A group of former South Korean government officials including ex-prime minister Nam Duk-woo and ex-finance ministers Kim Man-je and Jin Nyum had a look around Dubai and come back recommending that Korea should learn from the pragmatic leadership of the Emirates, with its bigger-better-faster attitude to development.

They were there on a fact-finding mission to advise about Korea's ambition to become a regional logistics and business hub.

More recently, Lee Kun-hee, chairman of Samsung Business Group, visited Dubai for the first time ever for him and was so impressed with what he described as " Dubai miracle."

After coming back to Seoul, he strongly suggested his executives to visit Dubai themselves to learn a valauable lesson from Dubai leadership which has turned a humble fishing town in the midst of desert into a New York in the Middle East in less than three decades.

Since that time on, Korea's major news media have competitively been dispatching their reporters to feature a broader spectrum of life in Dubai focusing on various visionary economic development projects now in progress there.

Dubai is one of Emirates of the United Arab Emirates(UAE) with a population of 1.3 million. It produces crude oil, but that accounts for no more than 6 percent of GDP. Otherwise, it consists of sand. Yet it has become the most affluent and prosperous country in the Middle East.

Dubai is a tourism and shopping mecca, where billionaires from not only the Mideast but the entire world flock to spend their money.

The competition, the Dubai International Holy Koran Award, is open to males aged 21 and younger, and this year more than 80 young Muslim boys and men faced off in more than two weeks of nightly performances that end Tuesday. The contestants came from around the world to represent their countries, including Iran, Iraq, Brazil, Australia and the United States.

Dubai’s ruler, Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, sponsors the competition, one of the most prestigious Koran recitation contests in the world, to encourage young Muslims to understand the essence of their faith. He provides the equivalent of nearly $700,000 in prize money, including a top prize of almost $70,000.

The contest, in its 10th year, is one befitting a place like Dubai, with its penchant for glitz and glamour. Dubai marketers have plastered the city with ads that push it as must-see TV, and it is popular enough that the awards ceremony attracts dignitaries and prominent personalities.

The scene inside the competition hall is reminiscent of classic American spelling bees. The young contestants, primed from years of study, squirm in their seats while the audience sits in hushed anxiety.

“This is the Olympics of Koran reading,” said Ahmad al Suwiedi, head of the competition’s organizing committee. “So whoever goes up there on that stage has to make us and his country proud.”

Late Thursday night, 10-year-old Khubaib Muhammad walked on stage in his tennis shoes and traditional Kenyan dress, sat in an oversize chair that engulfed his slight frame and prepared for his chance at fame and fortune.

Khubaib has spent hours each day for the past three years memorizing the Koran. He competed in local reading competitions in his native Nairobi to qualify for this contest. “It was hard work, but ultimately it was worth it because I got here,” he said just before taking the stage. “I’m not nervous. I’m ready and prepared.”

Being prepared means being ready to recite the Koran in Arabic — starting anywhere the judges want and for as long as they want. The judges choose the section at random, recite the beginning, then expect the contestant to pick up where they left off. The contestants must know the text well enough to quickly recognize the section the judge is reading.

After Khubaib took the stage, one of the five judges began reciting text. At the judge’s signal, Khubaib took over, his high-pitched voice filling the crowded recital hall. For the next 15 minutes, the boy carried on the recitation by heart, his eyes closed in deep concentration, his legs swinging several inches off the ground. At one point, one of the judges rang the bell, indicating Khubaib had made a mistake. For a moment, the boy was silent, but he quickly corrected himself and continued.

To Muslims, the Koran is the word of God as revealed to the Prophet Muhammad. In the contest, it is supposed to be read in a melodic chant that follows rules known as tajweed, which dictate what letters should be emphasized, slurred or silent. The best reciters are legendary, their tapes sold across the Muslim world. This year’s Dubai champion will ostensibly join their ranks someday.