The 7th All India Korean Language Speech Contest

Date: 7th November, 2014

Venue:  (Conference Center, University of Delhi )

On the 7th of November, students studying Korean language enamored audiences with their oratory skills in the Korean language at the 7th All India Korean Language Speech Contest held in the Conference Center, University of Delhi.

This year, a total strength of 22 students, 10 from basic, 6 from the intermediate and 6 from the advanced levels from DU, JNU, Hyderabad and Ranchi.

The winners of the 7th All India Korean Language Speech Contest are:

This contest was organized by Korean Cultural centre under the auspices of the Golden Jubilee of the establishment of the Department of East Asian Studies at Delhi University to promote Korean language in India. Top Korean language students of various institutions were also awarded scholarships by LG and Shinhan Bank and cash prizes handed out to winners amounting. The event was graced by the ambassador of the Republic of Korea, Mr. Lee Joon-Gyu and the director of Korean Culture centre India, Mr. Kim Kum-pyoung.

Since its inauguration in 2008, the annual All Indian Korean Language Speech Contest has burgeoned into a nation-wide academic event hosting top educational institutions offering courses in Korean language such as Delhi University, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Central University of Jharkand, English and Foreign Language University, Manipur etc. Students with excellent Korean language proficiency skills have been taken the stage, delivering speeches in the Korean language on a wide range of topics.

The All Indian Korean Language Speech Contest has been annually co-organized by the Department of East Asian Studies, D.U. It has effectively served as a platform for furthering the linguistic abilities of the students while inculcating a deep sense of understanding into the Korean culture. Through this experience, most students were able to hone their language skills and pursue various careers in academia and in the corporate world. Sandeep Kumar, a former student of the Korean full time language course at Delhi University and currently working in Microsoft, participated in the 5th All Indian Korean Language Speech Contest, relates that this contest was a milestone that helped him take his knowledge from language lectures to another level. Another beneficiary of this contest was Rajiv Kumar, a former alumnus at the East Asian Studies department (DU) who was financially challenged when he started the course. Through studying Korean religiously and participating in this annual contest, he received a scholarship at the Sungkyunkwan University where he is pursuing PhD. He has since presented top-notch papers at Harvard and in Hawaii, Russia and Japan and hopes to come back to his alma mater.

This contest has been moving from strength to strength thanks to the sheer passion of the faculty at the various institutional levels. Professor Kim Do-young, a visiting professor from the Korea Foundation, to the Department of East Asian Studies, Delhi University, has been particularly eager to see events such as these engage both countries and has made it his lifetime goal to popularize Korean language and culture in the country.

As a pioneer of the Korean studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University where he was the first and single member of the Korean Studies faculty and then later at the department of East Asian Studies, Delhi University, he pushed for the establishment of the Korean language program offering B.A. M.A. in Korean language in Jawaharlal Nehru University, Full Time Korean Language course in Delhi University. He also happens to the recipient of the Korean National Award for Korean Language Education of the Republic of Korea, akin to the Korean version of the Padamashree award and has published prolific language books as well as publications related to India in the Korean language.