By Honorary Reporter Bakhodirjon Komilov from Uzbekistan
Photos = Korea.net DB


The awards ceremony for "Talk Talk Korea 2019" on Oct. 24 was hosted by the Korean Culture and Information Service (KOCIS) at the Asia Culture Center in Gwangju. Talk Talk is an international competition for Korea-related content and the winners each received a five-day trip to Korea, with the ceremony held on the second day of their visit.

The seven grand prize winners whose entries beat out the 32,519 submitted attended the ceremony, as well as two invited Korea.net Honorary Reporters: Nerea Ramirez Castilllo from Mexico and Mohamed Salaheldin from Egypt. To honor the latter two, seven fellow Honorary Reporters including myself attended this ceremony.


I got to interview Ramirez Castillo, 28, who has been an Honorary Reporter for Korea.net for more than a year. She said that to her, being an Honorary Reporter is an essential part of her life and that reporters make history by covering current events and writing about people, what happens on the streets and other issues in society. "I decided to write in the pursuit of one day becoming a great writer such as Gabriel García Márquez," she said in her acceptance speech at the ceremony.

She has focused on history, especially Korean immigration to Mexico, and martial arts as she practices taekwondo. This was her first time in Korea after having written many articles on the country and its culture. Though all of her articles have been written in Spanish, she said she hopes to eventually write in English. Her dream is to be part of a drama production in Korea, even if she performs a small job like bringing coffee.




The other invited Honorary Reporter, Mohamed Salaheldin, has written articles for Korea.net since last year. His nearly 24 stories have mainly focused on Korea's international situation, like peace on the Korean Peninsula. Working as a senior digital news editor for Extra News TV in Egypt, he gave his acceptance speech at the ceremony in Korean, saying he wants to be a Korea expert.

We went on a tour of the Asia Culture Center and had the chance to make new connections with fellow Honorary Reporters. That day, I promised myself to enter Talk Talk next year and win a prize. I also encourage everyone to participate in the contest.

chaey0726@korea.kr

*This article is written by a Korea.net Honorary Reporter. Our group of Honorary Reporters are from all around the world, and they share with Korea.net their love and passion for all things Korean.