By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter
A 15-year-old gifted child has earned admission to the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), the school said Sunday.
Sung Hyun-woo is in his third year at the Korea Science Academy, a secondary school for gifted children in Busan. KAIST, the nation's top science and engineering university, said Sung passed its admissions test July 30.
He first drew the attention of the media spotlight in January by outperforming mathematics teachers in solving difficult conundrums.
``I would like to win a Fields Medal, which no Korean has earned,'' Sung said.
The Fields Medal is a prize awarded to mathematicians under 40-years-old by the International Congress of Mathematicians. The medal, distributed every four years, is esteemed as the highest honor a mathematician can receive.
The Korea Science Academy said Sung has shown exceptional performances not only in mathematics, but in other fields as well ― such as mastering Japanese on his own.
``Reading as many books as possible seems to be the secret of my early admission,'' Sung said.