The 23rd Overseas Koreans Literary Awards

The Overseas Koreans Foundation (OKF) opens up submissions for the 23rd Overseas Koreans Literary Awards (2021). Serving as a venue for interactions based on Korean literary creation, the Contest has helped to maintain the ethnic bond with overseas Koreans and provide an opportunity for Koreans at home to understand overseas Koreans since 1999. We look forward to your interest and participation in this year's event.

Hosted & Organized by: Overseas Koreans Foundation Supported by: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ROK

1. Eligibility

○ Adults

- Overseas Koreans who are citizens or permanent residents in their respective countries. Those who have resided outside of Korea for 7 or more years as of May 31 of 2021 are eligible as well. ○ Youth -Overseas Korean Youth who are citizens or permanent residents in their respective countries. Those who have resided outside of Korea for 5 or more years as of May 31 of 2021 are eligible as well. ‧ Elementary • Primary School Part: Ages 7~12 (international age) ‧ Middle • High School Part: Ages 13~18 (international age) ○ Korean Adoptees -Korean adoptees and their (grand) children who have citizenship in their respective countries ※ Former Winners/Grand Prize awardees are NOT eligible for submission in the same part.

2. Genres (Topics) & Length Requirement

2.1 Genres and Topics. ○ Adult [Poetry, Short Novel, Memoir] -Poetry • Short Novel: Any -Memoir: (Auto) biographical narrative of the immigration and settlement process *Stories of writers themselves, their families and relatives

○ Youth [Essay] Beautiful Global Koreans -My ‘Overseas Korean Language School’ episodes -My experience of visiting Korea or learning Korean -Topics such as ‘How I’ve felt proud to be Koreans,’ ‘What I’ve seen and experienced in my residing country,’ or any other ones. ○ Korean Adoptees [Adoption Memoir] ‘Adoption stories I would like to share’ -The applicant(adopted Korean or child of an adopted Korean)'s own experience

2.2 Entry Numbers and Length Requirement

▶ You can find the official literary work entry form on KoreanNet webpage.

(Please visit: www.korean.net)

▶ All the works must meet the length requirement either by its required word account condition (try to check with Microsoft Word’s ‘Word Account’ function) or by the number of pages when using the official literary work text form.

▶ Submissions which a word account is under 80% or over 150% of the standard requirement will not be accepted. (e.g., the Standard length for a short novel is 16,000 words. Hence, the submitted novel is to be no less than 12,800 or no more than 24,000 words.)

○ About “Beautiful Global Koreans” – youth essay topic

The word ‘Korea(n)’ comes from ‘goryeo (高麗)’, which combines go (高) meaning ‘high’ and ryeo (麗) meaning ‘beautiful’ and thus means 'very beautiful. In the Korean tradition, the spirit of “Hongik Ingan” means “broadly benefiting the human world”, which shows the inner beauty of the Korean people. We hope this competition will inspire overseas Korean youths to reflect on the beauty of Koreans and grow into “beautiful global Koreans”.

3. Judging Process & Prizes

○Judging Process: (1st) Documents Review → (2nd) Longlists Selection

→ (3rd) Finalists/Winners Selection

*The panel of judges is composed of those who have expertise in each category.

*Only the Finalists/Winners are to be announced.

○ Prizes: The 4 Winners, the 30 Finalists, and 2 overseas Korean language schools will be awarded prize money of 41,300,000 KRW in total.

※ ‘Special Prizes for the Overseas Korean Language School’ are: · Only for the non-regular (weekend-based running) overseas Korean language schools registered at the Embassies and Consulates of the ROK. · Granted to the Korean language schools where the students applying for the Youth category are attending. · Selected based on how many works of each school’s students are nominated for the Longlists and the Finalists. 4. Submission 4.1. When to Submit? From 9:00 am. April 1 to May 31, 2021 (midnight, KST) ※ No late submissions will be accepted 4.2. How to Submit? Online submissions accepted via the KoreanNet webpage - Please visit and register: www.korean.net - Find ‘Announcement’ or ‘The 23rd Overseas Koreans Literary Awards Popup’ on the site - Click on the ‘Online Application’ button at the bottom of the announcement page. (Download the ‘official literary work text form(s),’ fill it/them out with your work(s), save and attach to the online application form) - Finish the application form, make sure to attach your work files, and submit.

