"Korean Programs like Running Man, Weekly Idol and Infinite Challenge make me laugh. The most annoying thing about Korean programs is that I have to rely on translation. I want to understand Korean program without English translation."
Yeng See Leong who won the runner-up prize at the 2nd Monash University Annual Korean Speech Contest 2019, said she started learning Korean because she wanted to watch Korean programs without English translation. She said Korean K-pop stars made Korean language study more interesting.
The 2nd Korean speech contest was organized by Monash University Korean studies and supported by the Core University program for Korean studies through the Ministry of Education of the republic of Korea and Korean studies promotion service of the Academy of Korean studies.
In this contest, students talked 3 minutes in Korean on ‘learning Korean is important to me because….’
Dr Adam Zulawnik, a judge at the contest and Korean language instructor for both University of Melbourne and Monash University, said "Korean language education has been gaining popularity in Australia over the past few years due to the Korean wave."
“As you know, Korean studies, especially Korean learning soared in the past few years due to the Korean Wave.” He said
“This year, the number of students enrolled in Korean studies and Korean language courses at the Monash University has been the highest ever since the university opened the related courses. And, at University of Melbourne, Korean class got explosive popularity as well”
Keith Wong Kit Toh who have a Korean name ‘Hwang Jaehyun’ says “Korean has special charms comparing with other languages”
“There are a lot of expressions in Korean. It's a very interesting language. It's very different from Chinese. It's similar to Japanese but it's also different.” He said
“There seems to be no language like Korean in the world. Korean word may have duality and there are a lot of homophones. So I think it's a fun language because I can play word games."
All the students who participated in this contest expressed great interest in learning Korean.
Dr Adam Zulawnik explains that such a Korean speaking contest can increase interest in Korean in Australia.
"The main goal of this Korean Speaking Contest is to cultivate a passion and interest in Korean, or to make a sample (or mentor) for each other. The 1st prize money, $1500 is also set for round-trip flight tickets and other travel expenses in Korea. So, there is also a part where students who are already interested in Korea are given a chance to visit Korea."
The 1st prize went to Hirzy Putra Laksana who is studying politics and international studies at the University of Melbourne.
Hirzy Putra Laksana says learning Korean will be a big help in his future career.
“Since my major is politics and diplomacy, I wanted to learn Korean more because I am interested in Korean politics and international relations. My dream is to become a diplomat, so learning Korean will help my work and I will continue use Korean in my future job."
