JoongAng English Speech Competition announces this year's winners

The winners of the annual JoongAng English Speech Competition were announced on Saturday, recognized for their compelling stories about robot companions, what life in outer space could look like, the effects of social media use and more.

The final round of the contest took place at Kookmin University in Seongbuk District, central Seoul, with 104 students in attendance.

This year’s edition of the JoongAng English Speech Competition invited students to submit speeches in video format to YouTube and KakaoTV from June through July. The submissions were then judged based on the assessment criteria of the English-Speaking Union (ESU), a globally recognized institution in English public-speaking education. The first-round winners were announced on Aug. 7.

The Korea JoongAng Daily, the JoongAng Ilbo and the British Embassy in Seoul hosted the competition — with the Korea JoongAng Daily serving as one of the event’s hosts for more than 10 years — and ESU Korea organized it. The British Council and Kookmin University co-sponsored the competition.

Contestants were divided by age: kindergarten; lower-level elementary, or from first to third grade; upper-level elementary, or from fourth to sixth grade; and middle school. A total of 48 students went home with an award, ranging across the grand, gold, silver, bronze and creative categories.

Four contestants, one from each age group, received the grand prize: Lee Hae-jun from Gifted & Talented Education (GATE) Seocho, Kim Ji-won from Seoul Singa Elementary School, Kim Do-yul from British Education Korea (BEK) Prep and Cha Eu-chang from Guryong Middle School. They also received 500,000 won ($360) each.

On the day of the competition, each participant gave speeches in English that were between 90 and 150 seconds long. The themes were “A Day with My Robot Friend” for the kindergarten group, “If I Go to Space...” for the elementary school groups and “Impacts of Social Media” for the middle school group.

Distinguished guests who presented the awards included Choi Ji-young, the executive editor of the Korea JoongAng Daily; Matthew Walters, a spokesperson for the British Embassy in Seoul; Ko Il-kweon, the head of business operations at JoongAng Ilbo; and Thomas McCarthy, the senior editor of the Korea JoongAng Daily.

Grand prize winner Kim Ji-won from Seoul Singa Elementary School gave a speech about imagining what would happen if she had invented a robot named Leaf Bot to fight Earth’s climate change through artificial photosynthesis.

Kim Do-yul from BEK Prep said that instead of meeting aliens or building cities on Mars, he wanted to admire Earth’s beauty from afar, recalling a family trip to Guam during which he saw “the most beautiful night sky” that he had ever seen.

“I never knew I would win the grand prize. I was super nervous; my legs were trembling on stage,” Kim Do-yul told the Korea JoongAng Daily. “But I feel extremely happy. It was such a fun experience!”

Grand prize winner Cha Eu-chang from Guryong Middle School talked about his experience of getting better grades in school after he made — and won — a bet with his friends about which one of them could quit social media.

“Here’s the impact no one counts: Social media hasn’t just taken our time; it’s taken our middle speed,” Cha said during his speech. “We only know two settings now — everything or nothing. Thirty days clean, then five hours deep addiction. That’s not self-control. That’s just holding your breath.”

Lee Hae-jun from GATE Seocho described his experience making music with his imaginary robot friend Buzz.

The gold prize, the second-highest honor after the grand prize, went to Jun Ha-on from POLY, Jeong Ye-rin from North London Collegiate School (NLCS) Jeju, Kim Ye-jun from St. Johnsbury Academy Jeju and Jung Lo-ha from Dulwich College Seoul. They each received Phoenix Park hotel vouchers valued at 300,000 won.

Gold prize winner Kim Ye-jun from St. Johnsbury Academy Jeju imagined holding the world’s first zero-gravity concert in outer space, highlighting the importance of the connection between music and language.

Silver prizes went to Choi Ji-yu from Francis Parker, Park Lu-a from Art Composite, Na Su-a from Lila Elementary School, Kim Eu-gene from Seoul Daehyeon Elementary School, Lim Ji-woo from Seoul Daedo Elementary School, Chung Hyun-woo from Seoul Foreign School, Joo Song-ha from Daewang Middle School and Song Seung-heon from Korea International School Jeju, each of whom won gift certificates worth 200,000 won.

Bronze was bestowed on Lee Na-eun from RISE Songdo, Gianna Kim from Little Learners, Choi Ye-rin from Daegu Hyosung Elementary School, Ryu Eun-ho from NLCS Jeju, Yoon Seo-jin from Sanui Elementary School, Joo Young-jun from Saint Paul Preparatory Seoul, Park Ha-bi from Ewoo Middle School and Ahn Jong-min from Seoul International Seoul, who were each given gift certificates worth 100,000 won.

In her speech, bronze prize winner Yoon Seo-jin from Sanui Elementary School talked about her desire to visit the moon to see constellations such as Lyra and Cygnus.

A total of 24 creative prize winners received art exhibition tickets.

BY SHIN MIN-HEE [[email protected]]