Won 3rd! ^^ I’m really happy~ Can you guess what I’ve won??
- A certificate from the Embassy of Republic of Korea
- a 8GB iTouch (!!!) – I was postively squealing when I tore open the wrappings. All my fav kpop songs and radio podcasts shall go in there!
- Korean restaurant vouchers (all participants received them)
All in all, this was a good experience that I’ll never forget. Self studying Korean seems to make me live in a ‘vacuum’ and I was really glad to interact with other Korean learners.
More importantly, I finally got to know the person behind a blog that I frequently visited. ^^ I think that really made my day. I learnt alot from him during the short conversation we had in between the 2 sessions. He told me how I could have made my speech much better and pointed out the glaring pronunciation mistake that I made.
I didn’t realise that I kept pronouncing 중 as 종!!! >< He correctly pointed out that I was probably influenced by the chinese word 中 which is what 중 meant in Korean. The mistake was made more obvious due to the fact that I had alot of 중 in my speech!! XD I probably should have put in more effort in making my speech more listener-friendly. I simply wanted to share my experience and I probably neglected the fact that it may sound alittle too mundane to the listeners, who probably couldn’t relate to how I felt. ^^
The most important thing is not the prizes, but the fact that I gained something valuable out of this experience.
Some self reflection…
I realised that I could have made much more progress with a good teacher and a conducive learning environment. Sometimes I wonder what my current achievement of TOPIK level 4 actually meant. Till now, I still can’t hold a proper conversation in Korean. Even though I keep telling my Korean friends not to be afraid of making mistakes when using English, I’m still very self-conscious and afraid of saying the wrong thing. This is something that I have to work harder in.
Perhaps the true test will come the day I finally go to Korea ^^ Hopefully, I’ll be able to improve my pronunciation there~
I have a sound recording of my speech during the contest. Should I post it up here? XD
p.s KLPT results will be out tomorrow.
32 Comments
creativityjapanese
22 November, 2009 at 8:45 PMWell done~! I’m sure you have put in a lot of hard work~ I think prizes aside, you have gained something really priceless~ that is the speech experience, and interacting with other Korean learners!
Don’t be afraid to make mistakes~ we should learn from them and move on~
Good luck for the results tomorrow!
hangukdrama
22 November, 2009 at 9:24 PMthanks alot ^^ Yesterday was indeed a special day in my life~
walfer
23 November, 2009 at 12:08 AMHey congrat for winning the 3rd place.
hehheh, just accidentally stumble at your site.
Just a question, may i know where u took korean class?
hangukdrama
23 November, 2009 at 8:46 AMthank you! ^^ I used to take elementary classes at singapore korean school. But I stopped and self-studied from then on~
are you singaporean? ^^
walfer
23 November, 2009 at 7:15 PMyup singaporean. 🙂
Im taking korean class too, in cambridge institute.
Waiting for their advance class.
I heard that sks is much better. but the fee is ex.
Equinox
23 November, 2009 at 1:12 AMwow, ipod touch. 3rd prize has never been so good 🙂
hangukdrama
23 November, 2009 at 8:45 AM😀 I’ve always wanted one, so I’m really happy!
Pengru
23 November, 2009 at 8:45 AMHeyhey. Chanced by your blog when i was hoping to see pictures for this event. Anyways, you really did well for the competition. Everyone was very good. You seem like you have learned korean for quite some time?
hangukdrama
23 November, 2009 at 9:32 AMhello!! ^^ wow really surprised to see your comment here. Anw I’ve been learning korean for almost 2 years already. I studied E1 and E2 at SKS and then self-studied till now~~
You are from SKS right? Which level are you at now? Didn’t really have a chance to chat yesterday XD
Anw I really enjoyed your speech! 정말 축하드립니다! ^^
Pengru
23 November, 2009 at 12:39 PMHahahaha. Ooo, thats long. I have only learnt korean for about 9mths only. Ya, i am from SKS. At I1 now. Yeah, we were all stressed up on saturday. I dint expect to win. Everyone was so good at their speech.
