KOREATOWN : 13-Year-Old Wins MADD Poster Prize

A Koreatown boy whose mother was injured by a drunk motorcyclist has won first place in a national poster and essay contest sponsored by Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD).

Eugene Suh, who attends Sepulveda Gifted Magnet High School, was one of seven contest winners selected from 80,000 students who entered. The 13-year-old seventh-grader, who won the grades 7-9 poster division, received a $1,000 savings bond, a plaque and a trip to Dallas-Fort Worth for his winning poster, “My Future Is in Your Hands: Don’t Drink and Drive.”

“I wanted to use my artistic talent for a good purpose,” said Eugene, whose mother has since recovered from her injuries in the Pasadena accident 18 years ago.

In his poster, Eugene used charcoal and pastels to draw an alcohol bottle. Inside the bottle, he drew a college student holding a diploma, a nurse holding a baby and a Boy Scout. “I was riding a train when I thought about the design,” Eugene said. “We were entering a tunnel, so I included that in my drawing.”

MADD created the contest in 1984 to educate young people about the dangers of drinking and driving. This year, 7-Eleven sponsored the event and featured contest information at its stores throughout the country.