Nigeria Content Online

On Tuesday, June 29, the Korean Cultural Centre in Abuja played host to 20 primary schools from across the Federal Capital Territory to celebrate the winners of its first drawing competition. The centre organised the event to mark 30 years of diplomatic ties between Nigeria and South Korea.

According to Jeong Sun Suh, director of the centre, the competition had called on students to submit drawings exploring the relationship between the two countries. Out of hundreds of entries, 30 finalists were chosen, which will be on display in the centre’s exhibition hall for the next three months.

Korean ambassador to Nigeria, Young-Kuk Park, was on hand to present the awards, though some schools were not available to receive their prizes as they arrived late.

The gold prize winner went home with N20,000, while the four silver medallists received N10,000 apiece and the five bronzes won N5,000 each. Every awardee, including the consolation prize winners, got notebooks and poster colours.

Reactions

The centre had called on the National Gallery of Arts to help judge the contest and this led to some controversy. Some schools complained that the competition’s rules were vague and that many students’ works were unfairly disqualified.

In her remarks, Perpetua Onyejekwe of the National Gallery of Arts explained the winning criteria.

“We disqualified so many entries because it was clear that many were assisted by art teachers,” she said. “The National Gallery is a neutral body, without sentiment, and we gave [prizes] to those who got what we actually wanted.”

Despite the anger, most of the attendees were happy with the results. A few students even sneaked out of the ceremony to celebrate noisily in the hall after they received their prizes.

Sarah Hosea, a parent, noted that the competition had given her child an avenue to express himself, though he did not win any prizes.

“It is part of learning,” she said. “This is a part of the handiwork that will give him a job as an artist in the future.”

The gold winner, 10-year-old Jidechukwu Ilokobi, of Festival Primary School, also looked forward to a future in art.

“I want to be an artist,” he said. “As for the money, I’m going to give it to my parents and I am going to give the prize to my school.”

Until next year

Though organisers had planned on a small-scale ceremony for 50 people, over 100 attendees crowded into the centre’s exhibition hall and many continued to arrive as the ceremony progressed.

In his closing remarks, Mr. Park said that this year’s ceremony was only the beginning. He noted that the competition was the first hosted by the centre and promised a smoother event next year.

“This is just another effort to lay the groundwork to strengthen the ties between our two countries,” the ambassador said. “We will continue this and we will raise the next edition.”