If students want to participate in a competition, they don’t have to look hard. This is because various competitions are held at CBNU every year. To name a few, there is Window of Empathy, Reading Competition, and My Cultural Class Story. How much do students know about these competitions, and how often do they participate in them? Many students can’t participate in them because they don’t know they exist. CBT investigated school competitions for them. This article is based on interviews with the CBNU Communication Education Center.

1. What kind of contest is the Window of Empathy?

  The Window of Empathy is a medium for sharing ideas and learning to empathize with others, similar to people’s ability to look through a window. It is a competition where students read selected books and submit book reports. The fields of books cover the humanities, society, nature, literature, and art. Contest books are selected by conducting a Google survey among students. The average number of recommended books nearly doubled from last year because we asked professors to connect the program with the school curriculum and give extra points to the students who performed well. We hope students won’t miss this chance if their department is connected with this program. The evaluation is conducted by professors at other universities. If students find it difficult to write, they can also get feedback from the center before submitting the entry. The evaluation focuses on how deeply they reflect on the book and how persuasive the writing is. Above all, sincerity is the most important element of evaluation. The prizes are 600,000 won for the top grand prize, 300,000 won for the grand prize (two people), 200,000 won for the excellence prize (four people) and 100,000 won for the participation prize (ten people).

2. What kind of competition is My Cultural Class Story?

  Cultural classes are often neglected by students compared to their majors. Some students recognize a cultural class as just an easy subject, so we created the My Cultural Class Story to promote the importance of culture. Students can take time to look back on a semester again through this competition, as it is important to make sure that they don’t forget the class contents. About 100 entries are submitted to the center, but most of the participants are freshmen and sophomores because they usually attend various cultural classes. However, juniors and seniors also can write an essay on the cultural classes that they took before. It doesn’t matter if they achieved a good grade or not, but it is possible to write down their grade if they want to share it. The most important thing is the sincerity of expressing how they have changed as a result of the class. Students who want to participate can submit their entries by Jan. 3, 2020. Excellent works will be posted on the school newspaper, website, and e-book. This year, award winning works for the last three years will be collected and shared to celebrate the third anniversary. A collection of them will be used to promote competition and encourage people to take cultural classes. The prizes are 500,000 won for the best prize, 300,000 won for the excellent prize (three people) and 200,000 won for the participation prize (six people).

3. What is Reading Competition?

  These days, there are many cultural activities. This competition helps introduce the importance of reading in a fun way by using YouTube and Instagram. In the past, this competition was called Reading Camp, and the Reading Competition was one of the parts of the Reading Camp. However, the program has been shortened for efficiency, and only Reading Competition, which was the most popular part of the program, remains. 160 students can participate in two-man teams in the first stage. If students want to participate in Reading Competition, they should prepare quickly because of the nearing deadline. The books needed for the competition are selected depending on their level of difficulty. The preliminary round will proceed by solving problems online within a time limit in an open book, and the finals will be held at the Gaesin Cultural Center and proceed in the same way as the Challenge Golden Bell, which is a TV program, where students sit in groups of two and write down their answers on a whiteboard. It is recommended that students read the books for pleasure because, if they focus on the problems, they might miss the point of this competition. The details of the awards vary from year to year, but this year, the first prize is an iPad, the second prize is a Galaxy smartwatch and the third prize is Bluetooth speakers. The awards ceremony will be held on the day after the competition.
  Also, officials at the Communication Education Center said that they’re trying to resolve some deficiencies. There was limited participation before because most of CBNU’s contests are held in fall. To solve this problem, they discussed spreading the contest periods out over a larger period of time. They hope students will hear about the programs they operate. Among the programs, the Reading Certification Program had many requirements before, like a summary of the contents, a quotation, a reason for the quote, but it has been simplified to increase participation. It asks the main quotient phrase and makes the participants think deeply.
 These days, many students can’t write well because they don’t read much. However, writing is an essential ability when submitting reports in college and when writing self-introductions on resumes. There are many CBNU programs that improve students’ abilities, so students should try to take advantage of the many opportunities.

By Jung Jin-ju l asd030@cbnu.ac.kr
By Kim Min-ji l mj39@cbnu.ac.kr