575th Hangeul Day: 106 applicants from 16 Korean Language Education Institutes participate in 14th All India Korean Language Speech Contest
NEW DELHI: Korean Cultural Centre India (KCCI) organized the ’14th All India Korean Language Speech Contest’, a virtual event to mark the 575th Hangeul (The Korean script name) Day. 106 participants from 16 Indian Korean Language Educational Institutions participate. Alongside the Speech contest, ASN Senior Secondary School and Learners International School with 50 students also celebrated the day. Both the schools also ran a video competition on the topic “Congratulations on Hangeul Day” and the first prize winners were awarded
laptops.
The Speech contest had 3 categories; Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced level, there were 12, 12, and 8
final participants respectively. The topics were ‘The Korean travel destination I want to visit,” “Korean Words/ Korean expressions that I want to introduce,” and “The Korean I met through Korean Literature” for 3 levels
respectively. After delivering the prepared speech, Advanced level participants also went through Korean
language skills examined based on various aspects through a questions and answers session related to their
speeches.
From beginner level Ishwar Dutt (King Sejong Institute, KCCI, New Delhi), intermediate level Tashee Lhamu Bhutia (Korean Culture and Language Centre, Kolkata), and advanced level Abeer Khan (King Sejong Institute, KCCI New Delhi) secured 1st first rank.
H.E. Chang Jae-bok, The Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to India said, “I’m happy to celebrate the
575th anniversary of King Sejong making Hangeul, which is a cultural heritage of mankind. “I think the efforts of Indian students and teachers who attended the competition paid off in July 2020 as the Indian
government’s recommended foreign language for secondary schools were chosen as Korean, and I have no
doubt that today’s event will serve as a great bridge for Korea-India relations, which began 2,000 years ago.” He expressed his anticipation for the contest that continued despite the COVID-19 situation without any suspension for 14 years.
Ms. Manisha Trivedi, Head of Junior School, Learners International School thanked KCCI for opening the
window for learning Korean and Korean culture to the school and said that through the Korean language, the students can become global citizens having a mindset of embracing and understanding the world.
Ms. Swarnima Luthra Principal, Principal of ASN School said “With the support of the KCCI since 2013, my
students were able to learn Korean culture through various programs such as Samulnori and Taekwondo, and now when I hear my school students speak Korean confidently, I feel very proud.
Hwang Il-yong, Director of Korean Cultural Centre said, “To improve the quantity and quality of Korean language education at Indian schools, we are conducting a Korean Language Teacher’s Training Program for locals
in India, to ensure the growth and stabilization of Korean Language Education,” he said. He added that KCCI will donate about 100 Traditional Korean Fairy Tales English books to both schools.
The skills of the students participating in this contest is proved further with the international recognition of
two of the participants of the 13th All India Korean Language Speech Contest, which was held last year in November.
Anubhuti Kakati (1st best prize in World Korean Speech Contest 2021) and Vaani Goe l(3rd best prize in World Korean Writing Contest 2021), two students from KCCI swept the whole world in Korean speaking and
writing this year.
During an award ceremony through online from Korea, these two proud Indian daughters’ amazing results came out. King Sejong Institute Foundation which is under the South Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports & Tourism has held ‘world Korean Speaking & writing contest every year, and in 2021 this year each national representative from 58 countries participated to the contests. Our Indian students proved India is at the top of the
world in Korea also. Two winners will be invited to South Korea with honor as their prize.
