RAS Korea congratulates essay contest winners

RAS Korea President Steven L. Shields, left, poses with, from second from left, Lee Bo-mi, Kim Ji-myung of the Korea Heritage Education Institute, Ra Se-hyun, Ambassador Kim Jae-bum who is also a RAS Korea director, and Park Jae-in’s mother, during an awards ceremony for the RAS Korea essay contest, held at RAS Korea headquarters in downtown Seoul, June 29. Courtesy of Joanne Hong

The Fifth Annual Royal Asiatic Society (RAS) Korea Essay Contest was met with great enthusiasm from students across the nation. After a challenging choice among dozens of submissions, the winners were presented with their awards at the RAS Korea office in downtown Seoul on Saturday.

RAS Korea extends heartfelt gratitude to the contest sponsors, first to Kim Ji-myung of the Korea Heritage Education Institute, who has generously contributed the prize money for several years. Also, RAS Korea's sponsor, the Asia Development Foundation, provides essential administrative support for the society's work. We appreciate our panel of judges, who evaluated the essays without knowledge of the writers or the schools they represented and did so without compensation.

Two topics were presented to challenge the essayists. They were asked to pick one. One topic was "You have been asked to make a new holiday in Korea. When is your new holiday, what is it about, and how is it celebrated?" The other topic was "During which century (or two) was Korea at its best? Explain your reasoning." The ideas presented by these budding scholars were not only interesting but also thoughtfully articulated. The judges were impressed by the high standard of the competition.

There are two awards: a Grand Award and a Runner Up in each of the two categories of competitors (foreign language high schools and international high schools). Each Grand Award includes a cash prize and a trophy. Each Runner Up receives a trophy. All awardees receive letters of commendation and certificates. The two Grand Award essays are published in RAS Korea's journal, "Transactions."

Both winners in the foreign language high school category chose the second of the two topics suggested. Lee Bo-mi, although of Korean heritage, is a recent immigrant to Korea, having been sent to middle school when she arrived not knowing a word of the language. A student at Gimpo Foreign Language High School, she described her experience with one of the world's richest languages: Korean. Kim Gyoung-wan of Busan Foreign Language High School gave an excellent summary of Goryeo's history, highlighting several factors that make the 918-1392 kingdom stand out in history.

For the international school category, in a serendipitous coincidence, both winners in this category not only chose to make a new holiday, but each titled their holiday the same. Their proposals, though, were very different. Park Jae-in focused on celebrating the colorful diversity of Korea's growing immigrant population, while Ra Se-hyun focused on the inner peace that may help alleviate the stress that Korea's ultra-competitive society creates in people's hearts.

We were deeply impressed by the response to the contest. We applaud all the writers who participated.

Rev. Steven L. Shields, FRAS, is president of RAS Korea and a columnist for The Korea Times. Visit raskb.com or email royalasiatickorea@gmail.com for more information about the society.