4^th grade of high school", "unopened used goods(also means minors in middle and high schools in Korean)", "Unfortunate generation".... Those are some terms that refer to the students who enrolled in the year of 2020. In March of 2020, the university lost its vitality due to the unprecedented pandemic of COVID-19. At that time, what waited for the new students was not their seniors, fellow students, or professors but an "online group chat room." The situation that was first regarded as transient lasted for more than two years, and some face-to-face lectures were not implemented until the 2022 school year. The university festival, which students have been looking forward to, will also be held. The KUBS newspaper listened to the stories of campus life in the COVID-19 era and future plans from the 2020 KUBS students themselves, Jonghyun Lee and Jiwon Je.

Q1. Please introduce yourselves briefly.
Jonghyun Lee(Jonghyun from below) : Hello. I am Jonghyun Lee, and I enrolled KU in 2020 as one of the 'Corona Class' and currently attending the first semester of the third grade.
Jiwon Je (Jiwon below) : Hello, I'm Jiwon Je, a third grader enrolled in 2020, and became involuntarily an ‘unopened high school student’ due to COVID-19.

Q2. It's already been 2 years. Can you tell us what the situation was like when you enrolled as freshman students in March 2020?

Jonghyun: At that time, the 2020 orientation schedule for freshman students but all face-to-face events and classes including orientation were postponed as COVID-19 began to spread that week. It wasn't until the end of March that the semester started, but it turned into an all-online classes. At that time, everything was prepared face-to-face and suddenly switched to non-face-to-face, so everyone was caught by a surprise, I think. There were also expectations that the school would go back to normal soon, but I think many were disappointed because all the events were postponed continuously. Without the so-called "Student ID matching students", there were no meeting between fellow students at all. The only face-to-face event that the 20th class of students experienced was the 'Successful Candidate Meeting' held in the winter of 2019.

 Jiwon: That's right. At that time, rumors said that COVID-19 would end around August, so I thought, "Oh, it's going for a really long time," but years have passed. Maybe that's why the competition rate for student club applications was the fiercest in 2020. Maybe it was because private gatherings were impossible due to COVID-19. Since I was a freshman at the time, and people around me said, "I feel sorry for you," and “You studied hard and went to college, but too bad it’s a Cyber University now,” but I remember I didn’t really appreciate the comments.

Q3. What activities have you been able to do personally in the past two years when many face-to-face activities have been limited? What else was not up to your expectations?
Jonghyun:When I was a freshman, I only took classes at home. I didn't do any club activities, and only attended several online mentoring events that were notified by school promotional text messages, such as the Career Development Center Friday Career Chat.
Jiwon: I think I did everything I wanted to do. I couldn't go to school with my friends as a group or go to MT, but I experienced several clubs instead. Discussion club, fashion club, business administration club, etc. Now I'm working as a student ambassador and student council member. In addition, I participated in the 2021 Social Value Research Contest on campus, won awards, and moved into the Iljin Startup Center through Startup Express and lived a busy life. Among them, I was eligible to enter the Milgard Invitational Case Competition on Social Responsibility (MICCSR) held by the Milgard Business School of the University of Washington in the U.S., but it's still a shame that it was held online because of COVID-19.
Jonghyun: When I was in first grade, I wanted to go out with someone no matter what. But because of COVID-19, I didn't even have a chance to meet anyone. I really wanted to have a meeting... (Laughs) It was a shame that I didn't have the opportunity to meet a variety of people. Since I lived without any plans after entering school, I decided to do something at school and applied for the memorable "KUBE" I saw at the site of the Successful Candidates Meeting in 2019. So now I'm the president of KUBE, and thanks to that, I was able to get precious student ambassadors friends. 

Q4. In the first semester of 2022, some face-to-face classes were held, and the school festival were held. How did you feel about participating in face-to-face classes and events?
Jonghyun: Time actually went really slow during the last four semesters, but this semester went by so fast. I felt like I was living a fruitful life every day by day. It was awkward at first to have a lot of people on campus, but now I'm glad that the campus seems to be picking up steam. Daedongje and Ipsilenti were really fun and it was even exhausting to play so hard. I'm looking forward to the upcoming events.
Jiwon: After experiencing Daedongje and Ipsilenti in May, I thought it would have been great if I have been able to experience them the first year. Since the class is also conducted as a "face-to-face" lecture with no recorded copies left, I think I'm listening more carefully because I can't take the class again.
 

Q5. What activities do you want to do for the rest of your school life?
Jonghyun: I really want to go to Europe as an exchange student. When COVID-19 was spreading for a long time, the departure itself was blocked, but from this semester, I hear the dispatch of exchange students became a little smoother. If I have a chance, I want to try it. Of course, I want to date. (laughs)
Jiwon: I want to take a leave of absence and do things that I couldn't do in the first and second grades. For example, I want to drink with other students and stay up all night playing “train” during the Koyonjeon. Even if I wanted to play, there was always a business hour limit, so I didn't have a chance. Also, I really want to be an exchange student and travel abroad with friends.
 

Q6. What is your overall review of college life in short? What does that mean?
Jiwon: 'No regrets' I've done everything I can in the COVID-19 situation, so I have no regrets! I think I will try to do my best in a given environment even if I go back to two years ago.
Jonghyun: 'Still Possible' Class of 2020 is still where many things are possible. I'm going to enjoy the rest of my college life!