As we moved away from COVID-19, there have been many changes in the food services, including the opening of the e-sports Colosseum. Accordingly, The Postech Times met with administrative staff Lee Ju-sang and Kang Ra-young to hear about the work of the department of food services and their various hardships. 

 What businesses are currently being run by your department?
 Currently, we operate a restaurant, convenience store, cafe, and the e-sports Colosseum. We aim to operate and manage facilities for the welfare of students and university members.

 The biggest change in the food services this year is likely to be the e-sports Colosseum. Please explain its purpose and whether you are satisfied with it.
 We wanted to create a space for leisure and relaxation that reflected the new trend. Postechians have a lot of academic responsibilities but lack a variety of leisure facilities. As a result, our president led the 'Amusement POSTECH' project to provide leisure facilities, and the Colosseum is a key addition. Currently, it is mainly used in the evening, and recently, it is also used to hold group events for various departments. Recently, its use has been shrinking due to reasons such as COVID-19, so we are looking forward to a Colosseum that is more active and full of people.

 Businesses that have been suspended due to COVID-19 are resuming. Are there any more projects planned in the future?
 We are discussing the meal kit business. The suspended cafeteria and late-night snacks that many students want are difficult to resume easily, and we have no choice but to be cautious about proceeding with new business. Currently, we are focusing on expanding existing facilities such as the convenience stores and cafes.

 Many students are interested in reopening the "Log Cabin". What is the current status of the Log Cabin?
 Currently, the 'Log Cabin 2.0 Project' is underway. Due to safety issues, we are in the process of remodeling and bidding for the construction after the design is completed, and we aim to open it by February next year.

 Are there any difficulties in the business process?
 The impact of labor and ingredients costs on our business is significant. The priority of our department is to run a student restaurant. We are trying to provide students with cheap and high-quality food, but the two goals are difficult to reconcile. The deficit has increased due to the recent increase in labor and ingredients costs, and it is difficult to maintain the price without reducing the quality of food. In addition, at the time of the price increase, we gathered different opinions and promoted a meeting regarding the operation of the food services, but it was disappointing that students didn’t actively participate. The prices in our restaurant has inevitably increased from 3,000 KRW to 3,500 KRW. Recently the structure of our business is to cover the deficit in the student cafeteria with other stores. We are aware of the high demand for late-night snacks and cafeterias, but if there are many businesses that suffer losses, it will be difficult to operate student restaurants, so it is a burden to start a new business. For this reason, there are many difficulties in operating food services without raising prices.

Any last words for Postechians?
 We are grateful that the students appreciate our work. Our department wants to make sure that students can eat in school as much as possible, but there are many difficulties. Even if it takes time, we will continue to push forward, so please pay a lot of attention to our business and use our restaurants often.