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2 STAFF
STAFF PAGE ADVISOR MS. CAROLYN BROWN LAYOUT JAY CHUNG JEANNE HAN EUGENE KIM JOSHULYNE PARK MILTON YOON
REPORTERS CELINE HWANG JEESEOB JUNG RACHAEL LEE ASHLEY KIM SANGWON KIM BONA KOO HELEN SONG CHUNGHO SUH YASMIN YOON
GRAPHICS JULIE CHUNG CHRIS LEE LINDA PARK EUNA SUN WINSTON YOO
LAYOUT EDITOR- JASMINE PARK GRAPHICS EDITOR- AMY CHOI MANAGING EDITOR- JONATHAN YUN ASSISTANT EDITOR- ELIZABETH SONG
EDITORS-IN-CHIEFEUNICE LEE & SEAN KIM
GETTING TO KNOW
BY ELIZABETH SONG
IN-ZONE
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Jorge Sampaio
Many delegates already know that Ban ki-moon is the current Secretary General (SG) of the United Nations (UN). The news of his promotion in 2007 was such a popular topic of discussion and a source of pride for the country that it is now uncommon to find a South Korean still unaware of his position in the UN. Contrary, information about Jorge Sampaio, the High Representative of the SG for the Alliance of Civilizations,
is not considered “common knowledge.” Even though he deserves more attention for fulfilling such vital roles, his story goes unnoticed. Here is a brief biography on Mr. Sampaio: After consulting with the Heads of Government of Spain and Turkey, the co-sponsors of the Alliance of Civilizations, SG Ban appointed Mr. Sampaio, former President of Portugal, to this position. As the High Representative of the SG for the Alliance of Civiliza-
tions, Mr. Sampaio promotes the Alliance of Civilizations, mediating disputes between diverse societies and decreases the threat to international stability. Before joining the UN, Mr. Sampaio held many public offices. In March 1996, he became the president of Portugal and was re-elected in 2001. He was also elected as Mayor of Lisben in 1989 and re-elected in 1993. During his presidency, he was involved in many international affairs, such
as those regarding HIV and AIDS, human rights and the independence of East Timor. His impressive political career has undoubtedly proved useful for the UN. In addition to becoming the High Representative of the SG, Mr. Sampaio was designated as SG Ban’s first Special Envoy for the Global Plan to Stop Tuberculosis. Clearly, Mr. Sampaio is a man whose accomplishments should be lauded, instead of going unnoticed by student MUN delegates.
L:
ICIA F F O Y R A T I L I M EL MUNDO BY JONATHAN YUN A new report by an unidentified senior US military official stated that Iran had emerged as the biggest threat to the United States. Thousands of students burned US flags and pictures of Barack Obama in a rally in Tehran, Iran, to commemorate the 32nd anniversary of the 1979 Iran hostage crisis, in which a group of Islamist students and militants seized the US embassy. Moreover, Iran has been rumored to be seeking nuclear weapons. “The biggest threat to the United States and to our interests and to our friends has come into focus and it’s Iran,” said the US military official to a forum in Washington D.C. Eugene Nam, a delegate of USA in Six Party Talks (SPT), further bolstered the senior military official’s comment. “Because of the recent un-
IRAN BECOMES BIGGEST THREAT TO US rest in the Middle East, par- comments. ticularly with the emergence “The very existence of the of Arab Spring and diplomatic state of Israel is constantly in tension concerning Israel and the balance with so many exPalestine, the United States tremist Islamic nations,” said views Iran as a nuclear power Nay. “Israel’s responses are in the Middle East, making it an unstable variable in the region,” said Eugene. Likewise in Israel, a political rival of Iran, Israeli president Shimon Peres is moving towards taking militant means rather a diplomatic one -Eugene Nam, DELEGATE of SiXTH PARTY TALKS to solve problems and reduce tensions with Iran. “I estimate that intelligence basically following the saying services of all these countries ‘the best defense is offense.’ are looking at the ticking clock, However, Israel has been unwarning leaders that there is believably diplomatic these not much time left,” said Presi- days and is trying to follow dent Peres to Reuters. this spirit.” Nay Paing, the delegate of Iran’s threat to the US and Israel in General Assembly 1, Israel have been condemned responded to President Peres’ by the international com-
“the United States views Iran as a nuclear power in the Middle East, making it an unstable variable in the region,”
munity. In the G20 summit in Cannes, France, French president Nicholas Sarkozy expressed his disfavor towards Iran. “Iran’s behavior and this obsessional desire to acquire nuclear military [capability] is in violation of all international rules,” said President Sarkozy to Reuters. “If Israel’s existence were threatened, France will not stand idly by.” Iranian Islamic rulers have denied any accusations on seeking nuclear weapons but have warned that they will react to any attacks by striking US and Israel’s interests in the Persian Gulf—possibly closing down the Strait of Hormuz to raise crude oil prices and devastating the global economy, a feat done in by Iran in the 1970s.
