Korean female student wins Vietnamese speech contest

Lee Hanbyeol won first prize for his speech on "Vietnamese people in the humorous eyes of foreigners" in the Vietnamese speech contest of Hanoi University.

On the evening of September 12, the final round of the Vietnamese Speech Contest for foreign students took place at Hanoi University, with 8 contestants from China, Korea, the US and Japan. From 7 pm, the A1 auditorium with more than 400 seats was packed with Vietnamese and international students cheering. The large audience forced the organizers to add more chairs in the aisles.

The final round consisted of two parts: talent and eloquence. The talent part included diverse performances from rap, taekwondo performance, Chinese dance, modern dance to quan ho singing.

Japanese students wearing yếm dress, singing quan họ and inviting betel — Atarashi Saku, a Japanese student wearing traditional costume, sang Quan Ho in the talent round of the Vietnamese Speaking Contest at Hanoi University on the evening of September 12.

Chinese Chen QuangLun stirred up the atmosphere with the rap song "Back to the village". Meanwhile, Atarashi Saku impressed everyone by singing the quan ho song "Mội nước ượu trau". The Japanese girl wearing a turban, yếm, and áo the sang a smooth quan ho folk song, delighting the judges and the audience. While singing, Atarashi brought down a tray of betel leaves to interact and invite everyone.

The female student said she had practiced this act for two weeks, under the guidance of her teachers. Atarashi even tried chewing betel and got drunk but liked it because of the red lips and rosy cheeks.

Korean female student wins Vietnamese speech contest — Female student Lee Hanbyeol with her speech "Vietnamese people in the humorous eyes of foreigners", in the Vietnamese speaking contest at Hanoi University, on the evening of September 12. Video : *Binh Minh*

The speaking part showed the contestants' fluency in Vietnamese through presentations on difficult topics such as Vietnamese betel chewing culture, Vu Lan festival, Hanoi's 36 streets...

As the last contestant, Lee Hanbyeol's part about "Vietnamese people in the humorous eyes of foreigners" made the whole hall laugh many times because of his wit and charm.

Lee said when he first came to Vietnam, he felt strange because people started to talk intimately and asked about his age.

"Every time I go to the market with my mother, the salesgirl asks: 'You're pretty, do you have a boyfriend? I have a 35-year-old unmarried son, will he marry a Vietnamese guy?'" Lee said.

Many times when Lee went with her mother, the sales people mistook her for the owner's interpreter because she spoke fluent Vietnamese. "When I went with my father, people asked if my father was Korean and my mother was Vietnamese?" Lee laughed happily, finding the Vietnamese humor interesting.

Lee's natural, friendly speech helped him win first prize, with a prize of two million dong.

"I was so happy. I was so nervous on stage," Lee said, adding that she had to prepare her speech for two hours. She moved to Vietnam with her family a few years ago, so she had many opportunities to interact with and get used to using Vietnamese.

Atarashi Saku, the quan ho singer, won second prize.

In the audience, Pham Hong Nhung, a new student majoring in Chinese Language, expressed her admiration. "I don't think that was a speech by a foreigner. The international students have good speaking skills and standard pronunciation," Nhung commented.

Lee Hanbyeol received a certificate of merit and a prize of 2 million VND after winning first prize in the Vietnamese Speaking Contest on the evening of September 12. Photo: HANU — Lee Hanbyeol received a certificate of merit and a prize of 2 million VND after winning first prize in the Vietnamese Speaking Contest on the evening of September 12. Photo: *HANU*

Hanoi University is one of the most popular educational institutions for international students. It currently has about 700 international students from more than 30 countries and territories. Last year, the university said international students contributed 8-10% of the total revenue.

According to Dr. Nguyen Thi Thanh Xuan, Head of the Vietnamese Studies Department, every year, the school organizes a playground for international students with different names such as Speaking Vietnamese Well, Vietnamese Debate with the aim of connecting international students with each other and international students with Vietnamese students.

The contest is not only for international students of the Vietnamese Studies department but also for other departments of the university. This is an opportunity for them to show their Vietnamese language skills and their love for the country and people of Vietnam.

"The contest also helps find representatives for the school at the national exam organized by the Ministry of Education and Training next November," said Ms. Xuan.

Dawn

Source link