New Delhi, Apr 24 (PTI) Ambassador of South Korea in New Delhi Shin Bong-kil said Wednesday that he was "pleasantly surprised" to see Indian school students knowing so much about his country, and asserted that youths can play a role in strengthening the friendship between the two countries.

He was speaking to reporters after handing out prizes to top six winning students from various schools who participated in the 4th Korea-India Friendship quiz contest, organized by the Korean Cultural Center India (KCCI) here.

"The top four winners will go to Korea on a trip of six days and five nights. Twenty other students received a total cash prize of Rs 51,000 and trophies," the KCCI said in a statement.

The event which tested knowledge about South Korea, saw participation from 23, 433 students from 60 schools in Delhi-NCR, it said.

"I was pleasantly surprised to see so much enthusiasm from Indian students about Korea, and their desire to learn about Korea, beyond books. I am confident that these students will be torch-bearers of Korea-India friendship in days to come," South Korean envoy Shin Bong-kil said.

He said South Korea is a small country but very vibrant country

"And, youths in both countries can play a role in strengthening friendship between India and Korea," the envoy said.

The quiz event was started in 2016 with an aim of strengthening Korea-India relationship through spreading awareness and knowledge among Indian youth.

"The topics of the quiz was on various aspects of history and culture and Korea, as well as growing bilateral relationship between India and Korea. Twenty-four selected contestants among 600 students in the second round, got to compete at the final, and only eight of whom made it to the grand finale," the KCCI said.

Director of the KCCI Kim Kum-pyoung said India and Korea share a strong bond in areas of culture, heritage, and business.

He also mentioned that strengthening the youth base between both the nations will give this bilateral relation a much stronger base.

First prize winner Akshat Singh from Birla Vidya Niketan said that he devoted one month for preparing for this quiz competition, and kept his focus aside from other subjects.

This devotion has come to him with the reward and he is excited to explore the nation not through books only but in reality too.  

Second prize was grabbed by Devansh S Panwar from Apeejay School, Sheikh Sarai, third position was secured by Saumik Shashwat from Amity International School Mayur Vihar and Devanshi Vashishth, from DPS, Vasant Vihar, finished fourth, the KCCI said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)