4 POINT of INTEREST
Delegates face difficulties with regards to passing resolutions BY CELINE HWANG Though delegates who main- and co-submit resolutions hope to pass their resolutions during the debate, it is rare for resolutions to pass without receiving much criticism from their respective forums. According to Elizabeth Huh, delegate of Cote D’Ivoire in General Assembly Two (GA2), a resolution needs to be nearly flawless to pass, which is extremely challenging. “The resolution can’t have loopholes and needs to be almost perfect in order to pass, which is always going to be a challenge that delegates need to face,” saidElizabeth. “It is especially demanding for first time delegates who have not
had as much experience with writing resolutions.” Bumjun Kim, delegate of
is important to speak confidently so others will be convinced. However, there are five delegates from my It is difficult to pass a resolu- school and they tion because everyone has their own are all beginners in MUN so they thoughts andwants to pass their own are uncomfortable with speaking in team’s resolutions -Bumjun Kim, Delegate of Finland in General front of a large auAssembly 1 dience.” Finland in General Assembly Whether or not a resolution One (GA1) agreed that pass- will be passed also depends on ing resolutions was a strenu- the general vibe of the delous task that could be especial- egates in the forum. ly difficult for inexperienced “Although it is difficult to delegates. have a resolution passed, it “It is difficult to pass a also depends on whether deleresolution because everyone gates in the committee are nice has their own thoughts and- about it or not,” said Daniel. “It wants to pass their own team’s also depends on how well writresolutions,” said Bumjun. “It ten and logical your resolution
is.”
Nevertheless, despite these difficulties, several delegates managed to gain enough support from others to pass their resolutions. In this year’s conference, delegates focused more on cooperating with each other to pass resolutions rather than beating them down clause-by-clause. “It is a demanding task for delegate to be able to pass their resolution because of the many conflicting views,” said Christine Lee, delegate of Argentina in GA1. “For a delegate to pass their resolution, it is a matter of compromising with others’ opinions.”
Adviser from shanghai impressed by conference organization BY SANGWON KIM
Only one person from Shanghai American School (SAS) attended this year’s SEOMUN. Doug Parker came to Seoul this year as the sole participant from his school. There were no delegates that came from SAS, which raised questions regarding his appearance at the conference. He came to scout the meeting and offer a first person report regarding SEOMUN. “There is a lot of interest in this conference because we have many Korean students,” said Doug. “I wanted to take a look at the conference, for example, the level of debate.” The adviser was pleasantly surprised with the standard in which SEOMUN was placed. “I was very impressed, because it is a very well run conference,” he said. “The chairs
are sharp, the delegates are respectful, the quality of debate is very high, and the organization has been great. Also, the information for advisors has been very easy, which I enjoyed.” As an avid traveler, he was able to offer his opinion on SEOMUN in comparison to other worldwide conferences. “I’ve gone to conferences in China, Singapore, the Hague, Mexico, US, Egypt, and more too,” he stated. “One thing I liked especially was that the forum wasn’t too big. I liked the fact that the forums that there weren’t too many people, and there were many opportunities for delegates to speak.” He believed the conference to be very strong in terms in organization and coordination.
