First Lady Kim Jung-sook visiting the King Sejong Institute in Barcelona
Writer홍보협력팀
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2021-07-15
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First Lady Kim Jung-sook visiting the King Sejong Institute in Barcelona
- First visit to a King Sejong Institute outside Korea
- Communication with the Spanish students through Korean literature, such as reciting of Night of Counting the Stars by Yun Dong-ju
On June 17, during her state visit to Spain with President Moon, First Lady Kim Jung-sook visited the King Sejong Institute located on the UAB campus to attend a Korean lecture and to encourage the Korean faculty and local students. The visit is significant in that it was the first visit by First Lady Kim Jung-sook to a King Sejong Institute outside Korea.
First Lady Kim Jung-sook attended a special lecture, “A Walk through Korean Literature (Topic: Literature and Translation)” by Mihwa Jo, the director of the King Sejong Institute, and the lecture “Reciting Poet Yun Dong-ju,” upon arriving at the King Sejong Institute, Barcelona. She recited the poem Night of Counting the Stars by Yun Dong-ju, and shared the Korean sentiments with the local learners. Moreover, she presented the Korean and Spanish versions of the work by Yun Dong-ju titled Sky, Wind, Star and Poem to the students in Barcelona.
A student who attended the lecture commented, “I could understand the sentiments of Koreans much better through what I learned in the lecture today,” adding “Yun Dong-ju is my favorite Korean poet, and I had made a presentation about him in a class when I was in high school. It was such pleasure to recite his poem with the First Lady.”
This visit presented the local learners with a special memory and an experience. It is expected that it will motivate people to have added interest in Korea and its culture, and to study the Korean language.
The King Sejong Institute in Barcelona was designated in 2017, and a total of 244 students attended the lectures until last year. It showed a high performance in operation with 92 points in satisfaction (overall average 88 points) and 89% completion (overall average 72%).
The King Sejong Institute Foundation plans to continuously communicate with local King Sejong Institutes and actively supports their requests, thereby facilitating the spread of the Korean language and culture.
