From 5 to 8 November, Pyongyang University of Foreign Studies (North Korea) hosted All-Republican Russian Language Contest, where Vera Shmelkova, Head of Department “Russian as a foreign language”, Institute of International Cooperation, Penza State University, took part as a member of the international jury.

30 representatives of all North Korean provinces took part in the Contest, which proves that Russian is studied all around the country. Such events haven’t been held in North Korea for 20 years. The finalists were selected at the preliminary stages which took place in the country.

In the final, the participants showed their knowledge in all types of language activities: reading and listening, writing and speaking. At the end of the contest the Korean participants demonstrated their talents: they sang Russian songs, recited poems by Russian poems, staged theatrical performances.

The winners were awarded worthy prizes. This year the Contest was organized with the support of the Russian Ministry for Foreign Affairs, RF Embassy in Pyongyang. Aleksandr Matsegora, a Russian ambassador, expressed his gratitude to PSU management for participation in the Contest which had become a significant event in the country and its course had been widely covered in North Korean mass media.