Global Chunhyang Selection Contest: Ukraine's Rina Wins 3rd Place 'Mi' Title

The Global Chunhyang Selection Contest has marked a major milestone in its international expansion by awarding high-ranking titles to foreign participants. Rina, a Ukrainian graduate student, was recently selected as 'Mi' (3rd place), succeeding the first-ever foreign winner, Estonian YouTuber Mai, who won 'Chunhyang Hyeon' at the previous event.

Key Facts

• Lee So-eun, a graduate of Seoul National University, was awarded the 'Seon' (2nd place) title.
• Rina, a Ukrainian student at Kyungpook National University, became the second foreign winner in the contest's history by placing third ('Mi').
• The contest officially admitted foreign entrants in 2024, rebranding as the "Global Chunhyang Selection Contest."
• Mai, an Estonian Seoul National University student known as YouTuber "Kimchi Ghost," was the first foreign winner at the 95th contest and documented her experience online.
• Special "Global Ambassador" awards were presented to Elodie Youna Bouladon (Switzerland) and Angela Beauchene (Canada).

Key Terms

• Seon: The title for the second-place winner.
• Mi: The title for the third-place winner.
• Chunhyang Hyeon: A formal title ranking below Jin, Seon, and Mi.

Key Quote

This year's competition created a stage worthy of the name Global Chunhyang Selection Contest with participants from various backgrounds. It once again showed the possibility for the Chunhyang Festival to leap beyond tradition to a global K-culture festival. — Choi Kyung-sik, Mayor of Namwon

Next

• Global Ambassadors Elodie Youna Bouladon and Angela Beauchene will represent the festival's international interests.
• The contest aims to continue evolving from a local tradition into a global K-culture event.