Read the current Rule Book and the evaluation form for your assigned category. Training should reinforce the difference between historical quality and category-specific clarity of presentation.
The essential Korea judging instructions are included below so judges can prepare without opening a separate portal-guide PDF.
NHD Korea welcomes teachers, administrators, counselors, and other adults committed to careful evaluation and useful student feedback. Prior NHD judging experience is not required unless the current portal states otherwise.
Create a judge account at korea.nhd.org, read the current Contest Rule Book and your category evaluation form, and review assigned digital materials when they become available.
Historical Quality accounts for 80% of evaluation: argument, research, theme connection, context, multiple perspectives, accuracy, and significance. Clarity of Presentation accounts for 20%.
Discuss each entry with the judging team and provide specific, constructive comments that help students understand both the strengths of their work and areas for improvement.
The goal is a fair, consistent, and positive experience. Judges should help students feel proud of their work while providing meaningful written feedback.
Introduce yourself, explain the process briefly, help students feel at ease, and request their process paper and bibliography.
Review the written materials carefully for evidence of understanding, research, and thoroughness.
Evaluate the entry according to its category. Take preliminary notes that you can expand into written feedback later.
Ask about the project, research, and topic. Give students time to answer. Do not offer improvement suggestions during the interview.
Return to the judging room, discuss the entries, and reach team consensus on the projects advancing to the final round.
Each judge writes comments. The team aligns its ratings, and the judge captain submits rankings and feedback through korea.nhd.org.
Use Superior, Excellent, Good, or Needs Improvement. Do not assign points or compare entries with projects from other competitions.
Give every project comparable time and attention. If a student needs clarification, rephrase the question instead of simply repeating it.
Begin with a strength, then frame critical observations as useful suggestions. Feedback matters to students whether or not they advance.
Judging gives access to student work, registration details, interviews, evaluation materials, and internal judging systems. That access exists to run the contest, not for personal publication, promotion, teaching content, social media, or commercial use.
Judges must not:
Judges may say they served as an NHD Korea judge and describe the contest’s public structure. They may not discuss individual entries or internal evaluation proceedings. This duty continues after results are announced and after the judge’s term ends.
Photographing the contest does not authorize publication. Student work remains the students’ own; judges need written authorization from NHD Korea, and from the student or a parent or guardian where required, before reproducing it.
Report any accidental disclosure immediately, remove the material without delay, and cooperate with the review that follows. Violations can mean removal from judging, loss of system access, exclusion from future NHD Korea activities, and other action allowed under contest policy or applicable law.