A MYANMAR youth has been honoured for her Korean-language proficiency during a youth camp held at Seoul, South Korea, last month.

Ma Htate Htar, 21, shared the award for Korean-language proficiency with a young man from Uzbekistan during the 2007 Youth Camp for Asia’s Future held in the capital of South Korea from July 31 to August 20.

“I was amazed, delighted and also proud for Myanmar,” Ma Htate Htar, who graduated from Yangon University of Foreign Languages in 2006 with a major in Korean, told The Myanmar Times on September 11.

She said the camp’s organisers remarked that her language proficiency was excellent, noting that her accent, intonation and pronunciation were more like a Korean’s than a foreigner’s.

She said she had not expected to be named for the award because some youth camp participants spoke Korean very well.

Ma Htate Htar said she was motivated to apply for the program because of her interest in Korean culture and her curiosity about the cultures, lifestyles and experiences of youths from other countries. She said she would like to study history at a South Korean university if she had the chance and would also like to use her language skills to teach Korean to people in Myanmar.

The Asia Youth Camp, which has been held annually since 2006, is hosted by National Youth Commission of the Republic of Korea and organised by National Council of Youth Organisations in Korea in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of the Republic of Korea, said a spokesperson from the South Korean embassy in Yangon.

According to organisers, the event is aimed at enhancing understanding of South Korea through cultural experiences and promoting mutual cooperation and friendship for the peace and prosperity of Asia.

The South Korean embassy in Myanmar selects 10 young people – including two youths who are proficient in the Korean language – to participate in the program each year.

Those interested in attending must apply through the embassy by writing an essay on one of six designated topics. The top essayists are called in for interviews, from which the youth camp participants are chosen.

This year’s youth camp, organised under the theme “Youth challenges and the new future of Asia”, attracted 270 participants from 23 countries.