Le Thi Thuy Linh, a K26 student at the Faculty of Korean Language of the DTU School of Foreign Languages & Social Humanities, excellently made it to the finals of the 2024 Gyeongsangbuk-do Korean Speech Contest and brought home a bronze medal. The contest was heldby North Gyeongsang province, the Gyeongbuk Arts & Culture Foundation, the Catholic University of Daegu, and the Yeongnam University Global Education Program (all in South Korea), in collaboration with the University of Foreign Languages of Hue University.
Growing up in a family of farmers in the small village of Dien Hong, Dien Ban, Quang Nam province, Le Thi Thuy Linh always felt peaceful and cozy as a girl, loved by her parents and her two elder brothers. Even though she was spoilt, she was always ready to help a hand with housework and she made sure to find study time to do well at school.
Le Thi Thuy Linh (third from left) received third prize at the Korean Speech Contest
One of the important milestones in Thuy Linh’s life was when she left her family to study at the Faculty of Korean Language of the DTU School of Foreign Languages & Social Humanities. As soon as she started her first year, she found a part-time job to reduce the financial burden on her family and for pocket money to cover personal expenses.
“I chose to work as a tutor to share the knowledge I had accumulated with pupils to help them build a solid and confident knowledge base for their exams,” Thuy Linh confides. “Tutoring furthermore earns me extra money to help my family. The tutoring sessions improved my public speaking skills and my ability to coherently and clearly express ideas.”
The benefits reaped through her part-time job along with the effort she put into learning Korean at DTU helped the Korean-language enthusiast win bronze at the 2024 Gyeongsangbuk-do Korean Speech Contest.
“I love Korean and many interesting aspects of the culture, cuisine, and cinema of the ‘land of kimchi’,” Thuy Linh explains. “When I began to study the language seriously, though, it was difficult for me, due to the pronunciation and many novelties that I wasn’t yet used to. But I consider myself very lucky that the lecturers at the DTU Faculty of Korean Language are always there for us with understanding and enthusiastic support. It’s thanks to the dedication of the lecturers that, the more I study, the more I love Korean and the more learning the language becomes a daily joy.”
Thuy Linh (center) is dynamic, cheerful, and always optimistic
Even though as a last-year student she has a graduation internship to do, Thuy Linh still managed to participate in the 2024 Gyeongsangbuk-do Korean Speech Contest held at the University of Foreign Languages of Hue University. The prize she won at the contest is not only a precious spiritual gift but will also be a source of motivation to confidently continue in her chosen field of study.
With the theme “North Gyeongsang inside me”, the 2024 Gyeongsangbuk-do Korean Speech Contest gave students an opportunity to practice their Korean, learn about the culture and sights of North Gyeongsang province, and demonstrate their understanding of Korean culture in general. Participating students had a fantastic chance to interact, exchange, and connect with professors and researchers from various universities and with representatives from organizations in South Korea.
Having passed the preliminary rounds and perfected her speech, Thuy Linh and eleven other outstanding students from the University of Foreign Languages of Hue University, DTU, Dong A University, and the University of Foreign Language Studies of Danang University competed in the finals with convincing and interesting speeches.
Thuy Linh is very happy with the prize. “Participating in the 2024 Gyeongsangbuk-do Korean Speech Contest was an incredibly valuable opportunity for me,” she says. “Through the contest, I made many new friends, learned many valuable
lessons, and realized how talented and dynamic other people my age are. During the contest, I applied what I had learned and I received feedback on my shortcomings and got a better understanding of my strengths.”
Thuy Linh believes that it is the dynamic and open learning environment, the many exchange activities with international students, and especially the exchange programs with Korean universities like Sun Moon University and Incheon National University, that gave her and other DTU students confidence when getting real-life experience and interacting with Korean speakers.
(Media Center)