Park Jun Young, a student in the Department of Fashion Design at Kookmin University (President Jeong Seung Ryul), won the Grand Prize (Seoul Mayor's Award) in the university division at the ‘30th Myungwon International Tea Culture Festival’ held at the Small Auditorium of the National Museum of Korea on November 22. Additionally, exchange students Cat Linh Ngan and Julia Neubert, who advanced to the finals after passing the preliminary round, won the Best Prize in the university division. Hong Seong Tak, a student majoring in Intelligent Semiconductor Convergence Electronics, and exchange students Joren Stox and Cyrus Song each won Excellence Prizes.

The Myungwon International Tea Culture Competition, hosted by the Myungwon Cultural Foundation and sponsored by related domestic and international organizations, is a leading international tea culture competition with broad participation ranging from kindergarteners to university students and the general public. Participants submit tea ceremony videos for the preliminary round and undergo comprehensive evaluation in the finals on posture, etiquette, procedure, and tea (color, aroma, and taste). Carrying on the vision of the late Myeongwon Kim Mi Hee, a pioneer of Korean tea, the competition aims to teach etiquette through traditional tea ceremony—a fundamental courtesy of the Korean people—fostering pride in traditional culture and cultivating competitiveness as global citizens.

This year's winners participated in the competition while taking the tea ceremony course at Kookmin University's College of Liberal Arts. Kookmin University has consistently participated in this competition annually since 2008. Students from diverse majors are recognized for developing both direct and indirect competencies through tea ceremony education, including emotional stability, character cultivation, attentiveness, and concentration. During competition preparation, they combined theoretical and practical classes, systematically learning traditional etiquette by utilizing practice environments like the university's Myeongwon Folk Museum.

A Kookmin University official stated, “Tea ceremony transcends the act of ‘brewing and serving tea’; it holds educational value in instilling etiquette through the five senses and cultivating a composed mindset.” They added, “We will continue to expand liberal arts education that nurtures both character and global sensitivity by offering diverse liberal arts courses.”