Friendly chatter and constant giggles mixed with the sounds of K-pop music at Hallyu Club’s meeting on Wednesday night.
The word “hallyu” refers to interest in Korean pop culture, an interest shared by many Bradley students and turned into an official club last semester.
President of Hallyu Club, Nusaiba Mahmood, junior computer science and French major, said the idea to form the club stemmed from discussions at Chinese Culture Club and Puzzle Club.
“At these meetings, we would always come back to this topic of K-dramas, K-pop and all kinds of hallyu stuff. So we were like, ‘Why not just start a club for that?’” Mahmood said.
Around 15 to 20 people show up for each meeting, which last roughly two hours and consist of listening to K-pop, eating Korean food, learning Korean words, playing games and generally discussing or finding new information about Korean culture.
Meetings used to be scheduled for only an hour, but have since been extended to two hours or more due to overwhelming interest.
Bri Ballog, freshman chemistry and pre-med major, who serves as Hallyu Club secretary, said members have been engaged since the first meeting.
“The meetings never end on time. People are just so engaged in discussion. We always end up staying late and talking,” Ballog said. “I’m in a lot of groups and while a lot of groups do have a lot of interaction between members, I don’t know many groups that stay late. I feel like that’s definitely a thing that’s unique.”
Another club offering is the home-cooked Korean food served each week, made fresh by the executive board from recipes found online and suggested by club members.
“We also ask people if they have allergies, and if you have allergies, we’ll try to make something you can eat,” Mahmood said.
Some Hallyu Club meetings differ from their general meetings, such as their Korean Thanksgiving event when they made Korean sushi and paper fans or when they went off-campus to try Korean Barbecue.
Through Hallyu Club, several members have found ways to get involved and learn more about Korean culture outside of the club.
Katie Daggett, junior user experience major, joined as a transfer student wanting to get involved on campus. From her experience in the club, she created an app called “KPopMe” for K-pop fans to find more music and information on bands they love, as well as connect with other fans. She has since also joined K-18 a dance group formed by Bradley’s Asian American Association, which performs covers of K-pop songs.
K-18 recently performed at BU Culture Night, where they had over 100 in attendence.
“We got to show so many people [that] this is something we appreciate about this culture and if you want to learn more, you can come to events like Hallyu Club or come dance with us,” Daggett said. “It’s a way to show people [that] this is something we like, maybe you’d like it too.”
Overall, the focus of Hallyu Club is just to create an open environment in which Bradley students can discuss and learn more about Korean culture.
“Because it’s a small niche group, when people in the niche find other people who also share that interest, we want to grab onto that because it’s rare,” Mahmood said. “We’re accepting of everyone … even if you have no idea of any K-pop, anything … just show up.”
Hallyu Club will meet four more times this semester. For more information, contact hallyuclubbu@gmail.com.
