Young Korean orator wins speaking gig at the UN

Hur Young-joe

Hur Young-joe, a 17-year-old sophomore at Daewon Foreign Language High School, is going to make history.
Hur will be the first Korean student to speak at the United Nations headquarters in New York. During the 46th session of the Commission for Social Development on Feb. 6 to 15, Hur will speak about Korea’s youth and youth policies to some 100 prominent delegates from around the world.
How does he feel about the opportunity?
“It’s nerve-wracking but I’m very honored,” Hur said. He will also take part in various discussion forums and debates during the sessions, which will be held under the theme of “prompting full employment and decent work for all.”
Hur won the honor after undergoing an arduous screening process last month.
Choi Young-hee, head of the state-run Government Youth Commission, spotted Hur when he moderated a discussion between American writer Alvin Toffler and about 100 Korean teenagers last September.
“I never imagined that I would be selected, since among the six finalists, everyone except for me was a big college student,” Hur said.
Despite his young age, the judges were impressed.
“We mostly saw how students presented their ideas ― logically, in a calm manner and in sophisticated English ― and Hur was well-qualified in all, notwithstanding of his age,” said Jeung Koon-sik, one of the judges and a manager of the international cooperation team at the Government Youth Commission.
Four years ago, Hur was able to master English during the year he spent at Admiral Farragut Academy, a prep school in St. Petersburg, Florida. Then he entered Daewon Foreign Language High School, one of Korea’s most prestigious high schools.
As student council vice president and editor-in-chief of the English-language student newspaper at Daewon, Hur has pumped up his resume.
His other extracurricular activities include serving as vice head of the Presidential Youth Congress, a group under the Office of the Prime Minister, which has made several youth-related policy changes, including the ban of soda sales in school cafeterias and lowering the official voting age.
What will Hur say the delegates?
“When talking about youngsters, people usually talk about what they will become in the future, but I think it’s equally important to accept youngsters just as they are at this moment,” he said.

By Jung Ha-won Staff Reporter [hawon@joongang.co.kr]