MANAMA — Zahra Al Safi, the Bahraini student who won a Korean-language speech contest after beating 1,918 competitors from 90 King Sejong Institutes worldwide, has expressed immense delight with the achievement and pledged to further her studies in the Korean language.

Zahra was particularly grateful to the South Korean embassy in Bahrain and Ambassador Hae Kwan Chung for encouraging and motivating her until she topped the competition.

She told Bahrain News Agency that she took up the study of Korean in 2016 after meeting people from South Korea in Bahrain who praised her way of pronouncing their language.

“Their positive attitude was instrumental in encouraging me to learn the language and not just be content with some words,” she said.

As she started picking up more words and new sentences in Internet courses, her enthusiasm for the language increased.

Zahra said that she had participated in speech competitions in Arabic and in English, and when she heard about the Korean language contest, she became interested in it and decided to join.

The preliminary competition among Bahrain-based participants was not easy, but she eventually made it to the top and won the right to represent Bahrain in the international competition. She then had to face the top contestants studying at 90 Sejong institutes across the world.

From April to July, 1,918 students competed and under the rules, only ten could qualify for the final round. The Bahraini contestant was among them.

In the finals held online due to the travel restrictions imposed by COVID-19, each contestant was given four minutes to talk in Korean about “the Koreans I met, the Koreans I will meet.”

Zahra said that most of the contestants spoke in their speech about their stances and how they got to know Korean citizens.

“I took a different approach and I touched on how I saw the character and features of the Korean people. This angle obviously set me apart and helped me win the contest,” she said.

Following her achievement, Ambassador Hae Kwan Chung offered her his congratulations and encouragement.

Zahra said she was looking forward to specializing in the Korean language in order to become a competent translator and interpreter in Arabic and Korean.

“Such specialization is rare and I am keen on filling a void. I hope to become one day an ambassador for Arab culture and customs for Koreans, particularly Bahraini culture and customs,” she said.

The Korean speech contest is held under the auspices of the Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the King Sejong Institute.

King Sejong invented the Korean alphabet "hangeul," and the institute named after him offers foreigners Korean language courses and Korean cultural activities abroad. Korea celebrates “hangeul” on Oct. 9. — Bahrain News Agency