MUN Trip to South Korea
by Matthew Gaetano, Principal
Members of our Model United Nations (MUN) delegation traveled to South Korea to participate in the Yale MUN Korea XII Conference. This conference brought together over 400 delegates from schools on five continents. The students represented 33 nationalities. Students participated in simulations of real UN Committees in order to debate special topics and create a resolution to address the issue. Our delegates were in 3 different committees: The UN Committee on Sustainable Development (UNCSD), the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), and the World Food Programme (WFP). Students worked on creating new sustainable development goals for 2045, finding ways to preserve important local food cultures, and solving issues of food scarcity due to conflict and climate change.
Each student was given a country to represent prior to the conference. Students had to thoroughly research the topic and be able to understand how this topic relates to their country. Students had to learn parliamentary style debate and think of ways to create speeches related to the topic on a moment’s notice. Students then had to work with other countries to draft a resolution to address the problem. They had to use diplomacy to get other countries to work with them by joining their block. They had to work with all delegates in order to have a final resolution that could earn enough votes to pass. As the advisor, I was allowed to enter the committee rooms and watch our students in action. I was able to see most of our students make speeches addressing the whole committee. I also watched as students formed blocks during unmoderated caucus time. This was the first MUN conference for all of our delegates and each of them learned a lot. We have the opportunity to attend the Yale MUN Singapore conference in March.
We all know the proverb “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”. Well we definitely found time to play in the beautiful city of Seoul. We explored the Hanok Bukchon Village and the Gyeongbokgung palace. After exploring these historical sites, we visited the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art where we saw modern sculptures, video art, and paintings. No trip to Seoul would be complete without a little shopping. We went to the Starfield Mall in Goyang and visited the neighborhoods of Myeongdong and Hongdae for students to stock up on gifts for family and friends. While the students shopped, I visited the amazing food stalls to sample local delicacies. The trip was only 5 days, but the memories will last a lifetime.
