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| Winners of the 2019 ASEAN-Korea Academic Essay Contest pose during a workshop hosted by the ASEAN-Korea Centre in Hanoi, Vietnam, in this Jan. 7 file photo. / Courtesy of ASEAN-Korea Centre |
By Yi Whan-woo
The COVID-19 pandemic is increasingly changing communication methods worldwide, with more people relying on digital technology amid lockdowns and social distancing measures.
Korea and the young populations of ASEAN nations, in accordance with people-to-people exchanges underlined by the two sides, will need to keep up with emerging trends in digital cooperation. This is what the ASEAN-Korea Centre wants to discuss in its annual essay contest open to undergraduate and graduate students.
A Seoul-based international organization tasked with ASEAN cooperation, the center is co-organizer of the 5th ASEAN-Korea Academic Essay Contest along with the Center for ASEAN and Indian Studies at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy and the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Indonesia (CSIS Indonesia).
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| The 2020 ASEAN-Korea Essay Contest is receiving entries until Nov. 8, under the theme "ASEAN-Korea Digital Partnership in the Post-COVID19 Era." / Courtesy of ASEAN-Korea Centre |
Any eligible student from the 10 ASEAN countries and Korea can share their perspective under the theme "ASEAN-Korea Digital Partnership in the Post-COVID19 Era."
To elevate the quality of entries, the organizers are for the first time allowing professors to advise essay writers and also permitting up to two students as co-authors.
"The outbreak of the novel coronavirus pandemic has accelerated digitization in every part of our daily lives," ASEAN-Korea Centre Secretary-General Lee Hyuk said. "It is thus more imperative than ever for the digital-savvy young generation in ASEAN and Korea, who will be at the center of transformations and the future ASEAN-Korea partnership, to draw a blueprint for cooperation through digital technologies."
A former Korean ambassador to the Philippines and Vietnam, Lee expressed hope for the applicants to "conduct research and demonstrate their scholarly works" on how ASEAN and Korea can develop partnerships in startups, e-commerce, e-learning and other digital sectors.
Scholars from think tanks in ASEAN and Korea will be judges.
The winners will be awarded cash ― 2 million won ($1,600) for the Grand Prize recipient, 1 million for each of two Second Prize recipients and 500,000 for each of two Third Prize recipients.
The winners will also have a chance to join a presentation at a seminar ― both online and offline ― to be hosted by the ASEAN-Korea Centre. Plus their work will be considered for publication in academic journals.
The contest has received more than 580 entries since it began in 2016, and has named 48 winners so far.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Korea, the ASEAN Secretariat, and the ASEAN University Network have been annual supporters.
