Inside view: Entering the contest

Luke Cleary

By Luke Cleary

Public speaking should come naturally to me, as a KBS TV news anchor. It's part of the job, after all. But standing in front of a crowd of a few hundred at Crown Hall at Kyung Hee University Thursday was a little different. Korean is a tough language to learn, and even with weeks of practice it's also a tough language in which to give a speech.

I was competing against 15 other presenters representing all corners of the globe. Encouraged by the World Korean Speech Contest to wear the traditional dress of our countries, we made an international tapestry when we came together on stage at the closing ceremony.

At the end of the day, I was pleased to take home the special award, effectively fourth-place, sponsored by the National Museum of Korea. That seemed appropriate, given my speech topic translates to something along the lines of "Korea, where past and future coexist." As I thought back on the topics my competitors chose and some of the big laughs they scored with the audience, I realized my speech could have benefited from a little lighter touch and maybe a joke or two.

Still, I'm proud of the speech I gave and hope my message rings true to a Korean audience. Sure, the "Korea as a land of contradictions" trope is pulled out time and again in English news and travel literature, but few ordinary Koreans seem to spend a lot of time thinking about it. The juxtaposition of traditional markets and ancient city palaces with high-speed internet and a 24-hour service culture doesn't faze locals, but fascinates outsiders.

On the other hand, as popular TV programs suggest, Koreans appear to be very interested in what foreigners have to say, particularly when it comes to their observations about Korea. Part of this has to do with the spectacle of foreigners speaking in Korean, but there's also a genuine and healthy curiosity in various cultural perspectives.

Foreigners who live here should put at least a little effort into studying the Korean language, and events such as the World Korean Speech Contest provide an excellent outlet for students and others to share what they've learned. Though Korean is a tough language, each new word you learn makes life just that much easier for you, and perhaps more importantly, that much easier for all the Koreans who have to interact with you while you live here.