Maui Waena Intermediate School eighth-grader Christopher Kim has won the Hawaii State Spelling Bee.

Kim told The Maui News that he wanted to win because it was the last year he would be eligible to enter. He will now represent Hawaii in the Scripps National Spelling Bee. It begins in June in Washington, D.C.

Kim beat 13 other spellers for the state title Saturday night by correctly spelling “obfuscatory.”

He is a non-native English speaker who speaks only Korean at home.
Esther Kim, who is of no relation, was the first runner-up.