Interview: NEAO Champs and Finalists

KIDA TALKS Interview: 

NEAO Champion and Finalists

* Please find the video of the Final round at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ebs34dlHVP8 (Part1) and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2D2dEBrCCdM (Part 2)

* Stay tuned for more NEAO Interviews of EFL Champions, this year's Org Comm members, and the new year's!

GRAND CHAMPION 

(KU 2: Hyewon Rho, Donghee Chae)

How does it feel like to have won the tournament, especially after many years of making it to the Final of NEAO (for KU2)?
 
Hyewon: Absolutely brilliant. This was my fourth time at the finals as well as my last chance to represent KU at NEAO and it was our second (and unfortunately our last) time partnering up after KNC, so to wrap it up in such a way was bliss.

Donghee: I can't believe it! I'm absolutely thrilled about the result. But more than that, I'll miss our team.

How was the Final Round? What were your thoughts and feelings before and after the round?
 
Hyewon: To begin with, it was a relief not to end up with OG after we the motion was announced. (We thought FDU did a brilliant job in setting up the case by the way.) On the other hand though, we thought the CO was left with a challenge since we didn’t quite know how the Opening House would define and contextualize the debate. Due to the pressure it was also the first time where the two of us in a way panicked and had trouble understanding each other during preparation: Donghee wanted to analyze the ‘harms’ of this policy and I thought the motion required more of a philosophical/value judgment approach. As the debate unraveled, we decided to respond to the PM’s set up of ‘eliminating self-interest’ and argue why self-interest in the end was a good trait of human beings.

Donghee: Actually, it was ironic because CG brought up the exact same question that I had annoyed Hyewon with during the prep.

In sum, LOADS of fun and we were both proud of our speeches.

Champions crying
Courtesy: Jin Seok We

What was the first thing that came to your mind when the CA announced the champion?
 
Hyewon: Ummm… total mind blank. Like when a really smart debater gives you a POI and you’re just out of words. We actually didn’t realize we won until we saw KU kids jumping up and down in their seats. And then the tears, oh the tears. 

Donghee: I didn't even realize I was crying that much until I looked at the photos. The whole night was very bizarre. I was so nervous, the room was freezing and suddenly there was the announcement, then the rush of joy and relief. More than anything, I felt a sense of closure for the wonderful teamwork I had with Hyewon, for this year, and for some bad things. 
 

KU contingent
Courtesy: Dave Ilhwan Hwang

How was NEAO for you in general? Share with us the good, bad, and the ugly.
 
Hyewon: Aside from our team’s achievements, our society had an exceptional performance with all five teams breaking in relatively higher seeds and three out of four adjudicators breaking as well. It was unfortunate that the institution cap prevented two of our teams from competing in the break rounds. Other than that, we thought the organizing committee did a superb job in making sure everyone is having a good time. We really appreciated how they gave us a different lunch box every meal. (Yes, those things matter.) The CAP also provided excellent, intriguing motions – challenging, but definitely fun. 
 
Donghee: I personally liked the breakfast. Dunkin Donuts rocks. I loved the break night dinner as well. The hotel was really nice and the food was even better. We could tell that the organizing committee had done an amazing job and put enormous amount of time and effort into the tournament as there were no significant delays or accidents and the volunteers were super nice as well. 
 
Who did you find the hottest at NEAO? 
 
Albert Jya Hyun Lee! (And it’s not just because he’s editing this. J)
Dave Ilhwan Hwang has a hot accent but beside that… umm… yeah.
 
Who was the most inspiring speaker for you at NEAO? 

Each other. (a huge LOL.)
 
Donghee: Let me elaborate because I actually wrote down why as well and please don't hate us. The entire tournament was a retrospective experience, as was inspiring, and every single debater that I encountered taught me something valuable. But to choose the most inspiring speaker, it's Hyewon Rho from KU2 without a doubt. She is an amazing speaker. But I believe what makes her inspiring, perhaps more than any other speakers than I know of is that she truly shows me the power of persuasion that often goes beyond fancy vocabularies, logic and strategies. She reminds me the power of passion, and it's contagious. You want to be a better debater and a person when you're next to her. Isn't that the definition of inspiration? 

