2024 Sejong International Sijo Competition
Winners | Judges | Winning Entries
Winners
| One Division | |
|---|---|
| Winner | Keri Switzer Canada sijo |
| Runners-up | AJ Layague USA sijo |
| Pat Saunders Australia sijo |
|
| John Shin USA sijo |
|
| Honorable Mention |
Iram Choudhary India sijo |
| Joseph Howse Canada sijo |
About Winners
Keri Switzer
winner
South Korea has a special place in my heart. When I was young, I answered an ad in the newspaper that would connect Canadian and South Korean children as pen pals. So, from an early age I had deep affection and curiosity for the country. After graduating from university, I got the chance to experience the amazing place for myself and had the incredible opportunity to live and teach English there from 2007 to 2011.
As much as I love Canada and my home in Grimsby, Ontario, nothing could have prepared me for how much I would miss Korea upon coming home. Almost 15 years later, I still crave a bowl of Bibimbap on a cold day or wish I could hop on the subway for a fun afternoon in Seoul. My Sijo reflects how much my time in Korea has stayed with me and impacted my worldview.
I have sought ways to stay connected to Korea’s beautiful people, culture, language, and literature. It was that exploration and research that led me to find the Sejong Cultural Society and to learn about the Sijo poetry form. I’m so honoured that I have been able to be a part of the poetry form and pass along my admiration of Korea and Sijo to others.
AJ Layague
runners-up
I was thrilled to get an Honorable Mention in the 2023 Sejong International Sijo competition after discovering the art of the sijo last year, and am very honored to be a Runner-up this year.
I’m a playwright and composer, and much of my writing is in long rhyming verse, so it was a nice challenge to express a story, in essence, in so few lines and syllables, especially with a twist ending. To me, the sijo as an art form means striving for an intriguing and symmetrical microcosm of balance. Kind of like a ballerina aiming to become a boxer.
My website: www.AJAJyesyesyes.com
Pat Saunders
runners-up
How astonishing to discover my first ever sijo is among the winning entries of this year’s Sejong International Sijo Competition!
I stumbled upon the competition whilst perusing the Winning Writers’ newsletter. Investigating further, once I read sijo described as ‘haiku’s Korean cousin’ I knew I had to give it a try. I enjoy the challenge of structured poetic forms, whilst appreciating the often simplicity of language used. The ‘sing-songy’ style and rhythm of the sijo form is particularly pleasing to my ear.
I was a joint winner of the 2023 Victoria Park Local History Awards (Poetry or Performance Work) with my poem McCallum Park Lockdown. I’ve had tanka published in Catchment: Poetry of Place online journal; a haiku featured in Verge 2024 : Click and a free verse offering appears in redrosethorns. My short fiction features in the recently released anthologies The Heart Will Find A Way, Voices of the South, and Yah! all queer. Humorous rant A Short-Arse Chick in a Big-Bloke’s World appears in witcraft 24.
I’m a film and television editor from Perth, Western Australia, currently cutting news for Channel Nine. I work nights sorting parcels and mail for Australia Post.
Given the success of my first sijo attempt, it certainly won’t be my last!
John Shin
runners-up
I was born in Korea but I have lived in the United States most of my life. My maternal grandfather wrote poetry and a distant relative of my father's side was involved in Pansori.
I wrote poetry in high school but I soon got busy with my studies and eventually became a physician. I am at a time of my life when I have more time for myself.
I looked online for poetry contests and that was how I found about the Sijo competition. It was an enjoyable experience to express my inner voice through words. I want to thank the Society for this opportunity. Perhaps, there is a little Korean in all of us.
Iram Choudhary
honorable mention
The Sejong International Sijo Competition was my first introduction to sijo, and it has been an eye-opening experience.
Crafting a sijo allowed me to blend creativity with structure while discovering a unique poetic form that reflects Korea’s cultural essence.
I am incredibly grateful to the Sejong Cultural Society for providing this platform, and I look forward to deepening my understanding of sijo and Korean literature in the future.
Joseph Howse
honorable mention
I am a writer, computer scientist, and keeper of cats, honeybees, and fruit trees. Home is a fishing village on Canada's windy Atlantic coast.
My biggest project is a series of novels called Next Year's Snow, which follows the friendship and strife of two families in the Soviet and post-Soviet world. You can read about it at https://nummist.com/stories/. The central character, Nadia, is a young linguist and, during the second novel, she starts to write haiku or senryu in her head. Thus, she introduced me to Asian poetic forms.
My characters (even the trees) are ambitious people and they always push their author to enter contests, no matter how green he may be. I found the Sejong International Sijo Competition via a search engine and, happily, this event has given me the chance to write and share my first sijo. I love the songfulness and emphatic feeling of this form. Thank you for welcoming me and my poetic characters!