“I was very impressed with the facilities, they work very well. I like the fact that it’s all in one area; it’s easy to get from forum to forum,” said Doug. “In terms of organization, it is probably the most well run. I haven’t seen many communication problems, and it has been very well organized, and was better than THIMUN in Singapore.” As the conference came to a close, Mr. Parker told us his words of advice for future delegates for SEOMUN. “This is probably the most inviting conference, and a very good place to get over a fear of speaking,” he said. “Nobody is going to humiliate or
BY EUNA SUN
laugh at you; everyone’s very understanding. Take advantage of that.”
ups
POINT of INTEREST
and downs of seomun 2011
BY JEESEOB JUNG This year, the SEOMUN conference was situated at one of Korea’s most popular entertainment and mall centers, Coex. From Nov. 3-5, the MUN meetings took place in nearly 75% of COEX’s Conference Hall where many business meetings and large seminars occur—just last year, the
turned out. “I really enjoyed how the Conference Hall was so spacious,” said Denny Kim, delegate of the Syrian Arab Republic in General Assembly One (GA 1). “KIS [Korea International School] was pretty big but the air was kind of stuffy and crowded.”
BY JULIE CHUNG
G20 Summit, a crucial global meeting in which countries all over the world discuss important global issues, took place in this very place. Many delegates were pleased with how SEOMUN
Something else that pleased some delegates and advisors was the accessibility of Coex. According to some, the diversity of Coex was very handy at times like the MUN conferences. For example, several
members and advisors visited the mall’s food court where a variety of restaurants sell their food. “I love how Coex has such a large assortment of activities that you could do to entertain yourself,” said Alec Griffin, an advisor at the conference and a teacher at Seoul International School (SIS). “A colleague of mine and I knew where we needed to go if we needed something, and we never had a lack of whatever because the supplies were always there at hand.” Not all delegates were satisfied, however. Elizabeth Huh, delegate of Cote d’Ivoire, was not very content with the conference. “Although the place was nice and everything was so orderly, I guess we were all too uptight and in one place only,” said Elizabeth. “I thought maybe the SEOMUN conference could afford to be a little more diverse.” Part of the discontentment also came from members of the administrative staff who
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worked “behind the scenes.” They took care of passing around the delegates’ notes during the meetings, handing out notepads and boxes of food to the visiting media groups and setting up the scenes for the conferences. “We had to wake up at 5 a.m. so that we could arrive here at 6 a.m.,” said Jaehyun An, a member of the design team. “Moving things around and making sure all the rooms looked flawless was a really big job, and finishing everything until 9 a.m. was a big challenge, but I hope the delegates liked how it looked.” Despite the unpleasant aspects, according to Jenny Jang, Deputy Secretary General (DSG), the conference was successful overall and many delegates and advisers appreciated the outcomes. “This year, the venue and facilities were much, much more organized,” said Jenny. “Last year, the staff was kind of mean to the students, but this time they received much more respect.”
Seniors say goodbye to SEOMUN HELEN SONG Every year, delegates and chairs say goodbye to another group of seniors as they leave the SEOMUN conference never again to return. There are many seniors that will be dearly missed by the MUN community as they come to the end of long, successful careers that have helped improve the quality of SEOMUN. And although they will graduate and move onto new chapters of their lives, they will take with them their experiences at MUN. “I’m definitely going to miss debating resolutions, as
well as meeting people from other schools and having fun with them,” said Hannah Birmingham, delegate of France in Special Conference (SPC). “I learned how to work better with other people and understand the cultures and policies of other countries.” Just like all delegates, these seniors started out as nervous, inexperienced debaters. However, through SEOMUN and other MUN experiences, they have learned to overcome their fear of public speaking and have discovered their true passions.
“My MUN experience began in General Assembly, which is, of course, the largest committee, and at first I was terrified,” said Seung Moon Lee, assistant president of General Assembly I (GA1). “However, a sound combination of passion and determination to prove myself helped me slowly overcome my initial fears of public speaking.” Seniors also offered advice for the younger, less experienced delegates to help them succeed in SEOMUN in the future. “Don’t ever be scared to
speak and participate a lot and never be intimidated by older delegates,” said Hannah. “Also, always stick to your position throughout debates even if others challenge you.” Although seniors are leaving SEOMUN, many of them have shown interest in continuing with MUN in the future. “If MUN is something that is offered at the college I go to, I definitely have plans to continue MUN,” said Seungmoon. “MUN has become something I really enjoy.”
