Ukrainian student's love for Korean literary classic 'Chunhyangjeon' leads to pageant success

This article is by Yoon Seung-jin and read by an artificial voice. Korea's classic folk tale "Chunhyangjeon" first captivated Lina when she was a teenager. Inspired by the renowned literary work, the Ukrainian student devoted herself to studying Korean and eventually came to Kyungpook National University through the Global Korea Scholarship (GKS) program. Her love for Korean literature, language and culture, which has lasted for more than a decade, recently led her to become the first international contestant to win the title of "Mi," or third place, at the Namwon Chunhyang Festival's Global Chunhyang Selection Contest, one of the nation's oldest and most well-known beauty pageants. "It wasn't just for the experience. It was truly meaningful to me," said Lina, who goes by a shortened version of her full name for privacy reasons, in an interview with the Korea JoongAng Daily. "When I decided to take part in the contest, I wanted to deepen my ties with Korea and its culture. Chunhyang means a lot to me because only her loyalty and love for Mongnyong can describe my love for Korea." Founded in 1931, the Namwon Chunhyang Festival began as an effort to honor the spirit of Chunhyang while preserving national pride during Japan's colonial rule. Chunhyang is the fictional hero who defies a corrupt magistrate to remain faithful to her lover, Mongnyong. The contest expanded eligibility to foreign participants in 2024 as part of its globalization efforts. Last year, Estonian contestant Laura Mai Schults won the title of "Hyeon," or sixth place. The Korea JoongAng Daily sat down with Lina to discuss her experiences, her passion for the Korean language and culture, and the future she envisions for herself in Korea. The following are excerpts from the interview. Q: What brought you to Korea? How did you start learning Korean? A: I've always loved learning languages, and when I was in middle school, I fell in love with the Korean language and culture. The language sounded so beautiful to me. As I learned more Korean, I realized that the culture ingrained in the language matched my philosophy and personal values. I'd say the philosophy of ilpyeondanshim — loyalty and unwavering love — best explains my values, and it resonates with me the most. I think it's something that cannot be perfectly translated into another language. I studied in Ukraine until my first year of high school and later moved to Estonia. There were very few opportunities to learn Korean there because there were no Korean language institutes or even a Korean embassy nearby, so I started teaching myself with whatever materials I could find on the internet. Later, I had the opportunity to study Korean at the King Sejong Institute in Tallinn and also completed an internship there. My first chance to come to Korea was in 2022 as an exchange student. I studied Korean literature at Kyungpook National University before returning to Estonia to finish my bachelor's degree. After graduating, I came back to the university as a GKS scholar, and now I'm pursuing a master's degree in media communications there. Was the Global Chunhyang Selection Contest the first beauty pageant you participated in? How did you prepare for it? Yes, it was my first pageant. I naturally learned about the contest because I've always been deeply interested in Chunhyang and Korean culture. I think only people who truly understand the spirit and meaning of the contest can participate in it. Many people think the Global Chunhyang Selection Contest is simply a beauty pageant, but I believe it's much more than that. It was originally created to preserve Korean culture, and past winners were selected not only for their appearance but also for their understanding of Korean culture and their ability to promote it. The selection process even includes a residency period to observe contestants' manners, philosophy and attitude. While preparing for the contest, I focused most on learning the values represented by Ch...