Gulver Huma Meltem from Turkey compared cultural differences between Korea and Turkey with fluent Korean
Adiarif from Saudi Arabia wins 'Popularity Award' talking about his experience in a taxi
There are cultural differences, but the two of them still wish to live in Korea after graduating
[Oct 23, 2013]

 <Gulver Huma Meltem (left) and Adiarif (right) who won the grand prize and popularity award at the Korean speech contest for international students>

 An international student at YU (President Noh, Seok Kyun) is receiving a lot of attention by speaking Korean better than Korean people.

 International students at YU won the grand prize and popularity award at the '2013 International Student Korean Speech Contest' held at Kyungpook National University Woodang Building on the 12th hosted by the Korean Language Society Daegu Chapter (Chapter President Lee, Sang Gyu).

 Gulver Huma Meltem (20), a freshman in the YU School of Architecture and Adiarif (24), a junior in the School of Mechanical Engineering were the recipients of the awards. At the Korean speech contest under the theme 'My Life in Korea' for international students enrolled in universities in the Daegu and Gyeongbuk areas, Gulver Huma Meltem won the grand prize and Adiarif won the popularity award by talking about their unique experiences with fluent Korean skills.

 Meltem, who won the grand prize by comparing the cultures of Korea and Turkey said, "Korean culture of wearing slippers without sox on a rainy day and people who carry parasols on a sunny day was strange to me," while adding, "My topic was so common that I didn't think that I would win the grand prize."

 Adiarif took home the popularity award by talking about his experience using a taxi in Korea. He said that whenever he rode taxis, the driver would ask what country he was from and said, "If I tell them I'm from Saudi Arabia, everybody thinks that I‘m rich because of oil." He also said, "Now, when I get in taxis I ask the driver what country they think I'm from first."

 Meltem explained that many of his grandfather's friends were Korean War veterans so he grew up hearing a lot of stories about Korea. He said, "I became interested in learning Korean since I was 9 years old when Korean dramas and movies gained popularity in Turkey," while also adding, "I got information at the Korean Culture Center in Istanbul and bought Korean books through the internet to study the Korean language and about Korea when I was in Turkey" with an air of confidence in his Korean skills.

 Meltem wanted to experience and study in Korea and learned about YU by the recommendation of a professor at Istanbul Technical University, who was a colleague of his mother who also works at a professor there. In July of last year, he completed the five-week short-term language course at the YU Korean Language Institute, went back to Turkey, and then returned to Korea and enrolled at the YU School of Architecture in March of this year.

 Adiarif, who graduated from the Yanbu Industrial College in Saudi Arabia, came to Korean in September of last year at the recommendation of the Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission in Korea. After taking a year Korean language course at the YU Korean Language Institute, he transferred to the YU School of Mechanical Engineering in September of this year.

 Adiarif said that he first learned about Korea through a TV drama and talked about the difficulties of learning the Korean saying, "Pronunciation was difficult when I first began learning Korea. Using honorifics was especially difficult."

 Both are Muslims and said, "There are cultural differences in clothing, food and housing and it is a very unfamiliar environment for foreigners. However, it is fun studying at YU and each and every person we meet in Korea is valuable to us," and added, "If we have the opportunity, we would like to continue to live in Korea after graduation."

 Meltem also said that his life in Korea is very satisfying saying, "I hope to work in Korea, marry a Korean, and bring my parents to Korea and live together with them here."