Guro-gu Hosts the 4th Guro-gu Bilingual Speaking Contest

Daesang Hwawon Comprehensive Social Welfare Center Student Baek Hyun-woo, Awarded 2 Grand Prizes, 2 Excellence Awards, and 10 Encouragement Awards Ceremony

On the 16th, Guro-gu announced that the finals of the "4th Guro-gu Bilingual Speaking Contest," hosted and organized by the Guro-gu Family Center, were held at the small theater of the Guro Youth Center.

Now in its fourth year, the Guro-gu Bilingual Speaking Contest was established to provide students with immigrant backgrounds the opportunity to express their thoughts in both Korean and their parents' native languages, thereby promoting a positive perception of bilingualism and enhancing related skills.

Eligibility for participation includes elementary, middle, and high school students residing in Guro-gu or students registered at private facilities within the district. Any child of multicultural families or foreign households aged 7 to 18 (born between 2006 and 2017) may participate.

The Guro-gu Family Center recruited contestants from September 30 to October 23 and finalized the finalists through manuscript and video evaluations.

A total of 15 participants competed fiercely in the finals that day.

The contestants presented on free topics in Korean as well as their parents' native languages, including Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Hindi, and Thai.

This year's grand prize was awarded to Baek Hyun-woo from Hwawon Comprehensive Social Welfare Center, who presented in Chinese.

The Excellence Award went to Kim Si-woo, a 4th grader at Guro Nam Elementary School, and Kim Ji-eun, a 2nd grader at Guro Middle School. The Merit Award was given to Kim Sa-uk, a 6th grader at Yeongil Elementary School, and Lee Myung-mi from the Guro-gu Family Center.

A Guro-gu official stated, "The bilingual speaking contest is a stage where children from multicultural and foreign families can freely showcase their dreams and talents," adding, "We will continue to strive to improve awareness of multiculturalism and support stable settlement."