The smell of snacks like Choco Pie, Banana Kick and Honey Butter Chips fill the air as large crowds gather for the Korean Student Association Club. Screens project slideshows highlight the global Hallyu phenomenon, a global rise of South Korean pop culture since the late 1990s. West Ranch’s KSA club is a place where all students are welcome to experience Korean history, culture, snacks and games.
Meeting once a month on Fridays during lunch in Mr. Hughes’ Room 508, the club offers membership to every student regardless of their cultural backgrounds. KSA club President Brandon Chang highlights cultural appreciation: “For our members who are not Korean, they can experience the rich culture that our community holds.”
Senior Nathan Quach is an example of the club’s acceptance of diverse members. He shares his experience with the KSA: “At first I joined just to support my friends but I ended up staying because I found the presentations really interesting and I got to learn a lot about Korea’s history and some of the traditions.” When asked to describe the club in one sentence, he said, “I came for the food, and stayed for the people.”
Beyond fostering a welcoming environment, a typical meeting includes social interaction with Korean culture and history. In addition to the snacks and socialization, officers of the club “usually have a slideshow prepared, and then during the slideshow, [the meeting] consists of games, and pop culture–with prizes at the end,” former KSA Vice President Kaylie Kang explains.
An impressive feat the KSA club has achieved is meeting with Korean-American singer, songwriter and television personality Eric Nam with the club giving members the chance to appear on his cooking show. Kang emphasizes, “I feel like that was pretty big for a celebrity just to be there in a high school club.” Celebrity visits are amazing milestones for KSA. The club’s biggest pride is in its diverse cultures gathering to learn the culture and history of Korea.
When asked for their most memorable meeting, Chang mentioned playing Gonggi, a popular jackstone-style Korean game, which is commonly recognized from being featured in the Netflix show, “Squid Game”. “It was a fun challenge for all of our members, and we had so many snacks that everyone got to take home,” Chang said.
In future meetings, Chang hopes the engagement between officers and members will carry on as the senior officers graduate. “We already have an amazing tight bond with everyone, both members and officers, and we’ve seen a lot of love for our club and engagement this year,” he reflected. “We hope to keep that going, even when our current senior officers are gone.”
Chang and his officers’ goals for the club are “to share Korean culture with the West Ranch High School campus and to foster a positive community, where students can share their background through food, music and language.” He added, “We hope that the culture, be it the traditions or just the snacks at meetings, will continue to bring in new members, both Korean and not, to our club.”
To those who are interested in getting involved and gaining valuable experience from the club, Kang recommends to follow the club’s Instagram as “it is the easiest way to get updates and meeting information.” She also suggested that interested students talk with officers during meetings about additional club information.
The KSA Club is not just a place to socialize; it is a diverse community celebrating the tradition of Korea and further uniting unique cultures around the world.
