Day 5: DIMA and Everland

By Mandy Leong

We started off the day with a school visit to Dong-ah Institute of Media and Arts (DIMA), a technical college specialized in training professionals in the fields of media design, production, and communications. Some of their notable alumni include Nam Woo Hyun from K-pop boy band, Infinite, and Lee Kwang Soo.

Upon arrival, we were greeted by a representative from the school. He showed us a promotional video for the school’s 20th anniversary, leaving all of us in awe of how prestigious the school is.

We also had a Q&A session with 2 students from DIMA which led us to realise how similar our school lives actually are!

The dynamics of the school is actually really interesting because they have both media and art students. This allows the students from the media sector to easily find casts for the films they make in school which also gives the art students a platform to practice and grow their portfolio. At the end of the day, both parties are able to make connections with each other, which is really important in the media industry.

Last but not least, we had a school tour around the campus. They have such amazing facilities at DIMA, all equipped with state of the art technology. For example, in their green screen studio, they have sensors on the ceiling to track motion. We got to visit some of their studios which are huge, they are even the only school in the country to have an ultra-high-definition (UHD) television studio.

One of their lecturers introducing the cameras they have in their cage.

While touring the school, we caught a bunch of students doing some filming on campus!

"DIMA opened up my eyes to how similar all film and media students are despite the cultural differences we have. We go through the same challenges while having the very same desire in creating something magnificent and amazing." – AJ

Our second stop was probably the area of interest that most of us looked forward to, Everland! They have five themed areas, namely Global Fair, Zootopia, European Adventure, Magic Land and American Adventure. Everyone was about to have a fun-filled day!

Everland is South Korea's largest theme park.

T-Express had all of us talking before we even got there. It is the world’s steepest wooden rollercoaster, recorded having a 77 degree drop in 2009. I tried it out myself with AJ and Jia Wen. Jia Wen was screaming her lungs out the entire ride which made me laugh uncontrollably.

Some of us even bought cute accessories to wear and take photos in at the many photo-worthy spots in the park!

Zootopia also left an impression as a special part of the park as it is the first amusement park i’ve been to that has a zoo. We saw many adorable animals such as a polar bear and owls. We also went on a safari tour that brought us up close and personal with giraffes and camels.

Some of us got to catch a beautiful night parade and fireworks show which left everyone heading back to the hotel on a high note.

"Everland was amazing and the T-Express exceeded all of my expectations despite the crazy waiting lines!" – Sarah