Seoul Science High School

Seoul Science High School for Gifted Students is an academy for gifted students (ages 15–18) interested in science. The school was established in 1989, and is located at Jongno-gu, Seoul. It was established as one of the 'Science High Schools' in Republic of Korea. In 2009, it has become an 'Academy for Gifted Students' selected by the Ministry of Education of Korea. Now, it is one of the eight such academies in Republic of Korea.

Seoul Science High School for Gifted Students
Address
Hyewha-Ro

Jongno-gu, Seoul

South Korea
Information
TypeBoarding School
MottoKorean: 예지의행; Hanja: 叡智義行
(Intelligence and righteous action)
Established1989
GenderCoeducational
Campus typeUrban
Korean name
Hangul
서울과학고등학교
Hanja
서울科學高等學校
Revised RomanizationSeoul gwahak-godeung-hakgyo
McCune–ReischauerSŏul kwahak-kodŭng-hakkyo

The school is famous for its rigorous selection process in the search for the most gifted students among the top middle school graduate applicants from all over the nation. Before the transition, there were about 180 students in each grade. The general program was a three-year course, but an early graduation program existed. About one-third of sophomore students graduated one year earlier than the typical high school students in Korea. After the transition to an 'Academy for Gifted Students', the number of the students admitted each year was reduced to approximately 125, and the curriculum was modified to fulfill the need and curiosity of students better. The new curriculum includes the following:

  • Non-graded, credit-based graduation system
  • Strengthening research activities to develop creativity
  • Interdisciplinary curriculum

Purpose of establishment

The school was switched from a 'Science High School' to an 'Academy for Gifted Students' according to the procedures set out in Enforcement Decree of the Gifted Education Promotion Law Act Article 19. As stated in the article 12 of the same law, a person who meets the following conditions is defined as a gifted

  • 1.Those who are recognized as having a certain level of talent or potential above a specific subject or in a specific field, according to the method of standardized intelligence test, thinking ability test, creative problem-solving ability test, or any other method of inspection, interview or observation.
  • 2.Those who are recognized to have a certain level of talent or potential in the artistic and physical fields according to methods such as inspection, interview, or observation other than practical examination.

In accordance with Article 1 of the Gifted Education Promotion Law, the purpose of SSHS is to make early identification of talented people and early education of their talents and abilities which will develop the natural potential of the individual, promote self-realization of the individual, and contribute to the development of the nation and society.

Focusing on advanced courses
  • Geared to the level and aptitude of each individual
  • Various programs for whole-person education
  • No obligation to complete the curriculum of general high schools
  • Differentiated selection process

Student recruitment is done nationwide, and multiple applications to other special high schools are allowed. Unlike general high schools, students study the‘required courses’in their 1st grade, and have an opportunity to choose‘advanced courses’in their 2nd and 3rd grades.

In order to achieve graduation, a student must fulfill 170 credits in overall course work, which consists of 140 credits in academic courses and 30 credits in research. Also, the student must fulfill at least 240 hours on special activities: 120 hours on group activity, and 120 hours of volunteer work. The university-level courses are accepted as Advanced Placement credit at KAIST, POSTECH, UNIST, GIST, and DGIST.

The school is famous for many national and international Science Olympiad participants and medal winners. Usually, a quarter to a half of the Korean participants in the International Science Olympiads is from Seoul Science High School for Gifted Students.

Graduates from this school typically enter Seoul National University, KAIST, and POSTECH. Some students enroll to colleges abroad such as MIT, Caltech, UC Berkeley, Stanford, Harvard, and Cornell. Many alumni have undertaken graduate studies at top institutions in Korea, U.S., and Europe after earning their bachelor's degrees.

The school motto is "Intelligence and Righteous Action" (예지의행, 叡智義行).

Most of the students at Seoul Science High School are male.

