Building on the success of the first Korean Language and Culture Festival in Central Vietnam in 2023, supported by the Korean Foundation, especially by the KIA Corporation and the Majungmul Scholarship Fund of the KIA Group, the second Korean Language and Culture Festival in Central Vietnam 2024 took place at the University of Foreign Languages - Hue University on March 30, 2024. Participating in this event, students from the Korean Language Department at the University of Foreign Languages - Social Sciences and Humanities, Duy Tan University, earned an impressive set of awards: second place in the Korean Musical Theatre category, third place in the K-pop Random Dance competition, and an Encouragement Award in the Korean Writing competition.

The participating team took a commemorative photo at the festival.

The second Korean Language and Culture Festival in Central Vietnam 2024 saw the participation of students and faculty from universities and institutions offering Korean language programs in the region, such as Duy Tan University, University of Foreign Languages - University of Danang, University of Dong A, King Sejong Institute, and University of Foreign Languages - Hue University. The festival featured various exciting activities, including traditional Korean games, Korean cuisine experiences, Korean writing competitions, K-pop Random Dance contests, the Golden Bell quiz on Korean culture, and especially the Korean Musical Theatre Night.

LHSS students participated in various competition categories (wearing red t-shirts).

Leading the team this year were Dr. Tran Thi Van - Deputy Head of the Korean Language Department, MSc. Nguyen Thi Thanh Xuan - Deputy Head of the Department, and MSc. Pham Thi Anh Thu - Lecturer at the Korean Language Department, along with 19 students from the Korean Language Department and the K-pop Club. With their experience from the first Korean Language and Culture Festival in Central Vietnam 2023, both faculty and students brought to this year's festival a spirit of exchange, learning, solidarity, and determination to achieve outstanding results.

Participating for the first time, student Nguyen Phung Thach Thao - K27NHB4 - won an Encouragement Award in the Korean Writing category. Thao shared, "I came to the competition with the mindset of wanting to exchange, experience, and learn to gain more knowledge and experience. I was very happy and surprised when I received an award because I know that the participants in this competition are all students with outstanding academic records from various universities. I also want to express my gratitude to the professors in the Korean Language Department, who have always supported and encouraged me throughout this journey." It is also known that Thach Thao achieved a TOPIK 6 certificate in November 2023, the highest level in the Korean language proficiency test.

Thach Thao (right) receiving the Encouragement Award in the writing competition.

In the K-pop Random Dance category, student Hoang Trung Kien - K27NHD3 - was awarded third place by the judges. Trung Kien is one of the founding members of the K-pop Club and, with his passion and talent, has helped the club win many awards from various competitions.

Trung Kien (right) receiving third place in the K-pop Random Dance competition.

A highlight of this year's festival was the Korean Musical Theatre Night category. The K-pop Club members of the Korean Language Department had the opportunity to bring their dances and performances to the stage. The musical, titled “Changgwi,” was inspired by the song "Changgwi" by singer Ahn Ye-eun. After researching the story and finding similarities with the "Ma Trành" culture in Vietnam, the group adapted the script to make the performance more engaging for the audience. With their impressive performance, they won second place in this category. Club president Ha Phuong shared, "Our club is honored to continue receiving trust from the Korean Language Department for the opportunity to participate in this year's festival. Musical theatre is a unique art form in Korea, and it was our first time working with it, so it was definitely a big challenge for us, as it was not our specialty, unlike last year. Therefore, we spent a lot of time researching, from the idea stage to casting, finding suitable actors, preparing images, videos, and sound for each scene, as well as gathering appropriate props. The preparation for the competition coincided with the final exams at our school, so many experienced students from last year could not participate, while some newcomers were dedicated to practicing hard to achieve unexpected results. We hope that in future years, the club will have the chance to continue participating and accompanying the program."

The musical theatre performance in the competition received second place from the judges.