Hyewon: The over-used and abused cliché, ‘little giant’ refers to my teammate and best friend. Not only is she just entertaining to have around, she is exceptionally smart and witty when it comes to preparing and presenting her speech. As the first speaker, it’s always reassuring to know that whatever you do, your partner is out there to clean up after your mess. Inspiration comes in many forms and when you have a teammate that showers you with encouragement and love but at the same time pulls the team ahead and pushes you into becoming a better speaker, THAT is one hell of an inspiration.

Debate with which team was unforgettable to you?
 
We can’t pick a single team but we can remember an unforgettable round with three of the best teams at the tournament. Our favorite round was the last preliminary round with SDS 1, CUDS 1 and the Dream Team. The Dream Team’s skills are pretty self-explanatory from the team name, but debating with two of the most brilliant debaters that the Korean debate community has seen was challenging and a growing/learning experience. Thank God, we had Wonjoon on the same bench because rejecting his POIs is perhaps one of the most annoying things on earth. It was great to see CUDS 1 comprised of previous KNC champs do so well and even show more improvement as if that was possible! It’s only their second year debating and they’ve already achieved so much! Lastly, seeing SDS 1 turn over everyone’s expectations of how well a relatively ‘new’ society can do was truly inspiring. I think they proved how hard work and passion pays off; slowly but surely.
 
Who was the most inspiring adjudicator? 
 
Abel Lam from HK!

We were very lucky to have been judged by him several times in the prelim rounds, and he gave us valuable feedback including how to interpret the motion and to improve our team dynamics. He made a lot of the motions so he could give us more detailed feedback on burdens and contexts of each motion. Also, having Abel as the chair was extremely helpful because he would literally put a question mark on his face whenever we started bullshitting.

Any last words?
 
We both went through a lot emotionally and mentally prior to the tournament and almost didn’t make it to this year’s NEAO. Upon much thought we decided to go and take a break from all of life’s craziness and we most definitely are glad of that decision. To sum the tournament, it was an ‘out of body’ experience in which the three days went by in a flash. Every bit of it was a worthwhile moment – seeing our former partners as part of the CAP, reuniting with friends that we’ve made through the years, meeting talented opponents, challenging ourselves through motions and sides that left us speechless, getting to know our KU kids on a deeper (and perhaps drunker) level and that moment on the stage when the champions were announced… it was a great way to retire and a great way to begin a new career.

Finalists (FDU 1, EDiS 1, CUDS 1)

FDU 1 

(Won Chian Lim and Sophie Shan Li Yang)

* Interview for FDU has been mostly answered by team member Won Chian Lim.

"This is a debate about achieving the Chinese dream of egalitarian society, said the PM"

How are you coping with after-tournament syndrome?

I’m doing okay I guess! NEAO was my third tournament major this semester so I’m pretty used to throwing my life away for a tournament and trying to pull it back after one! It was significantly harder leaving Korea, the wonderful people at Kyunghee and Soju power though! :)

How was the Final Round? What were your thoughts and feelings before and after the round?

When I first got the position of Opening Gov, I was like: damn! When I heard the motion, it was more like: WT*? Haha. Honestly, other than knowing that there’s a movie named “inception,” I don’t really know what it’s about because I have NOT seen it before. Unfortunately my partner was in a lot of shock as well so we really had a very unproductive time preparing for that round! Possibly my worst experience yet.

Somehow, the PM speech wasn’t too bad! I was telling myself 3 things: A) Make fun of Taeyoung (sorry dude! Haha!) B) Make the debate interesting! (I’m sick of the grand finals curse with bad debates and all!) C) Make the debate meaningful!

The speech wasn’t too bad, other than a few jitters, I pretty much enjoyed myself on stage making the crowd jeer/cheer/go crazy! I felt especially good when I ended the speech and this rousing applause followed – definitely one that I won’t forget. 

How was NEAO for you in general? Share with us the good, bad, and the ugly.

