Korean students excelled at the International Chemistry Olympiad and the International Biology Olympiad, winning multiple medals. At the Chemistry Olympiad, all four representatives earned medals, while at the Biology Olympiad, all four secured gold medals.
According to the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Foundation for the Advancement of Science and Creativity, the 58th International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO) was held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, from July 10 to 19, where all four members of the Korean delegation received medals.
In this competition, which saw participation from 368 students across 92 countries, Kim Sang-yeon (Incheon Science High School, 3rd year), Lim Jang-ho (Gwangju Science High School, 3rd year) won gold medals, while Kim Do-hoon (Gwangju Science High School, 3rd year) earned a silver medal, and Lee Eun-sung (Daegu Science High School, 3rd year) took home a bronze medal.
Simultaneously, the 37th International Biology Olympiad (IBO) took place in Vilnius, Lithuania, with 302 participants from 78 countries. The Korean delegation, consisting of Kim Min-jae (Seoul Science High School, 3rd year), Bae Jun-soo (Gyeonggi Science High School, 3rd year), Oh Ji-yoon (Seoul Science High School, 2nd year), and Choi Jae-young (Korea Science Academy, 2nd year), all won gold medals. This year marked the highest number of participating countries since Korea first joined the competition in 1998, and it was significant that all members achieved gold medals for the first time in seven years.
The International Chemistry Olympiad consisted of a theoretical exam (5 hours) and a practical exam (5 hours), with scores calculated based on 60% theory and 40% practical performance. The theoretical exam included nine questions across four fields: physical chemistry, analytical chemistry, organic chemistry, and inorganic chemistry.
Topics included reaction kinetics using the vibrational behavior of the Belousov-Zhabotinsky (BZ) reaction, qualitative and quantitative analysis using mass spectrometry and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and interpreting carbon dioxide reduction reactions using photocatalysts. In organic chemistry, questions focused on determining the structure of natural product-derived compounds, analyzing the aromaticity of carbon nanorings (cyclo[n]carbon), and examining the structural and morphological changes of cardiolipin. Nuclear chemistry problems involved uranium fission and bond energy calculations, along with structural design issues related to covalent organic frameworks (COFs).
The practical exam consisted of three tasks: synthesizing coordination compounds with unknown metal cations and ligands and determining their structures through titration in inorganic chemistry; analyzing the components of biological samples through enzyme-substrate reactions in a combined organic chemistry and biochemistry task; and analyzing acid-base titration curves and the color change principles of natural indicators in analytical chemistry.
The International Biology Olympiad evaluated scores based on 50% theoretical assessment and 50% practical assessment. The theoretical assessment included 100 questions across seven fields: cell biology, plant morphology and physiology, animal morphology and physiology, animal behavior, genetics and evolution, ecology, and biological systematics, conducted over six hours in two three-hour sessions. Many questions utilized recent research findings.
The practical assessment spanned four fields: molecular biology and biochemistry, animal physiology, animal morphology and systematics, and plant computational biology, each lasting 90 minutes for a total of six hours. This assessment evaluated experimental and data interpretation skills across various life science research areas, including morphological observation and dissection, restriction enzymes, electrophoresis, spectrophotometry, bioassays, and bioinformatics.
Jung Hyun, head of the Korean Chemistry Olympiad Committee, noted that the experience of competing with the world's top students at the International Chemistry Olympiad would be invaluable in developing creative insights and refined logical skills as future chemists. Kim Jae-geun, head of the Korean Biology Olympiad Committee, expressed confidence that the national representatives' active engagement in discussions and exchanges with peers from other countries would lead to the advancement of Korean life sciences to a global level.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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