26/11/2012
Irish-Korean Essay Competition 2012 – “Anniversaries”
The Embassy of Ireland, South Korea, and The Irish Association of Korea are very proud to announce the second Irish-Korean Essay Competition for university students in Korea. The competition seeks to raise awareness about connections between both Ireland and Korea, and allows contestants to compete for an opportunity to experience Ireland from an educational, cultural, and academic perspective. The competition offers the winner an opportunity to study in one of Ireland’s leading private language institutes for one month.
Participants are invited to write an essay in the traditional format on any particular subject, provided that it is related to the topic Anniversaries.
[Details of the Competition]
The competition will be administered by the Irish Association of Korea, a non-profit organisation which actively seeks to promote Ireland and all that falls under the banner of ‘Irishness’ within Korea, and supported by the Embassy of Ireland in Seoul. The competition is designed to highlight Ireland as a leading location for study abroad, and as a unique and fascinating cultural destination.
The topic for this year’s competition is Anniversaries.
First prize will include one month of study in the Emerald Cultural Institute (www.eci.ie), including accommodation, return flights from Korea to Dublin, and a cash prize. There will also be a cash and cultural prize awarded to second place, while third, fourth and fifth place will be awarded cultural prizes. The total value of the prizes is approximately 9 million Korean won.
The competition is open to full-time, registered, under-graduate university students in Korea[2] , who are currently attending in school and use or study English as a second language. [The competition is not open to students who speak English as a native language. Students must be enrolled as a full-time student and not as an exchange student or post-graduate student.]
Essays may be written in any style the participant wishes but it is expected that all sources will be referred to using the appropriate academic format. The minimum length for each entry must not be less than 1,500 words and no more than 2000 words. All essays must be written in the English language.
The deadline for submissions has been set for November 30, 2012 at 5pm. All submissions must be sent to the Embassy of Ireland [email protected] .
There is no fee required for entry to this competition.
Please direct any enquires regarding this competition to [email protected] (enquiries directed to the Embassy of Ireland will not be responded to).
[Why Anniversaries?]
2013 will be a big year for Irish-Korean relations in terms of anniversaries – 80 years of the Columbans in Korea; 60 years since the end of Korean War and 30 years of Diplomatic Relations, and the Irish Association of Korea would like to inspire thoughtful considerations of what anniversaries represent.
Of most importance to all in Korea, 2013 will mark the 60th anniversary of the end of hostilities in the Korean War, a tragedy which tore Korea apart and still profoundly affects life on the peninsula today. Veterans and all those related to those who fought and died during the war will inevitably reflect on the conflict and its painful legacy.
During the conflict a large number of Irish people died while fighting under the flags of other nations, notably Britain and the US. The Embassy of Ireland and the Irish Association of Korea in collaboration with the Somme Association in Northern Ireland are working towards erecting a memorial to all those who died. The Irish Association of Korea are currently leading a drive to raise funds for this memorial with the aim of completing this in 2013. (http://iak.co.kr/irish-war-memorial/ for details)
Ireland will also be celebrating 30 years of diplomatic relations with the Republic of Korea. Also of significance will be the 80th year anniversary of the first notable Irish presence in Korea, the Columban missions, seven of whom died during the Korean War.
This year the organisers are proud to welcome the Listowel Writers Week (www.writersweek.ie) into the judging panel. In return for assisting with the judging of winners, the winning essay will be published the Winners Anthology at the festival, a recognised anthology of writing published by the leading writers’ festival in Ireland.
Please circulate this information to anyone who may be interested. We hope to see even more applications this year than for the first competition in 2011.
[Contact]
If you have any questions relating to this competition, or would like to request an interview, please contact the Irish Association of Korea by email [email protected].
[2] Students must be enrolled as a full-time university student (who is currently studying and not deferring her/his course) and not an exchange student, post-graduate student.
