By Honorary Reporter Oshini Jayamuni from Sri Lanka
Photos = Prince Loyd Besorio, Maulia Resta and Ericka Orellana

The National Hangeul Museum in Seoul from June 1 to Aug. 15 ran the international photo contest "Hangeul I Met" for both Koreans and non-Koreans. Thirty out of 3,613 entries received awards on Oct. 9 at the museum on the occasion of Hangeul Day. 

The following is an Oct. 10 email interview with three of the honorees. 

Prince Loyd Besorio from the Philippines won the grand prize for his photo "Friends Forever."

Grand prize: Prince Loyd Besorio from Philippines

A civil engineering major, Prince Loyd Besorio said, "To me, Hangeul is the voice of Korea, a medium of communication to amplify that voice that depicts uniqueness and identity that the world could relate to." 

On his award-winning photo "Friends Forever," he said he was inspired by friendship, which is boundless regardless of culture, race or language.

Expressing surprise at his win, he said, "It's surreal and really unexpected. I knew that many people entered this year, so it was even more amazing when I was chosen as the grand prize winner."

Maulia Resta won the silver prize for a photo of herself next to her mother and sister wearing masks with a line from a famous Korean poem.

Silver prize: Maulia Resta from Indonesia

A student at King Sejong Institute in Jakarta and Korea.net Honorary Reporter, Maulia Resta is an aficionado of Korean culture. "I'm very touched by the background story of why King Sejong created Hangeul; it made me love and respect Korean culture," she said.

Her photo had her mother, sister and herself wearing masks inscribed with a line from the famous Korean poem "Pulkkot" (Grass Flowers): "It's more beautiful if viewed closely."

"The sentence is from a Korean poem by Na Tae-joo. Though the poem is short and simple, I've always considered it meaningful," she said. "I believe that everyone is beautiful even with their imperfections. Sometimes we need to see closely to know more deeply about something's uniqueness and beauty."

Ericka Orellana from Bolivia's winning work features her love for Korea and the importance of a sustainable lifestyle.

Honorable mention: Ericka Orellana from Bolivia

A communications and journalism major, Ericka Orellana won honorable mention for a photo of four tote bags she designed with each inscribed with a Hangeul character forming the term "Republic of Korea."

"I chose this photo as my entry since I wanted to express the complete idea of the union of two cultures and promotion of an eco-friendly lifestyle," she said. "I wanted to promote sustainable lifestyles in my photography and include a part of my country, so this is why I designed the bags."

"I'm very happy to have won since it was a tough competition. Winning this contest makes me want to continue entering these types of contests that allow us to show our love for Korean culture and what we like to do."

enny0611@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.