6 COMMITTEE
GA 1 AND 2
STruggle TO PASS RESOLUTIONS
BY YASMINE YOON AND CELINE HWANG In GA1, delegates expressed varying opinions on the delegate of Iraq’s resolution regarding the establishment of an effective international measure to prevent cyber warfare. According to Ronni Mok, delegate of Iraq, the resolution focused on informing countries and individuals to come to an agreement. “This resolution focused on spreading awareness of cyber warfare to nations around the world,” said Ronni. “It is an effective way to approach the issue because it has strong incentives.” Lorraine Leung, delegate of Switzerland, was quick to support the delegate of Iraq’s resolution. “Many nations in the GA have expressed that they can’t
take action against other countries in fear of starting disputes,” said Lorraine. “With a neutral, internationally recognized agency punishing cyber warfare offenses, cyber warfare can be tackled effectively. This is an incentive to support the resolution for Switzerland who is concerned with international attacks.” However, Kelly Cho, delegate of Macedonia, the other main submitter for a resolution on the same topic pointed out flaws in the resolution. “There are no clauses developing legislation to regulate cyber warfare,” said Kelly. “The reason cyber warfare is an issue is because there are no laws on it. The resolution focuses too much on technological defenses.
Meanwhile at General Assembly 2 (GA2), delegates struggled to agree on whether the delegate of Macedonia’s resolution on reducing the rising global energy demand should be passed or not. Some of the main problems that arose from the delegates was that the resolution is too narrow-minded. “This resolution doesn’t account for many nations individual demands and forces all to conform to a single deadline, which is 2025.” said William. “ This is unfair for nations who have other individual problems, such as political unrest seen in Northern Africa or economic crisis seen in Greece.” The resolution also provided a vague and unreasonable discipline as a motivation for countries to reduce
their consumption of energy. “Not only is it unclear what the punishment could be, it is also harsh on the aforementioned nations who are occupied with other situations.” said William. “Putting an embargo on big, important countries like USA will not work.” Nevertheless, the debates in GA 1 and 2 ended with both resolutions passing. In GA1, the resolution was passed: 29 voted for, 18 against and eight abstaining. In GA2, the resolution was also passed with 34 for, 18 against, and three abstaining. “Since it was our second day of debate at SEOMUN XIV, this debate went along much smoothly and well.” said Minsuk Terry Kim, president of GA2.
ECOSOC AIMS TO STRENGTHEN economic interdependence BY RACHAEL LEE Silence pervaded the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) when Leon Jun, president, called for Min Gyu Choi, delegate of Kyrgyzstan and co-submitter of resolution 1-1, who was not present. The resolution recognized the importance of strengthening economic interdependence by reducing trade barriers. Jane Shin, the delegate of Kazakhstan, was called on to speak in place of Min Gyu. “This resolution is based on supporting and giving opportunities to LEDCs [less economically developed countries] in order to promote economic growth,” said Jane. Davis Wong, delegate of Gabon, gave the next speech. He emphasized the value of having business partners with stable economies. “This incentive is very effective for MEDCs [more economically developed coun-
BY JULIE CHUNG
tries] such as France, because it ensures stable support, a ‘cushion’ during crises, and the prevention of default,” said Grace Han, delegate of France. “With the help of other MEDCs, countries can be assured of their economic stability and ultimately worldwide economic growth.” Jong Kyu Jung, delegate of Saudi Arabia, also supported the resolution. “Saudi Arabia’s trade is
based on oil exports, said Jong Kyu. “As a LEDC, this resolution will allow for increased exports and thus, economic growth.” However, Bryan Kim, delegate of Iraq, expressed concern for the need for moderation. “Some LEDCs have been damaged due to free trade without government protection,” said Bryan. “Countries must assess their abilities to compete and reduce
trade barriers accordingly.” An amendment presented by Aspen Wang, delegate of Costa Rica, called for the addition of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) in consideration for membership in international and economic organizations. This amendment was passed with an overwhelming majority of 31 votes in favor for and one vote against. “The context of this clause is limited,” said Aspen. “Various countries that are not part of the World Trade Organization (WTO) should be included.” Eric Park, the Deputy Assistant President, provided his opinion on the ECOSOC conference over the past three days. “We had very heated debates,” said Eric. “In total, we’ve had a total of 25 amendments. We’re happy to be ECOSOC chairs.”
