2013년 2월 25일 월요일

KIDA IV Interview Series 3: Org. Comm. and CAP



KIDA IV Interview Series 3:
Org. Comm. and CAP

CO-Conveners
(Wonhyong Lee and Hyewon Rho)

Please introduce yourselves 



Wonhyong: Hi my name is Wonhyong Lee. I am a freshman moving onto sophomore at Korea University. I currently serve KU as the president and was the co-convener for KIDA IV 2013.
Hyewon and Team Ssanai
 Hyewon: I’m Hyewon Rho, a to-be graduate at Korea University. I was the former KIDA Vice President and one of the co-conveners for KIDA IV 2013.

How was it to organize the very first IV tournament in Korea? Share with us the good, bad and the ugly of organizing KIDA IV.

Wonhyong: Overall, it was a very hectic, very fun, very rewarding experience. To be truthful though, I think initially there were times when I felt that I may bitten off a bit too much than I can chew. I have personally had tournament organizing experience before, then as the deputy convener at Korea University Debate Championship for high school debaters. But the scale and the level of intensity were so different. Not only was it an international tournament hosted under the name of KIDA, with sponsorship of UNDP, it was also the very first open tournament in Korea, and the weight of what we were organizing began to gradually sink in. Especially considering the fact that at that time the school administrative office was being a little uncooperative, it felt a bit like a stressful burden.

The pivotal point for me though, was when the organizing committee began to work together. We had a very enthusiastic group of people who were dedicated into making the tournament possible and through this tournament I’ve met amazing people that share the same goal of providing the grounds for debate in Korea to develop. Once we started working together as a team there was a feeling of reliance and trust on each other that made the job easier, but also on a more personal level I think it was a good opportunity to befriend people from many different institutions who put their effort in to making this collaborative effort.




 Also, before the tournament, I think the number of teams registering not being as much as we expected or wanted was a bit of a let-down; especially because a lot of the work effort went into increasing the capacity for the teams. However during and after tournament, sometimes the participants would come over and say make comments like how much they’ve enjoyed the tournament, from small things like how they really had fun at the socials, to the opinions on things like the quality of the judges, venue and schedule organization; and for me these little feedbacks all really made it worthwhile. Not only was it encouraging in a way that told me about how the debaters and the adjudicators generally enjoyed the tournament, which is what makes a tournament a good tournament for me, but also it gave me assurance that now that there are a lot of people that know about this event, enjoyed this event, that KIDA IV will be a continuing tradition and an awesome addition to the debate scene in Korea. So in the end it was a very memorable and unforgettable experience for me.

Hyewon: Despite the fact that this is my 6th year in collegiate level debate, this was my first time convening a tournament and boy oh boy. My utmost respect goes out to all the conveners of the world! As a beginner, there were so many things I missed and overlooked and it was one thing after the other. But luckily though, I had a wonderful partner as well as a team that was fully committed, dedicated and more importantly a fun group of people to be around!

I blanked out on the podium during the closing ceremony and it is through this opportunity I’d like to thank the members of the organizing committee. It was their talent and dedication that truly inspired me and gave me strength to push through all the difficulties and pressures.

CAP (DCA Young Cho Lee)


(We decided to focus the interview on the most junior member of the CAP, as it was perhaps most memorable for her as an experience.)

How did you apply as DCA?

My original plan when I heard news about KIDA IV was to participate as a composite team with my brother, but even after he told me he couldn’t make it, I wanted to take part anyhow in this very special event. I felt that KIDA and the debate community in general has made my university life so much richer and exciting than it would be without debate, and as someone who has received so much from this community, I also wanted to contribute in some way. I felt KIDA IV was a great way to give back the things I earned from debate. The fact that Daniel and Albert were part of the CAP was another reason why I wanted to be on the team (eyelash bats). I thought it would be fun to work with the two seniors I am familiar with. On top of that, Hyewon Lee, my teammate, senior, friend, and former KIDA president, encouraged and supported me to apply for the position, reminding me what a meaningful initiate and wonderful opportunity KIDA IV is.



How was the CAP dynamic?

Unlike Albert and Daniel, since this was my first actual CAP experience, I don’t have anyone to compare with, but I thought the CAP dynamics was perfect. The four of us were similar in that most of us all identify ourselves (and each other) as “workaholics” and “perfectionists” so we all worked really hard, trying not to disappoint each other, procrastinate, or free-ride. So because we shared these similarities we didn’t have much reason to have conflicts or problems with each other. Then again, for the parts we were different, the dynamics worked out really well because we would complement each other with qualities that we didn’t share. For example, as the most outspoken person in the team, I would fire up discussions in many instances or sometimes save time by directly expressing disagreement (“I don’t think so.”) instead of beating around the bush. Albert, I felt, is genius in wording, phrasing, or refining things, perhaps because of his experience as an editor. In many cases he was the one who came up with the right phrase to encapsulate the raw ideas that we had. He also had very sharp and critical viewpoints that made me nod my head many times. Seekyeong was the balancer of the team. We always sought for her when our ideas were stuck or we were in deadlock. She was the mature one in the team, as she always showed patience and composure. Last but not least, I really feel Daniel is the kind of person most suitable as CA. Not only is he super responsible and self-sacrificing, but I personally was very thankful to Daniel for trusting his DCA’s so much and giving us so much autonomy when it came to work. Although the CA always has the final say and discretion, I could feel how he fully considered and credited the ideas of his DCA’s. His trust and commitment fueled us to work harder. Anyone who has seen Daniel’s closing ceremony speech would know the degree of affection he had toward KIDA IV. J It was also memorable how Daniel really had a healthy vision about KIDA and Korean debate community and how Albert emphasizes social responsibility. I felt working with these mature and older J people gave me a very macro view of appreciation toward the community that I belong in. All in all, words are not enough to describe how awesome the CAP team was!

Any words to the members of KIDA?

Personally, although I want to thank every single people who came to the tournament, I felt that perhaps a few people did not fully realize the meaning behind holding Korea’s first open, international tournament. Many people worked really hard for this tournament and it is completely different from other competitive tournaments like KNC that we go to for our institution to win. Also, Korea took a step forward in that we had teams from all over NEAsia plus invited adjudicators. I hope more people would realize the hidden effort and meaning behind KIDA IV and hope to see next year not only more number of teams but more composite teams participating and more commitment and support toward this event on an individual level. I also hope KIDA IV would become a foundation for the Korean debate community to really grow and expand internationally in the future, as it has been doing. 

End.