The first Composition Competition on China-Republic of Korea (ROK) Friendship ended with an award ceremony on Monday in Shenyang, the capital of Liaoning province.

The competition started in December last year and had entries from citizens of these two countries about self-experienced stories reflecting Sino-ROK friendly relationship. 15 compositions were awarded, in which 5 pieces were from South Korea and 10 from China. There were altogether 44 pieces of writing from South Korea and 323 from China participated in this competition.

All the works will be collated and published, while the awarded pieces will be produced into movie and played on the airplanes between the two countries. The winners will have a one-week tour experiencing the Sino-ROK cultures. Initiated jointly by the Consulate General of Republic of Korea in Shenyang and Shenyang Foreign Affairs Office, this competition was to celebrate the 17-year-old diplomatic relations between the two countries established in 1992.

In recent years Sino-ROK relationship has developed quickly. The 2009 trade volume between these two countries totaled at $168.3 billion, 27times more than the $630million in 1992. In 2009, 1million South Korean settled in China and 550,000 vice versa, 5million Korean paid a visit to China and 1 million vice versa.

By Xie Fang, Zhang Nan