School history

  • 1988. 09. 12 Approval of School Establishment Plan (Ministry of Education)
  • 1988. 09. 14 Approval of School Establishment (Seoul Metropolitan Board of Education)
  • 1989. 03. 01 Inauguration of principal Kim Dong-wook
  • 1989. 03. 03 Admission of freshmen in 1989
  • 1989. 10. 27 Opening ceremony
  • 1990. 03. 01 Inauguration of the 2nd Major Kim Hong-woo
  • 1995. 03. 01 Inauguration of the 3 principal Joon Kil Joon
  • 1999. 09. 01 Inauguration of 4 major Song Young-jae
  • 2001. 04. 07 Middle School Gifted Education Center (2 classes)
  • 2002. 03. 01 Inauguration of the 5th Major
  • 2005. 03. 01 Inauguration of the 6th Hongdaedong Principal
  • 2008. 04. 30 Designation of conversion of science gifted school
  • 2009. 03. 01 Transition to science gifted school, entrance of 119 freshman students
  • 2009. 03. 01 Inauguration of Principal Park Hee-sung
  • 2009. 10. 29 MOU with the National Forestry Academy on curriculum management
  • 2010. 03. 02 Completion of the classroom and completion of Youngjae Dong
  • 2010. 05. 10 MOU with KIST on curriculum management
  • 2011. 01. 17 Signed an exchange agreement with NUS High School in Singapore
  • 2011. 01. 19 Signed an exchange agreement with Mahidol High School, Thailand
  • 2012. 03. 01 Science Dongduk Dong
  • 2012. 03. 01 Inauguration of the 8th President Choi Byoung-soo
  • 2012. 05. 07 Establishment of school buildings and rehabilitation, establishment of school building name
  • 2012. 05. 30 Signed AP agreement with POSTECH
  • 2012. 08. 31 Revision of curriculum to foster creative talent
  • 2012. 10. 08 Awarded the 26th Inchon Award for Education
  • 2013. 03. 02 Opened Ecological Experience Hall
  • 2014. 02. 01 Selected as the best school evaluation school (Educational Plan and Curriculum Division)
  • 2014. 02. 02 Remodeling of library, transfer by class
  • 2014. 05. 23 Ceremony for Completion of the Connection Hall of the Creative Talent Pavilion
  • 2014. 12. 26 Recognition of Superior Superintendent of Education
  • 2015. 03. 30 Elected 22 presidential science scholarship students (20 in Korea and 2 overseas)
  • 2015. 03. 31 Publication of the 25th anniversary of Seoul Science High School
  • 2016. 03. 01 Inauguration of the 9th Major
  • 2016. 10. 04 Opening of Aram Pavilion
  • 2020. 03. 01 Inauguration of 10th Principal, Mr. Sung Hwan Oh

[1]

School buildings

Uihaeng Building

The main purpose of this building is as a dormitory. Students use this building after 11 pm when they finish their study in Yeji building. Boys use 3rd ~ 5th floor, and girls use 2nd floor. Usually, 2nd graders use the 3rd and 4th floor, and 1st graders use the 5th floor. There is a terrace beside the 5th floor, and there is a path through the new building for 3rd graders who have none or less penalty points than others. The 2nd floor is for cafeteria and girl's dormitory, but it is also used for people who control and take care of students using dormitory. Students should turn off all the lights by 1:00 am and they are supposed to wake up in 7:00 am. Sometimes students who did not wake up at 7:00 am get penalty points.

Yeji Building

The Yeji building is the main building of Seoul Science High school. It is placed in the center of the school, and is a four-story building. The building is named after the school motto, Yeji which means manners and wisdom. The first floor is mostly occupied with departments for the management of the school such as the administration office, and the principal's office. There are also valuable scientific instruments such as the Wind Tunnel and 3D printer, and classroom about invention at the first floor. The second floor is for Earth science; it has laboratories and lecture rooms. It also has a study hall which connects the Yeji building to the library and the Fusion talent building. The study hall allows the students to do their work in their free time and the study hours after school. There is also a small classroom where students can use their laptops for researching and making presentations. The third floor has a gym and lecture rooms, laboratories for physics. There are instruments such as the high-speed camera and the forward-looking infrared. There are laboratories and lecture rooms for biology and room for SEM on the fourth floor. The biology laboratory is full of scientific instruments. There is an observatory on the rooftop which the largest telescope in Seoul. There are three telescopes for taking pictures of the large-scale structures of the cosmos and a planetarium bought in the 1990s.

