French YouTube creator Ku, known for his channel Ku’s Dream, is bringing a brand-new competition to Taiwan, the “Monster Mandarin: Global Chinese Challenge.” The event will see 100 foreign contestants test their Mandarin skills, with a grand prize of NT$300,000 (US$9100) up for grabs.
Ku, whose French name is Richard Quentin Paul Camille, has lived in Taiwan for almost eight years. His YouTube channel currently has around 1.98 million subscribers. Ku says he wants to give foreign participants a chance to connect more deeply with Taiwan’s language and culture, while also giving locals a fresh perspective on their own culture.
The challenge is free and open to any legal foreign residents in Taiwan who learned Mandarin as a second language and haven’t lived in Taiwan for a long period of time before age 18. Ku says he has noticed that locals are often curious about foreigners who speak Mandarin in Taiwan and hopes that many will join the challenge. He says his team is putting a lot of effort into the show’s production and is confident that it could be one of the best in Taiwan's YouTube history.