The Story of a Jeju Boy Diagnosed with "Stage 4 Cancer" in His Senior Year Who Still Got Accepted to Seoul National University

Seoul National University Student Lee Hyun-woo, CBS Radio Interview
Continuing College Entrance Exams After Being Diagnosed with Ihaseonam
"Attended Math Academy Only Once During Middle and High School"

"When I was receiving treatment in the middle, I asked, 'Can’t I just live without going to college with my father?' and they just said it was okay. That gave me more strength. I wanted to try."

Despite being diagnosed with stage 4 cancer before entering his senior year of high school, Lee Hyun-woo, who was admitted to the Department of History at Seoul National University, said this during an interview on CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' on the 1st. Lee said he studied mainly through school classes and EBS broadcasts, and attended a math academy only once during middle and high school.

Lee was diagnosed with adenoid cystic carcinoma (salivary gland cancer) and continued treatment and surgery while preparing for exams. He received the cancer diagnosis during the winter break between his second and third year of high school. He was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer in January and had to endure his senior year as a high school student that year.

Hyunwoo Lee, who was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer in his senior year of high school and was accepted to Seoul National University.
[Photo by CBS Radio 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' broadcast screen]

Lee said, "Honestly, I couldn’t really grasp it either. I came out after talking with my mother, but I think I was just stunned the whole time. I wondered if this was really happening to me. It feels very distant, you know. Being diagnosed with cancer and undergoing such treatment."

Lee reportedly studied about 10 hours a day, sometimes up to 13 hours. He said, "I really focused on school classes and supplemented a lot with EBS. I only attended a math academy once during middle and high school."

He experienced several critical moments while preparing for college entrance exams. Lee said, "First, when I was diagnosed, then when I had aftereffects from radiation therapy, and then I caught COVID-19 in September. It was during the Chuseok holiday, and on top of that, there was a typhoon in Jeju. My body was sick, so I couldn’t study, but I felt an urgency to study quickly. At that time, I felt a lot of helplessness and self-blame."

Lee said he did not resent his situation. He then said the following.

"One of the reasons I study history is because I believe that one’s view of history shapes their worldview. When you look at history, even events that seem unlikely to happen are intricately intertwined, and visible and invisible factors ultimately converge into one conclusion. One reality. I thought the same about life and exams. So, there must have been many causes that led me to be this sick, but if I keep picking them apart and resenting each one, there is no end. I decided not to assign meaning to that, which was something I felt while studying history."

Lee expressed his aspiration, saying, "I believe that worldview is influenced by one’s view of history. So, I want to become a historian who persuades many people’s worldviews to create a warmer world."

Lee concluded the interview by expressing gratitude to certain people.

"My homeroom teacher, who always walked with me on the playground and cut me a piece of chocolate during night self-study, I am really thankful. Also, my history teacher, geography teacher, and the head teacher helped me a lot. There are so many people I’m grateful to, including my math teacher, reading teacher, and our director. I also did Taekwondo until my first year of high school. Lastly, thank you to teacher Yoon Hye-jung and (laughs) my grandmother and grandfather."

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