The Cords a cappella group, active on campus since 1995, went unrecognized by the College for the first two years of its existence. Denied access to on-campus practice rooms, the Cords were forced to migrate to Ledyard Canoe Club for rehearsal. Although group members no longer has to walk down West Wheelock Street for rehearsal, they decided to relocate a bit further from the Green than Ledyard this spring break traveling to South Korea for their annual spring tour.
The seasoned all-male a cappella ensemble's tour in and around Seoul was partly funded by alumni wishing to promote a more globalized Dartmouth.
Hoping to both spread the joy of a cappella to East Asia and educate audiences about Dartmouth at the same time, the Cords held all of their performances in schools, with the exception of a televised serenade for U.S. Ambassador Kathleen Stephens following a debate she held at a South Korean town hall.
Shortly after dropping their bags off at the Seoul International Youth Hostel on March 18, the Cords performed their first show at the Korean Minjok Leadership Academy, a boarding school for gifted students located 130 kilometers outside of Seoul.
After each performance, Cords members gave a presentation about Dartmouth, followed by a question and answer session.
"Talking about Dartmouth makes me realize what's awesome about it," said Cords president Daniel Eisenson '12. "Talking to tons of people [in South Korea] doing crazy things in high school to try to get in, like taking 12 APs it made me feel like I should be taking advantage of Dartmouth."
After many of their shows, the Cords would relocate to the school's cafeteria, where Korean students would approach them and ask questions.
"It was definitely the closest to celebrity that I'll ever feel," Eisenson said.
Over the next nine days, the group performed at five different schools including Hankuk Academy of Foreign Studies, Hanyoung Foreign Language School and Seoul National University where they connected with the SNU choir and enjoyed homestays with choir members' families for two nights of the trip, according to Cords member and tour manager Ryan Kim '13.
The set list they used during the tour was a mix of 10 of the Cords' current popular songs and some old favorites, including "Footloose," "Use Somebody" and "Just Haven't Met You Yet." The majority of their audiences were proficient in English, making performances and interactions afterward relatively smooth.
An opportunity to perform alongside a traditional Korean drum group was another highlight of the tour. The Cords were given their own lesson in drumming by the drum group afterwards.
In between shows, Kim showed Cords members another side of life in the Seoul area. They complemented their visits to the King's Palace and the manmade river at Cheonggyecheon with meet-ups and meals with Kim's family and friends.