COMMITTEE
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SPC delegates debate on issues related to technology BY BONA KOO The final day of debate in Special Conference (SPC) began successfully, as the delegate of Argentina’s resolution passed by an overwhelming majority. “I was really nervous since the resolutions debated before didn’t pass,” said Angela Son, the delegate of Argentina. “But after many people went for my resolution and helped pass it, I was really glad and thankful to all the delegates for their help.” After an applause from fellow delegates, Sooyun Kim, delegate of Germany, presented her resolution about ensuring better transparency in the government’s use of technology. “In this era, technology is benefiting billions of people. This delegate will try to provide pragmatic issues to try to improve currently existing matters,” said the delegate of Germany.
Showing support for the resolution, Brian Hong, delegate of Kazakhstan tried to clarify a few points before resuming the debate. “The main focus of this resolution is transparency, which by definition means making certain information public to the citizens,” said Brian. “The resolution is not perfect, but we are willing to strike any of the sub clauses if we need to make amendments.” However, the positive atmosphere from the passing of the delegate of Argentina’s resolution did not last long. A few delegates pointed out many flaws of Germany’s resolution. “This resolution has many good points, but there are many loopholes and should hopefully be amended later,” said Jenny Lee, delegate of Guatemala. “There are two major problems in this resolution. It is too broad and it does
BY WINSTON YOO
not show any limit to how transparent the government should be” Adding onto the delegate of Guatemala’s speech, Russel Salazar, delegate of Gabon, posed a few weaknesses as well. “The definition of the term technology is very vague,” said the delegate of Gabon. “In this case, even a water bottle can be a form of technology. Since there are numerous fields of
HRC conditions
technology, it would be better if the delegates concerned to address the specific field of technology.” The delegate of Germany’s resolution eventually failed to pass. However, the chair planned to re-debate the issue on a heavily modified version that took into consideration the concerns of delegates who had opposed the resolution, which the delegate of Guatemala main-submitted.
delegates attempt to reform
BY JEESEOB JUNG Several organizations, such as Disabled People International, take a stand for disabled and handicapped civilians. On Nov. 5, the Human Rights Council (HRC) resumed debate on the issue of combating discrimination of disabled people in the media with a resolution submitted by Alice Moon, delegate of the Republic of Moldova. This resolution was first brought to the floor during the last hour of Friday’s meeting, and continued this morning. Delegates submitted amendments and raised points of concern with regards to the resolution. “It was simply not impressive enough,” said Christine
Kim, delegate of Angola. “It continuously talks about donating books and collections of educational videos when the developing countries probably have no computers and children don’t have any reading skills.” Christine added her criticisms toward the resolution at the podium, focusing on the clause suggesting a radio channel be used to spread awareness of disabled people’s situations. “Raising only one radio channel that can only be sponsored in some countries will not be useful at all,” said Christine. “We have to take bigger steps, like creating a program for extending
for disabled
BY CHRIS LEE
insight into how we can help the disabled people that will be represented in many different communicative systems.” This point was supported by several other delegates,
such as Cecilia Kim, delegate of Bangladesh, and Albert Kim, delegate of Guatemala. Delegates also opposed the proposal to create a new branch in the UN that would attend to issues pertaining to the handicapped. “This goal would be extremely hard to achieve because not only is there a lot of red tape that gets in the way of creating a new branch, but it would bring up a lot of unwanted media,” said Cecilia. “Why would the disabled want to be in the papers when they are discriminated so much in the media already?” Ultimately, the resolution did not pass, with 13 voting for, nine abstaining and 15 against.
8 FOCUS
S T S E T O PR AND YAS O O K A N BY B O
N MIN YOO
revolution in the middle east: BY YASMIN YOON Angered and discouraged by the police and government, 26-year-old Mohamed Bouazizi, street vendor, set fire to himself on Jan. 4 in the southern city of Tunisia, Sidi Bouzid. This event led to a successful socio-political tsunami and inspiring protests in many other countries that face similar problems with their governments, such as Egypt, Yemen, Algeria, Bahrain and Libya. This revolutionary event is bringing about major changes in the Arab world as people rebel against their autocratic leaders and make reforms in the government system. “The question is: what will
what will happen now?
