147 KSI Students from 50 Countries,
“Nine Days in Seoul has been the Best!”

From Oct. 2nd ~10th, 147 KSI students experience Korean culture

Student from KSI Korean Cultural Center,
India, wins ‘KSI Korean Speech Contest 2018’

From October 2nd, ‘Study-Tour Award Program for Outstanding KSI Students 2018’ was held for nine days. It was organized by Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and hosted by King Sejong Institute Foundation, and 147 KSI students from 50 countries participated in the event.

The 600th Anniversary of the Enthronement of King Sejong, Itinerary to Commemorate Value of Hangeul

As this year marks the 600th anniversary of the enthronement of King Sejong, KSIF organized various activities to commemorate King Sejong’s achievements in creating Hangeul. On October 3rd, participants visited King Sejong the Great Memorial Hall and learnt about his achievements and biography. On October 5th, they visited National Hangeul Museum to learn the history, principle and use of Hangeul. Also on October 9th, 12 finalists of ‘KSI Korean Speech Contest 2018’ attended Hangeul Day Ceremony. Additionally, they visited major tourist sites such as Korean Folk Village and Gyeongbokgung Palace, and experienced Korean culture.

Special Experience at Site of Peace: Imgingak Pavilion and Dora Observatory in Paju

The world’s attention has been focused on the Korean Peninsula as three inter-Korean summits have been held this year. In response, the foundation organized an itinerary for KSI students to experience the history of the north-south divide. On October 3rd, it set off with a special lecture titled ‘War and Peace with Stories,’ by Tae-seong Choi and followed by visiting Imgingak Pavilion and Dora Observatory in Paju. “It’s incredible to actually see North Korea which I had only seen from photos,” “I hope I can travel to North Korea some day,” said Molchan Yana from KSI Minsk, Belarus.

Indian Student Obtains Grand Prize of KSI Korean Speech Contest

On October 4th, the final round of ‘KSI Korean Speech Contest 2018’ was held at COEX Artium. After coming through a competition of 220:1, 12 finalists competed against each other in Korean speech. The grand prize was awarded to Sourabhi Maiti from KSI of Korean Cultural Center, India. She presented about superstition of Korea and India and received a great response from the audience. Sourabhi said “I hope to become a Korean language teacher and help Indian youths to build their dreams.” Also Molchan Yana from KSI Minsk, Belarus and Prakaymook Patcharoen from Chiang Mai KSI, Thailand have received prizes. The finalists will attend a Korean language course at Kyunghee University, Korea University, Kookmin University, Sogang University, Seoul National University, Sungkyunkwan University, Yonsei University and Ewha Womans University which have sponsored the contest.

Communication Platform among Korean Learners Around World

During the program, the participants chose one course from Korean traditional percussion quartet, K-pop dance, K-pop music, Taekwondo or drama dubbing. On October 10th, they performed what they learnt about Korean culture at the closing ceremony of the program. They overwhelmed the audience by boasting their skills despite limited practice time. At the end of the ceremony, prizes were given to the most popular performers. Aleisha Medora Best from London KSI, UK and Miao Huimin from Chengdu KSI, China were selected by 147 participants. They were awarded with a roundtrip plane ticket to Korea. “We hope ‘Study-Tour Award Program for Outstanding KSI Students’ would develop even further as a communication platform among Korean learners around the world,” said Hyeon-hwa Kang, chief director of KSIF.