Contest builds links with Korea
Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Restu Amalia, 22, a student of law at the Pakuan University in Bogor in West Java was surprised when informed that she had won a writing contest organized by the National Education Ministry and the South Korea Embassy in Jakarta.
"I heard about the writing contest from my sister and I submitted my article on the closing day of the contest. So, I am really surprised that I won the contest," Restu told The Jakarta Post after accepting the prize at the National Education Ministry on Wednesday.
"I just explained in my article what my Korean pen friend has told me. You see, I have learned many aspects of Korean culture from her. For instance, I have learned that Korean people appreciate cleanliness and traditional festivals very much. So, I wrote about several festivals," Restu said.
The Ministry of National Education and the South Korean Embassy have organized an annual writing contest for high school and university students in the past 10 years. Participants are free to pick a topic related to relations between the two countries.
The winner of the high school category was Fernando Lawrens H of State Senior High School No. 1, Samarinda, East Kalimantan. He wrote about the role of Korean women in coping with difficulties.
"In family life, a Korean woman shows great dedication, as a wife and mother. A Korean woman is willing to serve her family even if her husband treats her badly," he said in his writing.
"If we observe the treatment Korean women have received so far, we could call them iron women because they survive even if they are treated unfairly by their own people," Fernando said in his writing.
Besides a cash prize, winners of the contest will also travel to South Korea for one week to learn more about its culture.
As economic and diplomatic relations between South Korea and Indonesia have grown stronger in recent years, the contest aims at introducing Korean culture to Indonesians.
South Korean Ambassador to Indonesia Lee Sun Jin said the ties between the two countries had continued to grow.
He also said that around 30,000 South Koreans are living in Indonesia. They are mostly working for some 1,200 companies or institutions in the country. Meanwhile, the number of Indonesian workers in South Korea has reached 20,000.
He said that South Korean citizens in Indonesia were the largest foreign community in the country.
"This kind of contest will help boost understanding between people from both countries as young people or students really learn about Korean culture. On our part, more and more Koreans are learning Indonesian as several universities are focusing on teaching Malay and Indonesian," Lee told the Post.
He said that his office would help any university here in Indonesia that intended to open Korean studies.
"Right now, we are providing books, information and facilities to universities or institutions that have the plan to open Korean studies. Later, we will probably hold a government-to-government discussion on this matter," Lee said.
Minister of Education Bambang Sudibyo said that the contest had so far helped introduce Korean culture and people to a wider Indonesian community and Indonesian culture to Koreans.