Kim Seung-hyun, who is set to study smart manufacturing and equipment engineering at Tsinghua University in Beijing, holds a Chinese-language math textbook during an interview with the Hankook Ilbo at Daejeon International School in Yuseong District, Daejeon, April 29. Korea Times photo by Choi Ju-yeon
Kim Seung-hyun, 17, still remembers the moment he decided to become a robotics engineer.
It was while watching a demonstration video of a “wearable robot” developed by the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST). In the video, a researcher paralyzed from the waist down slowly stood up from his wheelchair and walked with the help of the robot, which enhanced the wearer’s muscle strength.
His eyes fixed on the screen, Kim watched the video over and over again. At that moment, he decided to become a robotics engineer. His childhood as an ardent fan of “Gundam,” the Japanese animation franchise featuring giant robots, also helped.
Last year, after sweeping science Olympiads, Kim became an intern at KAIST. He was deciding where to apply for college: KAIST, Seoul National University or perhaps an engineering school in the United States.
