Seven minutes, four teams, one winner. Each year, new heated debates take place at the Korea Intervarsity Debate Association’s (KIDA) Rookie Tournament (RT), where different debate societies from universities all over Seoul fight it out round after round, hoping to get to the grand final. This year, the Korea University Debate Club (KUDC) had the chance to host the event, and they spared no effort to make it a successful and memorable tournament.

The KIDA RT represents a chance for new debaters to experience a formal competition without the pressure of facing off against seasoned debaters. This year, the tournament was held at the International Studies Hall, involving the participation of 46 teams submitted by ten university debate clubs, along with two other individually registered teams. The two-day event officially started on October 7 with the opening ceremony to welcome all participants and remind them once again of the rules to follow throughout the competition.

Let The Games Begin

Soon after the opening ceremony was concluded, the match-ups for the first round were revealed and each team was given fifteen minutes to prepare their speeches. The same process would follow throughout the day, with four rounds of debate awaiting the participants. Before the end of the night, only sixteen teams had made it to the quarter-finals, with most of them belonging to Yonsei University (YU), Seoul National University (SNU), and Korea University (KU).

The second day of the tournament witnessed even fiercer debates, and by the time of the final round, only four teams were left. The motion was announced: This house prefers that the queer movement in South Korea prioritize “responsive advocacy” instead of “parallel advocacy.” What followed was an intense hour-long debate where only one team from YU remained against three teams from SNU. Despite such difficult circumstances, after careful deliberation, the judges finally declared YU as the winner of the tournament, ending an exhausting yet equally rewarding weekend.

Meeting Go Dabin

President of KUDC, Go Dabin (‘21, International Studies), was the official convener of the KIDA RT. To find out more about her role, as well as the work that went on behind the scenes, The Granite Tower (GT) decided to conduct an interview with her.

GT: Could you briefly introduce yourself and explain what the KIDA RT is?

Go: My name is Go Dabin, and I am currently part of the 19th presidency of KUDC. We were elected last November and we are affiliated with KIDA, which I am also the president of. KIDA consists of clubs from different universities that engage in parliamentary-style English debates, and assists in hosting a tournament usually twice a semester. One of them is the RT, which is hosted by a single society and aims to educate those who are new to debate.

GT: What was special about this year’s RT?

Go: This year was when offline tournaments came back because, from 2020 to last year, they had been carried out in a hybrid format. Everything was done in the venue physically and that was kind of unique because we didn’t have many seniors that we could reach out to and ask how to run the tournament, so we just had to do what we felt was right. Another thing that was very special was that we had a high number of participants. We had a total of 48 teams participating with two people per team, and around 40 judges. We were really glad to have such a high turnout, not only because we were the organizing committee but also in general because it showed that rookies are still very enthusiastic and care a lot about debate.

GT: What is something you would like to share with those interested in getting into English debate?

Go: A common misconception people have about KUDC is that it is an intimidating club where you have to be really fluent in English and also argumentative. But being good at English doesn’t make you a good debater. Besides, we also have a separate league that caters to people who are not as accustomed to English so they have a chance at getting separate awards. You also don’t have to be really argumentative; there is not one correct way of being a good debater. What matters in the end is passion and dedication. And even if you’re not such a good debater, it can still be fun to share a common interest with people from different backgrounds, and bond with them through debating about various topics. Additionally, the abilities you learn at KUDC can apply to your real life as well, such as if you want to become a more eloquent speaker.