2024 Youth Debate Competition on Marine Territory Held Successfully

- The 'Sam-i Gipeun Mul' team (Gileum Middle School) wins in the middle school division, and the 'Octonut' team (Daesong High School) wins in the high school division.

 The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (MOF) held the 2024 Youth Debate Competition on Marine Territory at the New Law Building of Korea University on Saturday, August 31.

 The Ministry has held the debate competition since 2021 to inform young people about the importance of maritime territory. This year, thirty-eight middle school and eighteen high school teams applied to participate in the competition, and the top four teams from each division were selected by a written evaluation to advance to the finals.

 The participating teams competed fiercely on international maritime territory issues, such as the Falklands Islands (Las Malvinas)* dispute (high school division).

 *An archipelago located in the South Atlantic Ocean, currently under the effective control of the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom calls it the “Falkland Islands” while Argentina calls it “Las Islas Malvinas.”

 The two winning teams in the competition, the ‘Sam-i Gipeun Mul’ Team (Gileum Middle School) and the ‘Octonut’ Team (Daesong High School), were awarded the Minister of Oceans and Fisheries Award, while the ‘MAEX’ Team (Taereung Middle School) and the ‘Boys and the Sea’ Team (Cheongshim International High School) received the Runner-up Award, and the ‘Bamgorae’ Team (Eoram Middle School and Jugok Middle School combined), and the ‘Heading’ Team (Daesong High School), received the Honor Award. Meanwhile, the Best Individual Debate Award was presented to Son Yun-ah (Gileum Middle School) and Kim Ji-yoon (Daesong High School).

 The participants in the conference expressed their view that it was a meaningful opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of maritime territory issues.