Celebrating the 80th anniversary of the founding of Sungkyunkwan Judo Association, the ‘1st National Examination for Foreigners in Korea’
About 200 foreigners from 55 countries participated... Reenacting the Joseon Dynasty in Yugun and Dopo costumes
(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Go Mi-hye = "I know Korea's history well, so I know how difficult it was going through the Korean War and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) crisis. That's why I always tell people in Korea, 'Korea had a hard time, too. We can do it too.'"
Eloy Eseko (28) from Tanzania, who passed the Jangwon exam at the '1st National Civil Service Examination for Foreigners in Korea' held at Sungkyunkwan in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 5th, gave his impressions in fluent Korean like Jangwon.
The test tense of the day, held by the Sungkyunkwan Judo Association to commemorate its 80th anniversary, was 'Choose three things from Korea that you would like to introduce to your country and write a reason for each.'
The answer sheets of over 200 Confucian students from 55 countries showed a variety of answers, ranging from predictable things such as kimchi, Hangul, and hanbok to mountain climbing, senior culture, culture of eating together, 24-hour convenience stores, and entertainment programs.
Eseko, who received the highest evaluation among various answer sheets, received a red plaque as a certificate of passing, wearing green ginseng, bokdu, and a royal painting, replicating the appearance of a person who took the civil service examination during the Joseon Dynasty.
In an interview after the awards ceremony, Jangwon could not hide his joy and said, "I had a mental breakdown because it was shorter than the Test of Proficiency in Korean (TOPIK) and there was no space to write notes on paper, but I wrote as much as I could think of."
I followed my father, who studied abroad in Korea, and lived in Korea for 8 years as a child. Afterwards, I came back to study at Incheon National University in 2017 and have continued to stay in Korea. He is fluent not only in Korean but also in culture and history. The Korean thing he most wants to introduce to Tanzania is the Korean word ‘Palarippalari’.
“If you look at the story of the budae stew that Korea ate during difficult times, it was really difficult for Korea. In fact, we (Tanzania) have natural resources, so it is not that difficult. Mangoes are just falling from the trees. So, if we work diligently and quickly like Koreans, we will become a developed country in about 80 years, if not in 50 years like Korea.”
In addition, Eseko's answer sheet included the word 'Jeong' (情), which is a word that does not exist in English, and 'safety' in Korea, which is reliable enough to be used as a mobile phone.
He said that Korea and Tanzania have many similarities, such as respect for elders, and that he would like to promote Tanzania on Korean broadcasts.
This exam, held at Sungkyunkwan, the site of the Alseongsi (謁聖試), a civil service exam that kings of the Joseon Dynasty took after visiting Munmyo (文廟), was held as part of this year's Confucian Culture Festival.
Lee Kwon-jae, president of the Sungkyunkwan Judo Association headquarters, said, “Many people worry that Korean children these days also have poor literacy skills, but it was very impressive to see foreigners writing so well in Korean.” He added, “We plan to regularize the national exam for foreigners in the future.”
