For the second year in a row, two of the school’s most prominent cultural clubs will be bringing a taste of Lunar New Year to the quad.
Once again, the Chinese and Korean Culture Clubs will be hosting the Lunar New Year celebration on Feb. 16. The two clubs will line up tables in the quad so that students walking onto campus will have the chance to experience the celebration.
“We’re hoping to show the school what the holiday is about and set up an event that anyone who wants can come and celebrate with others,” said senior Nicholas Di, an officer in the Chinese Club.
Although food cannot be served during the event due to the school’s cafeteria contract, in which only the cafeteria is allowed to serve food during school hours, both clubs will be doing cultural displays during lunch.
Korean Club will be showing traditional Korean clothes and games such as Tuho, a javelin-throwing game. These games were also played at the Cultural Fair during Speak Up For Change on Jan. 15 and were successful in attracting students check out the cultural booths, Uenaka said.
Additionally, members will be performing popular new Korean pop, or K-pop, dances, which they are learning from YouTube videos. Because K-pop music and performances have heavily spread the Korean Wave worldwide, club members saw the performance as a perfect way to introduce non-members to a more modern aspect of Korean culture.
Juniors Miya Uenaka and Ferennie Liu are leading the performance, teaching dances to songs like “Black Suit” by Super Junior, “All I Wanna Do” by Jay Park and “Heartshaker” by Twice.
Practices occur during every lunch or tutorial in the orchestra room, which is especially useful for its large space and mirror. Uenaka said that overall, practices have been going well, with around 10 coming each day.
“Because of the daily practices, it’s hard for people to show up every day,” Uenaka said. “But when they do, the practices are great.”
One loyal Korean club member who shows up to practices every day is junior Mira Park. A K-pop fan, she said that she is most excited for the dance performance.
“I love the dance element of K-pop music and have also participated in the K-pop performances during Homecoming for the past three years,” Park said. “I’m excited to take part in this event and also share it with my friends.”
Members from both clubs said that the celebration is not geared only toward the ethnicities that the clubs are centered around. Both clubs have members of all ethnicities, including Indian and Vietnamese, and they hope to spread fun Chinese and Korean cultural elements to other people.
“While our school does have a large percentage of Asian students, we are still a diverse school,” Park said. “This event emphasizes appreciation for all of those cultures on our campus.”