november 9, 2014issue 4volume xvi

seoulite

SEOULITE Meet the staff

meet the Staff

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Layout artists

Reporters

photographers

Sang Ho LeeAlan Huh

Joonhee Han

Sarah DohSuyoung Yang

William SonSarah KimAlice LeeJulie Song

Marie ParkJustin ChangAngie Kim

Jane LeeKelly Kim

Brian M. KimBrian S. KimAndrew Lee

Christopher LeeDongwoo LeeDavid Choe

Esther HwangJaewon Kim

Co-graphics editorsYeni Cho

Hollis Hwang

Layout EditorHyewon Kim

assistant layout editorAlice Rhim

Managing editorJean Cho

assistant editorChristine Seo

Copy editorsJoyce KimYeaji ParkAdviser Mr. David Coleman

Editors-in-chiefCeline Hwang & Yasmin Yoon

Blast From the Past: Territorial Disputesby Christine Seo

by jean cho

Faux news: South Koreans move to North Korea in search of safety

Called Diaoyu by Chi-na and Senkaku by Ja-

pan, the collection of islands in the East Sea has been a subject of disagreement for both Asian nations. During the last two years in par-ticular, the dispute over who owns these islands has dete-riorated the relationship be-tween these two nations, de-stroying economic ties and evoking bitter chauvinism. Japan and China are fight-ing especially vigorously for the islands because they have many potential natural resources, including possi-ble oil and gas reserves and rich fishing grounds. In an attempt to secure posses-

sion, Japan sought to procure the islands from their private owners in 2012. This move incited the Chinese public to violently protest, which later increased anti-Japanese senti-ment. A year later, the Chinese created an air defense identifi-cation zone that encompassed the islands, announcing that any aircraft flying in the area would need to observe rules set by them. Recently, however, China’s Foreign Ministry and Japan’s Prime Minster, Shin-zo Abe, announced that they would be willing to resume dialogue after acknowledging their differing positions. Given our current location, the most obvious and relevant

connection regards the Dok-do Islands. Also known as the Liancourt Rocks and called Takeshima by the Japanese, the islands have been a major source of animosity between Japan and South Korea. Be-cause of the valuable fishing grounds surrounding the is-lets and the potentially large methane clathrate reserves, the dispute over who official-ly owns the islands has still not been formally solved. When Japan suggested they take the issue to the UN In-ternational Court of Justice, South Korea rejected the idea several times and responded that there was nothing to dis-cuss.

As shown by these cases, ter-ritorial disputes can lead to the deterioration of any nation’s foreign relations and rise of jingoistic sentiment. Unfortu-nately, the hostility between nations that emerges from ter-ritorial conflicts does not ease quickly. Even if a dispute is re-solved, the tension and friction between two nations is too engrained in their culture to suddenly disappear. Because amicable foreign relations are essential to creating an envi-ronment that promotes global cooperation, it is important that nations rid themselves of negative sentiments and com-promise on territorial con-flicts. SL

SL

North Korea may actu-ally be the perfect place

to live: a place where the gov-ernment truly protects and guards its citizens, a place where there is no crime, a place where anyone feels secure to be himself or herself. After the occurrence of numerous un-fortunate accidents such as the demolition of public facilities, South Koreans have recently attempted to cross the border in hopes of finding security. For some odd reason, the South Korean peninsula had been hit by a hurricane of tragedies this past year, rang-

ing from the collapse of bridg-es across the Han River to the burning down of three apart-ment buildings. Seeing this as some ominous sign to evacu-ate the country, civilians such as Youngshik Kim have actu-ally started to prepare for the doomsday to come. “I feel like God is trying to send me a message—a warn-ing to leave South Korea,” Youngshik said. “I honestly don’t know if I can live here anymore because it is just too dangerous. Maybe karma is getting back at us for enter-ing the semi-finals in the 2002

World Cup or maybe it’s be-cause Samsung has been en-gaged in so much corruption, I don’t know. But if one thing is for sure, it’s that South Ko-rea is no longer a safe place to live in.” Despite the allegations from foreign media that accidents were caused by poor infra-structure and the lack of en-forcement of safety laws in South Korea, the government is choosing to blame these events on luck. Instead of re-lying on technical solutions to improve these conditions, the South Korean government re-

cently initiated the construc-tion of a shrine for wind and sea spirits in hopes of prevent-ing them from playing with the lives of citizens. “It must be the gods, there’s no one else to blame,” said Prime Minister Jaemin Park. “I’m extremely sorry to all of the families that have lost their loved ones as a result of the re-cent accidents but I’m afraid there’s nothing we can do to help. The only thing we can do is calmly brace ourselves and walk through this storm of an-ger that has been forced on us by the gods.”

