Dear network members and colleagues,

Last Friday, the APLN-The Korea Times student essay contest awards ceremony took place in Seoul, South Korea. 73 essays were submitted from across the world with eight winning essays selected by APLN members, Professor Jun Bong-geun, Dr Peter Hayes, Dr Manpreet Sethi, Ambassador John Tilemann, and Dr Tong Zhao.

The APLN would like to congratulate the winners, thank those who participated, and thank our co-hosts and partners at The Korea Times and the ROK Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The APLN will continue to work hard to engage and showcase Asian Pacific perspectives from the next generation over the coming months and years.

The Korea Times President- Publisher Oh Young-jin, third from left, APLN Vice Chairman and Executive Director Moon Chung-in, sixth from left, and Deputy Minister for Multilateral and Global Affairs Ham Sang-wook, seventh from left, applaud for two of the winners who participated in the hybrid The Korea Times-APLN Essay Contest Awards Ceremony, Fiona Hye-min Cho and Yong-su Cho, fourth and fifth from left in central Seoul. Credit: Choi Won-suk, The Korea Times.

Winners and Winning Papers of the Essay Contest

1st Place: The ROK Foreign Affairs Minister Award
Dong-suk YOO (Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, USA)
“Republic of Korea and Japan – Prospect for Signing the TPNW”

2nd Place: The Korea Times’ Award
Alexander M. Hynd (The University of New South Wales, Australia)
“Strengthening South Korea’s Non-Proliferation Norm”

The Asia Pacific Leadership Network Award
Fiona Hye-min CHO (Ewha Women’s University, South Korea)
“North Korea and the Issue of Denuclearization; Lessons Learned from Peaceful Negotiations”

Honorable Mentions (5):
Sang-hoon KIM (Korea University, South Korea)
“The Dangers of Nuclear Nationalism in North Korea”

Chul-min KIM (KAIST, South Korea)
“Exploring the ‘Sweet Spot’ of Nuclear Latency of
North Korea for Effective Denuclearization Process”

Ji-hun PARK (Yonsei University, South Korea)
“Analysis of Current Stalemate in Negotiations as Well as Prescriptions To Resolve It”

In-tae JANG (KyungHee University, South Korea)
“The Dangerous Game Between the DPRK and USA”

Yong-su CHO (Hanyang University, South Korea)
“Two Constraints in Front of South Korea and Three New Measures for a ‘Peace Regime’ on the Korean Peninsula”

More about the event, winners, and participants, can be found in The Korea Times‘s recent article about the essay contest here.