TEDxSeoul Youth

Speakers

Speakers may not be confirmed. Check the event website for the latest lineup.

• Charlotte Owens

  Inclusivity & Identity Activist

  Charlotte Owens is a Grade 6 student living in Seoul, shaped by a life lived between two worlds — a Korean mother, an English father, and a childhood split between cultures and continents. These experiences have given Charlotte a deep curiosity about what identity really means and why belonging is something we choose to give, rather than divide. Passionate about sharing her perspective and understanding the views of others, Charlotte has always found joy in presenting her ideas and learning what drives people to think the way they do. Through her talk, she hopes to challenge audiences to reconsider what it means to truly accept someone, proving that identity cannot be split in half. When not exploring questions of culture and belonging, Charlotte can be found sharing stories and connecting with people around her.

• Chris Hambarsoomian

  Cross-cultural Storyteller & Creator

  Chambo is an Australian creator and cross-cultural storyteller based in Seoul, Korea. With over six years of experience in short-form content creation and mainstream broadcasting, he has built a career around reinvention, creativity, and embracing uncertainty. Through his work and personal experiences, Chambo hopes to encourage young people to see failure not as proof that something is wrong with them, but as a necessary part of growth and self-discovery.

• Conrad Francis OLY

  Olympic Swimmer

  Conrad Francis is a two-time Olympic swimmer and elite performance coach with over 25 years of experience in competitive sports and youth mentorship. He is passionate about breaking the myth of raw talent, believing that true excellence is built in quiet moments of resistance when progress seems invisible. Having competed on the world’s biggest stages, he is now dedicated to helping the next generation overcome self-doubt and choose growth when quitting makes the most sense.

• Emma Jung

  Experiential Value Explorer

  Emma Jung is a Grade 7 student and language enthusiast who has spent years quietly questioning a word she kept hearing: useless. As someone with a deep passion for the English language and a dream of building a career around it, Emma grew used to the whispers suggesting that path was impractical. But rather than accepting that verdict, she started digging into the words themselves — what do "useful" and "useless" actually mean, and who gets to decide? Through careful reflection, Emma discovered that the dictionary definition and societal expectations did not quite match what her own experiences had taught her. Through her talk, she hopes to inspire audiences to challenge fixed definitions and find their own meaning of what is truly worthwhile. When not exploring the layers of language, you can find Emma pursuing the things that make life — by her own definition — thoroughly useful.

• Hoyeon Koo

  Presence and Awareness Advocate

  Hoyeon Koo is a Grade 6 student who grew up in California before recently returning to Korea. The contrast was striking: where she once enjoyed wide open spaces and time in nature, she found people in Seoul glued to their screens even in the briefest moments between destinations. That observation prompted a simple but powerful question — is what is happening on a screen truly more important than the world right in front of us? Inspired by her own experience of stepping away from devices and reconnecting with her surroundings, Hoyeon believes that presence is something we have to actively choose. Through her talk, she hopes to encourage audiences to look up, slow down, and rediscover the world around them. When not championing mindfulness, you can find Hoyeon enjoying the outdoors and soaking in the everyday moments most people scroll past.

• Hyunwoo Sun

  Innovative Educator

  Hyunwoo Sun is the founder of Talk To Me In Korean and an innovative educator dedicated to breaking down cultural and linguistic barriers based in Seoul. With over 15 years of experience in digital content creation and community building, he specializes in leveraging creative passion—from language learning to breakdancing—to inspire global connection. Hyunwoo is passionate about unlocking human potential through discipline and play, and believes that the future is not a burden to fear, but an exciting playground of endless opportunities for the next generation.

• Jiwoo Park

  Academic Well-being Champion

  Jiwoo Park is a Grade 7 student with an international background that has taken her through a variety of academic communities and learning environments. Throughout her journey, she heard countless lessons about how to study and how to work — but never once how to rest. That gap grew into a question, and that question grew into a mission when Jiwoo began to experience burnout firsthand. After allowing herself a real rest and witnessing its impact, she became passionate about helping others understand that recovery is not laziness — it is the foundation of sustainable achievement. Through her talk, Jiwoo hopes to show that rest is not the opposite of productivity, but the key to it. When not advocating for balance, you can find Jiwoo drawing from the many cultures and communities that have shaped her along the way.

