AN UPI STUDENT WINS A K-SPEECH COMPETITION IN SOUTH KOREA

Suwon Gyeonggi-do, Korea.

An UPI student, Berthanandhitya Pahlevi Smaradwi Rani, joined the 3rd International K-speech Competition in Suwon Gyeonggi-do, Korea. This is her first time to join a competition far from her home country. There were 70 participants coming from different countries from all over the world. The theme of the event was the World K-Speech Cultural Festival.

Zeni, as she is usually called, said that her biggest challenge was from the rivals because they came from many different countries, therefore, she had to make well preparations for the event. She prepared the script for the speech, the departure process, and the most important thing was to develop a mindset that she would win because it was her dream to go to Korea so she wouldn’t  take it for granted. She came as the second winner of the K-speech competition, making her the first winner from Indonesia who could get the trophy.

This K-POP fan, at first, did not imagine her passion in the Korean Language will lead her to get a lot of achievements. Her original interest in Korean was based on her mother who likes to watch Korean Drama Series with her. So, she decided to learn Korean more seriously at UPI. Therefore, in 2017, she applied to UPI and took Korean Education as her major.

Today, she still focuses on exploring the language a lot deeper. She said that the Korean Language is the most enjoyable language that she has learned so far. She loves both the language and the culture. Sometimes, we cannot make the language and culture apart. It has a close connection with one to another.

Finally, the first winner of the KKF Competition said, her biggest dream is to learn some more languages, no only Korean but also others (like Chinese or Dutch). Because she loves to learn languages and explore them. (Agis Maharani)