The participants of the festival celebrating the 569th birthday of Hangeul, hosted by the Centre for Korean Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University, take a picture at the Convention Center of the campus on Wednesday, Sept. 7. Nearly 300 Korean language students attended the event./ Photographed by Ha Man-joo.

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By Ha Man-joo, India correspondent, AsiaToday - The Center for Korean Studies (CKS) at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) kicked off its three-day festival marking the 569th Hangeul Day, which celebrates the Korean alphabet, at the Convention Center of the campus on Wednesday.

On the first day of the event, the CKS hosted a Korean essay contest, ceremony of the 569th Hangeul Day, and cultural events where Nehru University students and Korean students studying in India participated.

Students and citizens learning Korean language at several educational institutions, such as Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi University (DU), Central University of Jharkhand (CUJ), and Korean Cultural Centre India participated in the Korean essay contest. The contest was divided into four levels : beginner I, beginner II, intermediate, and advanced. The winner for advanced level was Sonibala, a Korean language student in JNU.

During the ceremony of the 569th Hangeul Day attended by nearly 300 people, prof. Prasenjit Sen, the vice chancellor of JNU, said, "Having their own characters is very amazing. King Sejong, who created Hangeul, is a great man compatible with ancient India's Ashoka the Great, who discovered Sanskrit and created its writing system around 200 BC."

Ahn Min-sik, the deputy chief of the South Korean embassy, said, "The creation of Hangeul was an important event directly related to establishment of national cultural identity that goes beyond the language. As hallyu is spreading worldwide, Korean language is also being loved and recognized by the world. There are more people in the world, especially in India, who are learning Korean. It reflects the rapid development of relations between the two countries."

The graduates from the Centre for Korean Studies of Jawaharlal Nehru University performed ''The Wedding Day" on the first day of the event celebrating the 569th birthday of Hangeul, hosted by the Centre for Korean Studies of Jawaharlal Nehru University, at the Convention Center of the campus on Wednesday./ Photographed by Ha Man-joo

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The cultural events consisted of K-pop performance, taekwondo demonstration, samulnori or Korean traditional percussion quartet, and play. The graduates from the Centre for Korean Studies of Jawaharlal Nehru University performed a play called ''The Wedding Day", where they showed off fluent Korean, received loud applause from the spectators.

Dr. Ravikesh Mishra, a professor at JNU, said, "The festival is to provide our students an opportunity to experience Korean language as well as Korean culture. Through various events, I hope you learn more about Korean society and culture."