Eight U.S. students recognized by International Youth Competition

​https://mailchi.mp/dcff5bb6eda0/eight-us-students-recognized-by-international-youth-competition?e=9408bfc1cd

Forgotten by Eun Seo Kim

​At a recent international competition, eight U.S. students received awards. The 2021 International Youth Artwork Competition was held to support the registration of “Voices of the ‘Comfort Women’” into the UNESCO Memory of the World Programme. The competition was hosted by the Masan, Changwon, and Jinhae Civil Assembly for Japanese Military Sexual Slaves (Machangjin, for short), an organization actively involved in amplifying the voices of “comfort women” in Pusan, South Korea.

About 400 entries were submitted from across South Korea, the U.S., the Philippines, and Taiwan. A committee of fifteen judges selected student work. Out of the international entries, Eun Seo Kim (9th grade) received the second-highest award, the Autonomy award, with her painting, Forgotten. Eun Seo is a member of the Hwarang Youth Foundation.

Four members of Speaking of War received the third-highest awards, Peace awards, with their writing submission, The Memory Post. They are: Irene Oh (12th grade); Eunice Oh (12th grade); Felicia Lee (11th grade); and Raeeun Kim (11th grade).

Three other members of the Hwarang Youth Foundation received Justice awards for their writing. They are: Arissa Jeong (12th grade), We Will Remember You; Logan Byeon (11th grade), Remembrance of the “Comfort Women”; and Junhyeok Park (10th grade), “Flowers” Who Couldn’t Bloom—A Story About “Comfort Women.”

ESJF was privileged to be a co-organizer for this meaningful event, and we offer our warmest congratulations to all the awardees for their thoughtful and talented work, along with all the youth members of the Hawrang Youth Foundation and Speaking of War.  

We also thank Machangjin for hosting impactful international campaigns that worked to raise awareness about registering the “Voices of the ‘Comfort Women’” into the UNESCO Memory of the World Programme!