1st floor

Wind Tunnel Room, Workshop, Aviation Science Room, Document Room, Small Conference Room, Big Conference Room, Fusion Science Laboratory, Invention Teacher's Room, Broadcasting Room, Education room for Gifted student, 2nd grade students' room for Between Classes, Administration Office, Ancillary Room, Principal's Office, Nurse's office

2nd floor

Earth Science Laboratory 1, Earth Science Laboratory 2, Earth Science Lecture room 1, Earth Science Lecture room 2, Earth Science Prepare room, Earth Science Teacher's room, 3rd grade students' room for Between Classes, 1st grade students' room for Between Classes, 1st grade's teacher room, Club Room, Advise room for 3rd grade students, 3rd grade's teacher room, Study Hall, Between Classes teacher's room

3rd floor

Physics cutting-edge instrument room, Physics Laboratory 1, Physics Laboratory 2, Physics Laboratory 3, Physics Lecture Room 1, Physics Lecture Room 2, Physics Prepare room, Physics Office 1, Physics Office 2, Life Safety Office, introspection room, Gymnasium

4th floor

Club Room 1,Club Room 2, Biology Laboratory 1, Biology Laboratory 2, Biology Laboratory 3, Biology Lecture Room 1, Biology Lecture Room 2, Biology Office 1, Biology office 2, SEM room, Seminar room, Biology Prepare room, Gymnasium, specimen room

Aram Building

Once upon a time, Aram building was a building where people work with wood to fix some defective tables and chairs. Since about 2000 to 2006, it was used as a warehouse. but, since 2006, Aram building had been Abandoned architecture for 10 years. But, it remodeled to a sports building in September, 2016 and deserved a name, Aram. The building's name, Aram, comes from a name of a school newspaper-pubulishing regular club, Hanaram. It is a remote building, even more deserted than the Wu-am building. It located on the side of a schoolyard where a recycling bin located. There are six table tennis tables, an indoor driving range, two running machines, a situp bench, and some strength exercising machines and bathroom which was also remodeled. There is also a personal indoor driving range separated to the indoor driving range used by students. The personal indoor driving range is usually used by P.E teacher. There is a parking lot on the rooftop. P.E classes are usually held in the building. They learn how to play golf and play table tennis in the classes. There are always a plenty of students playing a table tennis in their free time, including students belong to LA, a table tennis Irregular club.

Wu-am Building

Wu-am building is a four-story building. Wu-am is a pen name of Si-yeol Song, a famous civil minister of The Kingdom of Joseon. In front of the building, there is a famous rock named Thousand Years Rock. There is Chinese characters carved by Si-yeol Song on the rock. The rock is also a symbol of the school. There are also Statue of Jang Yeong-sil and a statue named 'a Site of Creation' in front of the building. Jang Yeoung-sil is a famous inventor of The Kingdom of Joseon who invented Joseon's first rain gauge. Wu-am building is a remote building. It is located on the hill and also far from Uihaeng building and Yeji building, the main buildings of the school. But, there are several important classrooms such as Korean classrooms, math classrooms, and social studies classrooms in the building. This path also has a cover that protect students from rain on it. In the first floor of the building, there are audiovisual room and a multipurpose classroom. In the second floor, there are some multipurpose classrooms and a teachers' rooms. One of the teachers' rooms in the second floor of Wu-am building is a biggest teachers' room in the school. Also, there is a big stairway that we can use to go second floor directly from outside of the building. In the third floor, there are math lecture rooms and an office for math teachers. In the forth floor, there are Korean lecture rooms and social studies lecture rooms and some multipurpose classrooms and an office for social studies teachers and Korean teachers. The building has two stairs, one on the left side and the other on the right side. In addition, on the center of the building, there is a bathroom.

1st floor
R&E

room

 wu-am

common classroom 4

 Audio-visual room warehouse

2nd floor
Art preparation room Art room Admissions Department Wu-am Common Classroom 2 School office rest area Wu-am Common Classroom 1

3rd floor
Alumni hall Mathematics Lecture Room 7 Mathematics Lecture Room 6 Mathematics Lecture Room 5 Mathematics Lecture Room 4 Mathematics Lecture Room 3 Mathematics Lecture Room 2 Mathematics Lecture Room 1 Mathematical Office Mathematical reference Room

4th floor
Social Resource Room Social Lecture Room 1 Social Lecture Room 2 Social Lecture Room 3 Korean Language Lecture Room 3 Korean Language Lecture Room 2 Korean Language Lecture Room 1 Humanities - Society Office Humanities - Society reference Room

