A 21-Year-Old Korean-American Discovers Talent While Treating Autism... Sets World Cube Record

Puzzle Completed in 3.13 Seconds
Chinese Player's Record Broken After 5 Years

A Korean-American man in his 20s is gaining attention for breaking the world record in the 'Rubik's Cube.' Max Park, who is 21 years old this year, is known as a prodigy holding records for Rubik's Cubes of various sizes.

Player Max Park participating in the Rubik's Cube speedcubing competition. [Image source=Rubik's official SNS]

According to the US magazine People on the 15th (local time), Max Park recently participated in a Rubik's Cube 'speedcubing' competition held in Long Beach, California, and set a new world record.

The competition was held using the 3x3x3 standard Rubik's puzzle, and Max Park solved the puzzle in 3.13 seconds. He broke the previous record of 3.47 seconds set by a Chinese player in 2018, ending a nearly 5-year run. Max Park's record has been registered in the Guinness World Records.

Max Park is gaining attention because he has already distinguished himself in other sizes of Rubik's Cubes. He currently holds world records in a total of five Rubik's Cube categories: 4x4x4, 5x5x5, 6x6x6, and 7x7x7.

Known as the 'cube prodigy,' Max Park was actually first introduced to the Rubik's Cube as part of a past treatment method. Diagnosed with autism, his symptoms were so severe in childhood that he had difficulty even opening a water bottle, and at that time, his parents taught him the Rubik's Cube directly for therapeutic and emotional development purposes.

After encountering the cube, Max Park not only showed improvement in his symptoms but also demonstrated exceptional talent and interest in the cube. He began attending international competitions in 2012, breaking records and soon attracting worldwide attention.

In 2020, he appeared in the Netflix documentary 'The Speed Cubers,' which covers challengers of Rubik's Cube world records.

Meanwhile, after news of Max Park's new record spread, local netizens sent congratulatory messages such as "A living legend in the cube world," "An astonishing speed," and "Max Park solves the cube much faster than I can type a congratulatory message."

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