Four Korean students competed at the International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI) and all won medals.
The Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Foundation for the Advancement of Science & Creativity (KOSAC) said on the 19th that the Korean team won two gold medals, one silver, and one bronze at the 38th International Olympiad in Informatics, held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, from the 9th to the 16th.
This year's competition drew 375 students from 92 countries. Representing Korea, Jeong Min-chan (3rd year, Korea Science Academy of KAIST) and Yang Seung-min (3rd year, Seondeok High School) won gold medals, and Byeon Jae-woo (3rd year, Gyeonggi Science High School) won a silver medal. Son Jae-won (2nd year, Seoul Science High School) received a bronze medal.
At the International Olympiad in Informatics, participants solve computer programming problems over two days. They tackle three problems per day for five hours each day, six problems total, with 100 points per problem for a maximum score of 600.
Problems are selected from candidates submitted by participating countries. This year, two problems proposed by Korea—"Tiling Game" and "partitioning"—were adopted for the contest. Problems submitted by Japan, the United Kingdom, and Australia were also used.
Kim Seong-yeol, a Konkuk University professor who led the Korean team, said, "I'm pleased that the entire team finished with awards," and added, "I also look forward to the future performances of the students who showed their skills on the world stage."
Following the International Olympiad in Informatics, Korean students will also take part in other international science olympiads. The earth science olympiad team will compete in a contest scheduled for Aug. 20 to 27, the astronomy and astrophysics olympiad is set for Sept. 25 to Oct. 5, and the junior science olympiad is scheduled for Dec. 2 to 9.