ASEAN, Korea webinar to showcase youth perspectives on digital partnership

SEOUL, 25 JANUARY 2021 – The ASEAN-Korea Youth Academic Webinar, held by the ASEAN-Korea Centre, is set to take place on 27 January at 2PM (KST). The awarding ceremony of the 2020 ASEAN-Korea Academic Essay Contest winners and presentation of the winning essays will be held during the event. The webinar will be live-streamed on the Centre’s Youtube channel.

The 2020 ASEAN-Korea Academic Essay Contest, jointly organised by the ASEAN-Korea Centre, the Centre for ASEAN-India Studies of Korea National Diplomatic Academy (KNDA), and the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Indonesia, took place last year from August to November, inviting students across ASEAN and Korea to present their thoughts on the ASEAN-Korea digital partnership in the post-COVID-19 era.

Over 110 entries were received from all ten ASEAN Member States and Korea, proposing various ideas for promoting digital partnership—from e-commerce and smart cities, to virtual tourism and exhibitions. This year’s entries have indicated an increased interest and awareness of ASEAN-Korea relations among ASEAN and Korean students.

There were ten winning essays in the four categories. The Grand Prize went to the team from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore for their essay on “Strengthening ASEAN-ROK Digital-Economic Cooperation via Integrated e-Platform.” The list of prizes is below:

• Grand Prize (1 team) –Yanminn Yong (Malaysia) and Lee Hock Chye (Singapore) from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

• Second Prize (2 teams) – Calista Chong (Singapore) from Oxford University, United Kingdom; Kim Youngheon (Korea) from Seoul National University and Nam Hyun Jin (Korea) from Yonsei University, Korea

• Third Prize (3 teams) – Choi Myungjin and Yoo Jieun (Korea) from Seoul National University, Korea; Michael Joseph G. Ostique (Philippines) from University of Philippines Open; Hoang Hai Yen (Vietnam) from Ho Chi Minh University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam and Le Thi Minh Doan (Vietnam) from SP Jain School of Global Management, Australia

• Special Recognition (4 teams) – Choi Heera and Jeong Hyunsoo (Korea) from Sookmyung Women’s University, Korea; Ellyaty Priyanka and Nida Azarine Irmanti (Indonesia) from Universitas Gadja Mada, Indonesia; Bora Bormeysophoan and Chey Nalin (Cambodia) from Royal University of Phnom Penh, Cambodia; Caroline Anne Yong Suk Zhen and Siu Tzyy Wei (Brunei) from Universiti Brunei Darussalam

The award ceremony will be followed by a keynote lecture and presentation of the winning essays. Secretary General of the ASEAN-Korea Centre Ambassador Lee Hyuk and Director of CSIS Indonesia Philips Vermonte will deliver their remarks at the opening session.

As the head of the evaluation committee, Professor Choe Wongi from the Centre for ASEAN-India Studies of KNDA will give an overall assessment of the essays. On her part, Director of Human Development of the ASEAN Secretariat   Rodora Babaran will deliver a keynote lecture on the importance of the role of the youth in the post-COVID-19 recovery. At the second half of the webinar, Professor Kim Hyung Jong of Yonsei University and Professor Cho Wondeuk of the ASEAN-India Studies will lead discussions following the presentations of the winning essays.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated digital transformation in ASEAN’s economy and society. As such, ASEAN and Korea will find more opportunities for further cooperation in digital economy and content industry,” said Secretary-General Lee Hyuk. “In this context, this year’s ASEAN-Korea Academic Essay Contest was both timely and meaningful in that it invited creative solutions and in-depth research by digital-savvy youths from ASEAN and Korea. I hope the webinar will provide a platform for the winners to exchange their thoughts with fellow winners and professors and further develop their scholarly works,” he concluded.

Program Inquiries: Ha Chae Kyoun, Program Officer, IDU (+82-2-2287-1144, ha.ck@aseankorea.org)

Press Inquiries: Hwang Ji-seon, Senior Officer, IDU (+82-2-2287-1149, hjs@aseankorea.org)

Source: ASEAN Secretariat