By Honorary Reporter Nsikak Ekere from Nigeria  
Photos = Anna Yahya & Fabian Alejandro

This is the official logo and theme of this year's Talk Talk Korea. (Event's official website)

Talk Talk Korea, the world's largest Hallyu content contest hosted by the Korean Culture and Information Service under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, this year attracted over 500 participants in seven languages and the five categories of food, music, culture, beauty and fashion plus a special contest for introducing Korea, producing 80 winners.  

In an email and Instagram interview conducted on Oct. 15, winners Anna Yahya from Indonesia and Fabian Alejandro from Colombia gave their thoughts on the competition and their love for Korea.

Introduce yourself and what category you competed in.
Yahya: I'm 27 years old and from Indonesia. I'm a college student and freelance illustrator. In this contest, I entered the drawing category for fashion as well as introducing Korea.

Alejandro: I'm a graphic designer in Colombia, and dancing is one of my favorite things to do in life. So I try to blend these two things by creating dance videos with animation content. I participated in the music category.

This is the winning work of Anna Yahya from Indonesia in the drawing category.

What inspired you to enter this contest?
Yahya: I've always had a passion for drawing and maintaining an art account. To create my art, I sought inspiration from Instagram and Pinterest, even searching online for basic shapes I needed for my art. My theme "Step of Hallyu" is depicted as a series of floors with ladders to symbolize the steps.

Alejandro: I've participated since 2021, so delivering a better entry each time was one of my motivations to improve my ideas and my skills. Also, the emotional support of my family and close friends gave me the strength to try again this year.

What creative challenges did you face when creating your works?
Yahya: One significant challenge was sketching the floors' shapes, deciding their sizes and finding the perfect placement for each floor. The choice of colors was also crucial. I also faced difficulty due to the limitations of my old phone, especially since the large canvas size sometimes led to errors. This made completing my art more challenging.

Alejandro: My primary creative challenge was time. Creating a video with 3D scenarios required a lot of time but I had only a month to complete the project. This time constraint forced me to make strategic decisions to finish the video before the contest deadline. Another hurdle was selection of the right songs for the video. Given the one-minute duration, it was quite a task to include the best of K-pop. I opted for a few leading tracks and my personal favorites.

How long did it take to complete your works from the initial idea to the result?
Yahya: Mine took over two weeks to finish. A significant portion of this time was devoted to the sketching process. After completing the line art, I was dissatisfied with the shape and decided to start all over.

Alejandro: The entire process took about a month. In the first week, I brainstormed numerous ideas and experimented with concepts. I was fortunate to exchange ideas with my creative brother and decided to create a "tribute" to K-pop music from 1996 to 2023. Over the following weeks, I worked intensively on video production including scenarios using 3D software and learned choreography of the songs during this time. In the final week, I recorded all the songs and added the final touches to the video.

Korean Cultural Centers abroad will show your works. What messages do you have?
Yahya: I hope many people get to know Korean culture, especially traditional culture because Korea isn't just K-pop.

Alejandro: Don't be scared to try different things. Sometimes being unique is what makes you more special and leads to great achievements. I'm also excited about my work being displayed at Korean Cultural Centers globally. I just hope that viewers of my videos find a lot of inspiration to create their own videos in their own unique ways.

What does your prize -- a free trip to Korea -- mean to you?

Alejandro: I visited Korea in 2022 after working hard and saving money over a couple of years. This time is different, however, and feels more special since I tried a couple of times to win after many hours dedicated to improving my skills to deliver a better entry for the contest. Getting this recognition will probably be one of the most incredible experiences in my life.  

msjeon22@korea.kr

*This article was 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.