2024 Sijo Competition Rules and Information

Deadline: February 29, 2024 (11:59pm CDT)

Divisions: adult division (age 19 and older) and pre-college division (age 18 and younger*)

* College students who are eighteen at the time of the competition deadline are asked to participate in the adult division.

Guidelines:

Write one sijo in English on a topic of your choice. A title for the sijo is not required.
*Only one entry per applicant is permitted.
More information on writing sijo can be found here.
Participants must participate in their age-appropriate division. Younger participants may not apply to the adult division.
Entries must be submitted through our website.
One entry per category per contestant is permitted. (Contestants are permitted one essay and one sijo entry.)
All entries must be written in English.
Contestants' names cannot be written in their entries.
We reserve the right to use all submitted pieces in future publications of the Sejong Cultural Society with no compensation to the authors.
We reserve the right to not award any prizes.
Winners are generally announced by early May. This estimate is subject to change depending on the number of total entries received; a more accurate estimate will be posted on our website soon after the competition deadline.

Prizes (funded by the Korea Institute at Harvard University):

Adult division: First ($1,000), Second ($750), Third ($500)
Pre-college division: First ($500), Second ($400), Third ($300)
Honorable mention (for both divisions listed above): Friends of Pacific Rim Awards ($50 each)
Competition winners may be announced in AZALEA: Journal of Korean Literature and Culture, published by the Korea Institute at Harvard University.
Winners' works may be published in the Korea Times Chicago or the Korean Quarterly or Azalea: A Journal of Korean Literature and Culture, published by the Korea Institute at Harvard University.