> Discovering unheard stories from KSI locations around the world
> Contest winners invited to Korea to join the awards ceremony

KSIF ended its 10th anniversary year on a special note with 2022 KSI Inspirational Story Awards Ceremony.

Winners of the ‘2022 KSI Inspirational Story Contest’ were invited to Korea to join the Award Ceremony held in the Grand Conference Room located on the 12th of the foundation on Monday, December 19th, 2022. The contest, first held in 2021 with the participation of current and former KSI staff, discovers and awards inspirational stories behind spreading the Korean language and culture overseas. The award categories expanded to include writing and photos in 2022, with a total of 48 works being submitted by KSI directors and cultural interns over 3 weeks between November 4th and November 27th.

The awards ceremony was broadcast live on the foundation’s YouTube channel. KIM Young-ja, an instructor at KSI at the Korean Cultural Center in Belgium and the winner of the Photo Category, accepted the award, saying, “I hope more inspirational stories get heard through this Contest.” Kim Mi-jeong, an instructor at KSI Tashkent 1, who won Grand Prize in the essay category for her story about Koryo-saram students, broke down in tears as she watched the moving-toon created after her work.

The foundation plans to actively share the inspirational stories discovered from the Contest. The award-winning works were published in a booklet, with six winning works in the essay category made into moving toons and uploaded on the foundation's YouTube channel. In addition, entries in the essay category can be viewed through the online photo exhibition available on the Metaverse KSI Campus.

President Lee Haiyoung expressed her gratitude by saying, "I am grateful for the hard work of KSI staff members who work diligently even under difficult conditions. We will continue to collect and share these inspirational stories behind every hardworking KSI location so that its staff members can take pride in spreading the Korean language and culture.”

KIM Mi-jeong, an instructor at KSI Tashkent 1, who won Grand Prize in the essay category

The online photo exhibition of ‘2022 KSI Inspirational Stories Contest’ available on the Metaverse KSI Campus