Martial Arts and Low Birthrate Policy Paper Contest... Listening to the Voices of MZ Generation

40 out of 50 Judges Are MZ Generation
30 Papers Selected from 109 Preliminary Submissions
10 Outstanding Works Finalized on the 31st

The Korea International Trade Association (KITA) announced on the 24th that it has selected 30 papers out of 109 submissions through the preliminary screening of the 'Low Birthrate Overcoming Measures Thesis Competition' aimed at the MZ Generation (Millennials + Generation Z, born 1980?1994). The final competition to select the top 10 outstanding papers will be held on the 31st.

KITA is the first economic organization to hold a thesis competition on low birthrate. The entire process, from application to evaluation, is centered on the MZ Generation, who are the main stakeholders. Among the 50 judges, 40 are from the MZ Generation. The judges were also selected through an open call, overcoming a competition ratio of 2.48:1, and included students, company representatives, lawyers, and writers.

By the application deadline, 204 applications were received. Among them, 109 papers of about 15 pages each were finally submitted. There were 86 university student teams and 23 general division teams. Of these, 90 papers (82.5%) were in the low birthrate field, and 19 papers (17.5%) were in the dating activation field.

Trade Tower, Korea International Trade Association, Samseong-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. [Photo by Korea International Trade Association]

Jung Manki, Vice Chairman of KITA and head of the judging panel for the competition, said, "It is important to create many opportunities for the MZ Generation to participate in various measures to increase birthrates and to ensure that their opinions are reflected in policies." He added, "The judging panel was composed of population expert Lee Insil, Director of the Korea Future Population Research Institute, and 40 members of the MZ Generation." He further stated, "We plan to do our best to select papers with high validity, reliability, and feasibility."

After the final evaluation on the 31st, KITA will award prizes including 5.5 million KRW for the grand prize, 3.5 million KRW for excellence awards, and 1.5 million KRW for encouragement awards, along with the KITA Chairman’s Award. Three teams receiving honorable mentions will each receive 1 million KRW, and four teams receiving encouragement awards will each receive 750,000 KRW along with the Trade Academy Director’s Award.

A KITA official stated, "We will work to spread the birthrate-related proposals suggested in the competition throughout society and recommend them to relevant government ministries and agencies to ensure they are implemented as policies."

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