Pre-Issue

Seoulite 2016 SEOMUN XIX NOVEMBER 24

16 PAGE S

U NI TE D NAT I O N S MOT TO “UN I T E D I N DIV E RSI T Y ” SO UT H KOR E A N POLI TI CA L C R I S I S

EMBRACING DIVERSITY

Seou lite Novemb er 2016 Pre-I ssu e

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Seo u li t e 2016 Co n tribu t ors

Editors-in-Chief:

Reporters:

Sarah Kim, William Son

Alice Kang

Fiona Cho, Kate Lee, Sia Cho, Samuel Oh, Angela Ahn, Eric Hwang, Dawn Kim, Kirsten Huh, Sarah Jung, Yejune Park, Helaine Lee, Justin Chang

Assistant Editor :

Layout Artists :

Alice Lee

Jiwon Chung, Christine Lee, Seoyun Yoo, Young-Jin Park, Catherine Cho, Jaywon Yi, Eugene Song, Andrew Kim, Alex Lee

Managing Editor :

Copy Editor : Marie Park Layout Editor : Joonhee Han Photo Editors : Brian Kim, Esther Hwang

Photogrophers: Andrew Lee, Angela Ahn, Eileen Kwon, Allyson Kim, Katie Ahn, Anna Ganus, Brian Chun, Soo-Yeon Kim

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LETTER FROM THE EDITORS Hello delegates, We are the editors-in-chief of Seoulite, the annual press publication of SEOMUN. We are honored to serve delegates, chairs, advisers, administrative staff members, directors and other participants throughout the SEOMUN conference.

It is our utmost hope that all delegates have access to fruitful debates on different worldly topics and that they learn something new from this conference that they had previously not known.

Over the next three days, our team of reporters, layout artists, and photographers will be creating a total of four issues of Seoulite and not only document the heated debates and potential remedies to global crises, but also capture the new friendships that were formed throughout this conference.

We would like to ask the delegates and chairs for three things: First, please pick up our carefully made issues every day and read through the pages – we promise to fill our issues with interesting content ranging from migrant crises to nuclear proliferation along with a couple of pages of pure, simple entertainment.

Second. When a press member approaches you for an interview, please cooperate – feel free to offer staff members your uncensored and personal opinions.

Third, make sure to check out our Dropbox link, which will be shared to you by your Secretary General, as well as the SEOMUN website for dazzling color copies of all our issues! We will also be sharing all the images taken over the course of the conference, so look out for candid shots of yourself in intense debates.

We wish all delegates the best of luck – happy SEOMUN! William Son and Sarah Kim Execitive Editors

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OVERCOMING CULTURAL DISPARITIES IN SOUTH KOREA

By Alice Lee

South Korea is no longer considered as an ethnically “homogenous” country. Rather, South Korea has grown to become an interconnected society with people coming from all over the world, including approximately 30,000 defectors from our Northern neighbor, North Korea. While South and North Korea are situated right next to one another, it is often hard to understand even the subtlest differences between the two cultures that have developed in divergent ways in terms of language and customs over the past 63 years.

Such disparities between the two countries often make it challenging for North Korean defectors to assimilate into South Korean society that has been vastly influenced by Western and other international cultures. In addition, the North Korea (NK) news reported that more than 23,000 defectors were unemployed as of January 2012. Yet, there still are several defectors who have overcome such difficulties.

One of such defectors is Kwang-hyouk Choi, who claimed that living on his own in North Korea was like “living somewhere without a roof or pillars” according to the Korea Times. Abandoned by his family due to the 1995 famine that killed approximately 240,000 to 3,500,000 North Koreans, Choi was deserted, left to survive on his own as a child beggar, when he lost his left foot due to an accident while fleeing authorities.

Despite the fact that he originated from such demanding situations and was handicapped by a physical disability, Choi successfully defected to South Korea 15 years ago.

Although Choi admits that he did not fit in during his middle and high school days in South Korea due to severe discrimination, he has endured through all such challenges to reach his significant achievements.