SEOULITE columns

Layout Sang ho lee SEOULITE 03ISSUE 4 VOLUME XVI

SEOMUN XVII ends on a high noteby jean cho and christine seo

photo by andrew lee

One by one, delegates filed into the bustling

auditorium as Secretary General Albert Kim called the principal of Seoul In-ternational School, Jarret Lambie, to the podium to deliver his closing remarks. Afterwards, Courtney Caldwell, MUN adviser, took time to thank all par-ticipants of the conference, including all advisers, chairs, delegates and administrative staff members. “I think it went really well because when I walked around, everyone was en-gaged,” Ms. Caldwell said. “This year’s SEOMUN was special because with over 500 delegates, we were able to make the committees a bit bigger and give more people an opportunity to speak up. Also, the officers worked so hard behind the scenes even though you don’t see any of the planning that happens beforehand.”

Beginning with the pres-ident of the Environmental Commission, the presidents of each committee summarized the results of the conference and relayed their gratitude to fellow chairs and delegates. Many senior chairs also ex-pressed sadness as their high school MUN careers came to a close. “SEOMUN is where I grew up, from ICJ, Advisory Pan-el and Special Conference (SPC),” said John Sooho Park, President of SPC. “Now that I think about it, I would not be John Park without these expe-riences.” To wrap up the ceremony, each member of the Secretari-at delivered a speech, thanking their fellow members, advis-ers, chairs and all other partic-ipants of SEOMUN XVII. Al-bert Kim, Secretary General, reflected on the occurrences in the past three days and of-fered advice to all attendees of the conference.

“The SEOMUN confer-ence is not about imitating the international relations of the present, but rather forging the international re-lations of the future,” Albert said. “The reason why is very simple: every delegate, ever advocate, every ambassador fights to represent the in-

terest of its own country. The first step to this change is to be idealistic, which is what we as teenagers are best at. Rather than pointing out hypocri-sy, because all countries are in some way hypocrites, we should create the best atmos-phere for change and to make change happen.”

Striking a block with his gavel, Albert Kim,

Secretary General, initiates SEOMUN XVII. Having participated in MUN since his freshman year of high school, Albert was given the opportunity to apply his experience and skills as this year’s Secretary General. To organize SEOMUN, Al-bert collaborated with other Secretariat members prior to the conference. This year, Al-bert and Judy Kim, Deputy Secretary General, arranged two chair meetings and set due dates for chair reports earlier to facilitate prepara-tion for the conference.

“Although it was a lot of pressure to organize a con-ference in which students from not only different schools attend, but also dif-ferent countries, Judy and Seoul International School’s MUN executive team as-sisted me a lot,” said Albert. “This conference could not have happened without them.” At the conference, Albert had to not only ensure that everything was running smoothly but also assume additional roles. He partic-ipated in General Assembly 1 as the delegate of USA for and acted out a crisis for Se-

curity Council and Advisory Panel. “I purposely encouraged delegates to participate ac-tively by acting as the del-egate of USA and actively supporting the USA in my speech,” Albert said. “To further instigate debate, Eu-gene Yang, [administrative director], who acted as the delegate of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, made a speech opposing my proposal.” Despite chaotic moments during the conference such as the plenary debate be-tween both General Assem-bly committees and technical

difficulties, Albert is proud of the way SEOMUN turned out. He believes that the dil-igent attitude of Secretariat members, delegates and ad-ministrative staff allowed for one of the most successful SEOMUN conferences. “Though we struggled at first because Seoul Interna-tional School does not have a technology team like Seoul Foreign School, we eventu-ally prevailed,” Albert said. “We were also able to have fruitful debates in a profes-sional environment because of SEOMUN’s location at COEX and delegates’ ef-forts.” SL

by angie kim and joyce kim

Personality Profile: Albert Kim

SL

Layout hyewon kimSEOULITE 04

SEOULITE point of interest

ISSUE 4 VOLUME XVI

A six-minute-long video greets the SEOMUN dele-gates every morning of the conference. Delegates react in various ways—some giggle at clips of their friends while others gasp at the way they look on screen. The creators of these videos that bring such entertainment to the otherwise serious conference are SEOTV staff members. “The main objective of SE-OTV is to capture all the val-uable moments of the confer-ence on film,” said Ji Young Choi, SEOTV camerawoman. “For instance, yesterday we filmed a simulation of a crisis regarding Kim Jong Un hack-ing a Social Networking Site at Security Council. MUN is

