Korea Ranks 6th in Math Contest in Philippines
By Jonathan Hicap
Korea Times Correspondent
MANILA ― South Korean elementary students won 22 medals to claim sixth place among 21 countries in the Philippine International Mathematics Competition (PIMC) held from Nov. 28 to Dec. 2 in the capital city of Iloilo in Iloilo Province in southern Philippines.
The Mathematics Trainers Guild-Philippines (MTG), the main organizer of the contest, said South Korea won one gold medal, seven silvers, 13 bronze medals and one merit award.
The Philippines topped the PIMC with 100 medals followed by Thailand with 48, Taiwan with 46, China with 42, Indonesia with 39, Korea with 22, Malaysia with 17 and Hong Kong and Bulgaria with 10 medals each.
Simon Chua, MTG president and chief organizer of the international contest, said the PIMC was composed of two main contests: the 2009 Philippine Elementary Mathematics International Contest (PEMIC) for elementary students and the 2009 Asia Inter-Cities Teenagers Mathematics Olympiad (AITMO) for high school. South Korea fielded contestants in the PEMIC.
All 16 delegates from South Korea won a medal each. In the individual competition, the gold medal went to Park Soo-geun from Korea Team 1. Silver medalists are Kang Dae-hun, Park Se-hwan, Bae Woo-hyeok, An Su-bin and Oum Jun-yong.
South Korea will host the elementary contest of the 11th International Mathematics Competition (IMC) next year. Park Hang-yaung, team leader and chairman of the Korean Evaluation Research for Future Education, who headed the Korean delegation to the Philippine contest, told The Korea Times that the contest will be held in Incheon from July 25 to 30 in 2010.
International delegates to the contest were treated to a unique cultural experience as Filipinos wowed them with Philippine dances, food, and trips to nearby provinces.
During the Cultural Night, delegates from 21 countries performed their native dances in colorful costumes. Korean students wore traditional hanbok and performed song and dance using traditional music instruments.