National Pukyong University Student Team Wins Grand Prize and Excellence Award in Marine Citizen Idea Contest

"Creating a Map of Seabirds in the Republic of Korea"
Corporate and Citizen Collaboration Model Highly Praised

The student team from Pukyong National University (President Bae Sang-hoon) won the grand prize at the Marine Citizen Activity Idea Contest hosted by the Korea Maritime Institute with their idea of "Creating a Map of Seabirds in the Republic of Korea."

The grand prize winner (left) and the excellence award-winning team of the Marine Citizen Activity Idea Contest are receiving their awards and posing for a commemorative photo. Photo by National Pukyong University

The joint team, consisting of Chae-eun Shin, a master's student in the Department of Marine Production Management at Pukyong National University, Jung-min Son, a master's student in the Department of Marine and Fisheries Management, Sang-min Park, a senior majoring in Applied Life Sciences for Aquaculture, Hyun-moo Kim, a graduate and navigator from the Department of Marine Production System Management, Yoon-hee Kim from Incheon National University, and Seong-min Park, a youth aide at the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, participated in the contest and received the grand prize along with a cash award of 1 million KRW.

Their award-winning idea proposed a public, corporate, and citizen collaboration model to create a map of seabirds in the Republic of Korea together with a children’s marine exploration team, aimed at fostering future marine citizens and securing scientific data to monitor changes in the marine ecosystem, which received the highest evaluation.

This idea involves recruiting 150 children annually nationwide for the marine exploration team, conducting seabird exploration method training in collaboration with universities and research institutions, visiting exploration sites to observe and photograph seabirds, and producing a seabird map of the Republic of Korea based on the exploration results. It was recognized as a creative and practical citizen participation activity to address marine issues.

The Pukyong National University student team that won the grand prize has been active as the first advisory group for the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries 2030, focusing on fisheries and fishing villages, and plans to realize this idea in the form of policy proposals following this achievement.

Additionally, the team of Chang-joo Kang and Sang-won Joo, third-year students majoring in Applied Life Sciences for Aquaculture at Pukyong National University, proposed an idea to solve Busan’s marine litter problem based on operating a local currency linked to plogging, winning the excellence award in this contest.

The Marine Citizen Activity Idea Contest was held to discover ideas for various fields of marine citizen activities and sustainable methods. The award ceremony took place recently at the 2024 Marine Citizen Forum. Outstanding ideas will be utilized by the Korea Maritime Institute for developing corporate and citizen collaboration models, policy recommendations, and research promotion.

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