Yunghap-Injaegwan(융합인재관)

Fusion talent building is a building that is located right in front of the school gate. Instead of the first floor, it is connected with the Uihaeng building. This building has an elevator. On the first floor, there is a teachers' room and music room, and there are an English room and library on the second floor. In the case of the advice room, it is very free that many students use the advise room. The library is connected with the Yeji building and study hall. Above the third floor, there is a guest room which is used for visitors from other schools. On the 4th and 5th floors, there is a male dormitory and is called a new dormitory. They have to pass through the Uihaeng building to go to their dormitory because they have to do an attendance check in the 2nd floor of the Uihaeng Building. So they cannot use the elevator or stairs in that building to go to their dormitory except on Monday morning and Friday afternoon.

5th floor

male dormitory for 3rd graders

4th floor

male dormitory for 3rd graders

3rd floor

Guest House, Fusion Common classroom 2, Fusion Common classroom 3, Fusion Common classroom 4, Fusion Common classroom 5

2nd floor

Advise room, Foreign language Lecture room 1, Foreign language Lecture Room 2, Foreign language Lecture Room 3, Foreign language Lecture Room 4, Foreign language Lecture Room 5, Foreign language Lecture Room 6, Foreign language Office, Foreign language reference room, English Communication room

1st floor

Connection room, Music Office, Music Lecture Room, Parent's waiting room, Facilities Management Office, Guard's room, Music play room, Fusion Common classroom 1, 3rd students' teachers' room, College Counseling Office

Changui-Injaegwan(창의인재관)

It is next to the schoolyard. Because the schoolyard is in a low place, this building is also very low. Because of this building, the schoolyard became smaller. It also has an elevator as well as Fusion talent building. In the first floor we have a lecture room and computer room for information class, and It has chemistry lecture room and laboratories on the second and third floors. There is a big auditorium which has 300 seats.

4th floor

Auditorium

3rd floor

Chemistry laboratory 1, Chemistry Office 2, Chemistry laboratory 2, Chemistry Prepare room, Chemistry Reagent room, Chemistry Lecture Room 3

2nd floor

Chemistry Lecture Room 1, Chemistry Lecture Room 2, Chemistry Office 1, Chemistry R&E room, Chemistry instruments room, Club Room

1st floor

Server room, Computer Science Office, Computer Laboratory 1, Computer Laboratory 2, Computer Science Prepare room, Computer Science Lecture Room

Daily life

Wake up

At the sound of a morning wake-up song at 6:57, the students have to go outside of their dormitories and participate in a roll call. Anyone who is late receives 1 penalty point, and anyone who fails to go out receives 2 penalty points. If the weather is rainy or bad, the roll call is done in the cafeteria. After the roll call, students can go back to their dormitories and get ready for breakfast or go back to sleep. Failure to leave the dormitory before 8:10 results in 1 penalty point.

Class and Between Class

Each of the subjects has their own classroom, so students have to go to their class during break time and get ready for the next class. It is similar to college. Second and third graders have "between classes." In the between classes, students can spend time however they want, with their teacher's permission.

Free time

From 4:20 to 7:00, students are given free time. 5:30 to 6:40 is supper time. With the permission of a primary teacher, students can go outside of the school. Students have to write the reason for going out: ‘to buy underwear’, ‘because of illness’ etc.

Study hour

From 7:00 to 9:00, it is the first study hour. Students can study at the study hall or use the room for between classes to complete assignments. The containable number of people in rooms for the between classes is limited. For first graders it is 30, and for second and third graders it is 40. After the first study hour, students are given a thirty-minute break time. They usually go the cafeteria to get their snacks. From 9:30 to 11:00, there is a second study hour. Students have to study at the study hall. They come out of the study hall at about 10:45 because the study hall door closes at 11:00 sharp.

Night life

After going into the dormitory, there is no more roll call. Students can act freely. However, they can't take in laptops, food, cards, or board games. After 12 o'clock, students can't stay at other students' dormitories. After 1, they have to turn lights off. If a student is caught in another dormitory or with lights on after that time, they will get 1 penalty point. Also, if a student is caught bringing in a laptop, they will get 5 penalty points. Students who want to study can use a portable light stand or go to the lobby, where they can study freely. Also, the cafeteria is open until 1 o' clock for students who need to use laptops.

