Essay Topic
A Rapid Changing World and the Climate Crisis: Challenges We Face and their Solutions
With the advent of AI, digital revolution, and political shifts, today’s teenagers face crucial challenge of balancing technological and economic progress with environmental responsibility. This year's competition gives them an opportunity to think about creative solutions, perspectives, and leadership approaches that drive both digital and economic progress while strengthening climate resilience.
Overview
- Hosted and Organized by: Education Association for Software Empowerment (EASE)
- Operated by: HOBY Korea
- Supported by: HOBY Youth Leadership Foundation (HOBY), Green Environmental Practice Headquarters (Due to the 21st Presidential Election in the Republic of Korea on June 3, 2025, the use of the names or titles of government agencies, local governments, and public institutions as supporting organizations is restricted.)
- Entry fee: No entry fee
- Eligibilities: Middle and high school students from any country
- Grades between 7th and 12th in the U.S. education system or equivalent (e.g., homeschooling) on May 31, 2025
- Submission Deadline: May 31, 2025 (KST)
- Announcement of Winners : July 8, 2025 (KST)
- Awards Ceremony: August 9, 2025 (KST) in Seoul (and ZOOM)
Awards
The following awards will be presented to outstanding participants:
- Award by Member of the California State Assembly - 2
- Award by Member of the California State Assembly - 2
- Award by Member of the California State Assembly - 2
- Award by Member of the California State Assembly - 2
- Award by Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives - 2
- Award by Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives - 2
- Award by Boston City Counilor - 2
- Award by Boston City Councilor - 2
- Award by Boston City Councilmember At-large - 2
- Award by Los Angeles City Councilmember - 2
- Award by Chicago City Alderman - 2
- Award by New York City Councilmember - 2
- Award by Texas Austin Council Member - 2
- Award by Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership Foundation - 1
- Minister of Education Award – 1
- Minister of Foreign Affairs Award – 1
- Minister of Environment Award – 1
- Mayor of Seoul Metropolitan Government Award – 1
- Governor of Gyeonggi Province Award – 1
- Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education Superintendent Award – 4
- Busan Metropolitan Office of Education Superintendent Award – 2
- Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education Superintendent Award – 1
- Sejong City Office of Education Superintendent Award – 1
- Incheon Metropolitan City Office of Education Superintendent Award – 2
- Jeollanam-do Office of Education Superintendent Award – 1
- Jeju Special Self-Governing Province Office of Education Superintendent Award – 2
- Foreign Embassies in the Republic of Korea Award – 3
- Chairman of the Seoul Metropolitan Council Award – 2
- Chairman of the Gyeonggi Provincial Assembly Award – 2
- Gyeonggi Paju Office of Education Head Award – 4
- Korea Environment Corporation President’s Award – 2
- Korea Software Empowerment Education Association President’s Award – 5
- HOBY Korea Award – 5
- Green Environment Practice Headquarters President's Award – 5
※ Some awards may have geographic restrictions and can only be given to students residing within the specific districts of the awarding organizations. Essays submitted by applicants residing in these districts will be given priority during the final selection process.
※ Certificate of Participation (electronic) is issued to each participant.
Submission Guidelines
- Languages : English or Korean (Choose one language.)
- Word Limit: 700 words or less in Korean, or 1,000 words or less in English, excluding title, references ※ Using footnotes is not allowed.
- Only Microsoft Word (docx or .doc) files are accepted. PDFs, Pages documents, HWPs, PPTs, etc. will not be reviewed.
- Use the official essay submission form provided below to submit your essay. Entries using self-made forms will not be considered. Modifying the official essay submission form will be also excluded from reviewing.
- Use a standard font to avoid any readability issues. Essays with font issues will not be considered for reviewing.
- Ensure your uploaded file can be downloaded successfully through the online application. Essays that cannot be downloaded will be excluded from reviewing.
- Please double-check that you upload the intended essay file. Uploading the wrong file will result in disqualification.
- Essays must be submitted through the competition's online application only. Submissions via email or other methods will not be reviewed.
※ Acceptable Uses of AI:
Judging
1st Round:
- Essays submitted by elementary school students, high school graduates, college students, or adults are disqualified from review.
- Essay submitted after the competition deadline (23:59 May 31 KST) are disqualified from review.
- Essays submitted that do not adhere to the submission guidelines are disqualified from review.
- Essays with a similarity rate over 15%, as detected by the turnitin program, will be disqualified from review.
2nd Round:
Essays that passed the 1st round will be evaluated based on the following criteria.
- Writing Quality: Essays with excessive errors in grammar, spelling, punctuation, or sentence structure (Essays with exceeding 30% of the content wiil be disqualified.)
- Topic Relevance: How closely the content aligns with this yea’s essay topic
- Essays that primarily paraphrase existing materials without demonstrating the applicant's own thoughts and analysis
3rd Round:
Essays that passed the 2nd round will be evaluated based on the following criteria, without distinction between Korean and English essays,
and the top 150 essays will be selected in descending order of highest scores.
- Creativity/Originality - 30%
- Logical organization - 45%
- Expression (vocabulary, tone, style, etc.) - 25%
Final Round:
The final 150 essays will be evaluated by judges according to the following criteria.
The scores of each judge will be added, averaged, and then awarded in descending order of highest scores.
- Creativity - 15%
- Knowledge and understanding on the topic - 30%
- Quality of Reasoning - 55%
- This competition utilizes Turnitin, a program widely used by prestigious educational institutions around the world, including Ivy League universities such as Harvard, Princeton, and Yale, as well as MIT, Stanford, and Seoul National University, to detect plagiarism (content similarity).
- Please note that using AI tools such as ChatGPT will also be subject to checks.
How to Apply
Submit your essay using the form by 23:59 on May 31, 2025 (KST).
Submit Your Essay[Download Essay Submission Form - MS Word version]
Note:
- Once submitted, essays cannot be modified. Please review carefully before submitting. (If you need to make changes, please resubmit a new application.)
- Applicants are solely responsible for any issues arising from incorrect or inconsistent personal information (name, date of birth, school name) provided in the online application form or essay submission form.
- Applications will not be accepted via email or any other methods than the official online application.
- Submitted essays will not be returned.
- Essays must be written solely by the individual applicant. (Team participation is not allowed.)
- To avoid the rush of applications near the deadline, please submit your application 2-3 days before the closing date.
