On May 19, 2023 (Friday), the Russian Institute of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (Director: Professor Pyo Sang-yong) held the finals of the 13th National University (Graduate) Student Russian Debate Contest online.

Co-hosted by the Russian Institute of Foreign Studies at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies and the Russian Embassy in Korea, this contest is an annual event that has been held since 2011 to raise social interest in learning Russian and to discover talented people in related fields. To encourage the eight students who made it to the finals of the competition, professors from related departments from across the country, including Professor Emeritus Kim Hyeon-taek (Hankuk University of Foreign Studies) and Ambassador Andrei Kulik (Russian Embassy in Korea), attended.

Like last year's competition, the 13th Russian Language Debate Contest is specified as 'undergraduate (graduate) student who has stayed in the Russian language for less than 2 years' under the purpose of motivating students who have little experience in training in the Russian language. Interpretation and translation graduate students were also restricted from participating.

The organizers selected “Rachmaninov,” “music,” and “education” as topics for the final discussion to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the birth of world-renowned Russian composer and pianist Sergei Rachmaninoff this year. The students read the relevant thematic statements prepared by the organizers and expressed their views online.

As a result of the screening, Jeong Won-ho, a student at Chung-Ang University, won the grand prize. The recipients of the Gold and Encouragement Prizes, including the grand prize winners, will receive a scholarship prepared by the Russian Embassy in Korea and a certificate in the name of the president of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies and the Russian Ambassador to Korea. A separate awards ceremony is scheduled for May 26, 2023 at the Russian Embassy in Korea.