Pride of Yonsei
| Editor’s Note THE YON-KO Athletic Meet, or Yon-Ko Jun is the epitome of school life at Yonsei. Many students eagerly look forward to this great event in anticipation. Even students serving mandatory military service somehow slip out to join in the cheering. Though the festivity lasts a week for most students, it is actually a long process for the ones hosting the show. For this month's cover story, the Annals took a glimpse behind the scenes of the Yon-Ko Athletic Meet. Look back and imagine the strenuous energy spent for the biggest event of the year. |
D-30 The Tuning Begins 
Vacation is no time for relaxing.
All three groups devote themselves in practicing, at least for four hours every day. BK, one of the devotees, practices cheer movements at the Amphitheater, with coaching aids from YYL. The YYL members constantly fix their movements to obtain perfection in the auditorium, while Sonagi records the cheer song in the dongahree room, with its own recording instruments.
Learn them all 
YYL seniors are instructors who pick out even the most minute details of awkward movements and adjust them.
Yonsei Yell Leader (YYL), Sonagi, and Blue Knights (BK) are the Karajans of Yon-Ko Athletic Meet. They are the conductors who bring twenty-six thousand sessions into one big cheering whole. Consisting of students of fervor and skills, the three groups play distinctive roles.
■ YYL is the cheer leader of Yonsei Univ. Dressed up in slick uniforms, up on the platform: its members lead the cheering of Yon-Ko Athletic Meet.
■ BK performs flag ceremony and helps Yonsei Yell Leader cheering with its dispersed members throughout the stadium.
■ Sonagi, the central rock band of Yonsei Univ., takes in charge of rendering live cheer songs.
These seemingly disparate players, however, share an affinity - their painstaking training.
The semester has begun and it's time to get
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"Practicing is not only physically tough, but also mentally challenging. It is not an easy experience singing the same cheer songs over and over for more than a month."
- Chae Jung-hee, Sonagi Vocal
(Soph., Dept. of Clothing & Textiles)
The spirit of BK
"There is no 'I' in teamwork for the Blue Knights."
- Kim Dong-hui
(Fresh., Area of Social Studies)
Follow that rhythm 
At the Auditorium, the senior YYL member is playing a cheer song.
D-11 Dress Rehearsal 
Rehearsal is prerequisite, and no doubt, the most important stage.
Four weeks before the Yon-Ko Athletic Meet, YYL and Sonagi start to hold joint rehearsals every Sunday at the Amphitheater. Rehearsal takes longer time than ordinary practices, beccause both parties need to adjust to each other. Meanwhile, BK continues to practice the movements and the flag performance at the Soccer Field.
On Air
The vice leader of YYL Lee Ki-in (Jr., Dept. of Business Admin., Wonju Campus) operates the turn table, while Kim Yoo-chan, leader of Sonagi, controls the music pad.
Learning from mistakes
"A chronic difficulty of rehearsals is in spicing up movements. While the group practices, leaders keep tweaking the moves. The members have to adjust constantly."
- Lee Ki-in, vice leader of YYL
D-day Finale 
The Yon-Ko Athletic Meet is over. To most students, it means the end of festivity - yes, it's time to resume to everyday life of attending lectures, reading reference books, and preparing for mid-term exams. To YYL, Sonagi, and BK, it means more than that. It's a reward for their assiduous efforts: a time to relax, and a chance to look back over their passion. The fervid days of fete lasted for two days. Thanks to YYL, Sonagi, and BK, Yonseians will cherish those very days as lifetime memories.
Upon taking photos and interviewing YYL, Sonagi, and BK, I came to acknowledge their enthusiasm, if not devotion, towards those very days of festivity. Were it not for their passion, the relentless days of stress and languor would have frustrated them at any instant. And this passion was - and is - what led their constant pursuit of perfection, and I believe, the whole Yon-Ko Athletic Meet. <Y.S.J.>
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