This promotional poster for "Talk Talk Korea 2021," an online contest for Hallyu content slated from May 25 to July 15, features the 12-member girl group LOONA. (Korean Culture and Information Service)

By Xu Aiying and Yoon Hee Young

"Talk Talk Korea 2021," an international online contest for Hallyu content, will run from May 25 to July 15.

The Korean Culture and Information Service (KOCIS), an affiliate of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, has held the event, the world's biggest for Hallyu content, since 2014. Nearly 7,000 non-Koreans participated in the inaugural contest but that figure jumped to around 40,000 in 170 countries in last year's edition.

The competition has contributed to spreading a positive image of Korea worldwide through various perspectives and content.

The three main categories of this year's event are audition, challenge and special with eight themes. Applications for all sections will be accepted simultaneously.

The first category (audition) has the sections "K-pop Music Videos," "Hanbok Photoshoot" and "Contemporary Gugak" (traditional music). The second (challenge) contains "Korea Talent Show Challenge (short clips)," "Traditional Culture in Korea (illustrations)" and "Korea Snap (pictures)." And the third (special) features "Korea Media Art (motion graphics)" and "Designing Emojis with KOCIS Characters (illustrations)."

To enter, an applicant should create a work on one of the topics and submit it to the contest's official website (www.korea.net/TalkTalkKorea).

KOCIS will select 128 winning submissions, as each theme has a grand prize to fifth runner-up, through two general screenings and evaluations including online voting. The eight grand prize winners will each earn a four-night, five-day trip to Korea to experience Korean culture. Every winner will receive a K-Badge and grand prize winners and runners-up will get a K-Button, a custom-made plaque. 

Other awards include the newest smartphones and tablet PCs, Amazon gift cards and autographed CDs of the K-pop girl group LOONA, this year's Korean culture ambassador for KOCIS.

On May 25 at 9 a.m. Korean Standard Time, the winning entries as well as the event's official promotional video by LOONA will be shown worldwide through online platforms including Korea.net's official website, YouTube and social media. An online exhibition in Korea slated for November will also feature the content.

xuaiy@korea.kr