Student Activities

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KGK: East Asian Studies Undergraduate Students' Association

KGK stand for Kanpai, Ganbei, Konbae or "cheers" in all three of the East Asian languages (Japanese, Chinese and Korean). The KGK is a departmental association that acts as a liaison between the Department of East Asian Studies and the students within the department. It also provides support for the students in East Asian Studies and hosts social events to create a fun, welcoming environment between all disciplines.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to e-mail us at: kgk@ualberta.ca and we will be happy to assist you!

To participate in meetings, stay up to date with department events, guest speakers, study abroad opportunities, and other East Asia related information, please like, follow or join us on any of our socials in our Linktree.

Executives:

Kamen Tan - Co-President
Hi everyone! My name is Kamen (she/her). I’ll be going into my fifth year as an Immunology student and I’ll also be this year’s KGK Co-President. I’ve been involved with the club for a while now and I’m super excited to be in this position. I hope to continue supporting the community that we’ve built and I’m looking forward to providing even bigger and better opportunities for students to connect with each other and with East Asian culture. I can’t wait to meet all of you! Here’s to a great year :) 
Richard Kim - Co-President
Hey everyone My name is Richard Kim (he/him) aka Richy Rich and I will be Co-President with Kamen this 2024/2025 year! I’m going into my 5th and final year of Business and am excited to make this year an absolute banger with fun events, team bondings, and to get the chance to meet a bunch of new faces! I love anime, music (listening to a lot of R/B and Rock right now), and cooking! Right now I am studying abroad at Yonsei University in Korea this summer recording my adventures on Instagram! I look forward to working with everyone and to making unforgettable memories! Cheers!
Tran Nguyen - VP Design

Hi everyone! My name is Bao Tran (she/her) and I’m a third year student with a major in Psychology. I’m the VP Design of KGK for the upcoming school year and I look forward to making wonderful memories with everyone! 

Growing up, my sister introduced me to manga and anime which has greatly influenced my art style and music taste. I would draw my favorite characters over and over again until I ran out of pages in my sketchbook while listening to Vocaloid music on my iPod Nano. I’ve also been into designing presentations since middle school and the process of bringing themes and ideas to life brings me great joy. 

There hasn’t been much opportunity to be creative and immerse myself in artistic endeavors since entering university so I’m looking forward to pouring myself into art and design once again and sharing my work with everyone! I also hope to create vibrant illustrations that spark joy in others, to share the happiness that drawing and creating has brought me.

Kiarra Duca - VP Events
Hi everyone! My name is Kiarra Duca (she/they), but you can call me Kia. I am going into my fifth year of my Psych and Easia double major, and I will be this year’s VP Events. I’ve watched anime since I was really young, and picked up reading manga and listening to JPOP along the way. Anime and manga has really been an integral part of my life and probably changed the whole trajectory of my life. I enjoyed planning events last year as the JCC co-vp planning, and I wanted to continue my journey along with KGK. I hope to continue to make great events this year! 
Audrea Lee - VP Finance
Hai y’all, I’m Audy and I will be the VP of Finance this year and I am in my 3rd year of business economics and law. I wanted to be VPF because my major relates to my role and I wanted to contribute to the KGK community because I love this club and I’ve met a lot of good friends from the club meetings (JCC). I love anime, sports, being around people, gaming, cooking/baking. 
Olivia Lee - VP Marketing
Hey :) My name is Olivia (she/her) and I am going into my second year of Nursing. I will be the VP Marketing for KGK this year! I wanted to be an exec for this club because I really wanted to get involved with the Asian community on campus. East Asian culture has always been a big part of my life and I hope to learn more about it during my time with KGK! I look forward to meeting everyone and hope we can have a fantastic year :) 
Max Hiew - VP Outreach

Sup, yall! I’m Max Hiew (He/Him), and I’ll be your KGK Vice-President Outreach this year. (Some of you may recognize me as the brother of last year’s VP Outreach!!) I’m currently going into my 4th year of a History major/East Asian Studies minor- and of course, one of my areas of interest is in Chinese history. I’m particularly interested in the Qing Dynasty (currently trying to teach myself Manchu and Classical Chinese) and re-enacting the era. As the VP Outreach of KGK, I hope to help others build an appreciation for East Asian Culture. I’m looking forward to meeting and interacting with yall!

Chinese Conversation Club

Meeting details can be found in the social media group.

Drop-ins of all levels are welcome at any time in the year!

The club is a resource for any individuals currently learning Mandarin who want to practice their oral Mandarin skills in a fun and casual environment. We also welcome native and advanced Mandarin speakers to join us as facilitators.There are no fees associated with the club.

Currently, the Chinese Conversation Club (CCC) is run under the KGK: East Asian Studies Undergraduate Students' Association. For more information, please contact us at kgk@ualberta.ca.

Japanese Conversation Club

Discord server: https://discord.gg/V8w3FRa
Meeting details can be found in the social media group.

Drop-ins of all levels are welcome at any time in the year!

The club is a resource for any individuals currently learning Japanese who want to practice their oral Japanese skills in a fun and casual environment. We also converse for an hour in English to benefit any Japanese speakers looking to improve their spoken English. There are no fees associated with the club.

Currently, the Japanese Conversation Club (JCC) is run under the KGK: East Asian Studies Undergraduate Students' Association. For more information, please contact us at kgk@ualberta.ca.

Korean Conversation Club

Discord server: https://discord.gg/k68wjmg
Meeting details can be found in the social media group.

Drop-ins of all levels are welcome at any time in the year!

The club is a resource for any individuals currently learning Korean who want to practice their oral Korean skills in a fun and casual environment. There are no fees associated with the club.

Currently, the Korean Conversation Club (KCC) is run under the KGK: East Asian Studies Undergraduate Students' Association. For more information, please contact us at kgk@ualberta.ca.