2013 Sejong Writing Competition

Essay Winners


  Young Adult Division Senior Division Junior Division
First none Samuel Walder
Oak Park, IL
12th grade
Illinois Math and Science Academy
essay
Sharon Lin
Holmdel, NJ
8th grade
William R. Satz School
essay
Second none Hebin Hannah Jeon
Long Grove, IL
10th grade
Adlai E. Stevenson High School
essay
Jessica Hsueh
San Gabriel, CA
6th grade
Polytechnic School
essay
Third Sharanya Kumar
Chesterfield, MO
Parkway Central High School
essay
Jack Snelling
Atlanta, GA
12th grade
Marist School
essay
Justin Olah
Pasadena, CA
6th grade
Polytechnic School
essay
Joanne Lee
Oberlin, OH
Oberlin College
essay
HM* Yelimi Chung
Oneonta, NY
Oneonta High School
John Ahn
St Louis, MO
10th grade
Maplewood Richmond Heights
Laura Chin
San Marino, CA
6th grade
Polytechnic School
Kyungjoo Park
Elk Grove, CA
Sacramento City College
Victor Corrigan
Atlanta, GA
12th grade
Marist School
Kirsti Kokko
Tappahannock, VA
8th grade
St. Margaret's School
Stella Tu
Northbrook, IL
Harvard University
Daniel Lee
Demarest, NJ
9th grade
Bergen County Academies
Nicholas Lapeyrouse
Metairie, LA
6th grade
Haynes Academy for Advanced Studies
Yasmina Milord
Atlanta, GA
12th grade
Marist School
Chitra Reddy
Houston, TX
8th grade
T. H. Rogers Middle School
Emily Mu
Naperville, IL
10th grade
Illinois Math and Science Academy
Meiren Park
Norwood, NJ
11th grade
North Valley Regional High School Old Tappan
Thomas Seitz
Atlanta, GA
12th grade
Marist School

*Honorable Mention - Friend of the Pacific Rim Award

Sharanya Kumar

young adult division, third place tie

My name is Sharanya Kumar. I am currently a freshman at Parkway Central High School in Chesterfield, Missouri. Some of my interests include playing the viola and piano, reading, listening to music, and playing tennis. At present, I am considering a career in science.

I heard about this essay competition from my English teacher, who offered this as an extra credit opportunity. I enjoy reading fiction, which is why I was eager to read Our Twisted Hero. Although I can’t say I love writing essays, I was fascinated by this story. I felt that it had many important parallels to both the present and the past. Throughout the course of my research for this essay, I learned valuable lessons about history and human nature. I didn’t expect to win anything, but I had fun reading Our Twisted Hero and researching connections to the past. I would like to thank my English teacher for helping me improve my writing skills, and my family for all their support.

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Joanne Lee

young adult division, third place tie

I am a second year English major at Oberlin College, a small liberal arts college tucked away in a quiet corner of Ohio. I have always loved to read and write, and have long lamented the fact that I have read very little Korean literature. My family immigrated to Canada from Korea when I was in grade six, and my knowledge of Korean language and literature are sadly frozen at that grade level. Thus when I heard about this competition from a high school teacher where I tutored over the winter, I was immediately hooked: I get to study a celebrated Korean literary work and then write about it, and maybe win a prize while at it? What a sweet deal, I thought to myself.

I am an absolute literary nerd, and my interests range from reading Chaucer in the original Middle English to contemporary Asian American literature. I hope one day to become a teacher/professor and share my passion for literature, which to me is not a frivolous exercise reserved for an exclusive clique of aloof academics, but an utterly human form of expression that espouses both beauty and truth of the human condition.

For instance, I learned much about what it means to be human – to be extremely vulnerable and fragile – as I read and pondered Yi’s Our Twisted Hero. It’s not just the feeble-minded that break down under systematic oppression: even the most heroically resistant of people do, just as Han eventually submits to Om. The theme of authoritarianism in Yi’s work led me to think of North Korea, and prompted me to compare the Kim family’s regime with Om’s class in my essay, focusing specifically on their similar hierarchical structures. My heart and prayers go out to the millions of North Koreans and other people who are suffering under the tyrannical yoke of the Om’s of our world.

