Essay Competition Rules and Information
Deadline: April 30, 2021 (11.59pm CDT)
Divisions
Guidelines
- Write an essay in response to the topic appropriate for your division.
Entries
- Essays must not exceed 1,000 words in length.
- Please choose only one topic and folktale to write about.
- Junior division students should refer to the provided list of folktales when selecting a topic for their essays. Please be sure to choose from the current year's eligible folktales.
- Applicants' names must not be written in their entries.
- Entries must be submitted via our application form. Entries submitted via email will not be accepted.
- One entry per category per applicant is permitted. (Applicants are permitted one essay entry and one sijo entry.)
Results
- We reserve the right to use all submitted pieces in future publications of the Sejong Cultural Society.
- The judges may choose to decline to award a prize.
- Winners are usually announced within one or two months of the deadline due to the high volume of submissions. This estimate is subject to change depending on the number of total entries received; a more accurate estimate will be posted on our website soon after the competition deadline.
Prizes
- Adult division: First ($1,000), Second ($750), Third ($500)
- Senior division: First ($500), Second ($400), Third ($300)
- Junior division: First ($300), Second ($200), Third ($100)
- Honorable mention (for all divisions listed above): Friends of Pacific Rim Awards ($50 each)
- Competition winners will be announced in AZALEA: Journal of Korean Literature and Culture, published by the Korea Institute at Harvard University.
- Winners' works may be published in the Korea Times Chicago or the Korean Quarterly.