a good opportunity for stu-dents to experience some-thing life-like, which is why we feel that it is necessary to record moments from the conference and give the del-egates a tangible product to remember MUN by.” To take on the extensive task of covering the entire SEOMUN conference, a great amount of diligence and or-ganization is needed. SEOTV staff members have to film, combine and edit all parts of the film, which naturally leads to several difficulties. “The deadline can be pretty stressful,” said Jamine Kang, SEOTV camerawoman. “We constantly have to run back and forth across the halls to

get footage and it is very tir-ing. We seem to have to be everywhere at all times. It can also get awkward when crouch down or take shots in various angles. Despite staff members’ chal-lenges and the burden that comes with their roles, Jas-mine Lee, editor-in-chief of SEOTV, feels that the journal-istic experience is ultimately rewarding. “I enjoy every step of the co-ordinating process,” Jasmine said. “I had experience in SE-OTV in prior years, but never got the chance to anchor or make sure everything goes smoothly. My current posi-tion taught me a lot because it was a true test to the different

by marie park

Behind the scenes: SEOTV

photo by jane lee

SL

by Julie song

Turning Back the Clock: Advice for the 1st day of SEOMUN

maintenance skills I learned in the past. I love MUN and journalism, and SEOTV is the one place I can put my knowledge to practice.”

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SEOULITE point of interest

“Make sure you know your country because nothing makes you look

more stupid than not knowing your country’s stance. Look neat but be funny in real life and when you’re

at the podium! Make lots of friends and set a good first impression

because you will see them again at conferences later on and you don’t

want to have a bad reputation.”

Kenneth Yim, delegate of Republic of Korea in Security Council

“My advice to myself on the first day at the conference would be to

also talk to delegates writing resolu-tion on other issues. When the de-bate began on the second day, I did not have enough time to prepare for

speeches; this meant that I could not speak out my opinion as much

as I wanted to because I didn’t know many other delegates as personally

as I should have.”

Hyong Kim, delegate of USA in Human Rights Council 1

“Last time when I refer to clauses projected on the screen, I wouldn’t be able to see it because I forgot to bring my glasses. I would have told myself never to forget my glasses.

Otherwise, I would have to ask the President of ECOSOC to enlarge the font on the projector, which is

usually very embarrassing.”

Nicholas Kim, delegate of Germany in Economic and Social Council

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SEOULITE committee

General assembly 1 & 2

Q: What was the most humorous moment of the conference?

A: “The most humorous and memorable moment of the conference was when the Secretary Gener-al and the Admin Director came in as delegates representing the United States and North Korea respectively, and presented speeches. The dele-gates for these two nations during for our com-mittee were missing and the two who had come

in used the colors of their nations’ flags; red, white, and blue as a theme when making their

speeches. It was interesting and as the President, I was glad to have the SG and the administrative

director as my delegates.” —Paul Moon, President

Q: What music or movie genre best describes your committee and why?

A: Our committee is an action packed thriller block-buster movie all the time. The delegates are very enthusiastic and extremely aggressive. Each dele-

gate was so passionate about their stances and was willing to attack everyone else’s resolutions till the

point it was getting out of hand. There was one time during the conference when the delegate of Pakistan

was speaking out against an opinion presented by the delegate of Denmark and he was very energetic

and direct, making the debates intense.”-Leslie Kim

Deputy Assistant President of General Assembly I

BY YEAJI PARK

BY jean cho and christine seo

Q: What flavor is your committee?

A: “SC is salty. Salt is a necessary ingredient in every dish but not all individuals are consciously aware

of its effect on the overall test. However, when you first taste salt in food, you will never be eat anything without it. In the same way, once you first get a taste

of what SC is like, you won’t be able to enjoy any oth-er committee as much because it will taste bland.”

—John Sooho Park, President

special conference

PHOTO BY david choe

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SEOULITE committee

BY julie song

BY jean cho and christine seo BY sarah kim

PHOTO BY brian M. Kim

PHOTO BY brian S. Kim

Security Council

advisory panel

Q: What was the most humorous moment of the conference?

A: “The most humorous moment was when the delegate of Iran submitted a strange clause on the peaceful use of nuclear energy. It suggested that nuclear energy be used to make fireworks. I would describe this clause as a creative application of the issue at hand,

but ridiculous nonetheless.”—Jae Hyun Park, President

Q: If your committee were a brand, whatwould it be?

