The ESU is an organization based in the United Kingdom (U.K.) which not only holds the largest debate tournaments worldwide, but also educates students in English for debate and public speaking. Ewha? debate teams are looking forward to their debut into Korea because it will help promote debate, widely enjoyed around the world, yet so little known here, nationwide.
One of the two clubs at Ewha is being organized by the Department of English Language & Literature, and has yet to be named or officially recognized by the school. Originally planning to open a regular course on debating at Ewha, but unable to do so this semester, Professor Chung Duk-ae (English Lang. & Lit.) formed the club, which is open to all Ewha students, instead. The club held its first meeting on March 8, and plans on meeting for two-hour sessions once a week, for a total of about 12 meetings. All club members were asked to pay a lecture fee of 30,000 won per month, and the sessions include lectures from a debate instructor, visiting Professor Jason Jarvis (Graduate School of International Studies, Kyung Hee Univ.). Chung hopes that, as the club grows, it will be acknowledged as an official English debating club. She also hopes to offer a course on English debating beginning next semester. ?hat is needed today is not only English proficiency, but the ability to persuade others through logical discourse and articulation, says Chung. ?ome major companies even have their applicants debate each other in English during the interviews. Ewha students possess excellent English speaking abilities, yet lack in training that helps them to organize their thoughts in a logical manner and explain them persuasively to others, adds Chung. The Dept. of English Lang. & Lit. has already held mock debates on two occasions, when they invited two professional debate teams from the U.K.
Another debate club in Ewha, formed in March 2001, is the Ewha Debating Society, an official club organized and managed within the Division of International Studies. ?espite the popularity in other regionsespecially Europe, the United States, and Southeast Asiadebate is virtually unknown here in Korea, and thus, our club has the distinction of being the first real debating society in the country, says president of the Ewha Debating Society, Lee Kong-jin (International Studies, 4). The Ewha Debating Society meets every week on Thursdays from 5 to 7 p.m. in the International Education Building to thrash out controversial issues, current affairs, and others. in a variety of debate formats. ?hat we get out of it, says Lee, ?s better public speaking ability, a deeper understanding of a wide range of topics, an objective and critical mindset and, of course, a weekly opportunity to chat (and eat and fight) with our seniors, classmates, and juniors. This club has also recently participated in several debate tournaments, including the Pan-Pacific English Debate Competition, which was held last year on Nov. 15 and 16 at Kyung Hee University, and the World Universities Debating Championships held in Singapore last December. Four of their members were among Korea? first debaters to participate in a worldwide debate tournament.
Lee champions debating because there is, she says, so much to learn from it: ? lot of people think debate is scarythat you have to argue with people you like, prove that they?e always wrong and you?e always right, and generally be very aggressive and nasty. Not really... debate is more about good teamwork, being able to look at something from many different perspectives, and... just having fun.
sooky13@ewha.ac.kr