For foreign high school and college students residing in and out of Korea … Participation of 117 persons from 18 countries

Held the final contest at LEE Si-won Global Convention Hall of YU

Provision of an opportunity to enhance understanding of Korean language and culture

[May 19, 2022]

YU (President CHOI Oe-chool) held “75th Anniversary Global Korean Speaking Contest”

  The contest was held for foreign high school and undergraduate (graduate) students residing in and out of Korea In the worldwide heyday of “K-culture”, the demand for Hangeul and Korean language increases as an axis of Korean Wave. This competition is expected to be an opportunity for foreigners to increase their understanding of Korean language and culture.

  This competition was held for pure foreigners, i.e. high school and undergraduate (graduate) students residing in and out of Korea whose both parents are foreigners. They competed with presentations for 3 minutes after selecting free topics such as “Why I Love Korea” and “Why I Learn Korean,” etc.

  In the contest, 117 students from 18 countries including China, Vietnam, Japan, Russia, Morocco, Thailand, Turkey, the United States, India, and Sweden, etc. participated. Through preliminary document screening and video interviews, 3 students (3 high school students and 10 undergraduate (graduate) students) were selected for final contest. The final contest was held at 2 pm on the 19th at LEE Si-won Global Convention Hall of YU Cheonma Art Center, finalists participated with zoom function, and the contest was broadcasted in real time on YouTube.

  In addition to the fluency of communication such as Korean vocabulary and expressions, the contents of the presentation and non-verbal expressions such as facial expressions, gestures, and postures were comprehensively evaluated; Karimov Husniddin Odiljonovich (Jangdeok High School, Uzbekistan) who presented on the theme of “My high school life in Korea” and Vu Hoai Lan (Vietnam, Tongsang University) who presented on the theme of “Korea’s vitality, traditional markets” took first place in high school part and undergraduate (graduate) parts, respectively, and received the YU President's Award and designated amount of money.

  Vu Hoai Lan (upper photo) from Vietnam, Rank 1 in undergraduate (graduate) part, said, “It is an honor to receive such an unexpected award. As a student who loves and learns Korean, I thank to YU for organizing the Korean speaking contest. I first thought deeply about the topic during preparation for the contest. I had a lot of memories of traditional markets during studying in Korea and I chose this theme. I’d like to recommend other foreign students to experience Korean culture in traditional markets if they have the opportunity to visit Korea.”

President CHOI Oe-chool of YU said, “I was surprised at the considerable level of Korean proficiency of the foreign students who participated in this contest. During the time that stu

dents did writing and made presentations in Korean on the subjects selected by them based on their learned Korean, they must improve their Korean ability and take one step toward Korean culture. I hope that many foreign students interested in Korea and the Korean language develop not only Korean but also various foreign language skills and global capabilities to become leaders in solving common global problems and leading global development.