Winners of East Asian Community essay contest get awards
By Kang Hyun-kyung
The 12 winners of the essay contest on East Asian Community, hosted by The Korea Times in collaboration with the Northeast Asian History Foundation, gathered together for the award ceremony at the Seoul Plaza Hotel, Monday.
In a speech during the event, Chung Jae-jeong, president of the Northeast Asian History Foundation, praised the winners, especially the winner of the Gold Prize, Eva John, a French freelance journalist based in Seoul, for their writing contributions.
“As you know, Koreans, Chinese and Japanese have a lot in common. For example, they use chopsticks, have similar physical appearances, and eat rice. So some of you, especially from foreign countries, may think that the similarities would make it easier for the people in the three countries to work closely together,” Chung said.
“Unfortunately, that is not true.”
His remarks came against the backdrop of deepening territorial and history disputes among the three nations.
Tensions between China and Japan over territorial disputes have shown few sign of abating even after the latter released the captain of a Chinese trawler following a recent maritime incident. A Chinese fishing boat collided with Japanese coast guards vessels near the East China Sea in September.
The Dokdo islets and various historical disagreements are flash points in Korea-Japan relations.
Park Moo-jong, president and publisher of The Korea Times, appreciated the winners for their quality of writing, noting that compared with previous years, more competitors submitted quality essays to the contest.
The 12 winners have diverse backgrounds, including the journalist, high school students and a homeschooler, and a master’s degree holder in international relations.
John, winner of the Gold Prize, said her deep interest in the essay topic inspired her to be part of the contest. She also received 1 million won in prize money.
“(The) topic of the essay contest was very broad but also very interesting. (The writing process) was a very interesting exercise,” she said.
The 27-year old freelance French journalist, who has been here for more than a year, covers Korea for several French publications.
Kim Soo-hyun, winner of the Silver Prize, said her wish to contribute to peace in East Asia motivated her to join the contest.
“When I go on the Internet and look at the news, I see these comments that show hostility between Koreans and Chinese and Japanese. Every time when I look at the news, I really want there to be peace and then I saw this essay contest and its topic was East Asian reconciliation,” the 18-year old homeschooler said.
After receiving prizes and a plaque, the winners had lunch together with Chung, Park and staff from the Northeast Asian Foundation and The Korea Times.