Translator: Dreamscribe
[14-Year-Old Math Prodigy Yu Seo-ha, Headed to the U.S. After All?]
-Recently, the Boston-area daily newspaper 'Daily IT' reported that the Korean prodigy boy receiving worldwide attention is highly likely to choose to attend MIT.
The basis was what Harold Whitman, the dean of MIT’s Departnt of Mathematics, said at a conference held on the 5th.
“We will consider every possible ans to ensure that Seo-ha can continue his research at MIT.”
Although MIT has not made an official statent, the newspaper reported that the school is reviewing multiple ways to support Yu’s family needs.
At age 13, Yu Seo-ha shocked the global mathematics community by independently completing a proof of the Four Color Theorem, long considered impossible without computer assistance.
Also, the Riemann Hypothesis and...
(Omitted)
The Korean academic world expressed both astonishnt and complicated emotions.
A professor at Seoul National University said, “There’s no benefit that Korean universities can offer a student of this caliber”, expressing regret.
A KAIST official also lanted, “In the U.S., universities can autonomously offer conditions to students, but doing the sa in Korea would be illegal.”
Upon inquiry, our paper confird this with the Ministry of Education.
A ministry official explained, “To ensure fairness in admissions, dostic universities cannot offer conditional admission or tailored benefits to individual students.”
In the end, while dostic systems fail to keep up, other countries are fiercely competing to bring in Yu Seo-ha.
(omitted)
└MIT at fourteen?
└I’ve been watching him since he was young, but he’s going abroad after all. We really need to change the system.
└If we change that, it could easily be abused. It's basically allowing admission without testing, and that doesn’t fit with our country.
└Since we don’t allow exceptions, there’s no choice. I’d go to the U.S. too.
└Harvard once admitted an eleven-year-old as a student. We're just too conservative.
└Honestly, let’s have so sha. He’s majoring in math, does Korean mathematics even have a future?
└Asia math level is China > Japan, India >>>> the rest. At minimum, we should have professors ready to teach and persuade him.
└I’m in pure sciences too, but since basic science doesn’t make money, there’s no funding.
└Yeah, that’s true. If you don’t produce results, you get cut anyway. But what results are you supposed to get in math or physics? ㅋㅋㅋㅋ In the end, even professors can’t research in peace.
└If you look at the postdoc salaries in math, it’s enough to make you cry. You’d have to compete with convenience store part-tirs.
└Out of a 10 billion won budget for major national projects, guess how much goes to math? 100 million won ㅋㅋㅋㅋ.
In an instant, thousands of comnts poured in.
Most of them were self-deprecating about the reality in Korea, where basic science is neglected.
└Still, he has to serve in the military, right?
└Yeah, if he changes his citizenship, that's it. There'll be tons of places wanting him.
└Co on, if soone wins the Fields dal or the Nobel Prize, can’t we exempt them from military service? Are those worth less than an Asian Gas dal?
└Don’t we already exempt them?
└If you win a famous music competition, you’re exempt ㅋㅋㅋ But there’s nothing like that for science.
└No, we need to hear the governnt’s side too. You need at least one case to make a law ㅋㅋ. We’ve just never needed it.
└Stop talking nonsense. Do you know the average age of Nobel Prize winners? It’s 60. Are we going to delay enlistnt until then?
└They’re saying there’s no way to get an exemption in the science field. Of course top researchers would want permanent residency sowhere else.
Basic science researchers flocked to the comnts and took over.
With decades of policy prioritizing rapid developnt over foundational science, researchers had cried out, but their voices never traveled far.
***
Seo-ha was dumbfounded by the flood of phone notifications from the morning.
Dding―
“There it is again.”
-Seo-ha, are you going to the U.S.? Then you should’ve told your hyung in advance! That’s it, let’s start with a Rabona kick lesson right away.
-You go ahead. I’ll follow you later ㅠㅠ
His ssage window was about to explode.
Seo-ha set his phone down for a mont and stepped outside.
Creak―
The squeaking sound from the floorboards underfoot was a welco one.
From the crack in the kitchen door, the sll of grilled mackerel wafted out.
“Mom!”
Mi-young, wearing an apron, turned around while setting the table.
“What?”
“Am I going to the U.S.? They said it’s in the news.”
Mi-young paused for a mont, then casually continued transferring the side dishes as if nothing had happened.
“That’s the plan. Since the school offered to support everything. Your dad’s going to quit his job and co with us too.”
“Huh? Really?”
“Yes. Your dad’s already making a fuss, saying he’s starting to study English.
His work at the township office must’ve been tough. Dealing with all those civil complaints, imagine how exhausting that is.”
“Is it okay to decide sothing this big so easily?”
“Why wouldn’t it be? Your mom was good at studying back in school too, you know? That English stuff, I’ll learn it in no ti. Thanks to my son, I’ll finally get to leave this backwoods place.”
“What about Seo-eun?”
“She got excited when she heard we’re going to the U.S. and ran off to brag to her friends.”
Seo-ha blinked blankly.
Just like that, as if they were heading to the supermarket to buy tofu, the entire family’s move was decided.
There were many things he wanted to say, but seeing his mother humming with joy made him think, maybe this isn’t so bad.
“Go bring Seo-eun so we can eat. And buy a block of tofu on the way.”
Seo-ha nodded without thinking.
“Okay.”
His head was full of question marks.
But since everyone in the family looked happy, he just wanted to share in that joy for now.
***
Mi-young laid out five admission letters.
“Where do you want to go? The conditions are all pretty similar, so just pick whichever.”
They were all schools that vied for the top spot in global university rankings.
