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Sejong Science High School (SJSH) is a science magnet school (ages 15-18), located in Seoul, South Korea. It was founded in 1996 to develop and nurture the intellectual potential of Korea's most talented high school students. Together with Hansung Science High School and Seoul Science High School, Sejong Science School is one of the three original academic Science high schools in Seoul, South Korea. The school is renowned for its curriculum specialized in science and mathematics subjects and difficulty of its entrance examination. Its curricula are inclined to providing students to experience, and acknowledge the subjects and to become as future scientists.

Students higher than Korean middle schooler can apply for the admission. However, only about 4~5% of the applicants are admitted to the school. There are roughly 380 students in each grade of the school (Maximum number of the students in one grade is 388 students.). Every student gets an opportunity to experience qualified research programs associated with KAIST, Postech, and Seoul National University. The students also experience academic exchange programs with overseas prestigious universities, research centers and other related institutions for the gifted.

Sejong Science High School is fully supported by the government, so every student gets full financial aids from the school and all live in the dormitory. Unlike ordinary high schools, it teaches major subjects in English except for Korean Language and Korean history. In addition, every student must create and perform his or her own research project to graduate.

Graduates from this school typically enter KAIST, Postech, and Seoul National University. Some students enter top universities in the world such as University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, MIT, Stanford University, and University of California Berkeley, etc. All classes meet 240 minutes a week. Students are expected to carry a minimum of twelve classes (seniors must take a minimum of eleven classes). The academic year is comprised of two semesters. The majority of our teachers hold at least a master’s degree.

The educational objectives of the school are like below - To enhance the creativity and scientific research ability of the students - To promote self- directed learning ability that leads to the promotion of new knowledge - To teach the skills and ethical attitudes toward science required of scientists of world stature. To this end, The school strives to fulfill two requirements: to foster academic excellence in its students with the intention of guiding them into the most prestigious academic institutions at home and abroad; and to instill a sense of pride and respect for Korea's cultural tradition. It is our aim to provide our students with academic tools necessary to achieve the highest levels of excellence and leadership in their chosen fields; to contribute positively to the welfare of our nation; and to enable Korea to contribute a major share to the progress of the world community.

Academics

SJSH students undertake a college preparatory curriculum that includes four years of English, history, and laboratory-based sciences (biology, chemistry and physics are required), three years of mathematics (most students opt for four) and three years of a single foreign language, a semester each of introductory art, music, health, technical drawing and computer science, and two lab-based technology courses. Several exemptions from technology education exist for seniors.

The school offers students a broad selection of elective courses. Some of the more unusual offerings include robotics, physics of music, astronomy, introduction to plasma physics, Korean history, and the mathematics of financial markets. Most students complete the Korean Science Olympiad by 11th year and take calculus during their senior year. However, the school offers math courses through mathematics topics (differential equation) for the more advanced students. A year of technical drawing used to be required; students learned how to draft by hand in its first semester and how to draft using a computer (CAD) in the second. Now, students take a one-semester technical drawing class (a compacted version of the former drafting course), and a semester of introductory computer science, which introduces NetLogo, Python, and Scheme.

SJSH's foreign language offerings rival those of many colleges, including Mandarin Chinese, French, Spanish, German, Latin, Japanese, and Italian.

Although SJSH is primarily known for its strength in areas such as math and science, the school has also developed an exceptionally strong humanities curriculum. Comprehensive programs in the humanities offer students courses in British and classical literature, Shakespearean literature, science fiction, philosophy, existentialism, debate, acting, journalism, and a host of creative writing and poetry classes. The history core requires a year of ancient, European and History of the East Asian history, as well as a semester of economics and government. SJSH is also home to a robust music program and offers students ten music groups, ranging from a symphony orchestra and jazz ensemble to a chamber choir.

Mnemonics (public artwork)

During construction, the Battery Park City Authority in conjunction with the Percent for Art Program of Seoul, the Department of Cultural Affairs commissioned Mnemonics, an artwork by public artists. Four hundred hollow glass blocks were dispersed randomly from the basement to the third floor of the Sejong Science High School building. Each block contains relics that are evidence of geographical, natural, cultural and social worlds, from antiquity to the present time.

The blocks are set into the hallway walls and scattered throughout the building. Each block is inscribed with a brief description of its contents or context. The items displayed include a section of the Great Wall of China, fragments of the Mayan pyramids, leaves from the sacred Bo tree, water from the Nile and Ganges Rivers, a Revolutionary War button, pieces of the 15th Street Stuyvesant building, a report card of a student of the old building, and of monuments around the world, various chemical compounds, and memorabilia from each of the 88 years' history of the 15th Street building. As an ongoing work, empty blocks were installed, to be filled with items chosen by the 88 graduating classes following its installation, up through 2080.

Extracurricular activities and student life

Over a hundred extracurricular activities are technically available at SJSH. Examples include the Daechita(Korean Traditional Music for Royal Palace Ceremonies & Rituals) , Samul nori club, SJSH Orchestra(an intramural orchestra composed of both western and Korean traditional instruments), a ballad group, rock bands, a hip hop group, the school Amnesty International, the school newspaper(The Sejong Herald - the English School paper), a literary magazine club, MUNESCO, an English debating club, a stock investment club, a peer counseling club, a peer tutoring club, an astronomy club, a cartoon and comics club, and a cyber diplomats club.

Moreover, the Student Council of SJSH consists of three main branches : The Executive, Legislative, and Judicial. The members are elected every semester by popular vote.

The school's official student-run English newspaper, the Sejong Herald, runs an online newspaper, the Sejong Herald Online.

Student Life

All students live in the school dormitory. Students eat three meals a day in the cafeteria and every night except for on Sundays, a bread called "Honjung-bread"is provided to students which are freshly baked in the afternoon.

