MT usually indicates a trip for university students with people in the same department or club. 'MT' stands for 'membership training,' which is a gathering of group members to improve connections and cooperation. Rather than going to tourist places during the trip, students spend time together, hanging out near their accommodation, having barbecue, and playing games a lot. Through these activities, especially the games, students can get closer to each other and develop teamwork. It's sometimes hard to meet and talk with people in the same department; however, each department consists of those students so familiarity and cooperation is needed. MT is one of the special activities of Korean university life and many students look forward to it. To learn more about MT, we had an interview below. Two international students (A, B), one Korean alumni (C), and one Korean student (D), all of who actually experienced MT, took part in the interview, and shared their experience about MT.

 

What kind of MT did you have?

Ⓐ It was with my university dance club members.

Ⓑ, Ⓒ, Ⓓ It was my department MT for socializing.

 

Why did you attend MT, and what did you expect about MT before you attended?

Ⓐ I was curious about MT because there's nothing like this in my country, Taiwan, so I wanted to try.

Ⓑ I wanted to make new friends in my department.

Ⓒ For me, MT was something we definitely would like to go to since we were in university. It seemed like it was one of the biggest parts of university life and I didn't want to miss it. Also, I looked forward to meeting new friends there.

Ⓓ During the military service period, I had no chance to meet my university friends and colleagues, so I took part in order to be close to them again.

 

Were there any fun or memorable moments during MT?

Ⓐ We drank a lot after the dinner, playing drinking games. I went to sleep at 3:00 AM, but my friend kept playing and drinking until the morning.

Ⓑ We had more boys than girls, so girls were supposed to sleep in the room and boys were supposed to sleep in the large living room. However, in the end, everyone got so drunk that we just slept wherever. I couldn't find the right place to sleep, so I and other girls who belonged to the same group also slept wherever, and we were scolded by our group leader the next morning.

Ⓒ I had some bad memories. Seniors made us do some talent shows which was annoying. Besides, suddenly they said we were lacking rooms, so they let boys and girls sleep together. At another MT, I made my colleague get deathly drunk, and I was seriously drunk as well. From then on, my nickname was Nongea (entertaining courtesan of Joseon Dynasty who grabbed hold of a Japanese commander who was a head of the enemy and jumped off the cliff and sank down to the water during the war to get rid of the commander). The colleague I made drunk had blacked out, puked while running across the windows, and ended up getting a new nickname "hydra."

Ⓓ We had a messy random dance competition. I wasn't involved, but one senior danced in a very weird and funny way, so everybody couldn't help laughing out loud insanely.

Now how do you think about MT?

Ⓐ It is a fun activity. Actually a drinking activity.

Ⓑ It's a good activity to make new friends when you are freshman or sophomore.

Ⓒ I think it's good to try attending freshman MT if you are not busy. In addition, I recommend you join the department MT if you want to make embarrassing but unforgettable memories and a new nickname.

Ⓓ I think it's a drinking party where it's good to build up friendly relationships.

What are the pros and cons of MT?

Ⓐ,Ⓒ You can quickly get close with the people who also attend MT with you. But you may feel sick because of the alcohol or make shameful memories before you realize it. But if you don't want to drink, then you don't have to drink.

Ⓑ A good point is that you can learn Korean drinking games, but the bad point is that the only thing you may remember the drinking games.

Ⓓ You can have good conversations with others about the future. On the other hand, if you go to MT with weird people who have an old fashioned mind set, the atmosphere would be unpleasant and you may see terrible scenes of super drunk people.

 

Are there any tips for the MT?

Ⓐ The drinking game was a hard part for me, so if you know the game well then it would be helpful. If not, you will have to learn how it works while drinking. As most of the participants are Korean, it would be better if you are able to speak Korean. The vibe can sour if everyone has to translate during the game.

Ⓑ Wear comfortable clothes.

Ⓒ You must take nutritional supplements for your liver and drink as little alcohol as possible. And take a look at others and tease drunk people as much as possible.

Ⓓ Check out the tendency of people who take part in a certain MT and then decide whether you want to go or not. The atmosphere of MT is made by the people. You should practice drinking games, and if you are not good at drinking, you should just sleep after drinking a bit or act as if you are fully drunk. If you try to act like a strong man and keep drinking, you may show your disgusting side and even have to consider a leave of absence from university.

 

As we can see from the interview, most MTs include drinking with games. Because of the drinking, students can have fun but also they may suffer bad conditions or make bad experiences. In any situation, safety should come first, so it is very important to take care of yourself and others and not rush on drinking.

However, the majority of participating students are Korean, there might be a language barrier when international students play drinking games. To make MT fun and enjoyable for everyone, there should be some ways for them to learn Korean drinking games. They can learn those by searching "Korean drinking game" on YouTube or asking acquaintances. Most of the drinking games are typical mini games in Korea that most of the Koreans know, so they can teach international students. Games may feel difficult and complicated at first, but it would be helpful to practice games with friends whenever you have the chance.



 

Reporter,

Eunkyeul Kim kyeul@g.seoultech.ac.kr

Reporter 김은결

• 직책 :
• e-mail : kyeul@g.seoultech.ac.kr