Gangbuk-gu Calls for Teams to Participate in the 4.19 Revolution National Cultural Festival Nationwide College Student Debate Competition

Applications Open March 8-12 via 4·19 Revolution National Cultural Festival Website... Teams of 3 Choose 1 Topic Among Politics, Economy, Society, Culture for Democratization Debate... Grand Prize 3 Million KRW

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Gangbuk-gu (Mayor Park Kyum-soo) is recruiting teams to participate in the nationwide university student debate competition as part of the ‘April 19 Revolution National Cultural Festival’ event to be held in April.

The application period is from March 8 to 12.

The target participants are teams composed of three university students who are currently enrolled or on leave of absence. Teams can be mixed-gender or, if formed from the same women’s university, can participate as an all-female team. Previous winners can only apply if the topic differs from the previous year’s.

Participants can choose one of four topics: political, economic, social, or cultural democratization.

When applying, participants must submit the application form, a team introduction in free format, proof of enrollment or leave of absence, and presentation materials in PPT or PDF format through the April 19 Revolution National Cultural Festival website.

The materials must be within 50 pages and include ▲ reasons for selecting the topic from the perspective of the April 19 Revolution ▲ the historical and social significance of the chosen topic ▲ and plans for realizing the chosen topic. However, submissions expressing specific political ideologies will be excluded from judging.

After document screening, the district will select eight teams and hold the finals on March 27. Presentations will be conducted online based on the submitted materials, and 3 to 4 teams will be selected to advance to the final round.

In the final round held on April 11, participants’ final rankings will be determined through designated and free debates.

The district will form a judging panel composed of professors with extensive knowledge in various fields nationwide and plans to evaluate the relevance to the topic and the April 19 Revolution, feasibility, logic, creativity, and originality.

Accordingly, one grand prize team (prize money 3 million KRW), one excellence award team (prize money 2 million KRW), two outstanding award teams (each 1 million KRW), and four encouragement award teams (each 500,000 KRW) will be selected.

Mayor Park Kyum-soo of Gangbuk-gu said, “The nationwide university student debate competition is meaningful as a place for young people who will lead the future of our country to contemplate and think about democratic ideals,” and added, “I hope many students will challenge themselves so that interesting and meaningful topics can be presented.”

The schedule and competition procedures may change depending on the spread of the novel coronavirus infection. For detailed inquiries about the debate competition, please contact the April 19 Revolution National Cultural Festival Committee Secretariat.