Currently a senior at the Korea National University of Welfare, Choi aspires to play at the upcoming 2018 Winter Paralympics Games in PyeongChang.

However, it is crucial to note that Choi is one of the few exceptions. In other words, many North Korean defectors fail to fit in with South Korean society due to multiple disparities and discrimination. To confront such issues, Korea must lengthen the government-run program in that houses and educates the refugees for 12 weeks. In addition, the South Korean government must spread awareness to its citizens to embrace all people who come from different backgrounds rather than looking down on them for their differences in appearance or culture. In essence, given that North Koreans escaped to South Korea for a better quality life, we in turn, must assist them in all ways possible, at least so that they can feel as if they are “living somewhere with a roof or pillars.”

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HRC REMAINS HESITANT

By Eric Hwang

On Oct. 11, the Human Rights Council (HRC) discussed an issue regarding the fundamental human rights and dignity of illegal immigrants.

Bryan Hur, delegate of Portugal, proposed that calling in currently existing organizations and implementing new policies and stricter regulations regarding the fundamental rights of illegal immigrants will most likely solve the issue.

“NGOs will be needed to not only raise awareness to the public and raise funding to alleviate the situation, but also to educate and encourage illegal immigrants on their fundamental human rights and dignity,” Bryan said. “Additionally, to further alleviate this issue, more policies and implementations of stricter rules will be necessary in order to enable illegal immigrants to become documented.”

A few other delegates, however, remained skeptical of the resolution. They argued that in order for education policies to be implemented, policies would need to be made more specific and practical.

“The resolution is problematic as it targets the

problem, yet simultaneously creates another one,” said Leonard Lee, delegate of Iraq. “It encourages immigration as amnesty is given, which is counterproductive. This causes a vicious cycle of brain drain of intelligent individuals moving around the world, instead of remaining in their home country.”

Other delegates questioned the details of the resolution, pointing out the ambiguity of the operative clauses. They criticizied the lack of specifcs in the immigration process that the delegate of Portugal proposed.

“Along with other certain processes, the resolution also failed to address solutions to numerous issues regarding legal immigration,” said Andy Yoon, delegate of Vietnam. “Legal immigration will rise to the surface, as it will be possible for these migrants to smuggle numerous inappropriate items.”

Although the resolution lacked detail according to some delegates, it managed to pass with 3 votes for, no votes against, and 7 abstentions.

DISARMAMENT COMMITTEE DISCUSSES UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES By Samuel Oh According to CNN, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have had negative potential for both surveillance and commercialism. On Oct. 24, the Disarmament Committee presented and discussed possible resolutions to problems that involved the high rate of casualties that UAVs present to civilians. Delegates of the Disarmament Committee emphasized penalizing nations that fail to comply to certain standards of drone usage.

“We need to keep in mind that each case is individual and must be considered separately,” said Chris Lee, delegate of Brazil. “The drone usage of nations that fail to comply to the standards should be restricted. A nation that has failed to follow the international standards of drone usage should be labeled.”

Other delegates had different perspectives on how to tackle the issue. One particular delegate thought that urging non-governmental organizations such as Amnesty International to continuously incentivize more governmental action through initiatives would be more successful.

“The government should stay involved in the industry and the movement to solidify the standards of technology for the use of military drone operations by recruiting individuals

interested in drone technology,” said Katie Lee, delegate of the Republic of Korea. “They should continue to publish reports from the perspectives of attacked civilians in order to sustain a local view upon the matter, considering that civilians are the main victims of the current loose standards of UAV air strikes in peacekeeping missions.”

Dissatisfied with the resolutions presented, another delegate of the Disarmament Committee presented a more direct solution, noting that the resolution should request for the international community to prevent terrorists from obtaining nuclear weapons into their individual nations.

“The international community should regulate access to nuclear facilities, whether [the purpose] is for energy research or for weaponry development,” said Sky Park, delegate of Iran. “There should also be a share of data regarding weapons and mass destructions to create awareness of the issue.”

