Secondary students participated in the National History Day (NHD) Korea contest at Seoul International School (SIS) on Feb. 24 to qualify for the next big step: nationals. This year’s event focused on the theme “Turning Points in History,” and competitors captured crucial transitions with lasting legacies. 

Various factors motivated students to compete. “I wanted to participate in the NHD Korea competition and try to go to the U.S., and thought it would be a really fun experience for me. An 8th grader also recommended it, which convinced me. I completed the project by myself, and I think I did well because of my good research about the topic,” said Alex Hyun in sixth grade.

The event unfortunately coincided with the Korean International School Activities Conference (KISAC) basketball matches. Nonetheless, many demonstrated the determination to bring their year-long projects to the finish line.

“I decided to skip the basketball tournament because we have been preparing this project since September, and I didn’t want to waste the effort. The NHD rules state that at least 50% of the group should be there in person, and initially, we had five members, but three members couldn’t go because they were too committed to basketball. So, we ended up changing it into four [members]. At the end of the day, we won first place, and our team was fine, so I think it was a great decision,” said freshman Sophie Lee.

The participants’ efforts bore fruit at the awards ceremony. Recipients showed emotion beyond excitement during their recognition. Upon nomination for first place in the junior group performance category, Minji Kim, Elena Lee, and Sally Yun exchanged teary glances before they rushed into a heartfelt embrace. Their portrayal of martyr Jeon Tae-il’s life touched the hearts of many, a testament to their dedication.

“We became so emotional because we worked on this project for six to seven months. We were so dedicated to it. We also didn’t expect to win, and we were so proud that our hard work was recognized by the judges. I think this made me really happy,” said Kim.

With successful first-round results from the NHD Korea Competition, students who placed first and second place anticipate advancement to the nationals set to take place at the University of Maryland in early June. Participants aspire to upgrade their projects in preparation for the international competition.

Gallery • 10 Photos

Leanne Yoon

Annie Cho in 10th grade showcases her exhibit on Pan-African Unity, a project that took months of effort to piece together picture by picture, text by text.

Congratulations to all students who received recognition at the NHD Korea Competition:

1st Place

Christine An (Junior Individual Performance)

Jason McAteer, Joseph Chambless (Junior Group Website)

Minji Kim, Elena Lee, Sally Yun (Junior Group Performance)

Leanne Yoon (Senior Individual Performance)

Bonnie Kim, Sophie Lee, Manny Cortez, Bryan Lee (Senior Group Documentary)

2nd Place 

Alex Hyun (Junior Individual Documentary)

Thomas Kim, Yeonhoo Park (Junior Group Website)

Sahn Choi, Alice Han, Roy Kim, William Seo (Junior Group Documentary)

Sally Lee (Senior Individual Paper) 

Sankeeth Udayakumar (Senior Individual Website)

3rd Place

Lydia, Agnew Kim, Amy Kim (Junior Group Documentary)

Nayoung Kim (Senior Individual Performance)