KSI Pune Holds 2025 First Semester Club
Inauguration Ceremony

> The ceremony gathered around 60 attendees, including the director of KSI Pune, club advisors, and club members, to present and showcase club activity plans

> A total of 67 members will participate in three clubs: dance, YouTube, and Korean music

On January 25, KSI Pune, India held its 2025 first-semester inauguration ceremony for the dance, YouTube, and Korean music clubs. During the ceremony, approximately 60 participants—including the director of KSI Pune, club advisors, and both new and senior club members—gathered to announce their respective club activity plans and present performances.

Since last year, KSI Pune has been organizing club activities involving its director, instructors, and learners. Each semester, new members are selected through auditions, where applicants showcase their talents in dance, singing, and other performances. This semester, 28 learners passed the audition and, together with 39 existing members, a total of 67 students will participate in the clubs. The members will be divided into three clubs—dance, YouTube, and Korean music—and will select their own themes for activities and performances. They will practice for two hours every weekend and showcase their skills at the first-semester closing ceremony.
 
 

During the dance club audition, participants were tasked with creating a five-minute performance under the theme of “Friendship Between Korea and India” within one hour, demonstrating teamwork. All participants collaborated to produce a performance that combined K-pop and Indian dance styles, and as a result, every participant was selected as an official club member. Under the leadership of club president Varuni, the KSI Pune dance club plans to create a performance blending K-pop dance with Bollywood dance from Indian Hindi films under the theme of “Summer, Bollywood.”

The YouTube club, under the guidance of Sanjib, co-founder of the India-Korea Center (the operating institution of KSI Pune), and instructor Park Saet-byeol, will produce short documentaries featuring reenactments of famous Korean drama scenes and activities from the dance and music clubs. The Korean music club, led by instructor Yoon Seon-young, will focus on learning Korean folk songs and children’s songs, including Jindo Arirang and Round and Round, along with music notation theory and the ocarina instrument.
 
 

YouTube Club Members Practicing
Korean Drama Lines YouTube Club Members Discussing
Interview Techniques

During the club inauguration ceremony, Adity, the inaugural president of the YouTube club, shared their experience by saying, “By reading scripts, practicing acting, filming, and editing videos, members are able to learn Korean at an incredible pace while also strengthening their relationships, making this an enjoyable activity.” Varuni, who aspires to become a professional K-pop dancer and leads the dance club, stated, “As the club president, I not only practice dance intensively but also develop my choreography skills and leadership abilities, making this a highly meaningful experience for me.” Anuja, the president of the Korean music club, also expressed her thoughts by saying, “With guidance from a professional Korean music instructor, I have been able to learn about traditional Korean rhythms, song lyrics, music notation, and even the ocarina, allowing me to truly experience Korean culture.”

Newly joined club members also shared their impressions during the ceremony. Sayali, a student in the Sejong Korean 2B course, said she became interested in the YouTube club after watching their video at last semester’s closing ceremony and expressed excitement about creating videos. Anisha, who has studied Indian classical music for a long time, mentioned that learning music notation from both Eastern and Western traditions, including those from India and Korea, was fascinating. Ishita, who has been dancing hip-hop for over five years, said she felt happy to have found a place where others shared the same passion for dance.
 
 

Korean Music Club Members
Learning Traditional Korean Rhythms Korean Music Club Members
Playing Korean Music on the Ocarina

During the inauguration ceremony, Sanjib, the advisor of the YouTube club at KSI Pune, emphasized that “play is the optimal way to practice speaking,” explaining the effectiveness of club activities through YouTube content creation. Instructor Park Saet-byeol, who teaches drama lines to YouTube club members, also shared insights by saying, “Students engage more actively and with greater enthusiasm when learning through drama scripts rather than using traditional Korean textbooks. This creates a much more relaxed and engaging learning environment. In particular, beginner learners often struggle with reading and speaking, but by repeatedly listening to and practicing drama lines in context, their Korean pronunciation and intonation become more natural, and their speaking skills improve significantly.” Additionally, Yoon Seon-young, who has over ten years of experience teaching music in Korean middle and high schools, expressed her hopes for the Korean music club by saying, “I hope our students can learn Korean through Korean music and experience Korean culture firsthand.”

Director Lim Eun-joo of KSI Pune shared her vision for the clubs, stating, “Art has the power to effectively convey messages and bring people together. We established these clubs with the hope that our learners would foster close connections through Korean culture and the arts. Our instructors, including myself, each have over ten years of professional experience in video production, dance, and music, giving us a deep understanding of artistic media. When combined with the passion of our learners who love Korean culture, we believe these engaging club activities will lead to even greater results.” She expressed high expectations for this semester’s club activities at KSI Pune.

Article by Lim Eun-joo, Correspondent at KSI Pune