By Priscilla Osaje
About 40 Korean language students on Thursday participated in Korean traditional games ‘Jegichagi’ and ‘Yut nori’ competition to celebrate Korea’s unique alphabet “Hangul”.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Hangul Day is celebrated every Oct. 9 in Korea to honor the institution of Korea writing script (hangul) by King Sejong.
This annual celebration honours the creation of the Korean alphabet and its lasting impact on Korean culture and literacy.
It also provides attendees with an enriching cultural experience through traditional Korean food, games, music, and dance.
The games competition, which involved some Nigerians who were currently undergoing a class in Korean language, was organised by the Korean Cultural Centre in Nigeria (KCCN) in Abuja.
The aim is to enable Korean language students to join in the celebration of Hangul due to the Korean booming culture in Nigeria, and also to enlighten those students already learning Korean language.
One of the students, Miss Praise Okoro, said that Korean language was the foreign language she had been longing to learn alongside their culture for quick interaction with them.
“My interest is that I want to study abroad, so I have to learn the language to be able to get the scholarship.
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“My challenge is that the language is not like the English language. You have to learn the Hangul, which is like a drawing and you have to read it in that form.
“You have to try and remember what they represent. So, the aspect of the Hangul has been my challenge but the class has been going well,” she said.
Another student, Ms Hauwa Ibrahim, said that KCCN celebrating the Hangul day with Korean language students in Nigeria was an exciting day for her.
“I commend KCCN for always involving us in every of their activities, which has really made us to know their culture better,” she said.
Speaking at the event, Ms Jennifer Ezeonyeasi, Culture and Events Administrative Assistant at KCCN, said that Hangul was celebrated yearly on Oct. 9,which is declared as public holiday.
Ezeonyeasi said that the KCCN decided to celebrate the day with Korean language students that were currently undergoing classes in the centre.
According to her, the event was organised for the students to participate in Korean traditional games competitions and quiz, which aim at enlightening them
“Marking these day with the Korean language students in the center will help them to remember and be aware of how the Korean alphabets came about.
”It will also encourage the language exchange between Nigerians and Koreans because of the synergy between both countries,” she said.
The event administrative assistant further said that there were over 60 students currently enrolled in the different classes, where they received lecture on Korean language.
According to her, the language class will be of great benefit to some Nigerians that have the intention of reading Korean language courses in the future.
“For those of them that have intention to either study in Korea or do anything related to Korea, they can use their language skills to do all of that.
” Those of them that want to write the Korean proficiency test, they can also do that by learning the Korean language courses at KCCN.
” Basically these days, because of the influence of the pervasiveness of Korean dramas into Nigeria and through Netflix, as well as other streaming platforms, people are more interested in the language,” Ezeonyeasi said.
She said that Nigerian students were making progress in terms of Korean language learning, and that there are opportunities they stand to gain when it comes to learning Korean language.
She, however, said that lack of teachers was one of the major challenges confronting the students.
“Such a challenge made us not to have a class after 2021.
” So most people that even learned previously forgot what they had learned because nobody to practice with.
“When you are learning a language and you cannot speak it constantly you will definitely forget it.
“Just like our mother tongue, if you do not speak it often you stand the chance of forgetting it,” she said.
She urged Nigerians to be passionate in learning Korean language, saying that learning such language can not be a waste. (NAN)