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The theme of this year’s SEOMUN (Seoul Model United Nations), hosted by KIS (Korean International School), was the Perils of Indifference. Perils of Indifference is the name of Elie Wiesel’s speech in 1999. With constantly developing technology and changing standards in life, our attention is often shifted to these less relevant factors. In Elie Wiesel’s speech he explained how often, we as human beings unintentionally ignore the suffering of others, such as North Korean refugees, Mexican immigrants and many other marginalized groups worldwide, and this causes us to be as guilty as the ones causing these people to be less fortunate. So what is the purpose of having this theme? It is to tell others that we, as delegates of SEOMUN XXI, will constantly be engaged in global affairs and will make sure not to miss any of the pressing human rights issues in the modern day.
Vicky J., a senior that attended the trip, commented that she liked the “realism” of the conference and topics. Delegates from different committees addressed prominent contemporary issues. For example, in the Commission on the Status of Women committee, delegates drafted resolutions about and solutions for ensuring equality in the workplace (such as reducing the gender pay gap, sexual harassment and abuse in the workplace), assisting women in refugee camps, and reproductive autonomy. In the opening ceremony, the former governor of Vermont gave a speech addressing his accomplishments, what he hopes to see in this year’s SEOMUN conferences, and most importantly, his point of view on the current government of the United States. He explained his accomplishments within Vermont and further addressed the issue of climate change and the negatives with some statistics. “He expressed a biased and democratic perspective of President Trump, which at times seemed to pass a certain extent” in terms of subjectivity, Vicky stated.
Winnie C., another senior participant, commented about the experience in general. She and Vicky both remarked upon the late night flight and how tiring it was to attend school after sleeping for 3 hours due to the night flight. Although we were allowed to skip first and second block the day of arrival, most seniors chose not to, as they were scared to miss these important classes. Additionally, they both had negative feelings about how the timing of this year’s trip was especially poor. When we arrived in Seoul, due to traffic, we took a 3 hour bus ride to our hotel, which should’ve taken only about an hour. Although traffic jams are not something that can be controlled, if our plane ride was as early as last year’s trip, this factor could have been avoided.
In conclusion, this trip taught all attendees a lesson, whether it was upon the issue of climate change from former governor of Vermont or other issues equally important in the modern day. Although there were some negative comments about the traveling element, SEOMUN XXI offered 3 days of fruitful and enjoyable debate. Also, if you see Sohum T. in the hallways, please stop to congratulate him on winning the best delegate award. A special thank you to our SEOMUN advisors, Mr. Kennett, Ms. Herrin and Mr. Cheung, for organizing this amazing trip and preparing us so well beforehand.
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