2008 3rd Annual Sejong English Essay Writing Competition

2008 Sejong Writing Competition
(in collaboration with AZALEA: Journal of Korean Literature & Culture,
published by the Harvard University Korea Institute)

1. Mission:

The goals of the Sejong Writing Competition are to discover children and young adults talented in writing and to encourage them to learn and write about Korean and its culture. Through this writing competition we hope to increase the awareness and understanding of Korea’s cultural heritage amongst the younger generations growing up in the United States so as to promote harmony among people of various ethnic backgrounds and bridge Asian and Western cultures.

2. Eligibility:

This competition is open to all pre-college students residing in the US regardless of ethnic background.

3. Essay competition: Korean folk tales

Korea has a rich tradition of storytelling, and its folk tales reflect important aspects of its history and culture. Many of the old historical texts are full of local legends and myths. Folk tales can be entertaining and educational, but they can also strike a deep chord in our personal lives, and many Korean folk tales demonstrate the universal tragedies and triumphs of daily life in the family.
Divisions: Senior – grades 9-12
Junior – up to grade 8
Topics: Each topic refers to the list of Korean folk tales found on our website at www.sejongsociety.org. When writing your essay, please be sure to include references to the tale(s) you chose to write about.
Click here to read the 10 Korean Folk Tales

Select one folk tale from the list and explain your interpretation of the story. What do you think it means? What is its importance? Why do you think it was created?
If you could change one of these folk tales, what would you change and why? Do you disagree with something the tale is trying to convey?
Which Korean folk tale character do you relate to best? Which character would you want to be? Would you make the same decisions as that character?

Essay should be written in English.

4. Poetry competition: Sijo writing

(in collaboration with AZALEA: Journal of Korean Literature & Culture, published by the Harvard University Korea Institute)
Divisions: One division open to students in grade 12 or younger
Guidelines: The sijo is a traditional Korean form of poetry, similar to a haiku. Using this form, write one poem in English on a topic of your choice. For examples and more information about the sijo, please visit our website at www.sejongsociety.org. One entry per student is permitted.

5. Prizes

- Essay senior division: First ($500), Second ($400), Third ($300)
- Essay junior division: First ($300), Second ($200), Third ($100)
- Sijo (Prize funded by the Korea Institute at Harvard University): First ($300), Second ($200), Third ($100)
- The winners’ works may be published in the Korea Times Chicago and the Korean Quarterly.
- The sijo competition winners will be announced in Azelea: A Journal of Korean Literature and Culture published by the Korea Institute at Harvard University

6. Basic guidelines

- The essay must not exceed 1,000 words and both essay and sijo must be written in English.
- The entry should be typed in a Word document file (.doc) or Rich Text Format (.rtf), formatted using size-12 Times New Roman font and 1” margins on all sides, with the pages numbered as page x of y.
- The contestant’s entry and application must be sent as email attachments to sejong@sejongsociety.org. The subject of the email should be “Sejong Writing Competition Entry.”
- The contestant’s name cannot be written in the document (i.e. it must be written anonymously).
- Each student may submit no more than one essay and one sijo each.
- We reserve the right to use all submitted pieces in future publications of the Sejong Cultural Society with no compensation to the authors.
- The Sejong Cultural Society reserves the right to not award any prizes.
- Application fee - none.

7. Submission deadline:

April 30th, 2008. Entries must arrive on or before midnight (CST).
The application form and additional information can be found at www.sejongsociety.org.
Any questions can be emailed to sejong@sejongsociety.org.