ANGIE FERNANDEZ ALVAREZ, Special to The Denisonian

After not having an active club for Korean students for almost two academic years, two friends, David Pae ’27 and John An ’28, along with their group of friends, worked together to submit a new club idea called MOiM, which stands for a Korean word meaning “gathering,” to the Alford Community Leadership & Involvement Center (CLIC). 

At the end of  the fall semester, MOiM was approved and the club shared the news at the beginning of the spring semester 2026 through their Instagram. The club is for students of all backgrounds to gather, learn, celebrate and bring awareness to Korean culture. 

In the past, there have been two Korean clubs at Denison University that did not continue to be active, leaving many students hoping one would be created. 

The Associate Director of CLIC, Clark Tieman, said, “I think that if a student finds a gap  in their experience, I think that they know that gap and they know what would fill it better than I  ever could.” Tieman said, “I think that forming a new club is the exact solution when they see a  gap like that.” 

This is exactly what Pae did with his friends; they saw a gap in their experience and created something new. 

 “I really wanted to create a group- a community- where everyone can feel  included and feel as if they’re part of a group, MOiM,” Pae said.

When creating a new club, the executive board has to write a constitution, mission  statement, find an advisor, create a logo and create a club name. When creating a name for the  club, the executive board brainstormed between different ideas.

 “We looked more into our mission statement, which is just creating a  community and so, like what most communities do, they gather. So we just took the Korean  translation of the word, which is MOiM, which just means gathering and then we’re like, ‘Well,  why don’t we just like lowercase the i?’ So that can mean that we’re not singling anyone out,” An said. “No one’s on their own.” 

In the future, MOiM plans to gather when most people are free, possibly on Fridays or  Saturdays.

MOiM’s first official event was a collaboration with Denison International Students  Association and DU Spiritual Life Center at Glipatrick. The event took place on Feb. 19 at the Spiritual Life Center at Gilpatrick and brought together many students interested in Korean cuisine. Students participated in Gimbap and Korean pancake (Jeon) making. In the future, the executive board plans to organize study sessions, movie nights, cooking events, fundraisers, Pepero making, and much more.