"Damaging School Image" Baek Kang-hyun, Who Entered Science High School at 12, Withdraws Due to Threats from Senior Mothers

Baek Ganghyun's Parents Reveal on YouTube Channel on the 20th
"Reason for Withdrawal Was School Violence Up to Just Before Report"
"Decided to Expose After Receiving Threatening Emails from Senior Mothers"

This year, Baek Kang-hyun, a gifted student who entered Seoul Science High School at the age of 10, decided to drop out after just one semester, amid allegations that school violence was the reason behind his decision. On the 20th, Baek's father revealed in a video titled "Baek Kang-hyun, Senior Mom's Email Disclosure" posted on a YouTube channel, "Kang-hyun quit school due to severe school violence."

Photo by Baek Kanghyun Instagram

He stated, "It went as far as almost filing a police report, and a school violence committee meeting was scheduled, but we conceded considering the social impact if Kang-hyun’s issue became public. My wife and I believed the school would take action, so we withdrew the police report and canceled the committee meeting. However, there was no consideration or support from the school regarding the root cause of the school violence that Kang-hyun feared the most. He dropped out because he resented the teachers he trusted," he explained.

The decision to expose the school violence was made after receiving an email from a parent on the 18th, following the announcement of Kang-hyun’s withdrawal, urging them not to damage the image of the school and its students.

The email, sent by someone identifying as a "Seoul Science High School Senior Mom," read, "When I heard an elementary student (Baek) was admitted to Seoul Science High School, I thought he must be a genius. But when I heard he only solved one math problem on the midterm, parents were stirred up. The reactions were all like, 'He’ll probably drop out soon,' 'The school made a mistake by admitting him without even testing,' and so on." It continued, "But then on YouTube, he said he dropped out because he didn’t want to be a problem-solving machine. Honestly, even if he was the lowest in the school and didn’t understand the classes, at least he shouldn’t do anything that damages the image of the students."

It added, "Even in society, it seems like his mother thinks he’s a genius, but my child couldn’t speak at 17 months yet knew all uppercase and lowercase alphabets, and at 4 years old could do all basic arithmetic independently. My child scored an IQ of 150 on a gifted program test, but I didn’t think he was a genius. From what I see on broadcasts, all students at Seoul Science High School are probably at least at Kang-hyun’s level," the email assessed.

Photo by Baek Gang-hyun, YouTube screen capture

Furthermore, it warned, "Parents saw Kang-hyun’s case and thought, 'We’re struggling too, so it’s natural for an elementary student to take the midterm and then drop out.' They also warned, 'If this keeps becoming an issue, articles will be published, so don’t damage the school’s image.'

In response, Baek’s side replied, "Kang-hyun scored evenly well on the midterm. In some subjects, he performed as well as the seniors. In the final exam, except for physics, he showed tremendous improvement, and some teachers even called it a 'miracle,'" rebutting the claims.

They clearly stated that the reason for dropping out was not grades but school violence. "He has been suffering from malicious comments and DMs (direct messages) from some senior moms," they appealed, "Please stop now that your desired outcome of ruining the child has been achieved."

Earlier, Baek’s father expressed in a comment on the video posted that morning, "Something truly shocking happened to young Kang-hyun. He was told, 'Your presence at Seoul Science High School deceives the entire nation,' and 'When Kang-hyun is on the team for group projects, it’s as if one person is missing.' He was ignored and given no role, treated like a ghost. On a site called DC Inside, messages openly mocking Kang-hyun as 'a useless XX, a total XX' were posted for him to see. He was ignored all day," he lamented.

Baek was born in November 2012 and gained fame as a "child prodigy" after appearing on SBS’s variety show "Genius Discovery Team" at the age of 3. His IQ at 41 months was 163 based on the Wechsler scale (204 based on Mensa standards), placing him in the top 0.0001%. After entering elementary school in 2019, he was promoted early to 5th grade the following year and entered Seoul Science High School this year.

However, after completing one semester, it was announced on the 18th that he had dropped out of Seoul Science High School. Baek shared his feelings, saying, "The day before yesterday, after the vacation ended and I was going to school in the morning, I hurriedly memorized math formulas while brushing my teeth. Then I saw myself in the mirror becoming a problem-solving machine. Suddenly, I wanted to compose music again, which I hadn’t done for a long time, and I wanted to create board games. I wanted to engage in creative activities."

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