At the 8th Korea Wine Education Association (KWEA) Wine Sommelier Competition, Department of Tourism students Lee Ji-yoon and Lee Seung-yeon, both sophomores majoring in Hotel Management, received the Grand Prize and Gold Prize, respectively.

The event, held on June 22, in BEXCO, was organized by the KWEA to discover the best sommeliers, and was sponsored by the Busan Tourism Organization.

The competition was open to any students or member of the general public with sommelier qualifications, and consisted of three parts: a written test (20 points), a blind-tasting test (30 points), and a wine-decanting test (50 points).

Only the top 30 contestants from the written and blind-tasting tests were eligible to advance to final wine-decanting round, from among whom the two DSU students were selected as the best sommeliers of the day based on judges’ evaluations.
Adding extra pressure, their decanting test was conducted in front of a public audience.

The KWEA wine sommelier competition, which celebrated its eighth year in 2019, is an official sommelier evaluation event that students from many colleges and universities participate in, receiving evaluations of their professional skills.

In particular, the winning Grand Prize and Gold Prize DSU students have completed both the F&B Masters program and have received sommelier level 2 qualifications through the Centum Industrial Complex Campus project started in January this year.

The students also took advantage of the additional job training available through the program, gaining level 2 barista qualifications.

Dean of the DSU Department of Tourism, Hong Jeong-hwa, said, “In their four years here, DSU students are educated in the best environment for combining both theoretical knowledge and practical skills to assist their future careers.”