Talking Baseball, Tasting Wine... One-Day Hofs Packed as Fall Semester Begins

Peak Season for One-Day Hof Events at University Campuses as the Fall Semester Begins

From Social Mixers to Recreational Activities: A "Playground for Making Connections"

Valuable Experience in Event Planning and Promotion, but Dissatisfaction Over Profit Sharing

On the afternoon of September 8, a week after the start of the fall semester, a pub in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, was bustling with activity. As soon as you entered the entrance, student staff checked the reservation list and inspected IDs. Inside, other students guided guests to their seats and helped arrange seating with other patrons. Students also shuttled between tables, serving drinks and snacks, and took care of food preparation by heating ready-made dishes in the kitchen. Both the guests and all staff working at the pub were university students. For one day, students take full responsibility to directly operate a "one-day Hof" event.

Joo Haeun, a 20-year-old student at Seoul National University who worked as an event staff member, said, "This is part of an exchange group activity organized at the school level to promote interaction between departments." She added, "The more visitors, the livelier the event becomes, so we also actively encourage guests who appear to be students to participate." Jang Hangjun, a 23-year-old student at the same university, said, "Meeting and conversing with people for the first time, especially complete strangers, is a rare experience," and noted, "It is sometimes difficult when guests become unruly after drinking, but it has helped me learn to handle such situations."

On the 8th, staff members checked the IDs of customers at a pub in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, where a one-day beer festival hosted by Seoul National University students took place. Photo by Ji Eun Oh

Recently, as the fall semester begins, there has been a surge in demand for one-day Hof events at venue rental businesses near university campuses. These gatherings have increasingly become not just a place to drink, but also a venue for students from different universities and departments to meet and connect.

According to one venue rental business that operates one-day Hof events in the Sinchon area of Seoul, there are bookings for at least two locations every business day in September, except for the Chuseok holiday. This company runs five sites and meets most of the one-day Hof demand among university students in the Seoul area. A company representative explained that demand peaks from the start of the semester until mid-October, when midterm exams begin. Admission fees are typically around 5,000 to 6,000 won per person. To ensure these are student-focused events, IDs are checked, and the age range is restricted to between 20 and 25 years old.

There are various reasons why students hold one-day Hof events. Performance clubs use the events to raise funds for venue rental and other fixed expenses, while student councils host them to cover the costs of campus festivals or to create shared memories for executive members. Some students plan and operate these events to build friendships with students from other universities, or simply for the experience of collaborating with friends.

Recently, new programs have emerged, ranging from lucky draws and arm-wrestling contests to school- or department-specific quizzes and dress-code challenges. For example, at a one-day Hof organized by the Electrical and Electronic Engineering Sports Society of Korea University in October last year, participants wore uniforms and discussed baseball, predicting the outcome of games as part of the festivities. In an upcoming event organized by a metropolitan social community, a program will allow guests to sample several types of wine and get to know each other's preferences. The emphasis is on creating shared topics that make it easier for strangers to start a conversation, rather than focusing solely on drinking itself.

On the 8th, guests are entering a pub in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, where a one-day beer festival hosted by Ewha Womans University students took place. Photo by Ji-eun Oh

However, some have raised concerns that the compensation students receive from these events is insufficient compared to the work they do. Operating in a model where students directly sell food and beverages can present problems related to food sanitation regulations, such as the need for business registration. To address this, many venue renters forego a separate rental fee and instead split admission fees and sales proceeds with the hosting students according to a predetermined ratio. In this setup, venue rental businesses operate the pub and manage sales and food preparation, while students handle tasks like event promotion, recruiting participants, managing admissions, serving, and running the event itself.

A representative from one of Ewha Womans University's college student councils, which hosted a one-day Hof last semester, said that profits were split with 90% going to the company and 10% to the student group. "Although a portion of the admission fee was also included in the distribution, we invested more in program planning, so we valued the practical experience above all," she said. Yoon, a 22-year-old student at Konkuk University who worked as a staff member at a one-day Hof last year, added, "Since it's a one-off event and access to information is limited, students usually have no choice but to follow the instructions given at the venue."

Kim Yongjin, a professor of business administration at Sogang University, observed, "In the past, students and professors saw this as simply selling alcohol, but nowadays students design and run a much wider variety of programs themselves." He noted, "Rather than sticking to traditional, department-centered gatherings, students now form joint clubs or groups based on shared interests and are comfortable meeting and enjoying time together on a short-term basis." However, he cautioned, "Because students are directly involved in running these events, it is important to carefully consider whether profit distribution and operating models are appropriate and to discuss such matters with the venue in advance."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.