Zinnura Karimova from Uzbekistan, a 4th-grader at the Volgok Elementary School in Gwangju (South Korea), won the main prize at the 12th National Bilingual Oratory Competition in Seoul.

On the way to this success, Zinnura Karimova was awarded a gold medal at the internal selection at her school and then a silver medal at the regional stage organized by the city education department.

In preparation, Zinnura practiced oratory in Uzbek and Korean for several hours daily. This not only improved her knowledge of the languages, but also helped her to speak confidently on stage. The schoolgirl received recognition from the jury for her story “An Interesting Journey to Yeosu” in Uzbek and Korean. Fifty-two people participated in the competition. 

Zinnura’s ten-year-old sister Laziza Karimova successfully participated in this competition in 2023 and took second place. At that time, Laziza expressed her intention to develop in international management and translation and emphasized the importance of global communication. Laziza’s result is not only a personal achievement. At this competition, she became the first Uzbek girl to perform in the Uzbek language.

The sisters’ victories went down in history as an essential event in Gwangju and Jeollanam-do province. At the competition, our girls popularized Uzbek culture.

G. Sattorova, UzA