"How Do Korean Students Do It?"... Why the Perfect SAT Vietnamese Prodigy Was Surprised at KAIST

Chose KAIST Over Seoul National University

"Wants to Emulate G-Dragon's Spirit of Challenge"

Hoang Huong Jang, known as the "Vietnamese Genius Girl" for achieving joint top scores nationwide in Vietnam’s university entrance exam and a perfect score on the U.S. SAT, is now spending her first semester at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST).

Hoang Huong Jang (18), who ranked first nationwide in the Vietnamese university entrance exam, has decided to enroll at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST). Photo by Hoang Huong Jang

Jang, who entered KAIST for the fall semester this year, said in an interview with the Herald Business Daily on September 25, "Life at KAIST is even better than I imagined before enrolling." She continued, "People are kind, and there’s little difficulty communicating in English, so I was able to adapt quickly."

This year, Jang achieved a nearly perfect score of 29.75 out of 30 on the Vietnamese high school graduation exam (A01 track: mathematics, physics, English), making her a joint top scorer nationwide. She also earned a perfect score of 1,600 on the SAT and scored 8.0 on the internationally recognized English test IELTS. Presented with scholarship offers from both Seoul National University and KAIST, she ultimately chose KAIST.

Previously, Jang had received full scholarship offers from VinUniversity (established by Vietnamese conglomerate Vingroup) and top Korean universities such as Seoul National University, but selected the Department of Computer Science at KAIST. In an interview with Vietnamese media at the time, she said, "I want to challenge myself in a new educational environment," and expressed her goal "to contribute to the advancement of humanity through artificial intelligence (AI) research."

Upon arriving at KAIST, she was particularly impressed by the campus’s thoughtful design. "From roads, to food courts, to restrooms, to the website, you get the feeling that everything is designed with users in mind," Jang remarked. "I wonder if optimization functions and algorithms were applied even in implementing these details."

She admitted that she sometimes finds it difficult to keep up with the pace of lectures, but said she is satisfied with the learning environment as the professors provide abundant materials and support for understanding. On the other hand, she noted that adapting to Korea’s "ppalli-ppalli" (hurry-hurry) culture and the pressure of maintaining a high GPA are challenges. "I’m curious about how Korean students study so hard and play so hard at the same time," Jang said. "It’s amazing to see them hanging out with friends at night but managing an incredible amount of study during the day."

Jang is considering AI computing, electrical and electronic engineering, and computer science as her potential majors. She is determined to contribute to the advancement of AI technology, but plans to decide whether to focus on hardware or algorithms after exploring various fields.

Among the people she would like to meet, she named G-Dragon, the singer and visiting professor at KAIST. "I admire G-Dragon’s attitude of not hesitating to become the first, even if it means taking a different path from others," Jang said. "I hope to emulate that mindset in my own scientific pursuits going forward."

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