USFK resumes Korean speech contest after 3 years
The Eighth United States Army’s Republic of Korea (ROK) Army Support Group held its 16th “Korean English speech contest” on Wednesday, in recognition of the 570th anniversary of Hangul (Korea’s national language) Proclamation Day on Oct. 9. / Yonhap
By Hong Dam-young
The Eighth United States Army’s Republic of Korea (ROK) Army Support Group held its 16th “Korean English speech contest” on Wednesday, in recognition of the 570th anniversary of Hangul (Korea’s national language) Proclamation Day on Oct. 9. The annual contest aims to solidify the bond between the two countries.
The event was held in two categories -- a Korean speech contest for U.S. troops and an English speech contest for Korean students -- at the USAG-Yongsan Multi Purpose Training Facility (MPTF) from 2:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. The preliminary contest was at regional army bases from Sept. 5 to 20.
In the final round of the Korean contest, eight U.S. soldiers delivered three-minute speeches on topics related to the ROK and the U.S., such as “my first impression of Korea” and “the importance of the ROK-U.S. alliance.” It was followed by the English contest, where eight Korean students spoke about similar topics.
The competition was open to any U.S. soldiers assigned to the Eighth Army who did not have a specialty in Korean, while Korean-American soldiers were excluded. Korean participants were restricted to middle school students or younger who have been receiving English tutoring from the U.S. soldiers at regional education institutes.
Winners of the 16th “Korean English speech contest” on Oct. 5 / Courtesy of Katusa Veterans Association
First prize winners in the Korean and the English contests will receive a gift voucher for a million won ($898) and half a million won, respectively, with a certificate and an iPad.
The contest was not held over the past two years because of national tragedies. In April 2014, the Sewol ferry sinking plunged the country into mourning after 300 passengers, mainly school students, were killed. In August 2015, two South Korean soldiers were maimed after stepping on landmines planted by North Korean soldiers in the Demilitarized Zone.
“We haven’t been able to hold the event for the past two years but this year we decided to resume it to mark the 570th anniversary of Hangul,” Shin Hee-jae, a public affairs officer of the ROK Support Group, told The Korea Times.
“South Korea is the only country in the world that has a holiday to mark the establishment of its national language. Our U.S. soldiers have been very excited about reopening the event this year. They especially liked learning about Korean culture during their stay in Korea.”