Thanks for liking my speech. I dont think i will ever do such crazy things again:P
adam
23 November, 2009 at 10:55 AMhi, congrats on winning the 3rd place. i was the last year winner, stil remmeber me, its good to hear that u won this year. keep it up !! i wil support u …축하해..ㅋㅋㅋ
아담
hangukdrama
23 November, 2009 at 1:15 PM안녕하세요! ^____^ Of course I still remember you! How have you been? I bet your Korean is invincible right now 😀
anw thanks alot! 😀 I’m really happy to see your comment~~ ㅋㅋ
Jean
25 November, 2009 at 12:29 PMShnna onnie, congrats you for your achievements~! You inspire me to work harder 😀 Good luck for your exams. 화이팅!
hangukdrama
25 November, 2009 at 4:54 PM^____^ 고마워~~ good luck for your results tmr too! 😀
JK
25 November, 2009 at 4:20 PMCongrats!!
I’m a silent reader who finally wrote a comment.. haha
Reading your blog and Equinox’s blog really inspire us to work hard in learning korean…
Thanks alot…
축하합니다! 나도 열심히 한국어를 공부해야 되요. <
ps: Are you in NTU too?
hangukdrama
25 November, 2009 at 4:56 PM안녕하세요 ~~ ^^
Thanks for leaving a comment 😀 haha yeah i’m in NTU too! Are you taking the korean modules in school?
maybe we walked past each other in school before. lol
anw good luck for your exams!! I still have 3 more papers to go~~ ^^
JK
25 November, 2009 at 8:51 PMI’m currently learning at SKS… E3 now.
Good luck for your exams too! I left 2 more papers. 🙁
선배, 화이팅!
These few weeks must be really exciting for you… haha…
TOPIK result release, exams, speech, exams, KLPT result relase, exams again… ㅋㅋㅋ
lyrynne
26 November, 2009 at 2:14 PMwoahhhh~~~ 진짜 대단해!! you did a good job! and i want that ipod ahaha! that’s really great! i’m super jealous now! 화이팅^^
hangukdrama
26 November, 2009 at 5:02 PMthanks alot!! ^^ㅎㅎ i’m in love with the itouch too XD
Je5
16 June, 2010 at 1:42 AM안녕하세요 m(_)m
I was searching about the Korean Speech Contest in Singapore and i stumbled upon your site ^^;; Though this post is really long ago, still congrats on your win! ^^b
Erm i have some questions regarding the Contest as i haven’t taken part in it before, may i know what is the Interview stage about? Like is it in Korean or erm it is a one to one interview things like that…^^ Thank you so much!
Oh one more thing, erm what is the recommended length and stuff…sorry for the many questions ><"
감사합니다!
hangukdrama
16 June, 2010 at 9:55 AM안녕하세요~! ㅋㅋ
the interview is actually quite simple. It’s a phone interview and the person will ask you very simple questions in Korean. Like erm when is the date of the contest, what’s the title of your script etc. I think it’s just to proof that you know some korean xD
recommended length is 3 min! Not good to have too lengthy scripts in my opinion, the audience will get bored and it will lengthen your tortue standing on stage heh!
Are you planning to join this year’s contest? 😉
Je5
16 June, 2010 at 12:39 PMThanks for your quick reply! 😀
Ahh i see…Thanks for the details! x) Ok a random thought just came to me like what if you miss the phone call xD Sorry for randomness ㅋ
Ooh okae 3 min…yeah the nervousness on stage! x.x
I’m quite interested in joining ㅋ But there will be so many competitors and stuff..Oh yeah is there a like semi final then final or smth or it’s direct or smth? Thanks so much for answering me patiently!
