Young Paarlite shines abroad
2005-12-08
A YOUNG Paarlite, Hilton Slamet Junior (15), has been living in Korea for almost five years and is excelling at his local school.
Better known to his peers as Kim Junho, Hilton has passed the TOPIK (Test of Proficiency in Korean) with flying colors.
The test is usually written exclusively by university students and foreign immigrants, so Hilton was by far the youngest candidate ever, yet that didn’t stop him from being only 1% short of distinction.
In 2003, Hilton made news headlines and was interviewed by Korean national television when he became the first foreigner to serve as vice-head student of an all-Korean primary school.
At that stage, having lived in Korea for less than two years, and having to face the challenges of studying all subjects in a totally foreign language, Hilton was already fluent in written and spoken Korean - to the extent that he was often called upon to do translations for other foreigners, often even in professional meetings.
The Korean language with its unique alphabet called Hangul, has been proven by research to be the most creative language, and the third most difficult language in the world, besides Latin and Greek.
The TOPIK test, which covers a wide sphere of subjects in linguistic ability and general aptitude, is assessed and accredited by the President of the Korean Institute of Curriculum and Evaluation in Hilton's new homeland.
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