Cultural bridge for Vietnamese students studying in Korea

The first “Writing about life for Vietnamese students studying in Korea” contest became a cultural bridge, helping Vietnamese students to express their experiences and promote cultural exchange.

Three contestants won gold prizes in a Korean-language writing competition about life for Vietnamese students studying in South Korea.

South Korea is strongly promoting the internationalization of higher education , attracting a large number of international students, of which the Vietnamese student community is the largest force with nearly 100,000 students studying and living in this country.

In the context of the educational and cultural cooperation between the two countries continuing to develop extensively, the first "Writing about life for Vietnamese students studying in Korea" contest held at Kyunghee University (Seoul) on December 6 has become a highlight in connecting the two cultures of Vietnam and Korea.

This event is organized by the Vietnam-Korea Cultural Exchange Center in collaboration with the G&M Global Foundation and the Bong&Seol Initiative.

Ms. Do Thi Bich Ngoc - Counselor in charge of science and technology represented the Vietnamese Embassy in Korea to attend the event.

Eighteen contestants from universities across South Korea participated in the final round. The contestants had to go through three rounds of competition: writing an essay in Korean ranging from 2,000 to 3,000 words; an online interview; and the top-scoring contestants, selected for the final round, presented a summary of their essay in Korean to demonstrate their public speaking skills.

Vietnamese contestants pose for a photo with the organizing committee at Kyunghee University. (Source: VNA)

The finalists shared diverse experiences about their time studying abroad in South Korea.

From the good and new impressions of Korea, the warm feelings towards the local people to the difficulties, prejudices and sadness that the students encountered while living and studying in the land of kimchi.

Nguyen Thi Ngoc Phu - a fourth-year student of the Korean Language and Literature Department at Korea University (KU) shares about "The first winter and the warm encounter" with an elderly couple selling fish cakes on the sidewalk in Seoul.

The sincere feelings and warm sharing of the 80-year-old woman soothed the lonely heart of the first-year student away from home, helping Nguyen Thi Ngoc Phu feel love and determination to strive to study in Korea.

Tran Quoc Hoang - a student at Kookmin University - shared that his love for Seoul started from friendship. His Korean friends helped Hoang from the initial confusion in daily life to learning and loving the culture and people of this country.

Hoang’s entry reads: “Those feelings have made me appreciate Seoul more. The beautiful moments and the difficult times I have experienced with my friends have all crystallized and become precious gems in my memories.

When life experiences and emotions merge into a place, it becomes more than just a location and becomes ‘a place to belong’. For me, Seoul is such a place…”

Ms. Kim Young Shin, Director of the Vietnam-Korea Cultural Exchange Center, said that Vietnamese students are the largest group in Korea.

In particular, Korea and Vietnam have many cultural similarities. Therefore, nurturing a qualified young generation is very important for our future.

The purpose of the competition is to foster understanding through the authentic voices of international students, strengthen connections, stabilize the mental well-being of the international student community, showcase positive images of international students to Korean society, preserve their study abroad journey as educational material, and thereby contribute in a small way to building a more inclusive and multicultural labor ecosystem and society.

In the final results, the judging panel awarded one special prize to Tran Quoc Hoang; three first prizes to other contestants, six second prizes, eight third prizes, and twelve consolation prizes.

The Vietnam-Korea Cultural Exchange Center is an organization established on the basis of researching Vietnamese culture, promoting Korean-Vietnamese cultural exchange and contributing to the multicultural society in Korea.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/cau-noi-van-hoa-cua-du-hoc-sinh-viet-nam-tai-han-quoc-336920.html