A: “We would be Versace. Donatella Versace went through various means to perfect her image as a fashion icon without limiting herself to a single area of the fashion industry. In the same way, the Advisory Panel does not focus on one type of world problems. We work on all issues and take into con-

sideration all methods to tackle those issues.”—Angela Jang, Deputy Assistant President

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SEOULITE committee

six party talks

International Court of Justice

photo by andrew lee

photo by brian s kim

Q: What symbol best represents your committee?

A: “The yin and yang symbol, because there are various different stances of the six countries that even directly contract one each other, but ulti-mately, these views balance each other out. This

is what makes SPT unique.”- Jane Hong, Assistant President

Q: What will you miss most about your committee?

A: “I have participated in ICJ for a long time and have grown fond of the committee. The small, closed atmosphere allows for judges and advocates to freely speak their minds, rather than having to compete to speak. Even though we discuss cases that ICJ has already discussed, the judges and ad-vocates of ICJ have different opinions and rulings

compared to the ones in real life.”- Dustin Yoon, Assistant President

BY jean cho and christine seo

BY angie kim

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SEOULITE committee

human rights council 1

PHOTO BY ESTHER HWANG

PHOTO BY ESTHER HWANG

Q: What color would your committee be?

A: “The color white because it represents the chairs’ desks covered with hundreds of amend-ment sheets and 6-page resolution papers. I’ve had the most amendments submitted from all

of the conferences I’ve attended!”- Judy Chung, President

Q: What was the most interesting point-of-information?

A: “The most memorable point-of-information was when the delegate of China, the main sub-mitter, clashed with the delegate of Qatar about foreign policy. The delegate of Qatar argued that the delegate of China could not main submit be-cause China itself does not respect human rights. This conflict brought up an interesting debate on whether the country that main submits affects the

plausibility of the resolution.”- Bason Park, Assistant President

BY william son

human rights council 2BY joyce kim

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SEOULITE committee

Economic and Social Council

Environmental Commission

BY alice lee

Q: What is the one word that best describes yourcommittee?

A: “I would describe the Environmental Commis-sion as cooperative because all of the delegates really

worked together to forge all of the resolutions in a manner that benefitted all the countries and the envi-ronment. When we discussed solar radiation manage-ment, the two main resolution writers had completely

contradictory ideas but still made compromises to work together.”

—Jong Lim, Deputy Assistant President

BY justin chang

photo by david choe

photo by jaewon kim

Q: What ice cream flavor bestrepresents your committee?

A: “The ice cream flavor my committee represents is mint chocolate chip, because the debates are both sweet and sharp. In other words, while there is a sense of cooperation during the debates, there are also conflicts between delegates regarding the best way to

solve the issues at hand.”—James Yuh, President

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SEOULITEsuperlatives

SEOULITE superlativesCELINE HWANG - Most likely to be a deflating balloonYASMIN YOON - most likely to demand hollis to braid her hairYENI CHO - most likely to transform after a trip to the bathroomHOLLIS HWANG - most likely to start her own food blogHYEWON KIM - most likely to break seoulite tradition for the first time everALICE RHIM - most likely to be dubbed the cute layout artistJEAN CHO - most likely to randomly make weird noisesCHRISTINE SEO - most likely to be a hip-hop warriorJOYCE KIM - most likely to come to the conference with perfect makeupYEAJI PARK - most likely to want to go homeSANG HO LEE - most likely to be considerate of other membersALAN HUH - most likely to be the only calm person at seomunJOONHEE HAN - most likely to be a cavemanSARAH DOH - most likely to quietly disappearSUYOUNG YANG - most likely to be a model for a cosmetics companyWILLIAM SON - most likely to be a womanizerSARAH KIM - most likely to be rewarded for her diligenceALICE LEE - most likely to be a deerMARIE PARK - most likely to be the next supermodel JUSTIN CHANG - most likely to ask the same question three timesJANE LEE - most likely to be late to seomun KELLY KIM - most likely to take photos for the new york times BRIAN M. KIM - most likely to look exactly like his sisterBRIAN S. KIM - most likely to call himself skim ANDREW LEE - most likely to be dissed by justin changANGIE KIM - most likely to also be a model for a cosmetics companyCHRISTOPHER LEE - most likely to silently get angryJULIE SONG - most likely to be a turtleDONGWOO LEE - most likely to talk to himselfDAVID CHOE - most likely to be in an ambiguous relationship with a mun memberJAEWON KIM - most likely to flaunt his suit ESTHER HWANG - most likely to help distribute seoulite issuesMR. COLEMAN - most likely to pose for a selfie

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