Bo H. Seo is a Korean-Australian journalist, author, and two time world debating champion, having won both the World Universities Debating Championship in 2016 and the World Schools Debating Championships in 2013.[1] Seo is the author of Good Arguments, a book about how skills transferred from debating can be applied to public discourse and personal relationships.[2]

Bo Seo
BornBo H. Seo
Occupation
  • Journalist
  • author
NationalityKorean-Australian
Alma materHarvard University
Tsinghua University

Early life

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Seo moved with his family from South Korea to Australia when he was 8 years old.[3] At the time, he spoke very little English.[3] He graduated from Barker College in Sydney in 2012.[4][5]

Career

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Before studying at Harvard, he won the World Schools Debating Championships (WSDC) in 2013 while competing for Australia.[2] While studying for his undergraduate degree at Harvard University, he won the 2016 Thessaloniki World Universities Debating Championship (WUDC) with his partner Fanele Mashwama, and he would go on to serve as coach for both the Harvard College Debating Union and Australian debate team.[6] He subsequently earned a masters in public policy from Tsinghua University as a Schwarzman scholar.[7] In 2018, he became a trainee journalist at Australian Financial Review.[8] In 2022, he published his first book, Good Arguments: What the art of debating can teach us about listening better and disagreeing well.[2][9]

References

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  1. ^ "Bo Seo". ethics.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2017-02-18.
  2. ^ a b c "'There's no substitute for listening': what being a champion debater taught Bo Seo about arguing over the dishes". TheGuardian.com. 2022-07-16. Retrieved 2022-08-04.
  3. ^ a b Tuttle, Kate. "Bo Seo makes a strong case with 'Good Arguments: How Debate Teaches Us to Listen and Be Heard'". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved 2022-08-04.
  4. ^ "Barnews - Good Arguments Bo Seo". bn.nswbar.asn.au. Retrieved 2024-03-22.
  5. ^ BarkerCollege.Website. "Alumni". BarkerCollege.Website. Retrieved 2024-03-22.
  6. ^ Park, Maria H. (January 9, 2016). "Harvard Team Wins 2016 World Debating Championship". Thecrimson.com. Retrieved 2017-02-18.
  7. ^ "The preservation of a mother tongue". TLS. Retrieved 2024-03-22.
  8. ^ "A Harvard graduate explains why good debate makes us all better". Australian Financial Review. 2022-07-15. Retrieved 2022-08-04.
  9. ^ "World debating champion Bo Seo believes in the power of disagreement — and how to strike accord". ABC News. 2022-07-16. Retrieved 2022-08-04.