Under the Flag Mall in the unusually forgiving late October breeze, lights hung over the blue tents surrounding grassy fields. The Korean and Filipino flags waved to the celebrators underneath as they meandered from table to table, booth to booth, piling their plates with delectable cuisines at the White Rabbit Night Market. Organized by KASA (Korean American Student Association) and AFIA (Andrews Filipino International Association), the White Rabbit Night Market–named after the significance of the white rabbit to both Korean and Filipino culture–hosted games and food reminiscent of Korean and Filipino nighttime street market life.
The inception of the idea began with KASA and AFIA independently deciding to do a night market. Justin Flores (junior, medical laboratory science), president of AFIA, commented, “In the summer of 2021, some of my officers had an idea to have a night market. Because of Covid and the uncertainty of the possibility of food fairs, we decided to take the initiative to do one.” Joshua Pak (senior, biochemistry), president of KASA, added, “Justin and I had a conversation about collaborating and we found common ground in our want to do a Night Market.”
KASA’s booths served street foods commonly found at a night market in Seoul, including kimbap (김밥) – a combination of rice and Korean vegetables wrapped with seaweed, Korean corn dogs called (핫도그) made Andrews-University style, using Big Franks and mozzarella cheese in place of meat hotdogs, and tteokbokki (떡볶이) – or scrumptious spicy rice cakes. Korean games, such as 투호 (tuho)–a game where participants throw spears or sticks into a bucket, 딱지 (ddakji)–a game using origami paper to flip other players’ origami tiles, 공기 (gonggi)–a stone-throwing game, and 제기차기 (jegichagi) – a Korean version of hacky sack, were also hosted. Pak describes the representation of the Korean culture to the Night Market as a success, saying, “The ambiance [at the White Rabbit Night Market] matched up [to that of a night market in Seoul]. The collaboration with AFIA was well-needed, and the reality of our vision was definitely a sight to see!”
AFIA’s booths had delicious Filipino foods, such as pancit–a type of noodle dish–and egg rolls. Flores commented, “We took our most popular foods from our club. The food is very important to Filipino culture; we love to share our culture through our food.” He added, “I honestly was not expecting many people to come. That’s why we ran out of food so fast.” AFIA also hosted six vendors, including Kozy Saila who sold masks, William Crawford who sold bread, Herbypop who sold vegan popcorn, Jeannie Bakes who sold desserts, Elaine Navia who sold lanyards, and Jaziel Sanchez who sold paintings. People could also participate in a Filipino dance called tinikling–a dance performed between moving poles–at the Night Market. Flores was pleased with the representation of Filipino culture, saying, “We’ve worked hard toward bringing more awareness of Filipino culture. This won’t be the last night market. This is an opportunity for other cultural clubs to see that we can collaborate–not compete–to spread our culture together, to get people to see and be excited for events like these, even in the midst of Covid. In the future, we will hopefully see more and more clubs join this night market.”
Pak commented on the many parties involved in the setup of the Night Market. He said, “I want to give a big thanks. This event wouldn’t have happened without AFIA and Student Life and all the departments–such as Transportation, CFE, Plant Services, and Communications–that helped. They were integral to our success, and they were incredible with the setup. It was crazy to watch God working through these people to make it happen.”
AFIA and KASA also have their own plans to further the sharing of their respective cultures. KASA is celebrating Pepero Day on November 11, a Korean Valentine Day-esque holiday where people give Pepero (빼빼로)–a cookie stick dipped in chocolate–to friends and loved ones. AFIA is planning on hosting a Christmas party with warm food and karaoke.
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of Andrews University. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, Andrews University or the Seventh-day Adventist church.