By Alexander Ahn
Following a speech U.S. President Barack Obama gave at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (HUFS) in March, students there took part in a two week writing contest to honor the occasion.
The first part of the competition had participants write letters addressed to the U.S. President. The other part challenged students to write three-line (Korean) or five-line (English) acrostic poems where the first letter or character of each line spells out “O-B-A-M-A.”
The contest ended with over 200 student submissions, the school said.
The winner of the letter writing division was Kang Min-ji, a freshman English education major. She wrote in her letter that, “I experienced a huge turning point while listening to the President’s speech. By keeping a positive attitude and clear goals in mind, we can better the world.”
On the other hand, the winning English poem titled “I am a HUFsan” read, “Ola, I speak Portuguese / Bonjour, I speak French / Ahlan, I speak Arabic / Merhaba, I speak Turkish / An-nyeong-ha-se-yo (Hello), we are from HUFS.”
The winning material will be promoted by the school, and Ms. Kang will receive a summer trip to the U.S.
President Obama’s lecture in the Minerva Auditorium on March 26 was attended by 150 local and foreign dignitaries and 700 students. It was the first time an incumbent U.S. President addressed students at a Korean university. President Park Chul of HUFS made Obama an honorary alumnus.