“Uganda only has enough doses to vaccinate 1.9 percent of the population. Against all other nations, we are in the direst need of vaccines,” said the delegate of Uganda. Successfully pleading her case to other nations, the delegate secured 300,000 doses to be shipped to Uganda. In the Korea International Organizations Society (KIOSS), members passionately discuss and debate on the most pressing issues occurring around the world, ranging from vaccine distribution to the Rwandan genocide. During sessions, members attempt to solve issues—or at least alleviate them—one resolution at a time. Modeled on the United Nations (UN), KIOSS challenges its members to think about global issues, giving them a glimpse into the workings of the international organizations.

KIOSS is a student-led non-profit organization that was established in 2007. Though affiliated with the Korea University Division of International Studies (KUDIS), it is open to all undergraduate students regardless of their major and experience in Model United Nations (MUN). Appealing to students who are interested in learning more about the ins and outs of international bodies, the organization meets every Wednesday to discuss pertinent international issues.

Preparing for Sessions

Every weekend, KIOSS members are given background information on a certain global issue and are assigned to certain nations or certain stances on it. If members are delegates of a particular nation, they must research the issue specifically to their assigned country, accounting for its specific needs and interests. In this way, delegates must come to the sessions with a clear picture on what they — or their nations, to be more precise — want to achieve. They must come to the sessions with a completed position paper to serve as their guide for having a fruitful debate. On the other hand, if members are assigned to certain stances, they must research the issue, weighing the pros and cons of a certain action (e.g., should states employ diplomacy or force to remove the Myanmar junta from power?).

Either way, members must come to sessions prepared to persuade other delegates to pursue a certain favorable policy or action for their nation. Thus, delegates must exercise their research skills by leveraging a diverse range of sources and must read up on their nation’s history, learning more about international relations in doing so. Delegates must also exercise their creativity in devising potential solutions to global issues at hand. With every session, delegates learn that they have much to take away indeed, tweaking their arguments or using different tactics if the conference ends on an unsatisfactory note.

During the Sessions

When the conference begins, delegates are obligated to abide by strict discussion protocols, which dictate when delegates are allowed to speak, for how long they are allowed to speak, and whether they will be moderated by the chair(s)–an intermediary between nations–or not. Chairs facilitate sessions and promote a productive flow of debate so that delegates can participate enthusiastically. For example, during an “Unmoderated Caucus,” all delegates enter into a breakout room on Zoom so as to frankly discuss the issue at hand without the chair present. There, they express their opinions on how the session should be run and lay the groundwork for what all delegates wish to achieve before they are called back into the main room on Zoom.

As this is modeled off of the UN, numerous votes take place as well. Delegates support other delegates’ actions or claims that are in line with theirs or reject them. Managing the delicate field of international relations, delegates learn to make compromises, often settling for less in order to work in conjunction with others, as often happens in the international arena. Upon doing so, delegates form a resolution, ending the conference. In this way, delegates often feel a range of emotions after the sessions: frustration, disappointment, or perhaps even satisfaction, causing them to think on how to better argue their stance in future sessions. Thus, the members take away many insights from the sessions, improving their negotiation skills with every passing week.

While the conference (the activities mentioned above) lasts for about two hours and a half, the last 30 minutes is dedicated to icebreaking activities so that members can socialize with one another. To gain further insight into the organization, The Granite Tower (GT) has interviewed its president, Lee Hwakyung (’21, English Language and Literature).

GT: What are some of the activities students partake in KIOSS?

Lee: Besides the regular sessions, KIOSS runs the Korea Model United Nations Beginner’s Camp (KMUN BC) in the summer and the Korea Model United Nations (KMUN) during the winter holidays. KIOSS members are required to participate in either KMUN BC, or KMUN. Members need to work as a team, as they are the ones hosting the conferences. KMUN BC is an event aimed to help ease new delegates – specifically middle school students and high school students, with separate programs for both – step into the world of MUN. For two days, members will have the opportunity to learn about the UN and the concepts and procedures of MUN. Thus, both events require immense preparation, which can be rather stressful. All in all, however, though preparing for the event can be rather stressful, it is as extremely rewarding.

GT:  What makes your organization unique to all other speech and debate organizations?

Lee: KIOSS is different from other speech and debate organizations in that we have an MUN session every week. With about 20 members, participants lead discussions (chairing), write resolutions, and discuss issues amongst themselves, representing their respective nations. Since all debates need to end with a consensus, members inevitably learn more about the art of negotiation, and they do this all while learning more about international relations and current issues. Also, by participating in opening the actual KMUN and KMUN BC, students gain experience as leaders, bearing much responsibility in hosting events that represent Korea University (KU). That, I believe, is why KIOSS is so different from all other speech organizations on campus, insofar as it awards numerous opportunities.

Recruitment Information

All undergraduate students are welcome to apply. Interested students will need to complete a Google Form and an interview. More information will be given nearing recruitment season. If interested, please refer to the KIOSS Instagram page kioss_official for updates!