Yoo Kyung-hwa, the dean of the Magic Entertainment Department at Dong-Pusan College (DPC)

By Yun Suh-young

There’s more to magic than meets the eye.
The clever tricks aren’t born without sweat, and surely not without philosophy.
Magicians put their life into it, and they learn life from it in return.
That’s how students at Dong-Pusan College become magicians.

Painful but worthwhile

“Students have to restrain from going to the restroom for three hours when they do a show because they have all kinds of equipment installed on their bodies,” said professor Yoo Kyung-hwa, the dean of the Magic Entertainment Department at Dong-Pusan College (DPC).

They have no other choice but to do so but through this, they learn to endure, she said.

“When they perform with pigeons, they need to train the animals hardcore because they can never predict what these animals will do on stage. The pigeons you see during the shows are all hidden on a magician’s body. Students learn to communicate with and handle live creatures through such training.”

The professor is proud of her students and the efforts they put into learning magic.

“Our students practice when others sleep. They wake up at designated time during the night and have the classroom all to themselves during that period. They do this because if their tricks are revealed, they might be copied. Magic requires immense creativity,” she said.

As the founder of the magic department, Yoo is passionate about promoting the department.

“Our college is the only school in the world with a magic department. Our department provides an official magic curriculum customized to foster professional magicians. Students not only learn to trick the eye, but also to cultivate their social skills.”

Students learn to perform in groups, although magicians usually perform alone.

“I push students to perform together in groups. They don’t like it in the beginning because it’s hard to coordinate with other people. Although magicians perform solo, they need to learn how to perform together. They acquire many fruitful skills through this process,” she said.

The department, established in 2008, also requires students to learn to act, mime, and dance.

“Although students initially enroll at our school to learn magic, we also teach them other fields. Their magic becomes richer when they graft such skills into their performance. That way, they can communicate with a worldwide audience,” said the dean.

More than a hobby

At this point, one may ask, why is it that students enroll in the department to learn magic? Why not at private academies?

“Because magic isn’t that simple to learn,” said Yoo. “It requires much more than imitation. They should arm themselves with proper skills and attitude to be respected as professional magicians. A magician needs to reach a certain level to be able to hold people spellbound with their performance. A magician is a technician. A house without a proper foundation will collapse, and so will magicians without the basics skills.”

She added that magicians need a high level of responsibility. “They need to prepare the stage perfectly before they go on. Otherwise, it’s an insult to the stage.”

Three years on, the Korean magic department is still rolling well with just enough budding students to fill the quota. The problem is, although magician hopefuls want to enroll, their abracadabra invocation sometimes doesn’t work to persuade their parents into allowing them to do so.

“When students apply to our department, they can get in without much competition. But there are parents who oppose sending their child here because they’re embarrassed. They should know that working as a magician is also a job and students who graduate from our department can earn just as much or even more than those from other majors,” said Yoo.

She created a social enterprise to hire the magic department graduates. Named Star Tree Academy, the company sends the magicians on various projects such as performing at hospitals and schools and they receive a monthly wage.

“A magician is a decent occupation. People often think it’s just a hobby but it isn’t. Magicians earn by the minute when they perform on stage. I hope more magicians will be fostered and more people open up to magic,” said the dean.

Vision for the future

Yoo’s support for magic is not because she’s a magician herself. In fact, the dean doesn’t know how to perform it at all.

“I don’t do magic on purpose because my students are superb. I’d rather not do magic if I can’t do it well. I might tarnish the image of magic if I do it,” she said smiling modestly.

Her job is to manage the students, run the department and play her role as an educator.

With a Ph.D. in education, Yoo’s interest in magic stemmed from her motive to gain her students’ attention while teaching.

“When I was a member of the policy advisory committee at the Ministry of Unification, I went on lecture tours around the country. When I lectured on unification, students easily got bored. Of course they did because they weren’t taught about it at school. The Korean War was a long forgotten history to them,” said Yoo. “Only after showing them magic involving pigeons and giving a few other hints were they able to answer that the symbol of peace was ‘dove.’ That’s when I realized that magic could gain students’ attention and could be a useful tool for education.”

To Yoo, magic was not just a fun gig but a medium for communication.

“Magic can grab children’s attention. When children are told to sit still, they wouldn’t hold out for a minute. But when they see a magic performance, they all focus well. We can use magic in all fields of education such as math, English, Chinese characters and science,” she said. “Teachers are more enthusiastic about applying magic in class because this is a good way to get students to pay attention.”

Yoo went on to say she ultimately wants to teach students about the importance of unification through storytelling magic.

“Lecturing students from time to time won’t be effective. Helping them internalize the idea through fun activities is more powerful. I want youngsters to vision their future selves and become aware of the need for unification,” said the professor.

Magic, indeed, is more than just a fancy show. For students, it is a teacher and friend. For Yoo, it’s hope for the future.