happen now?” said Tony Hurt, US history teacher in Seoul International School. “It’s going to be hard for nations without any prior democratic experience suddenly to change their government system to one that is fair and stable. This is why I stay doubtful for the future of these countries.” Caleb Oh, adviser in the Advisory Panel, also remains pessimistic about the Middle Eastern and Northern African countries’ fight for political and social change. “It’s good that the Jasmine Revolution will give more opportunities,” said Caleb. “It’s like a big statement saying that
dictatorship will not be tolerated. But the dictators did hold the country together, and now that they’re gone, who knows how many stability and government issues will arise? Will the changes be good?” Just this weekend, the people of Tunisia just casted votes for their constituent assembly, and Gaddafi, the former ruler of Libya, has recently been reported dead. But Rosie Nguyen, judge in the International Court of Justice (ICJ), remains doubtful of the Arab countries attempt to change to democracy. “The aftermath of the Jasmine Revolution is like a pendu-
lum,” said Rosie. “It can either be a success or a failure. Now that the country is in such a big state of chaos, it’s really easy for corruption to increase.” According to Aspen Wang, delegate of Costa Rico in Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), the Jasmine Revolution held a different meaning for the 21st century. “Since the mass media was such a big part of the spreading of the Jasmine revolution, the Jasmine Revolution is a hallmark of a new era of technology,” said Aspen. “It typifies our 21st century.”
Project: Occupy BY BONA KOO
FOCUS
Wall Street
“Occupy Wall Street.” This away from average civilians, term sounds like an urgent for sake of having more money mission that needs to be ac- than they need. They are willcomplished. Now, influenced ing to take risks that could by the protests on Wall Street, destroy their economy, even a wave of people started to sweep across Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Hundreds and thousands of people expressed their discontent with the economy as -EDWARD PARK, DELEGATE OF UNITED STATES IN AP they marched down on Wall Street, also though they know that this famous for its financial in- will put millions out of work. dustry in the United States. The unemployment rate of The debt crisis began as peo- 8.7% in New York persisted for ple who borrowed money from months after another. Several banks to pay mortgages failed MUN delegates voiced their to pay for their loans. As more opinions on the protests and people continued to lose mon- how they affected the US econey, unemployment rates sky- omy and the global economy. rocketed and the gap between “If these protests continue the poor and rich increased. to spread, they will ignite a Protesters on Wall Street socialist revolution around are concerned about how rich the world just like how the people take opportunities Jasmine Revolution spread
across the Middle East. But still I highly doubt that any radical change will occur in the United States because it is relatively conservative and its
that the protests can be justified because they’re struggling their interests which is fine,” said Sooyun Kim, the delegate of Germany. “It will be difficult to prevent the protests from happening because so many people have strong opinions about them.” Slightly different from the delegate of Germany’s opinion, Ian Kim, the delegate of United Kingdom questioned the efficiency of the protests. “The delegate of the United Kingdom believes protests are reasonable to a certain degree, but public protests as of now do not seem to have any effect on policies,” said Ian Kim. The future of Wall Street will remain unknown but economists have predicted that the protests will continue and influence not only the American public, but also the rest of the international community.
“If these protests continue to spread, they will ignite a socialist revolution around the world just like how the Jasmine Revolution spread across the Middle East.” policies are difficult to alter,” said Edward Park, the delegate of United States in AP. “Even so, the protests will bring more people to the democratic party and probably the democrats will win by a landslide because people obviously want change.” Other delegates pondered upon the effectiveness of the Wall Street protests in bringing about change to the current economic situation. “This delegate believes
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10 COMMITTEE
Advisers work to make companies more eco-friendly BY HELEN SONG Debate continued on the question of green globalization in the Advisory Panel (AP), specifically about giving corporations incentives to spend more on the environment and creating a standard for products to be considered environmentally friendly. Nina Sabado, adviser of the World Resource Institute, was the main submitter of operative clause nine of the resolution, which called for companies to discontinue the practice of ignoring their environmental footprint for gaining profits. The clause also pushed companies to encourage their customers to practice ethical consumerism. This operative clause had two different parts. The first called for a way to distinguish corporations who consider the environmental cost of their products. The latter pushed to reduce their environmen-
tal impact. They¬ would be identified only with evidence of financial statements stating that the company used at least 3% of their income for the environment. The second part described financial incentives of being more environmentally aware, such as tax breaks.
products you buy are ethically made and tax breaks are essentially provided as an incentive for companies to take environmental costs into account,” said Nina. “[Ethical consumerism] is an extremely important but often overlooked issue, so I put it into
PHOTO BY WINSTON YOO
“Ethical consumerism is basically making sure that
the resolution to make sure it was part of the solution.”
