The 2026 Kyung Hee University (KHU) Major Exhibition Festival: In Search of My Dream Major took place from April 28 to 30 at the Global Campus Seonseung Building. Running from 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. each day, the festival offered participants a variety of activities, including free academic and career path consultations, event missions, snacks, and prize draws. As the second event of its kind, this year’s festival gave undergraduates and external visitors an opportunity to explore KHU’s various departments and academic paths.

How This Year’s Festival was Organized

KHU’s Major Exhibition Festival is an annual event organized by the Global Campus School of Liberal Studies (SLS), both of which were launched in 2025. The festival aims to help students explore a wide range of on-campus departments and academic paths, particularly SLS majors and first-year undergraduates considering micro, minor, and multi-major degree options.

In total, the 2026 festival was planned for 1,500 guests, a 50% increase from last year’s exhibition. Several changes were introduced to accommodate the larger number of visitors, including adjustments to booth layout and an expanded prize pool. While all were welcome to attend the event, first-year and transfer students of 2026 were especially encouraged, as graduation requirements for their cohort include completing a micro, minor, or multi-major degree program. The festival also invited about 150 high school students to tour KHU’s academic paths.

The main theme of the 2026 festival was “Inventing Your Own Constellation.” Participants were given pamphlets with sticker missions that could be exchanged for snacks and coffee coupons upon completion. Guests were encouraged to collect stickers by visiting department booths and completing event games. When placed on the mission sheet, the stickers formed a constellation-like pattern unique to each student, reflecting their personal journey throughout the event.

“We designed the event mission, games, and prize draws to have students voluntarily try out a variety of departments, not just the ones they are interested in,” explained Prof. Seo Joung-moon, Academic Advisor for the SLS. During last year’s exhibition, student attention was focused on certain majors. This foreshadowed the lopsided major selection results among the 2025 SLS cohort, 42.7 % of whom selected the School of Electronic Engineering as their major in 2026, according to a January Daehak Jubo analysis. Prof. Seo emphasized that the changes to this year’s festival were intended to address such imbalances.

Event Activities Across the Venue

A total of 54 Global Campus departments, convergence majors, and University offices operated booths during the festival. The event space was divided into three areas: a seminar zone, convergence zone, and game zone, with department exhibition booths lining the edges of the venue. Students and faculty from participating departments were stationed throughout the venue to provide information, consultations, and academic advice. Guest lectures for SLS students were also held in the seminar zone from 3:10 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. on the first and last days.

Each department's booth featured activities designed to highlight its characteristics: The School of Mechanical Engineering displayed two remote-controlled canine robots that guests could try out. The Department of Smart Farm Science presented an AI monitoring system for strawberry plants that identifies growth levels and automates environmental control. The Dept. of Applied Mathematics invited visitors to take part in a timed mathematics game involving function differentials.

At the center of the venue was the convergence zone, where KHU’s seven convergence programs were arranged in a circular layout. “Unlike last year’s event, we removed partitions between the convergence booths to highlight that these departments merge various academic fields together, operating beyond the boundaries of conventional majors,” explained Prof. Seo. In addition to academic and career consultations, the zone also offered hands-on activities, such as an independent prize lot.

Below the convergence zone was the game zone. Students threw dice and followed lines drawn on a ladder game board drawn across the venue floor. The game randomly directed them to different booths, encouraging broader exploration of the festival. The activity also involved a liberal amount of singing, but that was resisted by many participants. According to Prof. Seo, the goal was to “encourage students to visit department booths that they are less interested in,” thereby widening the range of academic experiences students could gain from the event.

For many participants, the event’s hands-on activities and direct conversations with students and faculty made the experience especially valuable. “There are not many opportunities to gain this much information,” said SLS student Hong Seung-hyup, after trying out the catadioptric telescope at the Dept. of Space Science & Artificial Intelligence Convergence booth with four of his friends. “I especially liked how we could directly talk with professors and teaching assistants from fields we hope to major in. Through them I learned about undergraduate research programs, which I hope to enter,” said SLS freshman Ryu Yae-rin, after attending consultations at the Dept. of Mechanical Engineering booth.

Responses from Guests and Staff.

On the final day, University President Kim Jin-sang personally toured the venue and gave an unplanned speech to SLS students gathered for Thursday’s seminar. “Society and parental pressures guide the hasty selection of a particular major, but that should not be the case. You must live lives that are thought out and decided by yourselves. We will support your every effort in finding the most suitable major,” he emphasized.

Responses from guests leaving the venue were largely positive. Many interviewed said the exhibition gave them access to information that would have been difficult to obtain on their own. “If the exhibition is held next year, we think we will absolutely come again,” said SLS student Jang Seo-young.

Event staff also expressed satisfaction with the festival’s operation. Unlike the previous year, when staff reportedly experienced difficulties during preparation, no such concerns were voiced this time. “We had no complications with preparation, running the booth, or staff rotation,” said staff at the Dept. of Convergent Biotechnology and Advanced Science booth. “It was a rewarding experience, especially when visitors showed interest in our department and asked us additional questions,” they added.

April’s Major Exhibition Festival ultimately ended with positive responses from all involved. Under the theme of “Inventing Your Own Constellation,” the event provided attendees with a valuable opportunity to explore KHU’s academic paths through consultations, interactive activities, and direct exchanges with faculty and students. 2026’s Major Exhibition thus serves as an important guide for KHU’s ongoing efforts to support balanced, self-directed academic choice.