Cracking JEE a big deal in Korea too, says IIT Delhi student from Seoul

NEW DELHI: Jaen Hyun Kim from Seoul, South Korea is the first foreign student pursuing BTech, Biotechnology, from IIT-Delhi and the 20-year-old refers India as his second home. He decided to do his schooling from India post class VI as he wanted to seek admission in the IIT, which only accepts students through JEE Advanced at the undergraduate level.
Kim says that for many foreign students who want admission in the IITs, there is a lack of guidance.So often, the only way for them is to shift to India and join a coaching center here to prepare for the JEE (Joint Entrance Exam).
Also, in Korea cracking JEE Advanced is considered a tough task and the general perception is that if one can make to the IITs, s/he can crack any other exam, says Kim. The system of negative marking makes the exam hard to crack. Such a system is not followed in Korea.
"Back home we have an option to go abroad after elementary school and study in a different culture. The general trend among those who want to study in a foreign land is to choose the US or the UK. However, I wanted to get an admitted to the IIT and one of my father's friend's son was already studying in India and gave me a positive feedback. So, I decided to come here," says Kim.
He did his high school from an international school in Hyderabad, where he studied Hindi as part of his core subjects, and later joined a coaching centre to prepare for the IIT entrance exam.
"I prefer talking in English as Hindi was one of my subjects till high school, I haven't used it much. I speak Hindi when bargaining with the autorickshaw drivers," he jests.
Talking about the differences in the education system in India and South Korea he says, "Initially I found it difficult to solve subjective question papers in schools here as back in Korea there are only objective question papers."
At colleges in Korea, equal weightage is given to the extra-curricular activities while herein India there is more stress on the grades, he says adding that however, in India there is more stress on the language skills so his English developed a lot here.
As far as studying in IIT is concerned, he says, the faculty is highly-qualified, the labs are well-equipped and the overall environment is very supportive. Fellow students have helped me adjust to the hostel and college life, mostly out of intrigue but, he shares a good bond with the friends I have made. He has observed that Indians are very shy towards foreigners.
He is a travel enthusiast and has already travelled across southern and northern India.
"I have already visited Taj Mahal five times and in Delhi, I like to visit the Red Fort, which I have already seen thrice. Next year I want to visit Red Fort on Independence Day to hear the Prime Minister speak," he says adding that not many people know the fact that both India and Korea celebrate their independence on the same day i.e. August 15.
He likes the spicy food in India and would choose dosa and vada for breakfast and aaloo poori for lunch. Though in love with all the festivals held in the country, he especially likes celebrating Dussehra and Diwali, during which he treats himself with rasgullas and faluda.