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Samuel Walder

senior division, first place

My name is Sam Walder and I am a senior at the Illinois Math and Science Academy. Some of my many passions are running, playing the mandolin, doing research in bioengineering, and occasionally sleeping. I also have an interest in language and history, gained from doing international scientific research, which prompted me to write my essay. I found out about the competition because I saw a poster on my English teacher's door. It was quite by chance—the essay prompts sounded promising, and the novella was extremely interesting, so I had fun reading and writing. I am indebted to the Sejong Cultural Society for introducing me to such a powerful part of history.

I felt a deep connection with Our Twisted Hero. To me, it bravely represented the idea of how easily a people can fall under authoritarian rule. Reading the book and writing the essay made me question how I would react if my own society fell under totalitarian rule. I believe that most readers would say that they would be like Pyongt'ae and resist totalitarianism, but historically that is not the case. However, Our Twisted Hero is not a pessimistic book that despairs over the trials of humanity. It demonstrates the fight which is necessary to combat totalitarianism and inspired me to doubly stick up for my ideals. I identified strongly with Pyongt'ae's emotions, and he made me ask a difficult question: can I trust my friends and fellow citizens to not capitulate to what is wrong? By writing the essay, I found my answer: for every Sokdae, there will be a Pyongt'ae. No totalitarian society lasts for long since there are always people willing to resist. The emotions that I felt for Pyongt'ae convinced me of the existence of an optimistic human spirit that will always resist what is wrong.

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Jack Snelling

senior division, third place

My name is Jack Snelling, and I am a senior at Marist School in Atlanta, GA. In my free time, I enjoy running, playing and watching sports, and hanging out with my friends. In school, my best classes are math and economics, and I also enjoy writing. I will be attending either the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill or Wake Forest University next year, and I intend to study business.

I found out about the Sejong Writing Competition from my World Literature teacher, who assigned the senior division essay topic to my class. I had never been exposed to Korean literature before reading Our Twisted Hero, and I found it to be both enjoyable and thought-provoking. The idea of a totalitarian system of government is one which many Americans never consider, and it is interesting to ponder the reactions of people if they were put in that situation. Our Twisted Hero is very interesting and should not be taken lightly as it presents a relevant issue in our world today.

I would like to thank my teacher, Ms. Naitnaphit Limlamai, for helping me to learn to become a better writer and encouraging me to not be afraid to take risks. I would also like to thank the Sejong Cultural Society for everything that they do.

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Sharon Lin

junior division, first place

Hi, my name is Sharon Lin and I’m an eighth grader at William R. Satz School. I love dabbling among the various disciplines, and my many hobbies include tennis, painting, writing, and playing the flute. I have found that my goal-oriented personality and desire to achieve have given me the determination to succeed in anything if I set my mind to it.

Ever since I was young, I have aspired to change the world one day and I hope to do so through my writing. In addition, I have always wanted to travel the world and tour exotic destinations. I am currently involved in my school newspaper, various teen publications, and have published a young adult novel, Hidden.

I learned about this competition through a program at my school called Project Plus. Mrs. Kathy Bradley, the advisor of the program, helps students find enrichment opportunities to develop art and writing skills outside of the classroom. Because of my heritage and the fact that many of my friends are Korean, I was drawn to the essay competition, viewing it as a challenge. I am deeply honored to have been chosen as the winner of the competition and would like to thank all of my English teachers, my parents, and my peers for their continuous support throughout the years.

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Jessica Hsueh

junior division, second place

My name is Jessica Hsueh, and I am a 6th grader at Polytechnic School in Pasadena, California. Some of my interests include reading fiction, playing badminton, listening to pop and classical music, and playing the flute. My future goal is to become an eye surgeon and travel all around the world to treat people of all ages in countries who are blind or visually impaired so they can earn a living, see a loved one, or read a book. I would like to further develop and refine my writing skills and hopefully write and publish a book someday. My personal heroes are my parents, who show me that it is okay to follow our dreams and strive for the best, and to do what makes us the most happy. As immigrants in the U.S. my parents taught me to always stay optimistic and to give everything my best effort. They inspire me to do the best I can in everything I do. I want to take this opportunity to thank my English teacher, Renee Larios, who introduced me to this competition and showed me how to become a better writer. While reading the Queen Swallow’s Gift, I learned to explore and appreciate the deeper meaning hidden in folktales. This experience reminds me that nothing is impossible if you set your heart to it.