The resolution was successful and was passed as it received the most votes with eight votes and five against.

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ECOSOC II ADDRESSES THE PROBLEM OF LOW EMPLOYMENT FOR PERSONS

By Kate Lee

The delegates of ECOSOC II opened the debate with a resolution submitted by Katherine Lim, the delegate of United Kingdom. Even to this day, discrimination against about one billion people with various disabilities worldwide exists.

In order to fight such intolerable judgment, the delegate of the United Kingdom presented a resolution that was considered satisfactory in the conference by other delegates.

The resolution proposed that nongovernmental and intergovernmental organizations fund the disabled by cooperating with member nations, and also encouraged the increase of judicial stringency to combat discrimination domestically. Furthermore, the resolution recognized the fact that raising public awareness about this issue is crucial to assist the disabled in securing employments.

“Recently as I have been thinking more about my future, I began to relate to the issue on equal employment within society,” said Katherine Lim, delegate of the United Kingdom. “I wanted generate innovative solutions to alleviate the corruption in the work field. There are many disabled candidates who do not get a job even though he or she has similar credentials as someone without a disability, and this violation to basic human rights should be brought to attention.”

According to Leonard Lee, delegate of Iraq, this resolution received positive feedback from other delegates, as many agreed that it was composed of three plausible

arguments supporting the main thesis of the resolution.

“I think that the resolution written by the delegate of the United Kingdom was the best resolution I have seen so far,” Leonard said. “The delegate of the United Kingdom only had three operative clauses, but each one of them were in depth and extremely specific. I also think that her resolution preempts possible POIS and at the same time respects not only her own country’s view, but also the worldwide view as well.”

Many of the delegates admitted that the resolution was not only simply detailed, but also very effective in proposing solutions on lessening discrimination in society. Furthermore, many delegates admitted themselves wrong when they noticed that the resolution had enough information that made it possible to rebut most POIS. “I thought that the delegate of the United Kingdom’s resolution was good because it was capable of solving the resolution itself in helping the disabled people in the workplace,” said Bryan Hur, delegate of Portugal. “I proposed to this resolution because there were many sub clauses in the operative clauses that was specifically able to pinpoint policies or ways of changing the mind of the people, which would eventually lead to finding a job for the disabled too. Not only that, but this delegate was able to answer POIS well by referring back to her resolution which contained many specific details.”

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SPT DISCUSSES ENSURING THE BASIC RIGHTS OF DPRK DEFECTORS

by Alice Lee Dealing with violations of basic humanitarian rights in North Korea, Six Party Talks (SPT) advocates will discuss three major topics: ensuring the basic rights of Democratic People’s Republic of Korean (DPRK) defectors, measures to resolve territorial disputes in the East China Sea, and relieving nuclear tensions within the Korean peninsula in the upcoming SEOMUN XIX. Utilizing multiple pieces of evidence and reasoning to support her stance, the delegate of DPRK presented her stance on ensuring the basic rights of DPRK defectors.

installing more security cameras.

“The resolution the delegate of DPRK submitted is reasonable from DPRK’s perspective, since it prevents more North Koreans from escaping to international countries while expecting other countries to fund the North Korean government through nongovernmental organizations,” said Andrew Ham, delegate of US. “But from another country’s point of view, it is simply not practical to return and arrest all North Korean defectors considering that DPRK restricts its people’s most basic freedoms.”

“Of course, it is understandable that North Koreans will gain unfortunate misconceptions mainly from South Korean propaganda campaigns filled with an idealistic portrayal of capitalism and derogatory slander against the leaders of the DPRK,” said Julie Song (11), delegate of DPRK. “But rather than spreading false propaganda, other countries should collaborate with DPRK to halt the acceptance of North Korean criminals who have seeked refuge in foreign lands and develop a transparent mechanism to document all North Korean citizens living abroad.”

