Winners of a Korean-language writing competition for students from the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in Jilin Province, China, learn about the history of Hangeul at the National Hangeul Museum in Seoul on July 20.
“As soon as I saw the Haerye edition of the ‘Hunminjeongeum,’ I immediately fell for it. When I get back home to China, I’ll ask my mom to buy me an annotated copy of the ‘Hunminjeongeum.'”
When a young student from Jilin Province in China saw an annotated edition of the “Hunminjeongeum,” or, “The Proper Sounds for the Instruction of the People,” at the National Hangeul Museum in Seoul, she couldn’t help stop thinking about it, and in her child-sized script, wrote in Korean about her admiration for the Korean alphabet and for the museum.
The group of young students were visiting Seoul from the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in Jilin Province, China. These 18 students were the winners of the 18th Korean Writing Competition hosted by the Yanbian University of Science and Technology (YUST), held in May this year, and their visit to the capital was part of their prize. During their eight-day stay in Korea from July 19 to 26, one of the top attractions for the young writers was the National Hangeul Museum. They seemed to have a particular passion and admiration for learning about the origins of the Korean alphabet, from giyeok (ㄱ) to hieut (ㅎ), letter by letter, which they can now use to explain their thoughts and feelings.
One of the winners of the 18th Korean Writing Competition, hosted by the Yanbian University of Science and Technology, wrote in Korean that one of the best aspects of her stay in Seoul was the visit to the National Hangeul Museum.
YUST’s Korean writing competition is a yearly competition that encourages Chinese students to learn Korean, both spoken and written, all while promoting a correct and expanded use of Korean writing among ethnic Korean people living in the northeast Chinese province. The winners of the top prizes get enrolled at YUST and a scholarship, and all the winners get to enjoy a week-long trip to South Korea. Overall, about 800 students participated in the competition this year.
By Chang Iou-chung
Korea.net Staff Writer
Photos: International Foundation for Education and Culture
icchang@korea.kr
