“If the other world calls me at the age of 60,
Go and tell them I won't leave! I'm too young to go.
If the other world calls me at the age of 70,
Go and tell them I won't leave! I got things to do.
If the other world calls me at the age of 80,
Go and tell them I won't leave! I'm yet useful as a person.
If the other world calls me at the age of 90,
Go and tell them I'll leave, but only when I want to!
If the other world calls me at the age of 100,
Go and tell them I'll be there, but at the time and day I choose!”

These are lyrics from a song, titled “A Centennial Life,” or “Baekse Insaeng" (백세인생) in Korean, that is well-loved, especially among the elderly, in Korea today.

This song resonated around the event hall as the Korean Cultural Centre in Nigeria played host to a Korean speaking contest, the third of its kind, on June 23. Ahialaka Amanda Uzoamaka, a young Nigerian woman, was so adept at singing “Baekse Insaeng” in Korean, she amazed everybody with her ability and won the grand prize in the contest.

During the contest, Ahialaka (22) first gave a speech in Korean that focused on Korean music, saying, “The Korean music scene has more than just pop music, known as ‘K-pop,’ a genre that is so popular among young people. There is also a genre called teuroteu (트로트) which older people enjoy singing." The contestant then started to sing “Baekse Insaeng,” wowing the audience and the panel of judges alike.



The winner said that she enjoyed watching Korean soap operas and her favorite song was the theme song “First Love” from the 2012 MBC series “The King 2 Hearts.” “When I seize a chance to visit Korea someday, I will definitely go to N Seoul Tower, one of the filming locations in the 2009 KBS hit drama ‘Boys Over Flowers,’” she said.

The Korean speaking contest had more than 100 people attending including participants, students from the Korean language classes offered at the King Sejong Institute, students from a K-pop academy, their parents and also journalists from Nigerian broadcasting and news outlets including African Independent Television (AIT) and the newspapers "Leadership" and "People's Daily."

The Korean Cultural Centre in Nigeria has hosted the annual Korean speaking contest for the last three years in an effort to give Nigerian people a better understanding of Korean language and other aspects of Korean culture. The center also cooperates with the King Sejong Institute to offer winners and outstanding students a chance to fly to Korea and experience the country for themselves.

By Han Sungrae
Director of the Korean Cultural Centre in Nigeria