Korean-speaking contest in Japan attracts largest amount of participants

TOKYO, March 7 (Yonhap) -- A total of 583 Japanese high school students have applied to participate in a Korean-speaking contest to be held in Tokyo this weekend, the South Korean Embassy here said Monday.

The applicants have so far gone through regional preliminary tests in a bid to advance to the finals so they can compete for the Kumho Asiana Cup to be held at the Korean Cultural Center in Tokyo.

The number of applicants is the largest ever in the contest's nine year history, jumping 21 percent from last year's 461 applicants.

Of the applicants, only 33 finalists are qualified to vie for the top prize.

The preliminary tests were conducted from last December to February in nine metropolitan cities and provincial regions such as Tokyo, Osaka and Fukuoka. Finalists were also chosen from the regional preliminary at Japan's Fukushima Prefecture, which was hit hard by the nuclear disaster in March 2011, according to Korean embassy officials.

Titled "Let's speak Korean all together," the final contest will be divided into three categories.

The first one is the skit division where a total of 20 contenders on 10 teams will perform short plays in Korean - both those of their own creation and designated scenarios.

In the next segment, speakers will give speeches in Korean about their opinions on a matter of areas. Finalists will moreover write essays on Korean issues.

An embassy official said Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto gave an admission qualification to the finalist in last year's contest, which could potentially allow a student to enter the school.
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