Winners of 5th Korea Multicultural Youth Awards - 3
Outstanding elementary school student
Lee Yu-ri
Lee takes care of others with warm leadership
Lee Yu-ri, 12, is vice president of the student body at the School of Global Sarang. After becoming a member of the student leaders’ group, she installed letter boxes to collect students proposals.
She is also good at leading group discussion sessions to solve problems at the school and protect lower grade students.
She is living in a group home since her mother is absent and her father is working in a remote area. There, she takes care of younger students, going to school and returning home with them, always.
Teachers recognize her active participation in class as well. “She concentrates in class and asks questions during break time when she feels she needs to know more,” her teacher Jeong Eun-young said.
She tries her best in everything she does and is a talented violin player at the after-school class. She was also selected as a representative singer of the school’s choir.
Lee Ryu-kyeong
Multicultural background is gift to Lee
For Lee Ryu-kyeong, 13, her multicultural family background is a stepping stone to making her way in life.
She is fluent in both Korean and Russian thanks to her Uzbekistan mother. This helped her win a prize at the bilingual speaking contest organized by South Jeolla Provincial Office of Education this semester.
Last semester, she took the top honor at the Overseas Korean Foundation’s youth writing contest, obtaining a scholarship provided by the foreign affairs minister. In July, she received a ticket to a training program in the United States for three weeks, as a representative of South Jeolla Province.
Her achievements helped 17 students with multicultural backgrounds in Haeje Elementary School to gain confidence. Lee’s teacher compliments her academic ability, particularly in language. “She is good at speaking logically and enjoys reading. She likes to share her knowledge to others,” her teacher Byun Dong-yeol said.
Lee dreams of becoming a professor of Korean literature using her talent.
Outstanding middle school student
Lim Ha-neul
Warmhearted Lim dreams of white hat hacker
Lim Ha-neul, 16, is popular among her classmates for her excellent communication skills. Her empathetic nature radiates during peer counseling time.
“Because she listens to others carefully with patience, many friends line up in front of her during counseling sessions,” said her teacher Heo Yoon-jeong from Mokpo Hangdo Girls Middle School.
She is very good at mathematics, which is one of the reasons that she dreams of being an information security expert. Lim’s leadership shines when she gives tips to other students who have difficulties in solving math problems. “I gave Lim a big applause she helped a student improve their math score,” Heo said.
She also tries to encourage her passive classmates’ participations, not to isolate them in teamwork. That’s why Lim’s classmates think of her as a mentor.
Lim’s Chinese mother is working as a tour guide in the southern city of Mokpo and her father is a taxi driver. She takes care of her younger brother as her parents are busy working most of the time.
Gia Ashley Love
Love grows amid volunteer activities
Gia Ashley Love, 15, has always helped disabled classmates.
Born to a Canadian father and a Korean mother, she has won many awards in Daejeon Jijok Middle School for her altruism.
“She volunteered to be a guide for a disabled student. She walks hand in hand with the friend when going to classes, helps prepare classes, plays games together during classes and talks with this student,” her teacher Chae Sook-hee said.
These days, she is taking a peer counseling course. Listening to classmates’ stories and learning about their troubles, she is enriching her schooldays.
She is interested in broad areas including science, mathematics and language. Last year, she participated in the school’s education program for gifted and talented students in science and mathematics, and was awarded multiple prizes.
This year she took another science and math course jointly organized by LG, KAIST and Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. Her dream is to be a computer engineer.
Besides learning English from her father, she is also learning Chinese, which shows her potential to become a global leader.