NEAO was really a roller-coaster ride, not for the faint-hearted! We had 10 points on the first day taking two wins against my good friend Youngcho! However, the luck kinda ran out on Day 2 and we barely scrape through breaking on 16^th! Taking the Opening Gov spot at pre-quarters, I was dead sure that we weren’t proceeding after the debate and set out to get drunk for the night. Somehow Abel and his panel saw things differently and we moved on into the quarterfinals and there was no drunk night ):

No Drunk Night?!

The Good: I think I enjoyed myself most in the third round talking about Egypt and Israel. We had EDiS 1 on our upper house and they most certainly suffocated us as closing. That round pushed me to do things differently, talking differently and debating differently. Instead of diving straight into battles, I took the liberty of praising our upper house, pacing up and down the podium AND admitting to the chair that I’m not here to extend the OG case but to answer the questions raise by the OO and hope that he sees value in it!  It felt like a show hand in poker.

The Bad: THE WEATHER. This is the first time I’m facing temperature near ice point and it’s challenging. I couldn’t speak while walking to the venue because I was more concerned that I couldn’t feel my face! Hahaha! The ‘Chair-Tables’ was also a horrifying experience! I decided to drop most of my POI because I couldn’t get up from that fixed space unfortunately.

The Ugly: I thought my ugliness totally erupted in this tournament, pushing my partner to new extremes! It was so bad, I think, she had to take revenge on me during the semifinal round by exposing the fact of me being a dictative partner during her speech. It was ugly. Hahaha!

Who did you find the hottest at NEAO?

DEFINITELY THE EDIS PEOPLE NO DOUBT (:

Actually I think the question would be easier to answer if it was: who’s the least hottest at NEAO. *hint: the worst dressed Korean debater from CUDS!

Smile, Group :)

Who was the most inspiring speaker for you at NEAO?

HYEWON RHO! Her speech in the finals was simply too awesome!

Who was the most inspiring adjudicator?

All of them! I thought the adjudicator that I was most impressed with was a young adjudicator for DAE I suppose? She was the Chair of our round one and it was clear that she’s very new to adjudicating, she wanted to start without us writing our names! Haha But she held her grounds firm and the judgment was a good call, very impressed with her nerves!

Any last words?

I will be back! With more fun, more substances and more bite! Watch out Korea!

On a lighter note, I really want to thank all my friends from ADI, EDIS, SDS, ADS, SNUDA, CUDS and the KYUNGHEE VOLUNTEERS! They made this NEAO more than just a competition, but a true place for ideas to flow and people to bond! Cheers people! 

EDiS 1 

(Hyewon Lee and Young Cho Lee)

How are you coping with after-tournament syndrome?

Hectic with all the schoolwork we have been procrastinating… cramming things in the last minute… or even after the due date.

Who did you find the hottest at NEAO?

Andy Hume. LOL. We love you Andy, but don’t take it personally.

Who was the most inspiring speaker for you at NEAO?

Won Chian Lim, a good friend but his speeches were very entertaining also, perhaps because he has such extensive experience as a public speaker. We would have enjoyed his speeches even more as a judge.

Who was the most inspiring adjudicator?

We thank Albert Lee, the co-CA for going through the trouble of long deliberation periods in reaching a decision when necessary instead of giving in to panels in messy or controversial rounds.

Any last words?

We worked hard for NEAO and have no regrets whatsoever about the process or results. J Everyone deserves a long, good rest. Thank you to everyone who made NEAO possible. And very proud of all other EDiS teams who performed so well! Kudos!

CUDS 1 

(Seunghwan Hong(SH) and

 Tae Young John Kim(TY))

How are you coping with after-tournament syndrome?

TY: Drinks always have a way to it. But I guess the reason why some people have after-tournament syndrome is because they wanted to do something but was unable to achieve that goal. I on a personal level achieved most of the goals that I planned before coming to this tournament. So I guess I would say that I had a fantastic tournament with no regrets!

SH: I am trying to stop rebutting my friends. Some things in life don’t really need reasons!

How was the Final Round? What were your thoughts and feelings before and after the round?