To confront such challenges from other delegates, the delegate of DPRK pointed out that even when North Koreans successfully defect from the DPRK, they are forced to confront many more hardships in South Korea. According to North Korea (NK) news, an American subscription-based website, nearly half of the more than 23,000 defectors were unemployed as of January 2012. In addition, a variety of factors such as lack of education, unfamiliarity with capitalistic society, financial difficulties, and social discrimination, and bribery from the DPRK regime were stated as the major reasons for re-defecting to the North.

Although the delegate of DPRK strongly criticized other countries for helping out North Korean prisoners escape, the other delegates of international countries pointed out how North Koreans defect due to strict restrictions of freedom of speech, gathering, and movement. Yet, due to increasing numbers of defectors over the past years, the World Report reported that the government of DPRK has increased rotation of North Korean border guards and cracked down on guards who permit crossings in exchange for bribes. Surrounding countries such as China have also strengthened border security by building fences and

“On one hand, the [other] delegate of DPRK is right when she states that many North Korean refugees face financial difficulties in international countries such as South Korea,” said Sophia Song, delegate of DPRK. “Yet, it is still a given fact that such international countries provide North Korean refugees with the most basic freedoms and humanitarian rights. In addition, South Korea has taken steps to assimilate North Koreans into South Korean society by educating them on basic life and communication skills.”

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ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION FOCUSES ON SUSTAINABLE RESOURCES

by Dawn Kim

With demands for energy on an explosive scale, the dangers and harmful consequences of fossil fuels have become highlighted. As a result, the Environmental Commission sought out ways to promote and develop research of safe and sustainable resources in lieu of sources such as natural gas, coal, and petroleum. Jeffrey Ahn, delegate of Kazakhstan, emphasized improvement of awareness programs and global cooperation of countries to encourage research on renewable energy.

“With multiple alternatives, countries will be able to collaborate to improve their economy and provide a green world,” Jeffrey said.

“This delegate expects and encourages the member nations to look further and beyond the time frame of their generations

and cooperate to provide our posterity with the world they deserve.”

Delegates picked apart the resolution, pinpointing aspects where it could be improved.

Many agreed that the delegate failed to correctly highlight the purpose of the resolution.

“The resolution is well thought out, but incomplete,” said Leonard Lee, delegate of Iraq. “To current scientific development, there has not been enough proof that global warming is directly linked to the extinction of species. So far, there is only a correlation. The delegate [of Khazakstan] must prove that global warming is directly related to the issue at hand.”

Furthermore, other delegates felt that the resolution dealt

with issues that required more thought. Delegates focused especially on alternative sources of energy that lacked technology or regulation.

“Nuclear energy is the biggest problem in this resolution,” said Curtis Lee, delegate of Ethiopia. “If this research falls into the hands of the wrong people it may be weaponized against the community. Most importantly, nations must withhold development until a joint monitoring system and a set of regulations are agreed upon.”

Despite the concerns, the resolution passed narrowly with six votes for and five votes against. Delegates believed that with more clarity on certain points, the resolution could have garnered a larger number of votes.

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SPC RESOLUTION LACKS ENFORCEMENT

by Sia Cho On Sept. 27, the Special Committee (SPC) gathered to present resolutions for one of the three challenging issues that were assigned this year: promoting development in the fields of information and telecommunications with regards to transnational security.

Amy Kim, delegate of Vietnam, stressed direct measures such as law enforcement, as well as the prevention of terrorism or crime using Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs), in her resolution regarding the promotion of international security.

“To secure the critical infrastructures or information systems of member nations, national laws should be enforced by adhering to the Charter of the United Nations and drafting data protection laws,” Amy said. “Also, because the rising number of terrorists are major factors that breach international security, operative clause three will tackle the correct prevention and action regarding terrorism through the methods such as internet tracking or censorship in social media.”

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Although some delegates agreed with the main points of the resolution, they found faults in its general dependence on the national government. Delegates presented amendments in efforts to compensate for those faults.

“Although the gist of clause one is in good effort, there seems to be a heavy reliance on national governments following clauses that cannot actually enforce anything,” said Chris Lee, delegate of Brazil. “A better way to tackle this issue may be to promote treaties or agreements between countries instead of making countries draft their own laws.”

