IFEZ Journal

IFEZ Korean Speech Contest

Why We Learn Korean

Korea and Incheon Talked about by Foreigners

Last November, the IFEZ Korean Speech Contest was held, giving the opportunity to foreigners living in Incheon to show off their Korean language skills. 

The contest, designed to promote Korean culture and the excellence of the Korean alphabet, was held for the first time in 2021, 

now celebrating its third year. This event, held at the IFEZ Global Center, went through the preliminary rounds to select 12 competitors from six countries to advance to the finals, \

where they tackled the topics of “My Favorite Songdo,” “My Experience with Incheon,” “My Relationship with Korea,” and “Why I Study Korean.”

Before starting the contest, Global Center Manager Shin Hwan-hee, who was in charge of hosting the event, welcomed the participants, saying, “Thanks to foreigners who love the Korean language, the size of this contest is getting bigger!” IFEZ Commissioner Kim Jin-yong called on each participant by name and said, “I highly value your efforts to learn and communicate with Koreans.” A stage was also set up to celebrate the competition. A performance of gayageum, a traditional Korean instrument, was held, allowing participants to shake off their nerves for a moment while enjoying the beautiful melody.

Once the pre-event was over, the competition began. The first participant, from Brunei, stood on the podium to tell the story of how they came to live in Incheon, under the theme, “Incheon Always Calls Me.” Next, foreigners from various countries, such as the United States, Japan, Vietnam, Mongolia, and India, told their own stories, stirring up laughter and emotions. In particular, one Vietnamese participant touched the hearts of the audience by shedding tears while remembering her deceased Korean mother-in-law.

After all sequences were completed, the judges comprehensively evaluated the participants’ expressiveness, Korean fluency, and composition of story content. As a result, Giselle Rahimi from the United States was selected as the grand-prize winner. She presented a speech titled “Why I Study Korean” and actively appealed to the audience and judges with her passion for learning the language. In addition, two “Excellence Awards” and three “Encouragement Awards” were shared with other participants. Those participating in the competition left with special memories of communicating with each other rather than competing.

MINI INTERVIEW

Grand Prize Giselle Rahimi (USA)

“I am majoring in Global Affairs at Mason Korea. I saw the Korean drama ‘Boys Over Flowers’ by chance when I was young and enjoyed the drama so much that I became interested in Korea. Last year, I visited this country for three weeks, then thought it would be awesome to become good at Korean. So, I started studying Korean in earnest and chose a university I could attend in Korea. My professors and friends encouraged me to enter the competition. I accepted the challenge, but I had no idea that I would win the grand prize! I will continue to study the Korean language and culture diligently!”