TY: Before the round I actually wasn’t nervous because I had already achieved my goal this NEAO which was to debate on the last day wearing a suit. So to some extend I was extremely grateful to debate in the final round and no matter what would happen I would be honored with any result. Then came the motion... After seeing the final motion, I was kind of mind blown and panicked but considering my packing, Seunghwan and I thought we had a pretty decent case which was blown away the moment the PM set the debate in taking away self-interest of individuals. So I feel to some extent that we were kind of screwed but only did I realize that fact when the debate was over. During the debate we were pretty cheerful, laughing at everyone’s jokes at me stealing other people’s girlfriends and hitting me on the head.

SH: Before the debate, I thought there was very little we could fully anticipate from the OG, given the scope of the motion. We did the best we could have done, but we still did not expect ‘self interest’ as the definition. I was somewhat shocked to hear the definition! After the debate, Logan and Jan, our beloved past and present coaches respectively, said that we should have ‘owned’ the debate more. I agree. I thought the ideas were there, but the stage could have been much livelier.

How was NEAO for you in general? Share with us the good, bad, and the ugly.

TY: NEAO was actually extremely great for me both on a debate level and a fun level. It feels good that I was able to enjoy all the benefits of having dance parties in the night while also enjoying the academic environment of seriously debating in the morning and afternoon. Kyunghee did a wonderful job in providing that environment and I am utmost grateful of that. On the other hand, while some might say that it is good that Korea dominated this NEAO which is something that kind of occurs, it was a shame to see little amount of international participants to debate with. To some extent I wished that I could have debated with more debaters outside of Korea but I guess it would have hard to accommodate such an environment. Another thing that NEAO seemed hard about was debating against the Dream Thumb. I had no idea that I would debate against a two time champion of NEAO and one of the most famous debaters in EDiS. It was a huge relief that I only had to meet them in the preliminary round and not the elimination.

SH: The tournament was great! Wonderful venue, participants, CAP, volunteers, accommodation, endless lunchboxes and doughnuts. But I thought the EFL speaker awards could have got more spotlight at the closing ceremony. The main best speakers were called before the awards were presented, so the audience had to see EFL speakers in the corner while the main speakers were being called.

Who did you find the hottest at NEAO?

TY: On a personal note, while I always seem to find EDiS girls hot, there was also a member of the volunteer staff that I didn’t have the opportunity to talk to that seemed quite nice :)

SH: The undisputable NC.

Who was the most inspiring speaker for you at NEAO?

TY: It was Wonjoon Jang and Hannah Jung from the Dream Thumb. Wonjoon as being a conscripted soldier for the past year and a half gave me the impression that no matter what, soldiers would be a bit rusty and I could beat, but nonetheless as a two time champion he has left a speech during the preliminary round worthy of both a 82 and 83. Both speeches directly rebutting me made me just sit in my chair without a thing to say. As for Hannah Jung while I have heard many stories of her creaming other debaters, it was eye opening to actually be the one to be creamed at an actual tournament. As a retired debater, I also had the feeling that many age does rub in, but apparently that was a myth. Her eloquent debate skills pulled the soul out of me and once again made me feel like a sitting duck.

Who was the most inspiring adjudicator?

TY: While many might not think of him as an adjudicator but rather the excellent tab director that allowed the tournament to run without any delays, Logandran Balavijendran was the adjudicator of choice for me. Although he didn’t actually judge me in a particular round, his comments after watching the final round made my belief that I might have a chance to win go down the drain. However, the way he explained the reasons to me were well described in a sense that was entertaining, educational and also just giving me general comments on how I could improve and what I should have done. All of those aspects made me believe once again that Logan is Logan.

Any last words?

Thank you for having this interview and thanks to Albert not just on doing the interview, but also coordinating the tournament in a manner that was really entertaining and also thank you for the interesting questions and the interview :)

Congratulations to Hyewon Rho and Donghee Chae for taking the crown. More than anything, I would like to thank everyone for organizing the tournament, and our CUDS members for all the endeavor and support. 

* Stay tuned for more NEAO Interviews of EFL Champions, this year's Org Comm members, and the new year's!

END.