Updated: 12/17/2024
ok so if you know what YONKO is skip this next bit, but if you don’t know what YONKO/YONKO GAMES is read this:
YONKO happens every fall and is basically a really big 1-2 week-long competition between Yonsei University (YON) and Korea University (KO). i’m not sure if it’s the same sports played every year but this year there were 4 BIG hockey, baseball, basketball and soccer games. rugby was canceled because a KU team member passed away. there are usually more games b/w yonsei and KU but there is one rlly big game week, hence YONKO Games. in preparation this week and a couple weeks before both universities also have cheering festivals/practices where respective students can go and learn the cheering chants. once yonko games are over students usually go to either campus (it switches annually) to cheer and have fun (clink clink). in case u want to have a fictional idea of what it is and have some kind of expectations, watch YT vids and the K-Drama Cheer Up (i haven’t seen it but i heard it’s based on the games lol). im not sure if there are games in the spring semesters but i do know that there are music festivals and maybe cheering festivals? known as AKARAKA.
tbh i didn’t know what yonko was before coming here but i enjoyed it nonetheless.
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the first part of YONKO which was a joint cheering practice b/w Yonsei and KU took place on Sept 20 in the iconic Andrew’s Amphitheater. it was raining so hard this day but shoutout to the performers because they kept their energy up the ENTIRE time while being obliterated by the rain. and when i say the ENTIRE time i mean THE ENTIRE TIME. ALL. 4. HOURS. they were serving so hard. it was cute bc everyone was given ponchos in the color of their university. ku got red ponchos and yonsei got blue ones. so 1/2 of the amphitheater was all blue and 1/2 was all red. i know it’s usually like this but the ponchos made the colors so vibrant and everyone was matching so that’s why i thought it was cute. i wish yonsei students (especially international ones who didn’t know any of the cheers like ME) had more cheering practices like KU. my friend who went to KU had a few practices and YOU CAN TELL KU takes their cheering srsly. they were so in sync the whole time it was so cool to see but i was jealous haha. as mentioned, everyone cheered for hours. i think we were there for 3 or 4 hours in the rain. by the end of it my shoes were soaked and it took 3 days for them to fully dry. worth it though tbh.
after cheering there was the YONKO Games Eve festival on Sept 24 where different artists came to perform. i didn’t stay the whole time for this one because my friends and i were tired and hungry but it was still a lot of fun! this also took place in the Andrew’s Amphitheater (no rain this time). the artists that performed were SILICA GEL, DAVICHI and YB Kim Dohyun Band. tbh i had no idea who these artists were. there was also an opener who i didn’t know, but you know im open to anything. it was a more exclusive event since only a certain amount of international students were allowed to attend so i HAD to go. it was fun but no one sat in their assigned seats so that was weird. anyway i was able to listen to new music and i liked a lot of it. there were also a lot of yummy food trucks outside. yonsei loves their students my heart was so full.
the first games took place on Sept 27. there were baseball and basketball games but international students were only allowed to attend the baseball game at a baseball stadium in the Jamsil area. im not exactly sure if it was Jamsil stadium but i know it was right next to the Olympic stadium. even though we lost, this was my first game and cheering experience which turned out to be a lot of fun. i was able to wear my Yonsei baseball jersey and take cute pics too hehe. everyone was in good spirits even though it was scorching hot that day. they gave us a lot of free items too like a free hat, stickers, bread, water and juice. the game lasted a long time and i think unless you understood baseball and appreciate it, it may have been hard to enjoy because of how hot it was. we made it through tho lol we went to Sogang University and watched a bunch of artists like Le Sserafim and Unis perform later that day too.
the second round of games took place the following day on Sept 28 at Goyang Sports Complex which is a stadium on the outskirts of Seoul. this was the first of 3 weekends in a row that i went to Goyang. the following weekends would be for enhypen and seventeen's tours. it was cool to go to the soccer field that first time and know we would be seeing our favs in the same place the following weekends. ANYWAY the games that took place this day were soccer and hockey. international students were only offered to attend the soccer game although i did see some sneaky ppl post the hockey game on their ig stories so idk.... the soccer game was more fun than baseball imo especially because we won hehehehehehehe i think rugby was also supposed to be this day? the rugby team visited the field and said hi to everyone in the crowd. it was less hot this day which was good and they gave a bunch of free stuff again. we also put on cute tattoo stickers that we purchased from the CO-OP.
after the games on Saturday everyone headed to Anam later that night to celebrate. the drinking culture is insane here so everyone and their moms was drunk. safe, but drunk. all of Anam (the college town in Korea University) was full of Yonsei and KU students huddling in circles and cheering in the streets. my friends and i attended a joint dinner between some KU and Yonsei students/mentors and international students. we tried somaek (소맥) for the first time which is a mix of soju and beer. idk if im allowed to talk abt that on here actually but whatev hehe... pls drink responsibly and with people you trust if you decide to do so. we left around 1AM but i know some friends who were out all night until about 6AM cheering on the grasslands in front of KU. YONKO was actually some of the most fun i have had here so far and i HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend going no matter how shy, scared, timid, intimidated, etc. you are bc it is a once-in-a-lifetime experience to BE HAD.
anyway that's my whole spiel on YONKO/my YONKO POV. if i were to give any piece of advice it would be to make sure you're near a bathroom AT ALL TIMES.