Despite their concerns and differences, delegates seemed to agree that the resolution contained adequate measures addressing the given issue of promoting international security through ICTs. Other than the resolution’s faulty coverage on operations of enforcement, most of the other points were deemed agreeable and on the right track.

“As a whole, I believe this resolution does a good job in promoting international security through ICTs, as it provides a myriad of details and tackles the issue from a multifaceted stance,” said Sky Park, delegate of Iran. “By directly targeting the national legislature, this resolution is suggesting a specific action that has positive or at least fruitful results in the end.”

GA TACKLES SOCIAL PREJUDICE AGAINST

by Sarah Jung MIGRANT WORKERS Calling for consensus on a resolution to solve the problem of approximately 150 million migrant workers facing social prejudice in various countries resulted in multiple contrasting opinions throughout the debate. According to the SEOMUN XIX report, migrant workers around the world from low-income classes are often on the move as a result of “uncertain nativity.”

Due to this reason, migrant workers suffer from severe mistreatment such as no pay of minimum wage along with neglection of their mental and physical health.

“Of course, it may be hard to accept migrant workers since they were not initially from the country they immigrated to,” said Hannah Kim, the

delegate of Australia.

“However, it is crucial to note that in the globally connected world today, we should all get along together and learn to accept one another’s differences although they might be from different backgrounds that hold various values and believe in multiple ideas.”

On the contrary, delegates took on different perspectives, stating that countries should not accept all migrants, since they may serve as “threats” to locals.

For example, according to the New York Times, 1.5 million fewer native-born Americans were part of the work force while two million more immigrants both legal and illegal, were working.

“It is an accepted fact that immigrants often replace former native workers who are not as diligent nor skilled compared to the new migrants,” said Andie Kim, delegate of Slovenia. “In such cases, natives often get ‘disillusioned’ to believe that migrants are taking over all the jobs of their native country when in reality, they also had to work diligently to reach such heights and occupations.”

The resolution passing with three in favor of, one abstained, and one against, the General Assembly decided that countries should strive to eradicate discrimination of migrants especially in the younger generation through education.

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CHOI SOON-SIL SCANDAL GARNERS MEDIA ATTENTION By: Alice Kang Recently, the Korean media has been buzzing with news coverage regarding the notorious “Choi-soon Sil scandal,” in which Choi-soon Sil, a long-term friend and secret advisor of President Park-Geun Hye, was accused of manipulating government affairs and extorting up to $69 million from big businesses.

Sites like the Josun Ilbo, the Korea Times, and the Joongang Daily have covered this issue through numerous broadcasts. Many delegates and chairs have felt that these broadcasts have affected them greatly in terms of shaping their personal views regarding the scandal.

“First of all, I don’t believe that the media is being 100% fair, per say,” said Jay Min, Chair of Special Committee. “As it always does, I think it’s publishing whatever information they want to hear to capture the attention of audiences but aren’t placing validity to their priority. However, I’m not too unhappy with how the media is dealing with this, because the scandal itself is worthy of that much attention, as it is quite unbelievable, shocking, and embarrassing.”

The global effects of the scandal have also been projected through the lens of many western media outlets. Articles relating to the scandal have appeared on many popular international media outlets such as CNN and BBC and on the front page of newspapers such as the New York Times; AlJazeera has also done a live broadcast covering the protests that took place at Seoul Central District.

Although the western media has not covered the issue through politically extreme lenses, as did the Korean media, many feel that it is still portraying Park’s presidential turmoil through a negative light.

“From what I have read, the only conclusion that I am coming to is that the President made some very poor decisions about who she surrounded herself with, “ said Mr. Ames, Co-Director of SIS MUN. “I’m not one of those people who are just jumping on the bandwagon and wanting to protest, because I feel that I am not knowledgeable enough to do so yet.

I don’t feel like there is enough evidence out there yet to jump to conclusions.”