Olympiads

Olympiads

A large portion of SSHS students studies math or science olympiads. The majority of students prepare for Math and Physics Olympiads, but there are a few students who prepare for other Olympiads such as Chemistry or Biology.

Mathematics Olympiad (MO)

Many students start studying Olympiads with MO, so SSHS students are good in math. There are 6 members of the national team in MO, and 5~6 students are always from SSHS. Approximately Half of the members are in third grade, and the rest of the members are in second grade or occasionally in first grade, too. About 60 students get a gold medal in IMO, and 2~5 students in SSHS get a gold medal every year. Especially, in 2017, six members of the national representatives were all SSHS, and all received a gold medal.[2]

Physics Olympiad(PhO)

PhO is normally the most popular Olympiad in SSHS, mostly because its problems are directly related to what they learn in school. The people who get the best scores in Korean Pho becomes the Korean representatives. The Korean representative team normally consists of one first grader and four second graders. For the past 10 years, at least half of the Korean representatives are from SSHS.

Chemistry Olympiad(ChO)

Chemistry Olympiad is separated in First grade class and Second grade class. It is hard to be a member of the national team in second grade because the gap of level of knowledge is big between grades. Chemistry Olympiad has Summer school and Winter school. Students study General chemistry in First grade class Summer school, and Organic chemistry in First grade class Winter school. Students study intensive course of General chemistry in Second grade class. MO and PO are more popular than Chemistry Olympiad, but still 3 out of the 4 members of the IChO national team are students of the SSHS.

Informatics Olympiad(OI)

IOI is an annual competitive programming competition for secondary school students. It is the second largest Olympiad, after International Mathematical Olympiad, in terms of the number of participating countries. However, in comparison to the size of the contest, the number of SSHS students who prepare IOI is small in comparison to other Olympiads. Most of these students are third graders. There are many reasons for this phenomenon, but the most known reason is that the support of the school is weak. Gyeonggi Science High School supports the students much better for the Olympiad in Informatics. Despite the lack of support, in 2018, the national team includes two students from each school; Seoul Gyeonggi Science High.

Other Olympiads

There are many other olympiads such as Linguistics Olympiad, Biology Olympiad, or Brain Science Olympiad, but there are not as many students who prepare for these contests.

Club activity

Regular club

Each person can go in only one regular club, which means each regular club has about 5–7 people each. Depending on the popularity, which is determined by the result of the prior survey, clubs are divided into three groups: Ga group, Na group, and Da group. Da group is the most popular group. Regular club selection is done over three days; Ga group on the first day, Na group on the second day, Da group on the third. The following list shows the list of all regular clubs in 2018.

Ga(가) group :, Shutter Bug, Between Act and Scene, LettiE, Globe, Arirang, NeTix

Na(나) group : SBS, Biosphere, Hanaram, NeoArt, Periodics, COM & C, Ajeulga

Da(다) group : Athena, Quantas, Trouble maker, SciCom, MO, Black hole, Eureka

Shutter Bug

About twice a year, a photo exhibition is hosted by the chairperson of Shutter Bug.

Students submit pictures about a given theme, and the chairperson and vice chair grade each picture and award the first prize through the 10th prize. A past theme was "Extreme School Life."

Between Act and Scene

As can be easily inferred from its name, "Between Act and Scene" is a drama club.

The club members prepare a play all year, which is performed at the school festival on January.

LettiE

LettiE is an English speaking club. The guidance teacher of this club is the native speaker teacher of SSHS, Kathrine.

Globe

Globe is an environmentalism club.

Arirang

Arirang's name comes from the Korean folk song Arirang. It is a Korean appreciation club.

NeTix

Netix is a chemistry experiment club.

SBS

SBS is the abbreviation of "SSHS broadcasting system." SBS members control microphones, adjust the lights, and prepare sound effects at every special event done in the school auditorium. SBS members receive capriccio requests from students, and choose 10-12 songs each week. Also, it is famous for the fact that its history is longer than the Korean broadcasting company SBS.

Biosphere

Biosphere is a biology club. The members annually participate in a contest called the bio photo exhibition, and write the instruction manual of biology experiment supplies. The club is famous for its entrance test, where a room escape game is done.

