To instill interest in the topic of Korea-Japan-China (KJC) trilateral cooperation and to gather creative ideas that may contribute to the development of trilateral cooperation, the ROK Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Sejong Institute invite undergraduate and graduate students to participate in this thesis competition on the topic of measures to advance KJC trilateral cooperation and of Northeast Asian political affairs.

1. 1. General Information

• Topic: Any topic related to Korea-Japan-China trilateral cooperation

- Applicants are encouraged to include policy recommendations for trilateral cooperation even if the topic is on Northeast Asian political affairs.

※ Ex.) Action plans to bolster peace and cooperation in Northeast Asia; Territorial disputes and trilateral cooperation; Environment and trilateral cooperation; Biological diversity and trilateral cooperation; Policy roadmap for Korea-Japan-China FTA (Free Trade Agreement), North Korea and trilateral cooperation, etc.

• Eligibility: Undergraduate and/or graduate students enrolled in a master’s or

doctorate programs (irrespective of nationality)

• Applicant(s): Individual or group (4 or less)

2. 2.How to Apply

• Submission Period: September 1 ~ October 31, 2019

• Required Documents:
  - Final Thesis Paper,
  - Application
  - Pledge Agreement (scanned version with applicant’s own handwriting),
  - Certificate of Enrollment

• Submission: Send the required documents to yb357@sejong.org

3. 3. Guidelines on Thesis Writing

• Format: Refer to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (mofa.go.kr) or the Sejong Institute (www.sejong.org) website and see attached documents

• Languages: Korean or English

• Length: 100 pages of 200-letter manuscript paper (Appx. 15 pages of A4 paper)

4. 4. Timeline and Award Ceremony

• Preliminary Screening (Written):

The result of preliminary screening will be individually informed on the 2nd week of November, 2019 to the applicants whose theses are selected.

- The applicants whose theses have been selected will be invited to attend the thesis presentation and award ceremony event.

- The selected applicants will be asked to prepare a presentation on their theses.

• Final Screening (Thesis Presentation) and Award Ceremony:

- Applicants with excellent theses will be awarded at the ceremony after the final screening. Awards endorsed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and monetary rewards will be given to the awardees.

- Detailed schedule will be informed later.

- Prize details:

▪ Grand Award (1 team): 3,000,000 KRW

▪ Excellence Award (2 teams): 2,000,000 KRW

▪ Encouragement Award (3 teams): 1,000,000 KRW

  ※ Awards may not be granted if there are no eligible applicant(s).

5. 5. Other Important Details

• Thesis should be an applicant (or team)’s original work. The copyright of the submitted theses reverts to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

• No submissions will be returned.

• Warning of Plagiarism: Theses awarded at other competitions, submitted to other academic journals or collection of papers, or presented as dissertations for degree are NOT eligible for submission.

- If any award-winning thesis is subjected to such breach of research ethics, the award will be withdrawn along with immediate redemption of prize.

• For more information: Contact the Research Planning Division of the Sejong Institute at 031-750-7616 or yb357@sejong.org.