On the other hand, despite the extensive media coverage on mainstream news outlets, many famous

Korean public figures have not yet expressed thoughts on the issue. In fact, according to a recent article published by The Korea Times, popular rappers have been criticized for their “relative silence” regarding the scandal. Korean hip-hop rappers such as Palo Alto, have expressed a strong desire to remain as apolitical as possible, as well as numerous other celebrities, who have stayed rather quiet about the issue.

“I think having popular mediums voice their opinion can be good in a general sense but difficult to pull off regarding this issue,” said Sky Park, delegate of Iran from the Disarmament Committee. “Having figures that have lots of public following and social influence voice their opinion is undoubtedly a strong instrument for publicity. But the issue regarding the Korean government is that some of the popular figures are intertwined with the core of the problem making it difficult for them to voice an opinion that could possibly hurt their business.”

Despite the extensive media coverage that is being done upon this issue, it still remains a politically sensitive topic to most South Koreans. Public views will undoubtedly change as the issue progresses further, but for now, it is important to stay informed

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A SPORTS CONTROVERSY By: Justin Chang in the past two Olympic games. Yuna Kim, on the other hand, had won both gold and silver medals in past Olympics.

While the deep rooted corruption in the sporting community was being steadily uncovered, stars in the entertainment industry were denying allegations of possible connections to Choi Soon Shil. In a statement discussing affiliates of President Park whom she connected through the celebrity football team, FC Hoeori, lawmaker Min-suk An named prominent singers, Psy, Seung-chul Lee, and Heunggook Kim. All three denied this allegation, citing that they have not been part of the football team in years. Lee went further by actively protesting President Park, hanging banners that called for her resignation which provoked run ins with the police.

With controversies brewing, other celebrities were taking to the streets in direct protest against President Park. Distressed by President Geun Hye Park’s actions, heaps of celebrities, superstars, and prominent politicians have joined the people in the mass protests in and around Seoul’s Gwanghwamun Square.

In a patriotic frenzy, celebrities including actor Ah-in Yoo and Joon Lee raised candles and posters in protest against the incumbent president. Film critic and journalist Ji-woong Heo posted multiple photos and videos documenting the mass protests.

Singer In-kwon Jeon also participated and took a more active role in the protest. In the assembly of nearly a million Koreans, Kwon gave a powerful

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In the midst of the ongoing controversy of the “Choi-soon Shil scandal,” citizens have discovered that the corruption in President Park’s government may extend into the sporting community. It has been speculated that many prominent athletes have been subjected to the government’s influence- those who succumbed succeeded while those who resisted were punished.

South Korean olympic swimmer, Tae-whan Park, disclosed surprising information that many believe serves as evidence of President Park’s outreaching influence. Back during the Rio Summer Olympics, Park was approached by Kim Chong, a high ranking government official who is currently being investigated for his connections to President Park’s corruption scandal. Kim blackmailed Park to abstain from participating in the Olympic games.

If Park complied, Kim promised to help Park get sponsorships but if the swimmer pursued his Olympic dreams, he would be “disadvantaged.”

Other recent developments in the Soon-shil Choi scandal uncovered possible corruptions in the government in the dealings of Yuna Kim, world renowned South Korean figure skater. According to the Korea Times, Kim rejected a ministry invitation to attend the trials for the Neulpum Calisthenics back in 2014. Immediately afterwards, Kim was excluded from the nominations for the 2015 Sports Hero award even though she was leading in the polls because she was too young, a restriction that did not exist. Many speculated that Kim was disadvantaged because she refused to establish ties with the presidency.

