A trivial yet interesting difference between Korean and American universities is the cheering squad. Most of us are probably familiar with American cheerleading, which is usually formed to support sports teams and present different dances, formations, chants, etc. And while there are male cheerleaders and/or separate male cheering squads, they are quite uncommon. In Korea, however, the cheer squads in universities are composed of a lot more males than in America, and the gender connotation is a lot weaker. The outfits are completely different in their cheering squads, perhaps an interpretation of aristocratic fashion, with many frills and of various colors. Just like American cheerleading, they actively perform at sporting events and have different dances, but whereas American cheer squads focus more on gymnastics, Korean cheer squads focus much more on dancing.
Korean cheer squads have their own special events, and in Korea many students actively attend these events. For example, Yonsei University and Korea University, two of the biggest schools in Korea, have an “합동응원전”, or a collaborated cheering match. Thousands of students attend, with students dressing in their school color, clothing, and accessories. Each school has their list of themes/anthems/songs that all the students somehow seem to know, as well as a dance that accompanies it. In the cheering match, a school would perform, and the other school would perform in response, and so forth, all whilst taunting each other. Whilst this may sound lackluster on paper, in real time it is quite overwhelming. Students wrap arms around each other in long lines, creating a giant wave. Cheering squads dance or perform flexibility abnormalities, and the whole event lasts for hours.
There has even been a recent Korean show centered around cheering squads, called “Cheer Up”. They actually filmed numerous scenes on the campus of Yonsei, and I saw many of the filming equipment/crew around, albeit no actors. But it was interesting to see how the cheering culture in Korea varied from America’s. In Korea, it really builds onto school spirit and love for the school, and after such events, students from both schools go out to drink in the nearby areas, either getting to know each other better, or start fighting.
Here is a video of a recent 합동응원전, if interested:
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