Tran Thi Huong Ly says she wants to continue learning Korean after winning the grand prize at the twenty-eighth World Korean Language Speech Contest for Foreigners. Yonhap published her remarks on October 16, following the competition in Seoul the previous day.
The event was co-hosted by Kyunghee University's Institute of International Education and Yonhap. A total of 1,046 people from 35 countries participated, with sixteen contestants from fourteen countries reaching the final. Those figures describe different stages of the competition.
A speech about considerate communication
Tran's winning speech explored her view that Korean encourages speakers to choose words carefully so they do not hurt listeners. She said she entered as part of her learning process and had not expected the top prize.
Her interest began with K-pop and Korean dramas when she was young. She first travelled to South Korea for language study in 2019 and later majored in Korean-language education.
She is now pursuing a master's degree in that field. As both a teacher and a foreign learner, she said she often considers how to help students learn more effectively.
Further study planned
Tran hopes to remain committed to the language and plans to begin doctoral study next year. That is a stated future plan, rather than a qualification already completed.
The contest began in 1997 to promote Korean and commemorate the six-hundredth anniversary of King Sejong's birth. The October 16 interview adds her reflections on learning and teaching to the award result from the preceding day's event.