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Justin Olah

junior division, third place

My name is Justin Olah, and I'm a sixth grader attending Polytechnic School in Pasadena California. I enjoy playing basketball and soccer, reading fantasy novels and historical nonfiction, building Lego Mindstorms, and watching the History Chanel. My favorite subjects are Math, English, and Science. In the future, I hope to become an aerospace engineer and design innovative energy-efficient airplanes. My hero is my grandfather, George Olah, who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his discovery of cleaner burning fuels. I learned about the competition through my English teacher, Mrs. Renee Larios, who has been introducing mythology and folklore from around the world to our English class. I want to thank Mrs. Larios for helping me become a better writer and encouraging me to enter this contest allowing me to become more comfortable sharing my writing with others. While writing my essay on the Korean folktale, The Goblin's Club, I learned that author's theme of the value of charity and the dangers of jealousy are the same values my parents have been teaching me all my life.

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Yelimi Chung

young adult division, honorable mention

I’m a seventeen year old, enthusiastic, always-ready-to-learn Korean named Yelimi Chung; I am currently a junior at Oneonta High School in Oneonta, New York and an aspiring pediatrician. I was only ten months old when I left my home country, South Korea; I’ve been living in America for seventeen years. My parents have always emphasized respect and gratitude, as taught in my culture and having been taught these important lessons, I want teach others to do the same and become a pediatrician that all children look forward to meeting. My other interests and hobbies include baking, cooking with my mother, fashion and styling, dancing, and sharing personal insights of current events and politics with other educated young adults.

This competition came to my attention through my school's newspaper advisor and English teacher. Being the only Korean at the high school, she brought the competition to my attention. I’m overall grateful to the teacher that brought me to participating in the competition, the Sejong Cultural Society, and the author of the essay topic-book, Our Twisted Hero, Yi Mun-yol. Rather than participating in a competition, I feel as though I was able to gain much insight and relate myself to the various elements of the human condition that are found within the book.

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Kyungjoo Park

young adult division, honorable mention

My name is Kyungjoo Park. I just turned 20, and I am currently studying to achieve my dream of being a Chemical Engineer. I was originally born in South Korea, and I moved here to attend high school when I was 15. I love baking, singing and playing tennis. I've always been very interested in learning new languages and seeing different cultures, and after I graduated from high school I went to Germany for a year to learn their language and the people.

I heard about this competition through my English professor, and I'm really glad I entered because I learned so much about Korean history while doing my research.

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Stella Tu

young adult division, honorable mention

Stella Tu is a freshman at Harvard University. She is involved in the Mission Hill After School Program as a counselor and is a part of Harvard’s Crimson magazine as a designer. In addition, Stella was a winner of the 2012 American Fine Arts Festival String Division and is currently a cellist in the Bach Society Orchestra at Harvard. She appeared on the front page of the Chicago Tribune’s May issue as an All-State Academic Team winner. Stella has also studied piano since she was four years old. She performed at the Carnegie Hall in New York at the age of 11 and has soloed on 98.7 WFMT's "Introductions". She is a winner of the 2012 Bradshaw & Buono International Piano competition. Furthermore, Stella recently won second place in the 2012 Goi Peace Foundation’s UNESCO International Essay Contest for Young People. In 2009, she was awarded by Mr. Arne Duncan as a first place winner of the Anti-Defamation League Contest for both her artwork and her essay.

In 2008, Stella decided to found the non-profit organization, Starlight Foundation, using accumulated prize money from her music, art, and writing competitions. She chose to do so because of the benefits she had gained through these arts. With the Starlight Foundation, Stella has aimed to provide artistic-expression opportunities for other young people, similar to the ones she had growing up. She recently organized the Kidney Assessment Test with the American Kidney Organization in Chicago. Currently, Stella is planning her art exhibition at the David Adler Arts Center in Libertyville, IL, in fall 2013.

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John Ahn

senior division, honorable mention

My name is John Ahn and I am a current sophomore at Maplewood Richmond Heights high school in St.Louis, Missouri. I'm involved in several different extra-curricular activities such as volunteering, varsity soccer, student council, superintendent's advisory council, and various internships. I've always had an interest in pursuing marketing, I absolutely love promoting certain products and services for a particular demographic. It's been an interest of mine since middle school, for student council I utilized posters and other forms of promotion to advertise a certain event or cause.

I learned about this competition from my mother; an avid supporter of mine who is in constant search of opportunities I could pursue. Although the topic was quite perplexing, once I began to write the connections I observed with the book I was wholeheartedly invested in the essay. This hasn't been my first entry for this competition, I previously submitted an entry during middle school and received another honorable mention. I can't say that I'm satisfied with my result, however, I'm more than certain that my efforts and passionate dedication will eventually yield the award I desire.

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