RED CLOUD GARRISON, Republic of Korea -- Six American Soldiers and 10 Korean students competed for the best speaker in the 11th annual Korean/English speech contest, which took place June 24, in the USAG-Red Cloud Theatre.
The language swapping contest was held by Republic of Korea Army Support Group to make voluntary Korean and English classes more active. More than a hundred Korea Augmentation to the U.S. Army Soldiers gathered as part of the audience.
The contest is among programs intended to enhance the relationship between Koreans and the American Soldiers in the garrison.The ROKA Support Group works hard to organize events and programs; they encourage KATUSA Soldiers to voluntarily teach Korean or English on and off post.
There are 16 Korean classes for U.S. Soldiers and 38 English classes for Korean civilians. The nine Korean children who participated in the contest were taught by KATUSA Soldiers. KATUSA Soldiers helped American participants by making scripts and coaching them with their speeches.
"I appreciate all the American Soldiers for their effort and devotion in understanding Korean language and culture," said Command Sgt. Maj. Park, Sang Yeon, ROKA Support Group Area I Command Sgt. Maj. "I hope as a result of these efforts each one of you will better understand Korean and American culture. You have given the children a great chance to learn English."
Topics of the speeches were the ROK and U.S. relationship and the understating of Korean culture. American Soldiers were required to speak Korean, while Korean children made speeches in English. Awards were given to the top two U.S. Soldiers and top three Korean children. Winners advance to the final, which will take place July 15 in the Yongsan Garrison.
Elementary students began the competition with subjects on how they feel about the U.S. Army. Lim, Dong Hae, an Idam Elementary School student and the first place winner for English, is a student in the class taught by 1st Heavy Brigade Combat Team KATUSAs. He talked about the necessity to improve the relationship between Korea and the U.S.
"When I go to class, my KATUSA teacher tells us about his work in the U.S Army and how he works with American Soldiers toward accomplishing mutual goals," Lim said. "It is important for Koreans to appreciate the U.S Army in South Korea because they help us in many ways."
The second place winner was Yeom, Ji Ae, a Jaun Elementary School student, whose topic was "Let's be closer friends." Kang, Su bin, a Dongducheon Girls' Middle School student, took third prize. She talked about "My appreciation after participating in the U.S. Army Good Neighbor Program."
The Korean speech competition followed with six Soldiers from Area I. Pfc. Brian Burns, 1-38 Field Artillery, first place winner, spoke about his experiences with Korean culture and his appreciation of Korean popular music. He made the audience laugh when he said "I like Girls' Generation (a Korean popular band) as much as I like Korea. Every time I take a shower before physical training, I play their songs because it cheers me up."
Second place winner was Pfc. Jamal Walker, USAG Red Cloud, whose topic was "My experiences in the ROK and U.S. friendship."
Lt. Col. Park Kwang Cheol, 2nd Infantry Division ROKA Support Group commander, praised the participants for their effort to understand Korean and American culture.
"They know how difficult it is to express their thoughts and opinions in different languages," Park said. "I really appreciate those 10 students and six U.S. Soldiers; they worked hard for the contest despite their busy work schedules."
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