This year, KISJ will be hosting its 4th MUN Conference in Jeju Island, named GECMUN IV. This MUN conference boasts its different choices in committee, and the anti-corruption system so that the delegates can absorb the best possible MUN experience. This below is the exclusive interview between the author and Mr. Harris, the MUN advisor for the KISJ MUN Club.
KISJ students have been attending numerous MUN conferences throughout the world, from New York, Thailand, Seoul, and individual delegations even higher. This weekend, on March 3rd and 4th, KISJ will host GECMUN IV, the fourth conference in the history of Jeju Island.
This year’s GECMUN Conference boasts 10 different committees among them there are 5 that follows the GA form, while 4 follows the usual crisis form, while 1, is a newspaper corps. The 5 GA form are UNSC (United Nations Security Council), UNODC (United Nations Office of Drugs and Crimes), DISEC (General Assembly Disarmament and International Security Committee), ECOFIN (General Assembly Economic and Financial Committee), and finally IOC (International Olympic Committee). The 4 committees that have a unique form are ICJ (International Court of Justice), House of Un-American Activities (HUAC), The Founding Fathers, and last but not the least, Jurassic World. The author has specially interviewed the hosting school, KISJ’s MUN Advisor, Mr. Nickolas Harris, who teaches 9th Grade Global Studies.
FULL INTERVIEW SCRIPT
Scott Kim: Just for logistics, how many people are participating at GECMUN IV, and how many schools are participating? Are any schools coming from abroad?
Mr. Harris: GECMUN IV has ten participating schools from three countries.
The two schools coming from abroad are traveling from China and the Philippines.
The total participants will be 210 students and 240 people total.
Scott Kim: How important is the role of a MUN Advisor in leading a MUN Club and a Conference, and what are the challenges that you faced?
Mr. Harris: It is important to have a strong leader when organizing a MUN club. Although MUN is primarily traditionally student-led, it is imperative that schools with strong programs have an advisor who is knowledgeable of how MUN works. I have seen many schools who have advisors who hand over delegate work to students, and you end up having students playing politics with other students, creating a type of "MUN-mafia" where friends are giving other friends coveted positions and leadership roles. By having a strong adviser at the center of a program, you can avoid this "MUN-mafia" type of situation, which, unfortunately, occurs in various MUN circuits in South Korea. The greatest challenges I have faced has been creating a conference that would attract schools from outside of Korea to visit. When we first started GECMUN, we did not have the experience or the reputation, and it was very difficult to recruit schools for the conference.
Scott Kim: How famous is GECMUN in Korea, and do you expect the participant number to rise next year?
Mr. Harris: GECMUN is the 2nd largest conference in South Korea (The largest is SEOMUN). We expect numbers to continue to rise, and eventually surpass SEOMUN.
Scott Kim: How does MUN help with students' résumé and academics? Does it help with your college application?
Mr. Harris: MUN is a very strong club do have on a student resume. I recall an article from a few years ago of a student who was accepted to every Ivy League school. It came to me no surprise that he was in the MUN club. However, what was a pleasant surprise was that his reasoning of choosing Yale over the other prestigious institutions was because he enjoyed the Yale Model United Nations conference, and that was the reason why he chose the school over the likes of Princeton and Harvard. Schools understand the clubs rigor and the skill sets that are acquired through being part of the club such as debate, writing, and public speaking, which is why the club is often so highly regarded by college admissions teams.
Scott Kim: How similar is MUN and a real UN conference? Is it a good choice to take for future diplomats or politics major?
Mr. Harris: MUN and the UN are nothing alike. In reality, the UN is often criticized for its inaction and its slow pace. Often, when one is to walk into any given meeting, its not unusual to see many of the delegations not even present. MUN is far more constructive in the sense that everyone is present and resolutions are made within days. It’s a good training for pretty much all vocations. Whether your a future doctor, businessman, lawyer or diplomat. Having skill sets such as public speaking, the ability to negotiate and writing skills are all necessary.
SPECIAL Dragons PRIDE
Scott Kim: How many awards do you think our KISJ students will acquire from this conference?
Mr. Harris: The conference has four type of awards for the top five delegates of each committee. The Best Delegate (1st place), Outstanding Delegate (2nd place), Honorable Mention (3rd place) and Verbal Commendations (4-5th place). Although we are fielding a relatively young group, I believe KISJ will earn a few of each award and place 1st or 2nd in regards to total ranking.