On Feb. 27, the 2026 POSTECH SF Awards ceremony was held in the POSTECH main building.
The POSTECH SF Awards is the only science fiction writing competition in Korea exclusively for undergraduate and graduate students in science and engineering fields. Established to encourage technically trained students to explore storytelling and speculative imagination, the competition has served as a gateway for many aspiring writers who wish to pursue creative work alongside their scientific studies. The 2026 competition marked the sixth iteration of the POSTECH SF Awards.
The program is hosted by POSTECH and organized by the university’s Institute of Communication and Public Discourse (ICP). Submissions for this year’s competition were accepted from Nov. 1, 2025, to Jan. 11, 2026. A total of 73 works were submitted by students representing 38 universities. After rigorous review, the judging panel selected one grand prize winner and three excellence prize winners.
The ceremony was attended by President Seong Keun KIM, Professor Jinhee KIM, Director of ICP, and Professor Jeong Ah WOO, head of the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences. Faculty members, students and invited guests gathered to celebrate the finalists and recognize the growing interest in science fiction writing within the science and engineering community. This year’s judging panel included literary critic Dae-won NO, science fiction authors Sanhwa LEE and Jongsan LEE. Guest of honor Daheum BAEK, an editor at EunHaeng NaMu Publishing Co., also attended the ceremony and delivered remarks about the role of speculative fiction in connecting science with broader cultural conversations.
The grand prize was awarded to Jaewon YOO (Mathematics, Integrated M.S.–Ph.D.), a student at POSTECH. During his acceptance speech, YOO reflected on his journey as a writer and the perseverance required to continue pursuing creative work while studying in a demanding scientific field. YOO said it had been six years since he began writing seriously and nearly a decade since he first discovered the joy of storytelling.
He also explained that he had stepped away from writing for the past few years while focusing on his academic work. After a hiatus for academics, he saw this submission as a “final attempt” to return to fiction. Yoo noted how perseverance brought him closer to his creative dreams.
Excellence prizes were awarded to Yoonji PARK (Environmental and Energy Engineering, Dong-A University), Gwangmin RYU (Biological Sciences, KAIST), and Eunnuri GO (Electrical Engineering, Jeonbuk National University), whose works were recognized for their originality and engagement with speculative scientific themes.
Organizers expressed hope that the competition will continue to grow as a platform where students in science and engineering can explore creative expression through fiction. The POSTECH SF Awards aims to continue fostering a new generation of science-inspired writers.