Yeayoung Koh, advisor of Mexico, though claiming to understand the intentions of the clause, pointed out some problems with this proposal. Yeayoung mentioned how companies will have no incentive to make these changes even with tax breaks. “Tax breaks are not enough because monetary benefits of these tax breaks are still less than the monetary profits companies will make by ignoring environmental costs,” said Yeayoung. “The adviser of Mexico hopes to see more diplomatic means to be executed against these corporations.” This clause was quickly passed despite some opposition against it, with 17 advisers for it and one adviser abstaining.
ICJ court case ends with victory for Greece
BY CHUNGHO SUH After hours of debating and waiting, the advocates of Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) finally found time to breathe. Both sides were finally done defending their countries with their concluding speeches. The delegates only had to wait for the final verdict from the judges, as the chairs of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) gave the advocates a couple of hours off after their closing speeches. But even though the advocates were finished with their part in SEOMUN, the case lingered in their minds. “After we finished presenting our cases,” said Kevin Han, advocate of FYROM, “I felt relieved that the pressure was lifted off my shoulders; I didn’t have to present anymore evidence or arguments. But
on the other hand, I’m still a formances in court, and they bit worried about whether our case was enough to convince the judges.” E v e n though the court case pitted the two sides against each other, advocates remained professional in their attitudes and feelings. PHOTO BY LINDA HEEYOUNG PARK While some left the room with little readvocates may have kept gret. All they could do was grudges against opposing wait for the verdict, and they sides, the advocates of Greece did so with confidence. After and FYROM drew a line be- much deliberation, the court tween their feelings during the announced that the advocase and outside of the court. cates of Greece won the case. All in all, the delegates The judges gave Greece six were pleased with their per- votes out of 11, concluding
that the case was not under
the jurisdiction of the ICJ. “I have never seen such a fruitful debate before in the ICJ,” said Peter Park, president. “Both advocates had civil debate, and the clashes were enthralling and memorable and the judges were very discerning in their analysis presented.”
COMMITTEE
11
Security Council resumes smooth debate
BY SANGWON KIM The Security Council debated the issue of the situation in the Middle East with regards to the “Arab Spring”. This council debated clause-by-clause, rather than resolution by resolution. Amanda Li, delegate of Gabon, presented the first clause, which suggested that members of rebel groups who have overthrown previous regimes establish a Constituent Assembly. “This clause clearly outlines democratic value, that will appeal to all citizens to be part of freedom and liberty,” said Aadit Gupta, delegate of Bosnia. “This delegate hopes that other delegates agree and get this clause passed.” “This delegate reiterates strong support for subclause B,” said Amanda. “Adopting the new election system could be tested and proved to be successful or unsuccessful. Therefore this delegate believes this clause is to be passed.”
Despite the minor inaccuracies in the clause, delegates showed support for the delegate of Gabon. “This clause clearly outlines democratic value, that will appeal to all citizens to be part of freedom and liberty,” said Aadit Gupta, delegate of Bosnia. “This delegate hopes that other delegates agree and get this clause passed.” After clause one passed, delegates resumed debate on the second clause, discussing the effectiveness of writing an entirely new constitution for the countries in the Arab Springs. For example, Siri McFarland, delegate of the United Kingdom, believed that countries should be given the option to construct their own constitution.. “This delegate’s point is that most of these constitutions are against the will of the people,” said Siri McFarland, delegate of the United Kingdom.
BY CHRIS LEE
“The choice should be given to start completely fresh.” Ultimately, delegates passed clause two and voted for the decision to create a new constitution. “This delegate is in full support of the two clauses and amendment due to his belief in history,” said Aadit. “USA started their constitution from basically. on a blank piece of
paper, because the old one was too brittle and pourous. When a dictator is toppled, a constitution should not be amended, but rather made from scratch.” The committee ended up passing the clauses from the first four regarding the issue, as the delegate of China vetoed clause three.
