Australasian Debating Championships in South Korea

At the end of my exchange in Sydney last year I was chosen to represent UNSW (my host university) at the Australasian Debating Championships in South Korea. My last month in Sydney was consumed by a rush of essays, packing and part-time jobs, and at the beginning of July 2011 I embarked on the 17 hour trip to Seoul.

The competition was one of the major highlights of my year (and that's saying something!). 120 teams from all over Asia, Australia and New Zealand were represented. Debating the leadership of the IMF with a team from Sri Lanka or Sharia law and asylum seekers with a team from Malaysia was absolutely eye-opening. Lunchtime discussions with present Iranians about their local politics or an Egyptian about his views on Mubarak whilst having my opinion sought on the Euro-zone crisis was really educationally enriching.

South Korea was an incredible country with the friendliest people one could imagine. Before I went I was told that if a public bus was running late the driver would get off and bow in apology, and they didn’t disappoint! The only downside was first day starvation as I grappled with the finer arts of chopstick eating.

I’m possibly the only Irish student to have ever debated in an Australasian Championship, something made possible by the UCD exchange programme.

If you have any more interest in Seoul, here’s an article I wrote last week for one of the two UCD student newspapers, the University Observer, about my Asian experience;

Asia’s Got Seoul

Sally Hayden is Seould on South Korea (and puns)

Shoeless and serene, we sit in front of a 15 foot high Golden Buddha. Hundreds of people rise and fall in front of us whilst emitting a constant indecipherable chant. This is BongEun Sa, an oasis tranquillity in the middle of one of the largest and most eclectic cities in the world.

The Yin-Yang symbol’s presence on the South Korean flag is absolutely apt. Seoul is a city of opposites. Samsung headquarters neighbour an ancient palace, the raucous bustling streets give way to the quietness of a Buddhist temple, and on the radio traditional Korean bamboo flute music is interjected with K-pop, the nation’s more modern creation.

This is a country to forget Western superiority pretentions, and accept that English is not always the language of favour. Do carry around a card in Korean with the address of where you are staying. Do go into a restaurant, pick a symbol off the menu and hope it’s not the braised silkworms. Don’t be the tourist who thinks that the louder your voice the more likely you are to be understood.

Spend a day (or night) in Namdaemun market, a tented metropolis of clothes, home ware and electronics. This 24 hour conurbation never rests, and when lost under fluorescent lighting in one of the adjoining vast jewellery workshops, 4am and 4pm are interchangeable.

If air-conditioning is more your style, Lotte World is a shopping centre empire. Inside this indescribably vast construction, you will find such shopping-centre essentials as an ice-rink, several rollercoasters, and the building’s own custom built island. Most memorably, and serving as a reminder that SK health and safety legislation may not be quite as stringent as our home version, the basement also boasts a shooting range. Walk in, show ID, pick the rifle of your choice, and fire ten bullets at a paper target, all for less than €25!

Foodwise, Korean cuisine is delicious, but perhaps not appealing to the Western palate before 9am. Avoid the sushi and grilled fish breakfast, but treat yourself to shared hot-pots for lunch and Korean barbeque for dinner. Chopsticks are unavoidable, Kim-chi (fermented cabbage) is served with almost every meal, and it is rude to pour yourself a drink.

A few hours at the Korean War Memorial serves as a reminder of the world’s most secretive nation, the South’s lost half, just 100 miles away. National pride and the echoes of a war not yet won emanate from all aspects of the exhibition, which features drawings by the South’s school children on the theme of conflict and reconciliation. Google map North Korea and your screen will display a blank. Still curious? Spend €50 on a day trip to the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ), stare across the void and try and fill in the gaps for yourself.

Apart from an occasional kidnapping (the last was in 2000), in Seoul you could be forgiven for forgetting the war ever happened. With Soju (tastes like watered down vodka) for 1000 won a bottle (that’s 80c to you and me) and a huge student population, head to Hongdae if you’re keen to sample Seoul’s nightlife. Just be sure to make it clear you’re not American. The US military have been a regular presence since 1950, and have made some local enemies, not because of their politics but for their drunken bad behaviour.

Seoul is a city where barber shop poles signify brothels, Starcraft is revered as a sport and a bus driver will bow to you in apology if the bus is late. The women-only university Ewha champions gender equality, producing Korea’s first female judges, politicians and leaders, yet wishes visitors luck finding a good husband. Starbucks is open all night, arguing is barely socially acceptable and street fashion is on a par with Tokyo.

Back outside the temple, our meditation in the humid heat is disturbed by a sudden downpour of rain. Ying-yang; an Asian philosophy of complementary opposites. Even the weather understands.