Volkswagen Korea wraps up children's art competition featuring Atlas SUV

Volkswagen Korea has concluded its "Drawing Competition with Atlas" children's art contest, selecting and honoring 20 winners, the automaker announced Monday.

The competition was designed to let children freely express stories about family car experiences from their own perspective. Volkswagen Korea said the event reflects the brand's philosophy that automobiles and technology should bring warmth and joy to everyday life.

More than 1,400 entries were submitted over the roughly 40-day contest period. Volkswagen Korea evaluated works on thematic relevance, creativity, imagination, expressiveness, completeness and storytelling to select the 20 winning pieces.

An awards ceremony was held May 30 at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul, with Volkswagen Korea President Michael Ant in attendance.

The grand prize went to Kim Ji-woo, a student at Jwadong Elementary School in Busan, for a work titled "He Who Bore the Sky Now Lifts the Atlas." Judges praised the piece for creatively linking the image of Atlas from Greco-Roman mythology with an automobile, expressing mythological imagination and dreams for the future in an original way.

The excellence award went to Moon Ro-ha for "Our Home, Rolling with Happiness," a work capturing the joy of family travel, while the merit award went to Kim Han-byeol for "Our Atlas Filled with Starlight." An additional 17 works — exploring themes including family travel, future cities, AI, environmental protection and cultural heritage — received encouragement awards.

All winners received a certificate, a trophy plaque and a commemorative doll. The grand prize winner received a three-country European family travel package, while the excellence award winner received a domestic hotel stay. The merit award winner received an annual pass to a domestic amusement park, and encouragement award recipients each received 300,000 won (about $199) in cultural gift certificates.

"In every entry, I could feel the children's boundless imagination and their warm gaze toward their families," Volkswagen Korea President Michael Ant said. "The happy moments and precious family stories in these works reminded me of Volkswagen's philosophy of putting people at the center."

Meanwhile, Volkswagen Korea continues to run a range of participatory programs through which customers and families can engage with the brand, including the "Atlas Winter Glamping" event and the "Golf GTI University Student AI Video Competition," alongside the children's art contest.