By Yi Whan-woo
Korea won its first-ever gold at the International Linguistics Olympiad, the country’s linguistics society said Sunday.
Kim Hong-soon, a 16-year-old science high school student, topped the podium with seven other international competitors at the week-long competition that ended on Saturday in Ljubljana, Slovenia.
The country’s two silver medalists were Kim Ji-wook, 16 and Choi Hong-bum, 17.
The 10th annual Olympiad had 135 contestants from 39 countries. The participants were given assignments to solve problems related to mathematical, theoretical and descriptive linguistics.
Kim Hong-soon, a student at the Korea Science Academy, excelled in understanding and analyzing the roots of the various words in different world languages.
Kim’s school was founded by the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), the country’s top science university, to educate gifted students.
The Linguistic Society of Korea said there is a great deal of anticipation surrounding him. “We’re so fortunate to find a talented student like Kim, and hopefully he will continue to succeed,” a researcher said.
Kim Ji-wook, a student at the Korean Minjok Leadership Academy, one of the nation’s competitive high schools, was among the 13 silver medal winners including Choi, a schoolmate of Kim Hong-soon.
The three students, however, were unable to win a medal in the team competition.
Korea has participated in the competition since 2003, and had only won bronze medals in the past in the individual competitions. It snatched a silver in the team contest in 2009.