English debate competition broadens students' horizons

Nikhil Ramaswamy

Lee Sang-min

By Chung Hyun-chae

Winners of an international English speech competition organized by George Mason University Korea said they had a chance to ponder the relationship between Korea and the United States while preparing for the contest.

“This competition gave me the opportunity to think more deeply about Korea-America relations, about our countries’ shared interests, about our countries’ differences and finally how our countries can better work together,” Nikhil Ramaswamy, 16, a junior at Jasper High School in the United States, told The Korea Times.

Ramaswamy teamed up with Lee Sang-min, 17, a senior at Chadwick International in Songdo, Incheon, who participated in the competition to figure out how people of different cultures and backgrounds view controversial issues in Korea.

They were among 12 students who passed the first round of evaluations by video clips, proceeded with pros-and-cons debates Aug. 1-5 at the Songdo campus of George Mason University Korea.

Six pairs of students competed by debating various issues involving the two countries.

The debate topics included whether Korea should increase tax incentives for American companies relocating to the Incheon Free Economic Zone (IFEZ), whether the deployment of the THAAD system on Korean soil will improve international security and whether the U.S. should model its education system on the Korean system.

Ramaswamy said that he came to break preconceptions by collaborating and discussing with Korean students.

“For example, in the United States, we hear a lot about the Korean education system and how the United States can emulate Korea,” he said. “To actually discuss Korea’s education system with Korean students helped me appreciate what makes our respective education systems strong and how much we can share and learn from our differences.”

Ramaswamy also noted that the competition helped him build diverse views on global issues.

“For instance, before this competition, I knew about THAAD, but my knowledge came only from the Western news media,” he said. “Hearing about THAAD from the Korean perspective and actually being in South Korea helped me think about the impact THAAD would have on our relationship with each other and with other Asian nations.”

In Lee’s case, he gained confidence by participating in the competition.

“I really tried to overcome my nerves while giving presentations in front of competitors,” Lee said.

According to him, the faculty of George Mason University’s debate institute George Mason Institute of Forensics gave lectures over five days on how to hold a good debate.

“Professors taught us how to become less anxious, how to use effective gestures and how to find the right tone of voice for the presentation, which I believe helped me win the competition,” Lee said.

Lee’s dream is to operate a firm that develops and supplies cosmetics and drugs that can treat skin diseases such as skin cancer and atopy.

“I believe the speech competition built up momentum for me to make my dreams come true in that I learned how to reach the best agreement with people having different opinions,” Lee said.