On 22nd July 2022 Korean Ambassador H.E. Santhush Woonjin Jeong greeted the winners of the ‘2022 Quiz on Korea’ at the Korean Embassy.
The 1st place winner Ms. Fathima Ahra Imthiaz Latiff, the 2nd Place winner Ms. Pallage Umanga Sanathani Perera and 3rd Place winners Ms. Ukwaththa Arachchige Gayani Milanika and Ms. Fathima Sahlah Mohamed Imthiaz were warmly received by the Korean Envoy. Their parents also graced this special occasion.
The Quiz-on Korea was a survival quiz competition held every year, where the questions were based on topics of Korea, including Korean lifestyle, traditional culture, history and language. Around one hundred competitors from Sri Lanka took part in this quiz. In September 2022, The first-place winner of the quiz competition will take part in the final quiz competition in Korea.
Korean Ambassador Santhush commended all the winners for their remarkable fluency in the Korean language. Commenting on their skills, he said “In order to win the Quiz on Korea, I must admit that your Korean language skills were helpful, however what impressed me the most was your knowledge on Korea. You are very important to bridge our two countries’ relations and I consider you as precious assets to our bilateral friendship. I hope you play a key role in bringing our countries closer together by expanding your network of friends in Korea. There are many common factors of Korea and Sri Lanka and I hope you promote favourable interests of both countries in the future as ‘civilian diplomats. I must mention the contribution of the parents of the winners for creating a positive environment for children to pursue Korean language education. Today, their achievements should bring great pride to all of you.”
In response to the massive interest in learning the Korean language among Sri Lankans, the Korean Embassy has made many efforts to expand Korean language education in Sri Lanka. Together with Sri Lankan authorities including the Education Ministry and the National Institute of Education, Korean language was adopted as a foreign language for advanced level classes from 2021 and from 2023 Korean language will be a subject for advanced level examinations as well.
The Korean Embassy further initiated an online capacity building programme for Korean language teachers. These initiatives were implemented to successfully address the growing demand for Korean language in the island.
The winners were thankful for this opportunity to showcase their Korean skills. The first place winner was very happy to go to Korea and participate in the final competition this year. They said that they learnt Korean language due to their close affinity to the Korean culture especially K-dramas and K-music.
They expressed interest in pursuing further studies in Korean language education and hoped that more opportunities will be available in the job market as well. Korean Ambassador H.E. Santhush Woonjin JEONG pledged to expand more opportunities for the Korean language education in Sri Lanka.
Ambassador Santhush and winners of the quiz competition carried out the “END Violence” campaign, the global SNS campaign to help protect children from all forms of violence including armed conflicts and natural disasters.
