2008 Sejong Writing Competition

Updates

Please check back in the future for details on the 2009 competition.
We hope to have information up by January 2009.

If you'd like to be notified via email regarding the next competition, please email us at:
sejong (at) sejongsociety (dot) org

The winners of the 2008 writing competition have been announced!

Sijo category winners | Essay category winners
Winning Entries
Information about judges

Thank you to all participants and teachers, and congratulations to our winners!

Essay category

The theme for the 2008 essay competition was Korean folk tales. Contestants were required to read at least one folk tale from our list of ten and then write an essay using one of three essay prompts in response.

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.

Sijo category

New 2008 was our sijo writing division. Created in collaboration with the Korea Institute at Harvard University, its goal was to introduce students to a lesser-known style of poetry, the traditional Korean sijo.

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.

Eligibility

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

Resources