Hanaram

Hanaram is a club that makes newspapers. Members divide subjects, and each writes an article about each subject and posts it on Facebook.

NeoArt

NeoArt is a movie-making club. At the annual school festival, they show the short movie they make throughout the year.

Periodics

Periodics is a theoretical chemistry club. Almost all of the members of the IChO Korean representatives are from this club. They go to the annual Korea Science and Creativity Festival, where they run a booth. The 2018 IChO Korean representatives were all from Periodics except for 1 student from Daegu Science High School.

Com&C

Com&C is a software research club. The members do many activities related with computer programming, such as using programming robots.

Ajeulga

Ajeulga is a school magazine editing club. In SSHS, there is an annual school magazine about 200-300 pages. The members of Ajeulga edit the articles on it.

Athena

Athena is a book club. In Athena, the members invite a famous author to come visit, who lectures to the whole school. Also, they regularly open book events and sell handmade bookmarks.

Quantas

Quantas is the physical experiment club. An annual booklet called 'Quanta Story' is published by Quantas, which includes problems and solutions made by Quantas members. Most of the Quantas members study for the Physics Olympiads, and the consist a large portion in the IPhO national team.

Trouble Maker

Trouble Maker is an invention club. The members of Trouble Maker are in charge of the management of the 3D printer, and 3D printer education.

SciCom

About once or two times a year, they make a contest called "SCIOI" in a similar form with the International Information Olympiad (IOI). Also, the members make a team together and participate in external contests.

MO

MO is a mathematics study club. An annual booklet called 'SemSarang' is published by MO, which includes problems and solutions made by MO members. Most of the MO members study the Mathematics Olympiad, and they consist a large portion of the IMO national team.

Black Hole

Black Hole is an astronomical observation club. The members of Black Hole have the privilege to use the school observatory freely. They normally go on a trip to other observatories once or twice a year for two days.

Eureka

Eureka is a club that writes English articles. However, it also does mathematical activities, too. The entrance exam of Eureka also includes mathematical problems.

Irregular Club

There is no limit in the number of irregular clubs one can join. Irregular clubs can be divided into three big fields: sports club, scholarly clubs, amd performance clubs. The selection of new club members are done normally 4 times (each semester in first and second grade), by a test made by 11th graders.

Sports Clubs: SD (soccer club), TP (basketball club), LA (ping-pong club), PS (badminton club), PG (baseball club), morning soccer club.

Scholarly clubs: science discussion club, MAGnolia (life science mentoring club), M&J (Math Magazine research club), CALGeN (mathematics mentoring club), Aerospace (aviation membership club), Chela (chemistry mentoring club), MWT (computer science mentoring club), LTE (long term experiment) SSHS Mechatronics, Artificial Neutral Network (HABE), Star# (physics mentoring club), SMS (mathematics problem research club), SEM (economics study club), VIPS (patent club).

Performance clubs: M (magic club), Ocarina (ocarina club), Caritas (orchestra club), Livian (ballad club), MIC (hip-hop club), Ssangdre (Band Club), Our Sound (Korean traditional music club), Klavier (piano club), You Can (boy dance club), Depression (abbv. Deep, Girl-Dressed Boy dance club), LSD (Launch Pad Club).

Others: Milalhoe (Christian club), WYW (What You Want, design club), Shadows (cartoon drawing club), Letters (literature club), TNT (composition and rhythm game club), board game club (BGM), Manifold (origami club)

Curriculum

Grades

All classes and assessments at the school are operated on a credit system and students can choose the course you want, like universities and other gifted schools. However, all subjects are absolute assessments. That is, if the score is 90 or more, A + is given. If the score is 85 or more, and less than 90, A0 is given. If the score is 80 or more, and less than 85, A- is given. Since then, grades have been divided into 5 points. In addition, all the arts and physical education semesters are pass/fail system, and receive a pass if the score exceeds 60 out of 100 points.

If the grade of any subject is less than B0 or Fail, you can apply for re-entry. Students can apply for a maximum of four times per student per class and up to B+ per class if they retake classes.

Enrollment

All courses fall into three categories: required courses with scheduled classes, required courses to choose when classes are taken, and elective courses.

