Korean-English Speech Contest reinforces ROK/U.S. alliance

By Pfc. Jae Hyung SinSeptember 29, 2016

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Camp Henry, DAEGU --United States Soldiers and Korean elementary school students gave public speeches in their second language for a chance at placing first in Area IV's 16th annual Korean-English speech contest on Camp Henry, Sep. 26.

The Republic of Korea Army Support Group hosted the event. Participants shared their perspective on one another. U.S. Soldiers publicly spoke about Koreans in Hangul and the Korean students spoke about their thoughts of U.S. Soldiers in English.

The first speech contest in 1999 only included U.S. Soldiers speaking Korean. In 2005, the event coordinators added an English portion too include elementary school students from the Daegu community. All four areas in Korea have their own regional Korean-English Speech Contest. The winners get a ticket for the Annual 8th Army Speech Contest in United States Army Garrison Yongsan.

In the congratulatory address, 19th Expeditionary Sustainment Command Commanding General, Brig. Gen. John P. Sullivan reiterated the symbol of this annual speech contest, "This contest is evidence of the commitment the U.S. and Republic of Korea have toward our alliance. I am proud to be a part of it."

In addition, Area IV RSG Commander, Lt. Col. Sung Jun Koo emphasized the importance of language, saying, "Language is the medium for understanding each other better and by learning and sharing the language of our friends, we can consolidate the US-ROK alliance."

The Area IV contest opened with a grand opening ceremony in the afternoon with 9 Korean students and 12 US Soldiers.

Pfc. Phuong Tran, 188th Military Police Company, who talked about 'The Korea I Imagined and the Reality of It' and won the Grand Award in the Korean Speech Contest. She taught herself Korean through watching Korean dramas and listening to Korean songs.

"I applied for this contest right away because I wanted to and knew I would do well. It was a great opportunity to get to know better with the KATUSA Soldiers as well as Korean cultures and mindset in a personal level, as I learned more about their language. In this sense, I really think that this contest promotes the US-ROK interaction in an individual level, which is what really strengthens the alliance." She added, "As the representation of Area IV, I will practice harder for the next competition in Yongsan."

Dongbu elementary school, 4th grade, Seo Eun Lee gave a speech about 'My Dream Determined through the US Army' and became the winner of the Grand Award in the English Speech Contest.

"I am very interested in learning English so I decided to participate in this contest. Though it was pretty demanding to prepare and memorize the speech until very late time every day, it was fun to study English together," she said. "I am really happy because I shared my thoughts in English to US Soldiers and became more familiar with the US Army. I will study harder for the upcoming contest in Yongsan and my dream, the United Nations Soldier."

The panel of judges each spoke about how impressed they were with the participants language proficiency and in-depth topics.

"All the participants nailed their speeches. It was just amazing that they were able to give a speech in a foreign language in front of this many people in audience. We ourselves are very nervous speaking in our mother tongue to hundreds of people," said the judges. "We send our respect towards the participants about how successfully they have overcome their fear and nervousness."

Area IV Korean-English Speech Contest Awardees:

Grand Award -- Pfc. Phuong Tran, 188th Military Police Company

Seo Eun Lee, Dongbu Elementary School, 4th Grade

Excellence Award -- Spc. Celestina C. Diaz, 229th Signal Company

Ka Bin Kim, Hyo-Myung Elementary School, 1st Grade

Special Award -- Pfc. William Achane, 19th ESC

Cpt. Koseph D. King, 498th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion

Byeong Je Park, Sae-Bolli Middle School, 1st Grade

Jin Seo Ha, Daegu Middle School, 2nd Grade

The winners of the Area IV's Speech Contest will compete in USAG Yongsan's competition to seize their chance of winning the 16th Annual 8th Army Korean-English Speech Contest.