall. With the loss of its captain, the Quill was like a stranded ship out in the deep blue ocean without a

heading. Still, my predecessors managed well enough to keep the club and the magazine alive and going.

However, it can be said that we were constantly hanging by a thread ever since then.

Having been founded in the early 2005, the SNU Quill is now heading for its 10th year and frankly, I feel

that we are in our worst shape than ever before. Without any funding from the school or any other

organizations, we are constantly short on money and highly in debt. Not to mention the working expenses for

which our members themselves pay for every occasion, small advertisements that the reporters scrape together

barely make ends meet when it comes to printing costs. The fact that we are the most ill-equipped student

English media firm in the country also gravely burdens us as we do not own any premises to work collectively.

However, the thing that troubles us the most is the absence of a professor to advise us.

Yet, within the heart of an utmost hardship, I have also witnessed improvements. The current staff,

despite the poorest of conditions, is more competitive than ever before, jotting down sharpest of insights that

penetrate the status quo of our society, driven solely by the sense of mission to enlighten the SNU studentbody with their talents blooming out of the tip of their pens. For this, I feel grateful to be in SNU, one of the

most prestigious schools around the globe for it is only here that I would be able to work with such gifted

minds of our time. Also, thanks to some hard work of the board and some of the professors, we were able to

contact the dean of student affairs of SNU and are currently en route to discuss about launching the SNU Quill

as the official SNU English magazine.

Though as promising as it sounds, SNU Quill still requires a lot more support from the school and the

readership for a slight turn for the worse could mean the end of SNU Quill and thus the end of English

journalism in the history of Seoul National. As a student of this school, I personally would not be too happy for

that to happen and I believe that the readership certainly would wish the best for the clubs prosperity.

They say that the darkest hour is right before the dawn. I very much am one who believes in this piece of

wisdom. However, I also believe that with the right support and effort, the light that we will see (and see, we

will!) will be more radiant than any summer morning sunshine that any person has ever witnessed. So it is my

most sincere plea to all our readers out there to keep supporting the Seoul National University Quill,

the ONE and ONLY English journal of SNU to date as we promise to continue our endeavor to be the BESTstudent English journal in the world.

Thank you.

CHIEFMANAGINGDIRECTOR,

YEUN-IL JEONG

To our Readers

SNU German Musical

SNU Student Lounge

(~9.13)

the snu quill – volume 45

Documents