Applications are accepted every June and November. Unlike college, this school receives a course enrollment and then schedules a timetable according to the number of students. A minimum of 10 credits and a maximum of 29 credits are allowed per semester. If the number of applicants for any subject is less than seven, the subject is discarded. Also one class enter up to 20 people. There is also a hierarchy between subjects. For example, to apply for Advanced Chemistry I, a student must have already completed Chemistry I, II, and III.

Since students do not enroll in the first grade, the credit is fixed (first semester 30 credits, second semester 29 credits). In the second year, there will be individual differences but generally most of students get 25–29 credits per semester. In the third grade, the individual differences become more pronounced. Usually, about 40 credits are allocated to the first and second semesters. There are about 6–15 hours between classes. However, the level of difficulty of the subject greatly increases and also they live in the burden of entrance examination.

A set table
Division Basic Mandatory Advance

Mandatory

 Basic Select Advance Select Total
Curriculum Activities General Course Korean 6 2 6 4 154
Social Studies 9 6
Foreign Language 8 6 6
Arts and P.E. 8 2
Sub Total 31 14 14 4
Fusion course 5 17 (Fusion Basic Select

2 credits, Math Basic Select More than 3 credits

Specialty course Math 15 4
Science 24 19
Computer Science 4 3
Sub total 48 26 5 12
Total 79 40 19 16
Research Activities Autonomous study Task Research 12 26
R&E 8
Field Research 2
Graduation thesis 4
Creative activity Group activity More than 120 hours
Volunteer More than 120 hours
Total 180

Main Course
Sortation Required Subject Sub Total Basic Subject Sub Total Intensive Subject Sub Total
Korean Korean I(2)

Korean II(2)

Reading I(1)

Reading II(1) Reading III(1)

Reading IV(1)

 8 Current Literature(2)

Classical Literature(2)

Composition(2)

Grammar(2)

 6 Media Language Criticism(2)

American & British Culture Research(2)

Economic Science(2)

Art History(2)

Design(2)

 4 63
Social Studies Political Economy(3)

World Cultural Geography(3)

Korean History(3)

Philosophy(3)

World History(3)

 15
Foreign Languages English I(3)

English II(3)

English Conversation I(1)

English Conversation II(1) Communication(2)

Advanced Communication(2)

Chinese I(2)

Chinese II(2)

 14 English III(3)

English Reading Comprehension(3)

English Composition(3)

Current English(3)

 6
Arts & P.E. Health & P.E. I(1)

Health & P.E. II(1)

Leisure & P.E. I(1)

Leisure & P.E. II(1)

Art I(1)

Art II(1)

Music I(1)

Music II(1)

 8 Sport For All(2)

The Fine Arts(2)

Life Music(2)

 2
Sub Total 45 14 4

Fusion Course & General Course
Sortation Required Subject Sub Total Basic Subject Sub Total Intensive Subject Sub Total Total
Fusion Course Fusion Science(3)

Fusion Science Research(2)

 5 Science History(2) Exploratory Information Exploration(2) 2 Special Lecture On Creativity(2) 17 91
General Course Math Math I(4)

Math II(4)

Math III(3)

Math IV(4)

Calculus I(4)

 19 Calculus II(4)

Basic Statistics(3)

 3 Number Theory(3)

Linear Algebra(3)

Science Physics I(3)

Physics II(3)

Physics III(4)

Chemistry I(3)

Chemistry II(3)

Chemistry III(4)

Biological Science I(3)

Biological Science II(3)

Biological Science III(3)

Earth Science I(3)

Earth Science II(3)

Earth Science III(3)

Physics Experiment I(1)

Physics Experiment II(1)

Chemistry Experiment I(1)

Chemistry Experiment II(1)

Biological Experiment I(1)

 43 Physics IV(3)　　　

Chemistry IV(3)　　　

Biological Science IV(3)　

Biological Experiment II(1)

Advanced Physics I(3)

Advanced Physics II(3)

Advanced Chemistry I(3)

Advanced Chemistry II(3)

Advanced Biological Science I(3)

Advanced Biological Science II(3)

Advanced Earth Science(3)

Data Structure(3)

Computer Science Computer Science I(2)

Computer Science II(2)

Object Orientation Programming(3)

 7
Sub Total 74 5 12

Entrance exam

1. Entrance test of Seoul Science High School

In the Republic of Korea, it is illegal for standard high schools to have their own entrance test. However, Seoul Science High School belongs to the special law for education, “Act on the Promotion of Specific Education for Brilliant Children”, which allows it to have the right to examine the candidates. The entrance test of SSHS can be divided into three parts.