Seo-ha chose MIT among them.
‘This place should be the safest, right? Seo-eun seed to like Cambridge too.’
Once the university was decided, the preparations for admission moved forward at a surprising speed.
A few days later, MIT’s Office of International Cooperation dispatched a Korean coordinator.
“I’ll be assisting you through the entire process.”
From issuing the I-20 to the visa interview, and even docunts related to family residency... He handled everything smoothly as if it were routine.
“Um, but what about Seo-ha’s high school diploma?”
The coordinator reassured Mi-young.
“There’s nothing to worry about. In Seo-ha’s case, he falls under exceptional admission.
Rather than formal academic credentials, we prioritize research achievents, letters of recomndation, and peer-reviewed papers.”
“But still...”
Despite the explanation, Mi-young’s expression remained clouded.
She was troubled by the thought that Seo-ha wouldn’t be formally graduating from high school.
In the end, Mi-young decided to visit the school.
Knock knock.
“Welco, Seo-ha’s mother!”
The principal stood up from his seat and bowed politely.
“I saw the article. So, you’re planning to send him to the U.S.?”
Mi-young hesitated, then carefully began to speak.
“Yes, but… can Seo-ha still receive his diploma? I ca to see if there might be a way.”
The principal adjusted his glasses and nodded.
“Actually, I was just about to bring that up myself.”
Even now, he was the best output of the Gifted High School, but more than anything, he was a talent with a promising future.
In the principal’s mind, Seo-ha had already beco the first person in history to win both the Nobel Prize and the Fields dal.
His university would, of course, be listed as MIT in his biography, but there would be no shortage of people looking up which high school he attended.
“Seo-ha is the pride of our school. I’ll help with whatever I can.”
Mi-young looked at the principal with wide eyes.
“Then… is graduation possible?”
“Gifted High Schools are different from regular high schools. There are already regulations in place that have been agreed upon with the Office of Education.
In fact, there’s a case at another school of soone who advanced in just one year. That student also received a diploma.”
The principal recalled the day Seo-ha first entered the school a year ago.
He had expected the boy to be a blessing, but not to this extent.
“Seo-ha’s intellectual abilities have already far surpassed the scope of high school education. He placed first at the IMO, and his paper evaluations were excellent.
If I had the authority, I’d give him a doctorate.”
Mi-young let out a sigh of relief.
It felt like a weight had been lifted from her chest.
Clatter.
He pulled out a few docunts from the drawer.
It was a request form for early graduation approval and a report format for the Office of Education, as if prepared in advance.
“However, would you allow us to feature Seo-ha in the school’s promotional materials? Of course, we’ll coordinate all portrait rights and na usage in advance.”
“Yes! Seo-ha really liked this school.”
“That’s a relief.”
Thump!
The principal’s seal was stamped onto the docunts.
「Request for Early Graduation Approval」
Reason: Outstanding academic achievent and early admission to an overseas university by student Yu Seo-ha
***
As preparations for admission neared completion, Seo-ha began to feel anxious.
The U.S. university admission season was in late August,
and he had to raise his family’s English proficiency as much as possible before departure.
“Mom, apple!
You have to keep it short. It’s the ‘ae’ sound, not ‘eh’.”
After dinner, the whole family gathered together and began studying English in harmony.
“Dad! I told you, saying ‘What?’ is considered rude. You absolutely mustn’t say that.”
Seo-ha created a very practical grammar guide for his parents. Whenever he had ti, he corrected commonly confused pronunciations.
The goal was simply communication.
He wanted to make sure his beloved parents experienced as little discomfort as possible in a foreign land.
‘Did they always like studying? I guess they’re really excited about living in the U.S.’
Seeing how enthusiastic they were, far beyond what he expected, Seo-ha tilted his head curiously.
Late at night,
under the desk lamp, their shadows stretched long.
Only after reviewing all the vocabulary they had set out to morize that day did Mi-young and Chul-ho finally close their books.
“Should we try one more ti? So we don’t stutter in front of Seo-ha.”
Chul-ho nodded and pressed the recorder.
The awkward English that played from the recorder was painfully embarrassing, but the couple endured it.
After morizing all 100 “survival phrases” Seo-ha had given them, they were now practicing to use them in real-life situations.
“Where is the nearest clinic?”
“Oh! Your pronunciation sounded like a real actor just now.”
Even if it wasn’t entirely for Seo-ha, restarting their studies brought new energy into the couple’s life.
“Are you really going to be okay? I an, it’s not even a leave of absence…”
Mi-young felt both grateful and guilty toward Chul-ho, who had boldly handed in his resignation.
“A family should be together.
And I’m the head of this household. I’m not such a pathetic guy that I can’t take responsibility for my wife and two kids.”
She had worried whether her husband, who had spent his whole life as a civil servant, could adapt to a new lifestyle. But the man in front of her now was a more dependable father and husband than ever.
“It’ll be tough for a while, but I’m sure there will be sothing I can do over there. So for now, let’s just focus on learning proper English.”
At his words, Mi-young nodded.
She was, surprisingly, a timid person. She preferred stability and disliked taking risks.
The most advanced country in the world, yet a place where guns and drugs were part of daily life.
She had spent several sleepless nights worrying about what might happen if anything went wrong after this decision.
People around her all said it would be too hard to go to the U.S. with nothing.
She had even heard warnings that subtle racial discrimination would be an everyday experience.
But she felt that if the whole family was together, they could overco any hardship that ca their way.
‘It’ll be okay.’
As if reaffirming herself, Mi-young spoke the phrase out loud.
“It’s ok. We will be fine.”
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