Korea Achieves 2nd Place Overall in International Physics Olympiad

Group photo of the Korean delegation at the 2022 International Physics Olympiad. From the left: Lee Jihoo (Seoul Science High School for Gifted Students, Grade 2), Jo Youngin (Seoul Science High School for Gifted Students, Grade 2), Jung Junghoon (Seoul Science High School for Gifted Students, Grade 3), Lee Seunghyun (Seoul Science High School for Gifted Students, Grade 2), Song Kyungmin (Seoul Science High School for Gifted Students, Grade 3).

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] South Korea achieved excellent results in the International Physics Olympiad following its success in mathematics.

According to the Ministry of Science and ICT on the 18th, the South Korean team won medals for all five students at the 52nd International Physics Olympiad (IPhO), held online under the auspices of Switzerland from October 10 to 17 over a total of eight days.

In this competition, which featured 366 students from 76 countries worldwide, the South Korean delegation achieved second place overall as Lee Seunghyun (Seoul Science High School, 2nd year), Lee Jihoo (Seoul Science High School, 2nd year), Jung Junghoon (Seoul Science High School, 3rd year), and Cho Youngin (Seoul Science High School, 2nd year) each won gold medals, while Song Kyungmin (Seoul Science High School, 3rd year) earned a silver medal. China took first place overall with five gold medals, while South Korea and Romania tied for second place with four gold medals and one silver medal each. Individually, Cho Youngin, Lee Jihoo, and Lee Seunghyun ranked 9th, 12th, and 13th respectively, demonstrating outstanding performance.

The competition consisted of five problems in total: three theoretical problems (30 points) and two experimental problems (20 points). The theoretical and experimental exams were each conducted over five hours and graded out of 50 points. This year’s experimental exam, held online, was conducted through simulation execution and analysis.

This year’s theoretical exam covered topics including magnetism (permanent magnets and ferromagnetic materials), the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), and scaling laws. The experimental exam included a free-fall experiment on an exoplanet and current observation during the physical quantity changes in a cylindrical diode.

Previously, South Korea also achieved second place overall at the International Mathematical Olympiad, which concluded on the 16th.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.