> 193 outstanding KSI students from 63 countries around the world were invited to visit Korea and experience Korean culture.
> Award winners are given the opportunity to participate in a 6-month language study program at a university in Korea.

KSIF (President Lee Haiyoung, hereinafter Foundation), together with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (Minister Park Bo-kyun, hereinafter MCST), held the ‘2022 King Sejong Institute Invitational Training for Outstanding Students’ from October 5 (Wed) to 11 (Tue).

The King Sejong Institute Invitational Training for Outstanding Students, which has been held every year since 2010, is the foundation’s exclusive scholarship program designed to encourage Korean language students around the world. The training resumed after 3 years due to COVID-19, and the number of students participating, 193, is the largest ever.

The Foundation holds Korean speaking and writing contests at KSI locations around the world every May to commemorate the birthday of King Sejong the Great. In addition, outstanding students from every KSI location are invited to Korea to celebrate Hangul Day in October. This year, 193 outstanding students from 127 King Sejong Institutes in 63 countries visited Korea.

This year’s agenda included various programs through which participants could experience Korean culture so that they may go on to spread K-culture craze to a wider global audience. The students arrived in Korea on October 5th, after which they visited the tomb of King Sejong the Great on October 6th, the Korean Culture Festival K-Pop Concert on October 7th, and Gyeongbokgung Palace on October 8th. They then participated in the Hangul Week eve event at the National Hangeul Museum. On October 9, they visited Sunbee World and Sosuseowon Confucian Academy, a world cultural heritage site, thanks to the support of Yeongju City. Finally, after watching the Namsadang performance hosted by Anseong City and touring around Dongdaemun area on the 10th, the students participated in the closing ceremony on the 11th, marking the end of this year’s Training. During their visit, the ‘2022 King Sejong Institute Korean Speaking/Writing Final’ was held at the National Museum of Korea on October 7th (Fri). 2,600 students participated in the speaking preliminaries and 1,650 students in the writing preliminaries, with 10 students and 12 students competing in the speaking and writing finals, respectively, each demonstrating their Korean proficiency to the best of their ability.

The Grand Prize in writing went to Katlova Dana from KSI at Korean Cultural Center in Kazakhstan, who wrote ‘Korean that makes me happy,’ and the Grand Prize in speaking went to Emlyn Metro from KSI La Rochelle, France, who told ‘A moving story that raised me when I felt lost as a teenager.’

The Grand Prize and Award of Excellence winners of each category were awarded the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Award and the KSIF President Award, respectively. In addition, the winners of each category, including the Grand Prize and the Award of Excellence, will be given the opportunity to participate in a 6-month language study program at Seoul National University, Sungkyunkwan University, Duksung Women's University, Sogang University, Korea University, Ewha Womans University, or Dankook University, which will be sponsored by the Asian Development Foundation, Hancom Group, and KB Kookmin Card.

“I am excited to meet in person those students who will go on to represent the Korean Wave in the future, just like in the case of a KSI Minsk student who dreamt of compiling a Korean-Belarus dictionary after watching the Korean movie Mal Mo E. Every one of us at the Foundation will continue to work towards helping KSI students achieve their dreams in Korean,” remarked President Lee Haiyoung of the Foundation.

Emlyn Metro, the winner of Grand Prize in speaking at 2022 KSI Korean Speaking and Writing Contest (KSI La Rochelle, France).

Katlova Dana, the winner of Grand Prize in writing at 2022 KSI Korean Speaking and Writing Contest (KSI at Korean Cultural Center in Kazakhstan).