Sijo competition rules and information

Deadline: April 30 (11.59pm CDT)

Divisions

• Adult division (age 19 and older)
• Pre-college division (age 18 and younger)
• Please note: College students who are younger than nineteen at the time of the competition deadline are asked to participate in the adult division.

Guidelines

• Write one sijo in English on a topic of your choice.
• A title for the sijo is not required.
• More information on writing sijo can be found here.

Eligibility

• Applicants must participate in their age-appropriate division. Younger applicants may not apply to the adult division except for college students younger than nineteen years old.
• We ask college students younger than nineteen to apply to the adult division.

Entries

• One entry per category per applicant is permitted. (Applicants are permitted one essay entry and one sijo entry.) If multiple sijo entries are submitted, only the first entry will be considered.
• Sijo with multiple verses are allowed.
• All entries must be written in English. If Korean or another language is included, the entry will be judged on its English content alone.
• 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.

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)
• Pre-college division: First ($500), Second ($400), Third ($300)
• Honorable mention (for both 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.