World Knowledge Forum

Practice Day 1
Listen to 36 minute speech given by William H. Gates III called "A New Kind of Capitalism for the 21st Century."
Practice Day 2
Listen to a panel at the World Economic Forum discussing the global energy crisis.
Practice Day 3
Listen to a 45 minutes speech given by Barack Obama to Congress on health care reforms.

I did all this practicing for the 10th Annual World Knowledge Forum held in Seoul at the lovely WalkerHill Sheraton Hotel & Casino.
*Unfortunately, I did not get any time at the Casino.

http://www.wkforum.org/WKF/v3/eng/main.php

Many people were asked, but after careful consideration between FMs, Training Center, and Faculty Management, a mere 20 people were asked to be candidates to attend. We had to go to 3 training sessions to prove our press release writing ability. True, the room was filled with high-caliber writing talent spanning from people with Masters in English to those with newspaper and radio backgrounds. Intimidated, I walked in with only a blog under my belt. Sure I was a contributor to my university newspaper and had received As on various essays and research papers, but nothing could really prepare me for these training sessions. It wasn't the draw of seeing George W. Bush open the WKF. I wanted to go as a reporter for Maeil Business Newspaper. This would be a great professional and learning experience.

We were asked to watch a clip of either a speech or panel discussion that spanned topics that would be featured at the World Knowledge Forum such as the recession, the currency exchange, and the energy crisis. Then, we would have to rush to a computer somewhere within the 4-story building and create a press release in standard format with at least 10 direct quotations.

Equipped with MP3s, blank sheets of paper, and a writing utensils, we set-off in a writing competition to prove our ability since only 10 people would be chosen out of 20.

Without research done ahead of time, we were fresh fish starting relatively on level playing ground. My first session felt insanely hard. Thankfully, we listened to Bill Gates who is relatively easy to understand. I had over 8 pages of loose-leaf notes. I picked a room where the air-conditioning was set to heater mode. I thought that listening to music and retyping all my notes would help me, but these approaches proved time-consuming leaving my content bare, disorganized, and unfinished.

My second practice session was even harder. We were given a panel of non-North Americans discussing the global energy crisis. What made it even worst is that were were not given one of the names of the panels; perhaps the most important-the head of OPEC! They used unfamiliar terminology and had thick accents.

My third attempt was my best. We listened to Barack Obama, an eloquent speaker full of great sound-bites for the press release. Furthermore, since he is the President addressing Congress, there were plenty of pauses for clapping or emphasis-crucial time needed for getting clear notes and quotations. I attacked this assignment differently than the others. This time I wrote a 5 point outline of his speech, then placing appropriate quotes within each category. All was left was for me to paraphrase his ideas and write around the quotes. I was left with 5 extra minutes to proofread.

Happy about my last attempt, but still in the doldrums about my total performance, I was very discouraged about my chances of going as a reporter at the WKF. We were given chances to talk with the editors about our 3 practices, but I didn't even want to entertain the idea of failure. Nevertheless, I was surprisingly chosen.

We had to submit research prior to the event to show management of our dedication. Lazy and pressed for time, I submitted lengthy research mostly copy-pasted bios. However, as the event approached I watched YouTube clips of interviews I would be covering. The presentations and panels I covered are below.

Paul Krugman, 2008 Nobel Prize Laureate in Economics

"The Global Economy"

"New Mobile Map 2015"

Woo-Young Kwak, Executive VP, LG Electronics

Zane Moi, Regional Director, Research in Motion (RIM)

Esko Aho, Executive VP, Nokia Corporation & Former PM of Finland

"Creative Marketing in Down Times"
Jean-Claude Larreche, Professor, Insead
Joe Fuller, Chairman, Monitor Group

Sue Shim, Senior VP Marketing, Samsung

Bernd Schmitt, Professor, Columbia University

Bill Rhodes, Vice Chairman of Citigroup
"The Global Economy: the Outlook & Role of Korea"

After we finished the press releases, they would be edited, and then posted in PDF format on the WKF website. Even more rewarding, they were used by Maeil Business Newspaper reporters to create actual news stories.

*Press Releases can be found here http://www.wkforum.org/WKF/v3/eng/sub3_1.php

I spent 2 days with 20 Chungdahm writing experts. We held a corner of the Maeil Business Newspaper press room. Our table was covered with laptops, half-eaten sandwiches, and mounds of empty coffee cups. We racked our brains for the perfect word, the right quote, and meeting the 45 minute deadline. We sweated in our business suits waiting for the next session to begin or just the day to end. Thankfully, Chungdahm paid for us to stay at the W Hotel, the nicest hotel I've ever stayed in. My experience at Chungdahm has had its ups and downs, but this has been by far the best learning experience I've had during my tenure at this company. I've made friends with the best and brightest of this company and I know this won't be the last time we work or at least see each other.

World Knowledge Forum Chungdahm Writers