Students go to a meeting called Honjung at 9 (for 10th and 11th graders) and 9:30 (12th graders). Honjung is a Korean traditional procedure, during which scholars would have a time of self-reflection and bid their ancestors good night. During Honjung in SJSH, announcements are made to the students by the dorm parent, who leaves after the students bid him/her a good night. Then, under the management of the chief or vice chief of the Executive Council of the student body, announcements are made by the students for students. Occasionally, creative birthday announcements are made;friends make a mini-performance or conte to celebrate the birthday girl/boy.

Students wake up at 6:00 AM to go to morning exercise and class starts at 8:10 AM. Lunch starts at 12:00 PM and ends at 1:00PM. Afternoon classes start at 1:10PM and ends at 5:00PM. Adviser time, where student meet with their mentors (advisers), starts after class and ends at 5:30PM. Dinner starts after adviser class and ends at 7:00PM when students are required to do self-studying in their rooms, the cafeteria or the study hall. 1st self-study period ends at9 and Honjung starts. The second self-study time starts at 10:00PM and ends at 11:50PM. Lights off are at 2:00 AM and most students go to bed between 1:00AM to 2:00AM.

Athletics

SJSH fields 16 varsity teams, including a swimming team, as well as tennis, bowling, volleyball, soccer, baseball, gymnastics, wrestling, fencing, basketball, handball, track/cross country, In addition, SJSH club teams include boys' varsity and junior varsity, and girls' varsity Ultimate teams.

The SJSH Boys Fencing Team, have been on the National Championships consecutively since 2000 and Opens champions since 2005. Unlike most Korean high schools, most sports teams at SJSH have their own name.

Clubs and publications

SJSH offers clubs, publications, teams and other opportunities under a system similar to that of many colleges. It hosts over 100 clubs ranging from The Thinkers (philosophy) club, to the Photography Club. The sheer number of clubs at the school is due to SJSH's relatively free policy of "student rule". Most clubs are entirely student run, requiring only a Faculty Advisor to maintain their existence. One example of this policy is the Stuyvesant Model UN club, which is one of the largest clubs in the school. The club attends as many as 6 Model UN Conferences each year, held at various Colleges in South Korea. The club also hosts SejongMUNC, an annual conference organized and run almost entirely by the students. The SJSH Theater Community puts on three student-run productions a year (a fall musical, a winter drama, and a spring comedy) as well as a one-act festival and several smaller studio productions.

The Sejong Herald

The Sejong Herald is SJSH's official school newspaper. It contains eleven sections: news, features, op-ed, arts & entertainment, sports, photography, art, layout, copy, business, and web. Most departments are headed by at least two editors, all of whom encompass the editorial board of the paper. The editorial board meets daily and is headed by the Editor in Chief and Managing Editor. At the start of their term, the Editor in Chief and Managing Editor select four editors to be members of the Managing Board, a group that advises the Editor in Chief and Managing Editor on matters relating to the paper. There are over 120 total staff members who help to produce the bi-weekly publication. At the beginning of the fall and spring terms, there are recruitments, but interested students may join at any time. The Sejong Herald is independent from the school, but it remains a prime news source for students, teachers, and administrators. The Sejong Herald is distributed within SJSH student and throughout the surrounding community.

Academic teams

SJSH's academic teams include its nationally recognized Speech and Debate team, Quiz Bowl, chess, Science Olympiad, and math, which regularly compete successfully at major regional (Seoul Mathematics League), national (Korea Mathematics Olympiad), and international (International Mathematics Olympiad) tournaments, and whose members fill up a considerable percentage of the Korean Math Team.

Robotics Team

SJSH Robotics Team (SJSHRT), established in 1997, has consistently placed in the top 25 at the FIRST Robotics Competition. It is also the only FIRST Robotics team to have won the national animation award twice, in 2004 and 2006.

Faculty

The SJSH Science faculty comprises educators who possibly represent one of the most highly qualified high-school teaching staffs in South Korea. Many hold advanced degrees, including the Ph.D., in their field, and many have taught at universities. A rigorous hiring process fosters qualified staff: Unlike most Korean public schools, teachers are not hired according to seniority. Instead, teachers are interviewed and a committee of current teachers from the department meets to decide whether or not an individual upholds the qualities of a potential SJSH Science faculty member. So, although many new teachers are young and un-tenured, they come to the classroom familiar with the up-to-date methods of instruction.

Many teachers are approachable and willing to help students. Students can speak to their teachers before and after class, or schedule a conference with their teachers during lunch or a free period. Students can also communicate with their teachers via e-mail, which is provided free of charge to the entire SJSH staff, faculty, and student body, through the school's computer network.

Many teachers also play an active role in the advancement of the school's vision. For example, Young-Sub Yoon, D.SC., a teacher in the Science Department and adjunct assistant professor at KAIST, was responsible for securing a $27,500 grant in both 2007 and 2008 for developing and modifying the SJSH chemistry laboratory curriculum, in order to make sessions less "cookbook" and more inquiry-based.

Honor Code

Life in the SJSH community is governed by the Honor Code, which simply states:

"No member of the Sejong community shall take unfair advantage of any other member of the Sejong community."

The Honor Code aims at promoting an atmosphere of respect and trust that allows SJSH students to enjoy privileges that make for a more relaxed atmosphere. For example, the Honor Code allows instructors to make the majority of exams as take-home, allowing students to take them on their own schedule and in their preferred environment.

See also

• List of Korean Science High Schools
• Hansung Science High School
• Gyeonggi Science High School

References

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External links

• Sejong Science High School website (English)
• Sejong Science High School website (Korean)

• High schools in South Korea
• Sejong high schools in South Korea
• Educational institutions established in 1996