The Ministry of Environment (Minister Kim Wan-seop) and the United Nations Environment Programme (Executive Director Inger Andersen) are hosting an art contest for all students nationwide under 19 years old, from kindergarten to high school, in anticipation of ‘World Environment Day 2025’ in June. Submissions are open from March 24 to April 25, and the winning entries will be displayed at the World Environment Day event in Jeju.
This year’s World Environment Day, returning to Korea for the first time in 28 years since it was held in Seoul in 1997, will take place from June 2 to 5 at the Jeju International Convention Center. Co-hosted by UNEP and the Korean government, approximately 1,000 participants, including international organizations, national environmental ministries, local governments, corporations, and civil society, are expected to attend.
The theme of the art contest is ‘Clean Environment, Our Choice! – Reducing Plastic Pollution in Everyday Life’. Participants are encouraged to creatively express their solutions for reducing plastic pollution in line with the theme. The Ministry of Environment stated, “We aim to encourage future generations to actively participate in environmental issues and recognize the need for daily practices.”
Participants must submit an application form on the official World Environment Day website and send their artwork with an attached confirmation receipt to the operations office via registered mail. The deadline is April 25, marked by the post. Each person can submit only one work, and uncolored pieces will be excluded from judging.
Artworks are categorized by age group. Kindergarten and lower elementary students must use a size 8 paper, while upper elementary students can choose between size 8 or 4, and middle and high school students must use size 4 paper. There are no restrictions on format or materials, but completeness and thematic expression will be assessed.
Judging will be conducted by external experts based on suitability to the theme, creativity, artistic quality, and usability, selecting a total of 40 outstanding works. Results will be announced on the website in early June and also communicated individually. Winning entries will be exhibited at the Jeju International Convention Center from June 4 to 5, alongside videos of participants explaining their pieces.
The total prize money amounts to 7.8 million KRW. One special prize winner will be chosen through on-site voting to receive 1 million KRW. Gold award winners (4 individuals) will receive the Minister of Environment Award and 500,000 KRW, silver award winners (12 individuals) will receive an Institutional Head Award and 200,000 KRW, and bronze award winners (24 individuals) will get the National Institute of Environmental Researcher Award and 100,000 KRW.
Jung Eun-hae, Director of International Cooperation at the Ministry of Environment, expressed her expectations, stating, “We hope this contest will inspire more children and youth, the future generation, to pay greater attention to World Environment Day. In particular, we wish for it to serve as a turning point for pledging daily practices, even small ones, towards the theme of ending plastic pollution this year.”