On a completely different- and exponentially grander- boat was Yeon-jae Son who, unlike Yuna Kim, accepted the ministry’s invitation to the Neulpum Calisthenics. Though Son’s agency maintained that the gymnast attended because she had no reason to not go, the public speculate corruption in play. For once, Son received the Korean Sports Committee’s ‘Best’ and ‘Grand’ awards three years consecutively. The issue lies in that historically, only Olympic gold medalists won the ‘Grand’ awards- Son had only placed fifth and fourth

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ILSAN MANGO SIX

PLACES TO EAT

NEAR KINTEX

By: Kirsten Huh

MYUNGDONG KALGUGSU

SHINCHON STORY

BUDAE JJIGAE MANIA DON DOL

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THINGS TO BRING TO AN MUN CONFERENCE

By: Helaine Lee

Packing bags may seem like a task that anyone can complete. However, many tend to forget to pack essential materials needed for MUN. Now the question is: do you know the essentials for an MUN conference? To help you out with our pre-conference stress, we complied a simple packing list that will prepare you for your upcoming MUN conference.

Delegate Guide

Research Binder

Laptop

Notebook

Positive Attitude

Don’t forget to bring your Delegate Guide with you. These guides should have been given to you 60 days before the formal conference.

This document contains all the information on the conference procedures, schedules, topic background, and other essential information.

If you prepared for your conference thoroughly, it would be a major miscalculation of you to not bring your research binder. Unless you have all the facts memorized in your head, bringing all your essential research material will help you have a successful and fluent debate with other delegates during the session.

Bringing a fully charged laptop will help you and your teammates throughout the whole conference. Specifically, laptops are a commonly used gadget for both academic and business purposes during a conference: for MUN, it allows you to research efficiently, communicate with your co-delegates, and write resolution papers.

It is always good to bring your own notebook with you to an MUN conference. Even though conferences usually provide notepads for delegates, bring your own notebook, since larger notebooks allow you to plan your speech more extensively.

Finally, don’t forget bring your positive, formal attitude to the conference – you are currently leaders, representing a country. Also, you will also be cooperating with people from many different places. Overall, have a respectful and cooperative attitude toward others during the conference and wish you all the best of luck!

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DELEGATES DISPLAY TEAMWORK AMIDST PREPARATION FOR SEOMUN By: Fiona Cho

November has finally arrived, and the delegates are busier than ever, preparing themselves for the final stand over Thanksgiving break. SEOMUN, which will begin on November 24th, signifies the end of the hard work and effort that the delegates have put into preparing for the past few months, working together through various activities such as writing resolutions and participating in mock conferences amidst the fast-approaching deadline. But one factor holds the delegates of SIS together, despite their growing worries: teamwork.

“I think that teamwork itself is crucial in MUN,” said Bryan Hur, delegate of Portugal in HRC I. “In debating, there are two sides, two teams competing for a win or a loss. But in MUN, there is a group of people within a committee trying to come up with a resolution together and trying to find out what is the best for all of us.”

According to Leonard Lee, delegate of Iraq in ECOSOC II, teamwork has been crucial in their mock conferences so far, boosting the delegates’ confidence before the actual conference begins. Delegates worked together in weekly sessions effectively, sharing ideas and supporting other delegates’ resolutions just like they will during the actual conference.

“I really think that the teamwork skills we displayed during the mock conferences will help in the actual one,” Leonard said. “Just because they are for practice, it doesn’t mean we should try less. Everyone tries their best to lend opinions that will benefit all of us, and we work together to reach a consensus.”

In essence, his opinion draws out an important fact: every opinion counts. Even if the resolution does not pass, it paves the way for another one, usually more precise and elaborate than the former. At the end of each debate, all the delegates go through a voting procedure for each of the resolutions, and this is a constructive process through which even the resolutions that get passed are reviewed and improved upon further.

Delegates are facing their busiest month, but there is almost no need to worry—with the help of good collaboration, they will become familiar with each other’s strengths and weaknesses, and ultimately learn from them in the imminent conference.

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WHERE

are our delegates from?

CANADA

PHILIPPINES

VIETNAM

MYANMAR

8 students 1 school

16 students 1 school

15 students 1 school

6 students 1 school

JAPAN

SOUTH KOREA

SINGAPORE

CHINA

20 students 2 schools

258 students 12 schools

40 students 2 schools

93 students 8 schools infographic by Jiwon Chung

S e ou lite Novemb er 2016 P re -I ssu e