4.3. Documents Required - Online Application Form: ‘Announcement’ tab on Korean Net webpage → Click ‘Apply’ - Literary works: Download the ‘official literary work text form(s),’ from the announcement in Korean Net webpage (www.korean.net) and submit it in file format - After the nomination, the Winners and the Finalists are required to submit documentation proving their eligibility (i.e., how long they’ve lived overseas, as guided in 1. Eligibility) ※Upon submission, please delete any of your personal identification codes to protect personal information.

5. Winners Announcement and Ceremony ○Announcement: The Prize Winners and the Finalists are to be announced on the KoreanNet webpage as well as individually notified ○Ceremony: The Overseas Koreans Literary Awards Ceremonies are to be held at the nearest Korean Embassies and Consulates of each Winner/Finalist’s residence.

6. NOTE: We strongly advise you to read the following details before submitting your work(s). ○ A person who meets "1. Eligibility " may apply regardless of whether they are new or established writers, and may submit multiple entries to more than one category. - Past honorees of Winner and Grand Prize awardees in Overseas Korean Literature Awards are not to apply for the same category. - The Winners and the Finalists must submit documentation of proving eligibility to the OKF within 2 weeks after the award announcement. (Awardees are to be notified individually as well.) Nomination and prizes can be voided if the documentation fails to meet the requirement. ○ Only unpublished Korean-language creations can be submitted (in the case of Adoption Memoir, unpublished Korean-language or English-language works). - Works previously published or selected by other institutions and media(newspapers, internet media, etc.) at home and abroad shall not be submitted. - When work happens to be submitted and selected at other literary awards as well in 2021, the author must choose between the OKF's literary awards and other literary awards (We do not give awards to multiple honors in the same year.) ○ The award may be canceled if false information is entered or found in the application form. ○ The Foundation destroys all unselected submissions and applications within three months from the date of announcement of the winning entries in the competition. The corresponding authors may request the return or destruction of their submitted essays and application forms. ○ Works shall be excluded from the review if the followings occur. The award may be canceled even after it is given, and the prize money must be returned to the foundation in this case. Applicants alone shall bear all related legal responsibilities. - Works previously published or selected by other institutions and media (newspapers, internet media, etc.) at home or abroad - Works that are plagiarized or are mostly recognized as plagiarism (including self-plagiarism; please specify source if necessary). - Works determined as inappropriate by the judging committee for various reasons ○ Regarding Copyright and Permission or Consent - The copyrights (moral rights and copyrights) of all submissions shall belong to the submitters (creators), and the copyrights of the winning works also belong to the winners. - However, the Foundation may use the award-winning works for non-profit and public purposes as described below. Applicants shall be deemed to have permitted the use of their works (selected works only) for the purposes specified below upon selection as well as on application. Furthermore, the fees for the copyrights of the winning works will be replaced with the prize money. * Type of use: Non-exclusive use * Type of utilization: Publication and distribution of award-winning works in the format of a book(not for sale) and e-book. ※ E-book (PDF) available on the OKF’s relevant website: http://research.korean.net - If the Foundation uses the award-winning work beyond the scope specified as above, it must additionally seek agreement with the author and obtain consent for a license from the winner.

E.g. when using the works for services such as preservation and public use of literature related to overseas Koreans, posting in periodicals and on the website of the Overseas Koreans Foundation, and/or other activities that serve the purpose of the contest.

▣ Inquiries

Overseas Koreans Foundation

Public Relations, Culture and Research Department Office: +82-2-4823-7737, Please contact: Ms. Sohn, Hye-jin, culture@okf.or.kr