▲ An airplane view of the future Main Stadium

In the beginning of the second semester of 2013, Dongguk announced that there would be some changes in the Main Stadium starting from the end of October. The construction period is going to last for about two months. From the very beginning of this year, Jung-gu Office has suggested Dongguk University to repair its old facilities in the Main Stadium. On September 16th, Dongguk University and Jung-gu Office finally signed a contract to install sports facilities. Office of Planning and Facility Management has chosen a construction company in the middle of October. It would cost about 980 million won in total. The whole construction fee was supported by Jung-gu Office.

 

The field will be covered with artificial turf instead of sand. The size of the soccer field is going to be 90 meters in width and 60 meters in length which is the standardized size. Around the field, three-lane track will be installed. Draining facility will be created and old fence will be replaced into a new one. The stand where students can sit will also be repaired. The dumping ground on the side will reduce its size.

Dongguk expects several effects through this improvement of Main Stadium. First, by attracting public capital of 980 million won, poor educational environment will be upgraded. Second, school can fresh up negative and old image of the Main Stadium. Third, it contributes to all students’ fitness, especially those in athletic clubs. Lastly, the Main Stadium will be opened to the public which Dongguk can play a huge role in welfare of the local community.

Although there are many advantages of having the Main Stadium repaired, some students are discontent with the way this project is progressed despite many advantages. Some conflicts occured between students and school. On October 1st, there was a field day of the College of Social Science. Dongguk asked the College of Social Science not to hold a field day in the Main Stadium. Choi Eun-mi, the president of the College of Social Science, said “We were notified that we could not use the Main Stadium for the field day. The reason was unacceptable. The school forbade us from using the Main Stadium on the excuse of the repair that did not even begin.”

There is also a long-term problem of using the Main Stadium. As the cost of construction is totally provided by Jung-gu Office, the Jung-gu residents will be able to use the Main Stadium. It will be open to the public from 6 A.M. to 9 A.M. during weekdays, from 6 A.M. to 8 A.M. on Saturdays, and from 6 A.M. to 1 P.M. on Sundays. Although the Office of Planning and Facility Management promised to guarantee students' right to use the Main Stadium, some students are worried about the intrusion of their exclusive access to the Main Stadium. Jung Ha-yeon, a student from Department of Law, said “I am worried about habitual invasion of the Main Stadium from Jung-gu Office. It would be a big problem.”

With the fact that the expense of this construction is entirely subsidized by the Jung-gu Office, Dongguk should take care of students’ convenience of using the Main Stadium as freely as possible because it belongs to them. As Dongguk has promised students to place their usage of the Main Stadium on top priority, students should also observe if the promise is kept well and try hard to cooperate on Dongguk’s policy.

Kim You-jeong  youjeong719@dongguk.edu

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