Ha Da-un with customized shoes by herself

It’s May, and the spring is about to end. Here in Changwon University, there are some students saying, “I am in charge of the students’ shoes.” Today, I would like to introduce our special guest, representative S-reborn the foundation club.
Q : Nice to meet you. Please introduce yourself briefly to the readers.
Ha : Hello, I’m Da Un Ha from the Department of Clothing and I’m the team leader of our foundation club S-reborn.
Q : There are many students that are not familiar with S-reborn, would you please tell us about how it is made and what kind of activities are done?
Ha : First, my classmates and I thought it would be nice to draw exotic pictures that people want in the shoes and that’s how we started the foundation club. We also had a thought of promoting our major, Clothing, since people didn’t really know about it. Students of Changwon University tend to put on Vans slip-ons. After seeing this, we had an event some time ago of customizing shoes with colors and designs people want in Bongrim Hall. We had financial support from Linc Cooperation and the money was used for us to buy materials like paint and brushes. From the students, we do not take any profit and proceed as a talent donation.
Q : I heard the response to the Vans Customizing Event was very positive. Are there any projects or plans for S-reborn in progress?
Ha : We gave out our business cards to students at the Vans Customizing Event. For some time, we are planning to work if there is demand. You can customize Vans or any other shoes that you want, if you just bring them over. We try to meet people’s requests as much as possible regarding colors or designs that they want. In the fall semester, we are planning to hold an exhibition of customized shoes made personally by our five members. We do ask for your attention. Sales are not our purpose but if you are interested in any of the products, you can just tell us.
Q : Thank you for the information. I am a bit concerned that you might have some difficulties working and studying at the same time?
Ha : At first, we had a hard time deciding on the price since designing takes up quite a lot of time. There were opinions like, since we put a lot of effort into it, we should at least have some labor cost. But we decided not to leave any margins following our initial purpose. Generally, majoring in Design requires many projects and it’s hard to spare time, so we try to manage our time efficiently by having weekly meetings. In the exam period, we tend to skip the meetings. We do have difficulties like these, but the five of us are able to broaden our perspective in fashion by sharing each other’s style. I say this is the biggest advantage that offsets all the disadvantages.
Q : There must be various incidents in S-reborn. Do you have any memorable episode you’d like to share?
Ha : Recently, we had a very interesting order. A big guy came to look around and immediately sent us money with a picture of Pikachu. At first we thought it was a joke, but he really wanted us to draw him Pikachu. He turned out to be the president of the Electrical Engineering Student Council, and all of us laughed after understanding his strange behavior. If you see someone with a Pikachu-painted shoes in College of Engineering, you can easily notice it’s him.
Q : Since you’re so passionate about both S-reborn and studies, I am curious about your future dream. What are you planning to do?
Ha : I have a lot of things on my mind, so I would like to go anywhere if I can learn something from it. My final goal is to run a one-man business. If I do so, the motto would be ‘Beautiful comfort’. Usually nice looking clothes can be rather uncomfortable. I prefer to be comfortable so I tend to not wear skirts even if I want to. I want to make practical clothes that are not too burdensome that anyone can comfortably wear. Plus it should look good too.
Q : Lastly, would you say anything to the students of Changwon University?
Ha : There is something I always say to people/friends younger than me. Do not worry. Juniors and seniors that work hard and really have faith in this field tend to worry a lot. They are concerned about their future and are not able to surely decide what to do. I entered the school 3 years later than other people but I am living a happy life doing things I want. Even if you have a stable life and high salary, you will not be happy if you’re doing something you don’t want to. Wouldn’t it be so sad to start again and regret the time that is already gone? I saw a quote that was really touching in a book saying, “Life is more of a way than the speed.” I hope the students do what they want to do and find out what they like and dislike. You are all still young. Also, we hold project exhibition of designing department every semester and there are many students that are interested but don’t know how to participate. We are planning to open a promotion booth so please look forward to it!

Hun Lee, cub-reporter  pjh327s@naver.com

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