You’re going Korea soon right~! Have a safe trip!!
hangukdrama
16 June, 2010 at 3:40 PMonce you pass the script review and interview, it will be the direct finals! (: I guess if you miss the call, they will call back! or you can memorise their office number! they should call from there~~
It’s a good experience! You should join (: (: Where are you learning Korean? ^^
Yup, I’m gg korea next week! ^^ Thanks~~
Je5
16 June, 2010 at 6:54 PMoooh i see *nods* …Seems like it’s a pretty quick process…the script review part must be the hardest to pass ><"..I guess best is to be alert on all times and not miss the call! ㅋㅋ Thanks for the advices 😀
yeah~ i think it will definitely be a good experience ^^ Thank you~ I am a self-study student…I don't remember what site anymore but I learnt it from some online programme pretty long ago so i'm planning to refresh and re-foundation using the Sogang Programme 😀
Aww so lucky! *-* I look forward to reading your post on it! ㅋㅋ
Oh just curious, are you still a student or? Sorry for the weird question!
Thank you for answering my comment 🙂
hangukdrama
16 June, 2010 at 7:09 PMoooh! I’m self-studying too~~! although i took beginner classes at SKS before. ㅋㅋ how long have you been studying korean? xD
anw i’m a uni student! ^^ you?
Je5
16 June, 2010 at 10:22 PMSelf studyers 만세~~! ㅋㅋ I’ve always looked up upon self studyers who have held on for very long times and do very well on their own 🙂 You’ve been studying for many years already right? 샤나씨 정말 대단한네요~~^^b
I have only studied it for about hmm…a month? ㅋㅋ 그래서 실수가있다면 용서해주세요 orz …I might end up becoming a laughing stock to you as i even said i wanted to join the contest yeah ^^;;…
저는 고등학생이에요~ㅎㅎ 만나서 정말로 반갑습니다~샤나씨! ㅋㅋ
hangukdrama
16 June, 2010 at 10:29 PM우와~! ㅋㅋ 잘 하네요! 진짜! 어머. >..<
아~ 고등학생이구나! ㅋㅋ which school, if you dun mind me asking? xD
I think it's a great idea to join the contest! ^^ anw it will be in oct or nov, so you have months to go! and months do make a huge difference~~
Je5
17 June, 2010 at 1:54 AM아니예요 ^^;;…아직도 공부를 해야되는부분가많이있어요~ ><
샤나씨가저에게 동기를 주었어요! 정말 감사합니다 m(_)m
넹! I don't mind! ㅋㅋ But to lessen the number of people who will know (erm i dun really want anyone from my school to know ㅋㅋ..) 그래서 이런식으로 알려드리게요~~단만고등학교이에요 ^^
Thank you for the support ㅠㅠ~~~I'm touched ㅋㅋ! Yup! I will work hard p(^^)q 파이팅!! ㅋㅋ
hangukdrama
17 June, 2010 at 10:03 AM아~~! ㅋㅋ 나 이해할 수 있어 ^^ 사실은 나도 학교의 사람들에게 알리고 싶지 않았어. xD 우리 비슷한 것 같아~ ㅋㅋ 신기해.
Je5
17 June, 2010 at 4:55 PM그렇죠~~! ㅋㅋ 알고있다면 뭐가좀 부담스러워잖아요 ><"…요즘의 학생들이 의 말이가 너무 무서워요ㅋㅋ…특히 여학생에 나쁜 말이에요 ㅎㅎ
비슷한 생각이의 선배님~~반가워요!!ㅋ
alodia
4 February, 2011 at 11:41 PM흑! I’m guilty of that. I keep telling my students (tutees) not to be afraid speaking in English. But here I am, overly conscious whenever I try speaking in Korean. 😐
7th Korean Speech Contest Singapore | Hangukdrama and Korean
11 November, 2012 at 11:34 PM[…] memories for me: going there to listen in 2008 (when I first started learning Korean), competing in 2009 and getting one of the 3 runner up prizes and now […]