• Nicolas Aguilar

  Social Psychology Questioner

  Nicolas Aguilar is a Brazilian-British Grade 11 student who made the bold and independent decision to leave Brazil — the only country he had ever called home — and move to South Korea to complete his high school education. That leap of faith was not his first lesson in navigating the unfamiliar. Having attended four schools in Brazil alone, Nicolas experienced firsthand the disorientation of switching between incompatible academic systems, at one point repeating six months of studies just to realign with a new curriculum. These transitions, rather than holding him back, turned him into someone who finds strength in uncertainty. A competitor at the World Scholars' Cup and Tournament of Champions, Nicolas brings intellectual rigor to every new environment he enters. Through his talk, he explores how schools quietly teach us to go along with the crowd — and how that invisible force, pluralistic ignorance, follows us long after graduation.

• Philip Kerckhove

  Growth Mindset Motivator

  Philip Kerckhove is a Grade 8 student, originally from Belgium, who moved to South Korea at the age of eight. That early experience of navigating a new culture planted the seed of a belief he has since tested and proven time and again: confidence is not something you arrive with, it is something you build. A dedicated martial artist since age four, Philip holds a 3rd poom black belt in Taekwondo — a discipline that has taught him the value of perseverance through discomfort. He also plays the saxophone and has competed at the World Scholars' Cup Global Round and Tournament of Champions, collaborating with students from across the world. Through his talk, Philip hopes to show audiences that the moments of boredom, challenge, and discomfort we most want to avoid are precisely the ones that shape who we become. Philip continues to seek out new challenges, believing growth lives just outside the comfort zone.

• Sophia Muhammad Farid

  Conscious Consumerism Educator

  Sophia Muhammad Farid is a Grade 10 student and a globally minded thinker born in Johor Bahru and raised across five countries — Vienna, Mumbai, Kuala Lumpur, London, and Seoul. As the daughter of a Malaysian diplomat, Sophia has grown up adapting to new environments, and that adaptability has shaped a keen interest in how systems — cultural, technological, and scientific — shape everyday life. It was this curiosity that led her to investigate something hiding in plain sight: the science behind the snacks we can't stop eating. Inspired by her passion for science and global perspectives, Sophia discovered how food companies engineer products to override our brain's natural signals. Through her talk, she hopes to equip audiences with the knowledge to see through billion-dollar marketing strategies and make more informed choices.

• Thomas Farid Ferguson

  Gamified Education Evangelist

  Thomas Farid Ferguson is a Grade 6 student, bringing with him a rich background shaped by his Scottish roots, Egyptian heritage, and eight years of growing up in Hong Kong. A natural explorer both in and out of the classroom, Thomas has competed on the swim team and currently plays on the volleyball team — and outside of school, he can be found riding his scooter or swimming with his dad. These hands-on experiences have convinced him that the best learning happens when you are actively engaged, making mistakes, and having fun — just like in a game. Through his talk, Thomas hopes to challenge the idea that gaming is a distraction, arguing instead that it is a powerful educational tool waiting to be embraced. He brings energy, discipline, and a global perspective to everything he does.

• Yaesuh Ashley Kang

  Digital Culture Observer

  Yaesuh Ashley Kang is a Grade 10 student and a keen observer of the ever-shifting landscape of language. Growing up as a teenager in a digital world — surrounded by group chats, internet trends, and online humour — Ashley has had a front-row seat to one of the most fascinating linguistic shifts of her generation. She has watched slang, memes, and invented expressions travel from online spaces into real-life conversations with remarkable speed, reshaping the way young people actually communicate with one another. As part of an international community, Ashley became increasingly aware of how this digital language both connects and divides, particularly for those who did not grow up inside the culture that created it. Through her talk, she hopes to open audiences' eyes to the reality that language is always evolving — and that what teenagers speak online is not a corruption of English, but a living extension of it.

• Yunah Victoria Park

  Empathic Listening Advocate

  Growing up half Korean and half Austrian, Yunah moves fluidly between English, German, and Korean — and has discovered that each language carries its own way of seeing the world. Inspired by her experience as Student Council President in Grade 5, where she learned that true leadership means listening before deciding, Yunah became deeply interested in the hidden power of empathy. Through her talk, she hopes to show audiences that listening is not a passive act but a quiet superpower that lets us hear what people are truly feeling, even when words fall short. When not leading conversations, you can find Yunah singing in choir, playing the violin, or on the field for soccer, swimming, and basketball.