Sejong Writing Competition Winners Essays

About the Sejong Writing Competition

The Sejong Writing Competition, launched by the Sejong Cultural Foundation in 2015, seeks to promote creative expression among students and emerging writers across South Korea and abroad. Named after King Sejong the Great, the contest celebrates the spirit of innovation, clarity of thought and the power of language all qualities embodied by the historic creator of Hangul.

Each year the competition invites submissions in three categories: Essay, Poetry and Short Story. Entries are judged by a panel of distinguished educators, authors, and cultural scholars. The Awards ceremony, held each October in Seoul, recognizes a Grand Prize, two Excellence Prizes, and several Honorable Mentions in every category.

2025 Winners Essay Category

Grand Prize Li Na, 17, Taipei, TaiwanGrand Prize

Title: Bridging Tongues: The Digital Revival of Hangul

Excellence Prize Park Minjo, 16, Busan, South KoreaExcellence

Title: The Quiet Strength of a Letter

Excellence Prize Aisha Ahmed, 18, Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaExcellence

Title: When Scripts Meet: A Muslim Scholars View of Hangul

Honorable mentions were awarded to seven additional writers from Japan, the United States, Canada, and Indonesia. Their works will be published in the forthcoming anthology Voices of Sejong.

Highlights from the Winning Essays

1. Bridging Tongues: The Digital Revival of Hangul Li Na

Li Nas essay explores how modern technologyparticularly smartphone keyboards and AIgenerated translationhas breathed new life into Hanguls global presence. She argues that the phonetic simplicity of Hangul makes it uniquely adaptable to voicerecognition systems, citing examples from recent opensource projects.

If letters can learn to speak through code, then a script that was designed for the people can finally become the language of the planet.

2. The Quiet Strength of a Letter Park Minjo

Park reflects on a personal anecdote: an old handwritten note from his grandmother written in Hangul that survived a house fire. The essay weaves memory, loss, and the resilience of written words, emphasizing how Hanguls square shape offers a protective visual frame.

In the ashgray world, the black strokes of reminded me that language can shelter the soul even when walls crumble.

3. When Scripts Meet: A Muslim Scholars View of Hangul Aisha Ahmed

Aisha approaches the topic from a culturalexchange perspective, comparing Hanguls scientific design with Arabic calligraphy. She stresses the importance of mutual respect in script development and suggests collaborative curricula that teach both writing systems side by side.

Both scripts aim to make the divine word accessibleone through scientific logic, the other through artistic flow; together they illustrate the universality of humanitys quest to be understood.

All three essays share a common thread: they treat Hangul not merely as an alphabet, but as a living conduit for crosscultural dialogue.

Impact of the Competition and Future Directions

• Educational Outreach: Winning essays are incorporated into teaching kits distributed to 120 schools across Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia and Canada.
• Publication: The anthology Voices of Sejong (ISBN 9788912345678) will be released in both Korean and English, with a portion of proceeds supporting literacy programs in underserved regions.
• Digital Archive: All entries (with author permission) are archived on the Sejong Foundations openaccess portal, enabling researchers to study emerging multilingual writing trends.
• Future Themes: The 2026 competition will focus on Language and Sustainability, encouraging participants to examine how linguistic diversity can contribute to environmental stewardship.

By spotlighting young talent, the Sejong Writing Competition continues its mission to honor the spirit of King Sejongcelebrating language as a tool for empowerment, connection, and progress.