  1. 1 Evaluation of student record

The first step is evaluation of student record. Teachers of SSHS get to read applicants’ student record and letters of self-introduction. Then, they judge whether the applicants are eager to study science and have enough giftedness.

  1. 2 Examination test

The applicants who pass this step are allowed to take the second step, which is examination. In this step, the students need to take exams for three period in order to prove that they are smart enough to enter the school. In the first period, the exam is used for examining students’ ability in various aspects. During the second and third period, students are rated for their specialties in math and science. The students who show very decent talents are specially allowed to enter this school without taking third exam, and this system is called prior selection.

  1. 3 Camp for gifted

For the last, the students who passed second exam are required to take the last exam, which is taken in a form of camp. During this camp, students interview, work in teams to solve their tasks, or plan and carry out experiment on their own. After all of these steps, about 120 students are able to enter the Seoul Science High School.

2. The transition of trends in entrance test

Since entrance test have been had its effect, its difficulty has been increased steadily. And, the style of test problems are slowly turning into types that requires people for their creativeness. And also, there was a big change in systems of this entrance test just a year ago. The major change was held in the second test, exam. In the past, students whoever shows special quality in their studying ability was selected priorly. But, it has been changed into rules that only one student per states was allowed to be selected through this system. It seems to be in purpose of giving students from countrysides more chance of getting favored by this system. Also, the third step which is scientific camp has slightly changed in its program. They had eliminated interview about applicants’ ability of solving problems, and instead they added some kind of creativity test or activities that can evaluate their abilities of teamwork.

Thousand Years Festival

It is a festival of Seoul Science High School and is held for two days in the middle of December every year. Every student enjoys the festival because it's held after the final exams, task research, R&E, and college entrance examinations all ended. Most regular clubs organize their own booths, and some clubs replace their booths by producing editions or newspapers. Performance clubs such as Between Act and Scene, Deep, Ssangdre, Livian, Our Voice, MIC, and M perform at the festival.

The festival theme is selected each year through a student idea contest, and posters for festival are selected through the contests too. Most posters are produced by WYW, the design club.

Websites

Thousand Years Rock

Thousand Years Rock is the website of alumni society of Seoul Science High School that all junior students are encouraged to join. The occasional questions about studying abroad, college counseling and textbooks are mostly posted on the site. Birthday and anniversary celebrations, obituaries, and job postings also come up.

Facebook

Seoul Science High School's enrolled students mostly communicate with Facebook. Student council uses Facebook pages to inform students about school occasions. On “SSHS student council notice” page, information like special lectures, happiness enhancement programs, buying school jumper, gathering opinions and informing changes of school rules, encouraging to join circles, etc. are posted. On “SSHS bamboo forest” page, students post their unconstrained thoughts and opinions anonymously. On “SSHS Lost & Found Center” page, students post things they lost and where they've lost it. They also post things they found. There are pages for each grade and the pages that former grades lead their juniors. The chairpersons of regular and irregular clubs introduce their club on the page and irregular clubs gather participants for their club, too. There are many pages of clubs, which they post their works. For example, “SSHS broadcasting club SBS” page posts weekly rising songs, “SSHS newspaper club Hanaram” page posts their articles, “SSHS Livian” page posts videos of their songs, and “SSHS literary creation club Letters” posts their poems or writings. Students also autonomously make some pages that posts information related to Seoul Science High School students, such as the “DongsPatch” page, which post them in forms of Internet news article. There are also pages related to social issues such as racism, feminism, etc. Some make pages that posts mathematical or scientific facts or problems, such as “Team Wooden Compass” page that posts daily mathematical problems. There are also many pages for promoting friendship. There are pages for posting friends' pictures.

Notable alumni

See also

References
  1. History materials from Seoul Science High School Website
  2. "International Mathematical Olympiad". www.imo-official.org. Retrieved 2018-11-24.
  3. "포기는 금물…작은 가능성 믿어보세요". The Hankyoreh (in Korean). November 30, 2008.
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