Six Party Talks comes to collaborative conclusion
BY ASHLEY KIM As SEOMUN XIV came to a close, the Six Party Talks delegates spent the day debating on all three of their issues: safe internet usage, the halt of military engagement, and a solution to the human rights crisis in DPRK. During the final push of the debate, delegates tried to find common ground, working towards finalizing three resolutions that would be most conducive to reaching a peaceful solution. “Today Six Party Talks is just working together to pass clauses and create a fruitful joint statement,” said David Kim, president. “At this point we’re just working towards finalizing joint statements.” The first issue up for debate was on the issue of promoting the use of safe Internet in North
Korea. The delegates worked to promote development by thinking of the best solution while staying true to their countries’ respective stances. “Korea’s stance is that it supports any clause that is in the best interest of DPRK’s development.” said Sungwook Choi, delegate of Republic of Korea. Although there were some conflicts in submitting and passing amendments, the first section of the resolution eventually passed with a majority of five to two. “I hope the rest of the resolutions pass equally successfully,” said Nina Stender, delegate of China. “Even though there were a few conflicts, the majority of delegates eventually managed to agree on a compromise.”
All of worked
the members cooperatively
PHOTO BY JULIE CHUNG
to
reach an agreement. “The atmosphere in the SPT is quite positive as all the delegates in the SPT all try and participate as much as possible,” said Rachel Shim, delegate of the Russian Federation. Delegates also took the opportunity to reflect on the conference so far. “I thought the entire conference was very pleasing and
generally enjoyable,” said Michelle Lee, a delegate of the United States. “Other delegates were very active and it made for a great final SEOMUN conference.” Chairs complimented the delegates for contributing to a cooperative debating atmosphere throughout the three-day conference. “I have never seen 18 delegates working so diligently,” said Christina Hahn, Assistant President of SPT. “For three days we have creatively and effectively solved three pressing issues. Six Party Talks this year was definitely a talk between six distinct parties with intense discussion and constructive debates.”
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CARTOON BY LINDA HEEYOUNG PARK
LOOK FOR LINDA PHOTO BY EUNA SUN
Look for our photographer, Linda Park in the photo on the right and bring your answer to the Seoulite Office (304)
PHOTO BY EUNA SUN
Bring this coupon for next year’s SEOMUN conference!
FREE FOOD COUPON Please bring your answer to be checked.
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SEOULITE
SUPERLATIVES Most likely to dance to LMFAO’s “I’m Sexy and I know it”: Jasmine Park Most likely to be lost in a sea of delegates: Linda Park Most likely to be hungry: Helen Song Most likely to not appear on our superlatives: Elizabeth Song Most likely to disappear for a date with his girlfriend: Jonathan Yun Most likely to be the next Bob Marley: Jay Chung Most likely to be an incarnation of Donald Duck: Chungho Suh Most likely to hunt for girls 24/7: Sean Kim Most likely to be an expert at cutting the word count of an article: Celine Hwang Most likely to be fantasizing about a prince with a ton of money: Eunice Lee Most likely to be a secret employer at Adobe as an InDesign expert: Milton Yoon Most likely to hunt for girls #2—but get rejected: Eugene Kim Most likely to become a model: Rachael Lee Most likely to become a model journalist: Sangwon Kim Most likely to be a spy: Chris Lee Most likely to debut as a Vogue photographer: Winston Yoo Most likely to look for Linda among a sea of delegates: Euna Sun Most likely to win an international award for page design: Joshulyne Park Most likely to report for Six Party Talks in the actual UN: Ashley Kim Most likely to check herself out on Photobooth: Jeanne Han Most likely to become a game addict: Julie Chung Most likely to join the protesters on Wall Street: Bona Koo Most likely to be awarded for diligence: Yasmin Yoon Most likely to disappear with Celine: Jeeseob Jung Most likely to disappear with Jeeseob: Celine Hwang Most likely to give Sean plastic surgery to reduce the size of his head: Amy Choi Most likely to campaign against soft drinks: Miss Brown
WIGGLE WIGGLE WIGGLE!
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PHOTO COLLAGE
PHOTO COLLAGE
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