Suwon Hosts 6th Foreign Residents Korean Speech Contest

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Seo Dong-young] "BTS has been a great source of strength in my life in Korea."

At the '6th Suwon Foreign Residents Korean Speech Contest' held on the 10th at Suwon City Hall's Grand Hall, Yun Sung-mae (17), a Chinese-born multicultural student, carefully explained in Korean how 'BTS' became a source of strength in her Korean life. Yun, who presented on the topic of 'K-pop in the Global World,' received an Excellence Award.

At the foreign residents Korean speech contest, 11 participants—marriage immigrants, international students, and multicultural children from 5 countries including Vietnam, the Philippines, Russia, China, and Japan—showcased their polished Korean language skills on three themes: 'My Suwon,' 'K-pop in the Global World,' and 'I am Your Travel Guide.'

Tran Thuy Hang (23, female), a Vietnamese-born marriage immigrant who received the Grand Prize, received applause as she skillfully introduced 'Ba Na Hills,' a famous tourist destination in Da Nang, Vietnam, in Korean.

Tran said, "The bridge visible from the top of Ba Na Hills is the Golden Bridge," and explained, "The sight of the two giant hands holding the golden bridge symbolizes the mountain deity presenting silken fabric to humans and nature." She continued, "It means that if we cherish and protect nature and pass it on to our descendants, the gods will give people beautiful gifts."

Takeuchi Haruka (38, Excellence Award), who came to Korea two years ago following her husband, said, "Because I have an introverted personality, I mostly stayed at home after coming to Korea, but I learned about the Suwon Foreign Residents Welfare Center, and after attending the center, my world expanded," and "The teachers taught me well and tried to understand my clumsy Korean."

Participants presented on topics including 'K-pop Connecting South Korea and Russia,' 'The Fantastic Gwanggyo Lake Park,' 'Beautiful Tourist Attractions in Cebu,' and 'I introduce a trip to Phu Quoc, Vietnam.'

Kan Yun-hui (17), a Vietnamese-born multicultural child, and Zhang Rong-hong (34, female), a Chinese-born marriage immigrant, received Encouragement Awards, with all participants receiving awards.

Suwon City has held the 'Foreign Residents Korean Speech Contest' annually since 2014 to enhance foreign residents' Korean language skills and motivate Korean language learning.

Additionally, the Suwon Multicultural Family Support Center, Suwon Foreign Residents Welfare Center, Suwon Global Youth Dream Center, Suwon International Exchange Center, and Suwon Migrants Center operate level-specific Korean language education programs to help foreigners study Korean. For inquiries about Korean language education programs: 031-228-2993, Multicultural Policy Division, Multicultural Support Team