“When I was a child, I promised myself not to live like my parents. Now however, my goal is to have a life similar to my parents who have devoted themselves to their family. Things I wanted to be different became a common dream.” This is the writing of Tyo Yelena (20) who is currently in her senior year at Kazakh University of International Relations and World Languages, for ‘The 8^th Sungkyun Korean Writing Contest in Central Asia’. Under the subject of ‘Difference’, she wrote about her change of mind towards her parents’ view of life. “I blamed my parents who couldn’t afford things like pretty dresses, computer, and cell phones like my other friends had. But after I grew up, I no longer envied other people.” said Yelena.

What changed her mind was her father, who worked many jobs to overcome poverty but suffered from heart disease. Yelena thought back to the situation:  “It was heart breaking to see that my dad went back to work straight after recovery without having time to rest” and she finished her writing by saying “I will study hard and make a happy family.”

At ‘The 8^th Sungkyun Korean Writing Contest in Central Asia’ hosted by Sungkyunkwan University, around 36 students from Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan participated, and Yelena received the gold prize. Even though she received the top prize, she hesitated to call her parents because she worried about her father who has a weak heart. The advising professor of Yelena said “Yelena is a thoughtful student who worries about the health and future of her parents. I would like to thank her parents who have raised her to be a bright and heartwarming person.”

Yelena first learned Korean after falling in love with Korean dramas and music, as well as global companies like Samsung and LG. “I want to work for expanding exchanges between Korea and Kazakhstan by studying international relationships or business administration at SKKU graduate school” said Yelena at the award ceremony.

The silver prize went to Usmanova Zamira (21) from Kazakh National University. In her writing, she claims that “happiness comes from direction, not place. Happiness and misfortune depend on how you think about them. People can live more happily if they admit the each person has a different direction.” Meanwhile, Beishenbekova Aizhan (18) of Kyrgyz-Korean College who won the bronze prize wrote “even if a person was born in the same country or has the same name as others, they are different people. My name is Aizhan which is a very common name, but there is only one me in the world.”

Mukhametkan Saltanat of Kazakh University of International Relations and World Languages received a special prize and wrote about difference between generations. He said, “there are some emotional difficulties when trying to understand each other because my parents have lived in a generation of socialism, but my generation is closer to democracy. Even though we have differences, my parents said our generation has many blessings, as we can earn from making an effort.”

SKKU holds Sungkyun Korean Writing Contest every year in various areas like China, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, and East Europe: with the aim to expand Korean culture and cultivate students who can take part in exchanges between Korea and the other countries. Hong Duk KIM, an SKKU alumni and CEO of Ierae CS supports the event financially every year, together with Shinhan Card and Shinhan Finance.

SKKU provide full scholarship for graduate programs to awardees of the event. Aidarova Aigerim who had the gold prize at ‘The 4^th Sungkyun Korean Writing Contest in Central Asia’ received her degree at SKKU Graduate School of Political Science and Diplomacy, and is currently working as a diplomat for the Kazakhstani government.

Ho Jong JANG, a professor at Kazakh University of International Relations and World Languages, mentioned “Sungkyun Korean Writing Contest is the biggest Korean competition in Central Asia. This event also provides an opportunity to meet students and Korean corporations which helps companies’ overseas business.

"Students are improving Korean with detailed expressions. Some students who attended the event receive love calls from Korean companies entering into local business” said Professor Seok-kyu LEE, head of international affairs at Sungkyunkwan University.