Ateneo Student Wins 2017 Korean Speech Contest

Angeleen Lee, 3 AB Psychology student, was announced Grand Prize Winner of the 2017 Annual Korean Speech Contest organized by the Korean Cultural Center (KCC) in the Philippines held last April 29, 2017 (Saturday) at College of Engineering, UP Diliman.

Angeleen Lee, or "Aleen" to her friends and teachers, bested 9 other finalists from the following regions: Manila, Cebu, Davao, Iloilo, Pampanga, and Baguio.

As grand prize winner, Aleen received a roundtrip ticket to Korea, a scholarship at KCC, gift certificates from Korean restaurants Sariwon and Soban, and along with a cash prize from the Korean Cultural Center and the Korea Tourism Organization-Manila Office.

Aleen's speech was entitled, My Treasure: My Tall Height. She talked about how she came to accept her tall height, gain confidence in herself, and how these 2 events affected her life. The speech was followed by Q&A where judges asked diverse questions in Korean. Aleen showcased her Korean skills by cleverly answering 3 questions from five Korean judges.

Aleen is currently taking FLC KOR 3 (Korean Language and Culture 3) under Ms. Choi Jakyoung (Ateneo KF Visiting Professor from Sogang University), who was also her speech mentor. Aleen started her formal Korean Language training in Ateneo and is Minoring in Korean Studies.

Last year, Ateneo hosted the 2016 Korean Speech Contest and was KCC's first university partner for this particular annual program. Ateneo alum, Janine Laddaran, also brought home the 3rd Prize.