The Eighth Annual Korean Speech Contest 2025: Finals & Winners Announcement

[Image: Mr Oh-Jin Kwan, Monash Korean Studies Staff, Judges, MC Larissa Carbery, & online & offline participants]

Please join us in congratulating all winners and participants of the Korean Speech contest 2025!

The final round for the Monash Korean Studies 8th Annual Korean Speech Contest was held at Caulfield campus on October 9th, 2025. Contestants presented a 3-5 minute speech on:

“The Korean word that changed my life."

This year, the speech contest included contestants from our partners Vietnam Universities: Korean and Culture Faculty - Van Lang University and Hanoi Pedagogical 2 University, Collingwood College, South Oakleigh College, and our new Vietnamese partners: University of Economics and Finance (UEF) and Van Hien University. All participants did an outstanding job of demonstrating their ability to fluently express themselves and tell engaging stories behind their chosen words.

We would like to extend our thanks to the Consul General of the Republic of Korea in Melbourne Mr Oh-Jin Kwan, our judges Dr Jessica Huynh, Dr Nicola Fraschini and Ms Younghee Cho, our partner Vietnamese Universities, Korean Studies' team, students and family members for joining us and supported all participants at the contest. The event was a great success and an enjoyable night for everyone. Also a big thanks to our MC Larissa for her enthusiastic hosting skills!

We would also like to thank all students that have submitted their entries for the contest. This year we had a total of 44 entries which is the most we ever had!!!

SPECIAL GUEST:

Mr Oh-Jin Kwan, Consul General, Consulate of the Republic of Korea in Melbourne

JUDGES:

Dr Jessica Huynh, MUKSRH Korean Studies

Dr Nicola Fraschini, Senior Lecturer in Korean Studies, University of Melbourne

Ms Younghee Cho, Teaching Associate at Collingwood College

[Image (left to right): Ms Younghee Cho, Dr Jessica Huynh, Dr Nicola Fraschini, Mr Oh-Jin Kwan]

CONTESTANTS:

Group 1 candidates (Introductory category)
Maia Nguyen, Sitong He, Kai Ni Phoo, Ayya Maulyda, Roise Tran, Zi Yu Lee, Ariel Chia, Hán Thị Ngọc Minh, Bùi Thị Yến Linh, Trịnh Gia Hân

Group 2 candidates (Intermediate category)
Sandra Irine Binoy, Juhee Uday, Alfi Huda, Lucinda Gardiner, Diem Hong Nguyen, Junjing Song, Sean Josef Eusebio Lua, Hannah Hamilton, Hà Quỳnh Anh, Trần Nhật Phương Nghi, Trần Thị Ngọc Giàu

Group 3 candidates (Proficient category)
Trương Hoài Thư, Qing Wen, Jiayou Liu, Rina Sone, Sharee Zhang, Shona Isobella Swan, Aurora Gregorio

CONTEST WINNERS & PRIZES:

1^st Prize: AUD$1,000.00
3 x Runners up prizes: AUD$350.00 each

Participants were evaluated based on their fluency (how the speech was delivered), accuracy (pronunciation, grammar), use of a wide range of vocabulary, content and relevance of the speech to the topic. The following winners did exceptionally well in covering these areas and presented an outstanding speech that engaged with the audiences.

1^st PRIZE WINNER - Lucinda Gardiner (Intermediate Category) , Monash University

View Lucinda's speech here: