The band of GMUK, 'Sketch,' is performing on the stage at the 2021 IGC Music Festival.
Photo Credit: Incheon Global Campus
On December 15th, 2021, the Incheon Global Campus (IGC) hosted the 2021 IGC Music Festival on campus. The festival was conducted both online and offline, unlike the 2020 IGC Music Festival, which was held entirely online. Students could get rid of the stress through this music festival held at the end of the final examination term. The IGC Music Festival gave a refreshing time for many students, faculty, and citizens of Incheon in such a stifling period when the COVID-19 has limited events that people could enjoy together.
The 2021 IGC Music Festival seemed to mean a lot to IGC students as they have had difficulties in education and various activities going through the pandemic for about two years. In the 2020 IGC Music Festival, students could not perform as a performer due to the COVID-19 restriction. However, it was considerably different that students could show their musical talents by performing at this festival. About 20 IGC students, including George Mason University Korea (GMUK) ’s band ‘Sketch,’ performed at the festival. Also, there were three special guests: DIOS, a newly debuted K-Pop idol boy group, Lil Boi, a Korean rapper who won the ‘Show Me The Money 9,’ and Lee Hi, a well-known Korean singer and songwriter. Yu Bin Kwon (GMUK, Global Affairs, ‘23) and Dong Kyu Youn, a student not from IGC, mentioned that they were surprised by the brilliant quality of the students’ performances. Moreover, Yu Bin Kwon said that she felt this event more like a ‘university festival’ than the 2020’s one as she could see live performances, especially many of them done by IGC students.
Another prominent feature of the 2021 IGC Music Festival is strict pandemic preventive measures. The IGC followed several steps such as checking in with QR codes, temperatures checks, using hand sanitizer, etc. Besides, a limited number of 100 people could watch the performances in the IGC auditorium due to social distancing protocol. Even though there were many restrictions and limited numbers of audience in the festival in person, the atmosphere of the auditorium was heated with students’ claps and cheers. Furthermore, the 2021 IGC Music Festival ended without any infection thanks to such a strict policy.
It was an excellent opportunity for those performers and audiences to gather and unite at the end of the semester, which was frustrating and limited due to the online instruction mode. By being involved in the festival more directly, students could have fun with better engagement and celebrate that the semester is over. Yu Bin Kwon (GMUK, Global Affairs, ‘23) mentioned that by joining the festival, she could release the stress that she had got due to the overwhelming amount of tasks throughout the semester. According to the interviews, most audiences had a great time, releasing tension by enjoying the performances, singing along, and clapping together, which were not allowed for the last two years because of the pandemic.
Doyeon Park (GMUK, Business, ‘23), a leader of the SKETCH band club, said, “All of the SKETCH members struggled with scheduling during the final exam period; however, every member truly enjoyed the process of making our performance perfect.” She mentioned that she was happy that they could successfully show what they had prepared, including the ‘INTRO’ jam, which is the instrumental part that SKETCH members created to better show each member’s ability. Additionally, she showed her hope and desire by offering a more advanced performance at the next IGC Music Festival.
The IGC Music Festival has shown its improvement every year, entertaining the eyes and ears of exhausted students at the end of each semester. Students, who would have been caught up in their studies and felt isolated because of the pandemic, were able to feel free from stress and worries in the festival. In order to create a better involvement in the university activities as well as IGC Music Festival for both performers and audiences, the restoration of the pandemic situation is urgently needed. As the year 2021 of the Incheon Global Campus is successfully completed with the festival, hopefully, the beginning of the next semester will be filled with excitement after sufficient recovery.
Written by Sunbin Kim | Staff Writer
Revised by Yu Bin Kwon | Managing Editor
Comments