“Going to school is the sum of A and B.”
Korea University Holds a Student Speech Contest “Speak, Listen, Enjoy”
The contest aims to provide young students a chance to share their thoughts and communicate with each other.
In commemoration of Hangeul (the Korean Alphabet) Day, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in Korea and Korea University hosted a student speech contest “Speak, Listen, Enjoy” (also known as KU-Dadada) at Centennial Memorial Samsung Hall in Korea University on October 7. This contest was the second time that the university hosted the event, which invites students from Seoul middle schools. The contest aims to provide its participants a chance to share their thoughts, listen to others, and enjoy speaking with others.
Despite the existence of various types of communication such as digital media, it seems that communication among different age groups, occupational groups, and local communities has become more complicated than ever. What is worse is the lack of physical spaces where people can express their opinions candidly and communicate with others. In order to address the situation, the ministry and Korea University agreed to hold an event in which middle school students gather and share their thoughts. In doing so, they are able to improve their ability to think deeply and analyze critically.
Before the speech contest, the organizers asked students to propose their own topics. This year the winning topic came from Jeong-bin Ok from Changcheon Middle School who submitted “Going to school is the sum of rainbow and noodles.”
The final round of the contest was emceed by Soo-jin Cho, former anchor at the Far East Broadcasting Company. Professor Jiyoung Shin from the Department of Korean Language and Literature at Korea University provided the opening address. Next, Director General Hyeong-ho Lee from the Culture Policy Bureau at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism delivered a welcoming speech.
In her introduction, Professor Shin highly praised the efforts of the organizers and related personnel who worked hard to put the event together.
“This is the second year of the contest. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has supported us so that we could continue our effort to prepare for the event. Thanks to colleagues from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, participants from the last year, the panel of judges, the passionate audience and Soo-jin Cho, who volunteered to emcee again, we were able to make it happen this year”, Professor Shin said. She added that, “I believe that the success of this contest will continue in the years to come. We will do our best to prepare for more great contests in the future.”
Director General Lee mentioned the purpose of the speech contest in his welcoming address as he said, “It is not difficult to say words. However, to articulate one’s thoughts requires something more than just talking. It also has a tremendous impact on individuals and the society. According to Laozi, an ancient Chinese philosopher, being loquacious will often incur consequences.” To emphasize the importance of language, Director General Lee also cited an example of the unification of Germany. He continued that “It is reported that more than 45,000 foreigners wish to learn the Korean language every year. The King Sejong Institute has opened more than 130 offices in 57 countries across the world. I hope the KU-Dadada speech contest continues to offer an opportunity for future leaders of Korea to realize the importance of the Korean language.”
Jae-man Lee, a lawyer from the Cheongpa law firm, was the head of the judging panel. The panel’s five judges included Hui-won Jeong, Director of the Language Research Department at the National Institute of Korean Language, Professor Jeehyeong Khim from the School of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering at Korea University, Professor Hee-chang Chung from the Department of Korean Language and Literature at Sungkyunkwan University, Vice President Gil-young Song of Daumsoft, and anchor Jae-hong Park at the Christian Broadcasting System.
The final round of the contest consisted of two sessions. In the first session, titled “Renew, Shine, Dream,” each participant was given three minutes to deliver a speech on the topic of “A is the sum of B and C.” The second session was for another three-minute speech on the topic selected through the topic contest. The students were asked to give their speeches about “Going to school is the sum of A and B” and to answer questions from the judges for the following five minutes.
Throughout the speech and Q&A sessions, the participants listened to each other, asked questions and responded, which was expected to help them develop their thinking skills and logical expression of their opinions.
In the first session, a total of seven students gave their three-minute speeches. Hyo-eun Kim, a first-year student from Sungwon Middle School, talked about the topic of “Puberty is the sum of evil and tunnel.” Samuel Song, a first-year student from Yonchon Middle School, delivered his speech on the topic of “A doctor in my dreams is a person with good judgment and sympathy.” Se-min Park, a first-year student from Sungshin Girls Middle School, shared her thoughts on the topic of “Air is the sum of joy and my own time to relax.” A first-year student from Gaewoon Middle School, Ji-heon Lee talked about his younger brother in “My brother, Ji-hyeok is the sum of difference and understanding.” In-gyo Yun, a first-year student from Changmun Girls Middle School, delivered her talk on “Beginning is the sum of thrill and fear.” Tae-ri Kim, a first-year student from Eonnam Middle School, addressed the audience with “Habit is the sum of planning and practicing.” Finally, Hyeon-ji Kim, a first-year student from Konkuk Middle School, chose the relationship between herself and her mother in “I am the sum of my mom and love.”
The second session titled “Ask, Answer, Add,” gave the participants three minutes to deliver their speeches and another five minutes for discussion. To name a few, Ji-won Ha, a first-year student from Sahmyook Middle School, spoke about “Going to school is the sum of daily life and infinite challenge.” Da-eun Lee, a first-year student from Gangdong Middle School, also provided a profound and serious reflection about the topic. She said that she regarded going to school as the sum of a director’s understanding of his existence and her age. The other students offered more light-hearted and creative explanations of the meaning of schools to them. Seung-hyeon Ko, a first-year student from Konkuk Middle School, explained about “Going to school is the sum of riding the bus and meeting.” Ji-won Lee, a first-year student from Changcheon Middle School, talked about the meaning of going to school in relation to the weather. Her speech was called “Going to school is the sum of showers and sunshine.” Lastly, Joo-hyeon Park, a first-year student from Sindorim Middle School, explained why she thought going to school as the sum of “me today” and “me tomorrow.”
After the speech sessions, celebratory performances followed. The KU singing club, Red is Ketchup, Sungshin Girls Middle School dance club, Sinabro, and the KU hip-hop - club, Tera, performed on the stage. Lastly, the judges gave their assessments of the speeches.
The winner of the grand prize was Ji-won Ha from Sahmyook Middle School. The top prize was granted to Da-eun Lee from Gangdong Middle School while the excellence award was given to Ji-heon Lee from Gaewoon Middle School and Hyeon-ji Kim from Konkuk Middle School. The consolation prize went to four students: Se-min Park (Sungshin Girls Middle School), Samuel Song (Yonchon Middle School), Joo-hyeon Park (Sindorim Middle School) and Ji-won Lee (Changcheon Middle School). The winners of the popularity award were Tae-ri Kim (Eonnam Middle School) and Ji-heon Lee (Gaewoon Middle School). Seung-hyeon Ko (Konkuk Middle School) and In-gyo Yun (Changmun Girls Middle School) were also selected as honorable mentions.
Along with the opportunity to voice their opinions, participants who were selected for the final round received mentoring from Korea University. The university organized a group of mentors specialized in communication skills who helped the students express their opinions precisely and learn how to understand others more carefully.
Rohae Myung, Director of the Office of Student Affairs at Korea University, who took the lead role in organizing the event, expressed his wishes as he said, “Middle school students are leaders of our future. I am happy that we can give this precious opportunity to them. I hope that they will enjoy the contest as if it were a sort of festival. Through discussions, they will learn the existence of similarities or differences with each other. They may support or criticize others at first, but will eventually learn how to accept and understand them.”
