Gangbuk-gu Hosts 'Non-face-to-face National University Student Debate' Commemorating the 60th Anniversary of the April 19 Revolution

Registration from 24 to 28, preliminary and main rounds held online, final on September 27... Choose one topic among political democratization, economic democratization, social democratization, and cultural democratization for debate

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] Gangbuk-gu (Mayor Park Gyeom-su) is hosting a non-face-to-face nationwide university student debate competition as part of the 60th Anniversary Commemorative National Cultural Festival of the April 19 Revolution, and is recruiting participating teams.

The university student debate competition was originally scheduled to be held in April but has been changed to a non-face-to-face format and postponed to September due to the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

Applications will be accepted from August 24 to 28.

The competition is open to students currently enrolled or on leave from university, and teams must consist of three members. Mixed-gender teams are the principle, but all-female teams from the same women's university are allowed to participate as female-only teams.

Teams wishing to participate can choose one of four topics: political democratization (power structure, role of political parties, manifesto, etc.), economic democratization (corporations, labor-management relations, etc.), social democratization (equality, human rights, civic activities, etc.), and cultural democratization (inter-Korean relations, cultural gaps, etc.).

Applications can be submitted through the April 19 Revolution 60th Anniversary Commemorative National Cultural Festival website. Applicants must submit a team introduction in free format, proof of enrollment or leave of absence, and presentation materials (PPT or PDF files) within 50 pages.

The materials must include ▲ practical tasks of the chosen topic from the perspective of the April 19 Revolution ▲ reasons for prioritizing the chosen topic ▲ historical and social significance of the chosen topic ▲ specific plans for realizing the chosen topic. However, submissions containing content representing specific political ideologies will be excluded from evaluation.

The district office will conduct a document review based on the submitted presentation materials and select a total of eight teams.

The selected teams will submit a presentation video within 10 minutes and proceed to the finals. In the finals, after a preliminary review of the presentation videos, there will be a Q&A session using an online video system. Through this process, 2 to 4 teams will be selected.

In the final round held on September 27, rankings will be determined through a debate competition. Only participants and judges will attend the competition. To prevent COVID-19, the district will strictly follow quarantine rules such as venue disinfection and social distancing during the event.

The final round will be broadcast live online via YouTube and Facebook.

Judging criteria include the relevance of the topic to the April 19 Revolution, feasibility of the implementation plan for the topic, logical consistency, and creativity and originality of analysis.

Professors with extensive knowledge in domestic politics, economy, and social fields will serve as judges for the evaluation.

The awards include one grand prize team (3 million KRW), one excellence prize team (2 million KRW), two outstanding prize teams (1 million KRW each), and four encouragement prize teams (500,000 KRW each).

Mayor Park Gyeom-su of Gangbuk-gu said, “Now that the April 19 Revolution marks its 60th anniversary, we have prepared this event so that the entire nation can share and inherit the democratic ideals arduously achieved through the revolution,” and added, “We hope many students participate in this competition to awaken the value of the April 19 spirit and seek a sound direction for the development of democracy.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.