Ulsan girls' school team wins industry ministry mock trade contest

The industry ministry said Friday that a team from Ulsan Girls' Commercial High School won the grand prize at its sixth Mock Trade Competition, held at the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA).

The team, named "Trade? Whale!", took the Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Award for a smartwatch strap made with traditional Korean knots. The winning team received 1 million won ($755), and its supervising teacher received 400,000 won ($302).

The contest brought together 96 students, teachers and officials from specialized and Meister high schools across the country. This year's theme asked students to identify Korean consumer goods with export potential and propose ways to enter overseas markets.

Thirteen schools fielded 25 teams in the preliminary round in September, and 13 teams from eight schools advanced to the final. Products presented ranged from hanji paper and traditional knotwork goods to cosmetics and food.

Judging combined an advance assessment by KOTRA's overseas regional offices, which counted for 30 percent of the final score, with on-site evaluation by four experts including KOTRA export specialists, which made up the remaining 70 percent.

In addition to the grand prize, two teams received the top excellence award from the KOTRA president, four teams received excellence awards from the head of KOTRA's AI trade and investment division, and six teams received encouragement awards from the head of KOTRA Academy, for a total of 13 winning teams.

The competition is part of the ministry's FTA practical workforce training program, which it has run since 2019. Students apply what they have learned about free trade agreements and trade practice to find promising export products and present market entry strategies.

The event also included lectures on trade and employment and a session on hiring at KOTRA. The ministry said it wants students to use the practical experience and award records from the contest in preparing for employment.

This year the ministry is supporting about 230 second-year students at 13 specialized and Meister high schools nationwide with training in FTA, trade and marketing practice, origin-management certification courses, the mock trade competition and overseas study trips. It said it will continue the program to help students enter related fields.