Song Yoo-Geun: The Youngest Ph.D. Prodigious Candidate In South Korea

Prodigious children don’t always go through a smoother and simpler road to success. They sometimes have to fight their way to a successful life, but being a prodigy, mostly what they have to go through is the attention they receive from the community and the media due to their unimaginable talent, which often leads to chaos controversies. One such case is of Song Yoo-Geun.

Early life

Song Yoo-Geun was born on 27 November 1997 in South Korea. Being a prodigy, he earned recognition in his early years of life. At age 5, he left his prodigy school, and by the time he turned 6, he passed his “Craftsman Information Processing” examination and received certification. His parents enrolled him in an elementary school at 6, but in his math test, Song got shallow marks. The school firstly didn’t mind it. Still, then it reversed its decision stating that there were some administrative difficulties. This led to a court case which Song’s parents won, and the court called out the school for its unlawful activity.
Song then gave a test in South Korea, which is similar to the General Education Test in the US. He passed the test and became a certified high school graduate at the age of 7. He finished and cleared his elementary, middle, and high school curriculum in 9 months.

The Remarkable Journey of Song Yoo-Geun:

Song cleared SAT equivalent test for prodigious children and at age 7, making him the youngest student to admission to Inha University. Being a prodigy, he was provided with personal lab and private tuition at his parent’s house. Still, Song decided to drop out of the university as he thought the framework of studies didn’t suit what he wanted to learn. He dropped out through Credit Bank System and received his bachelor’s degree.
He went to the Korean University of Science and Technology to pursue his masters with provided facilities. UST decided to combine Song’s master’s and Ph.D. degrees and set aside a hundred million dollars for Song’s research. Unfortunately, Song couldn’t finish his Ph.D. due to his published paper not being accepted by the university. UST allows 9 years to submit doctorate papers and to have them published. He then enrolled in the Korean Army.

Controversy

A significant controversy happened for which Song was called out, a lot. He was accused of plagiarism for publishing his paper on “Axisymmetric, Non-Stationary Black Hole Magnetosphere.” The Astrophysical Journal founded it to be broadly similar to the report of Seok Jae Park on “Stationary Versus Non-Stationary Force Free Black Hole Magnetosphere” . Song received a suspension of 2 weeks. Seok, the professor of Song, received dismissal from his post as a professor by the university.

Song did not just have a difficult journey, but he also lacked guidance. Prodigious children like Song who pursue higher studies at such a young age should receive guidance in proper direction. They often feel confused about the domain they want to follow. Instead, they should decide with conviction. Also, it’s important to remember that even though they’re prodigies, they’re still children. They shouldn’t be put under the pressure of doing the best and proving themselves, or it would lead them to do an unlawful activity just as Song was found guilty of plagiarism.

Also read: Sujatha Mohan: A Prolific Prodigious Singer