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Maturity helps multicultural student overcome hardship

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Kim Jae-ryeol, the grand prize winner of the Korea Multicultural Youth Awards to be presented by the minister of gender equality and family, smiles during an interview with The Korea Times at Hyunpung High School in Daegu, Nov. 7. / Korea Times photo by Choi won-suk
Kim Jae-ryeol, the grand prize winner of the Korea Multicultural Youth Awards to be presented by the minister of gender equality and family, smiles during an interview with The Korea Times at Hyunpung High School in Daegu, Nov. 7. / Korea Times photo by Choi won-suk

Grand prize winner of The Korea Times' 8th Multicultural Youth Awards

By Kim Jae-heun

Kim Jae-ryeol, a sophomore at Hyunpung High School in Daegu, looks no different from any 18-year-old Korean boy.

He was born to a Korean father and Chinese mother, but his multiracial family background does not really differentiate him from his peers, with only a few of his best friends from middle school knowing all of his family background.

However, there is something that makes Kim special and different: He is exceptionally mature for his age.

From young age, Kim has been suffering an incurable, rare disease that requires him to see doctors at four different hospitals. The Korea Times decided not to disclose what disease he is suffering for privacy reasons.

"I did not know about my actual health condition until I turned 15 years old and my doctor told me about it in detail. It was hard for me to accept it and it was the toughest moment in my life," Kim said during an interview with The Korea Times at his school, Nov. 7. "Unlike happy moments, sad moments last for a long time in your memory."

His family is having financial difficulties as well, and some of his family members are having illnesses.

Living in such hardship, Kim has become a person who listens rather than talks, and put others before himself.

"Jae-ryeol is an all-around A student in the classroom. When students get to that level, they mostly focus on their own studies rather than following the classroom pace, because they are far ahead," said school vice principal Kim Kyu-baek, who has been teaching Kim mathematics for two years since his freshman year. "But Jae-ryeol always comes prepared for the class and fully participates in the lesson."

Kim's friends say he has mental fortitude: He has confidence and so sometime makes mistakes by being over-confident, but overall he is a smart student who can sit down and study for longest in class without moving, they say.

Also, he becomes very quiet when meeting new people.

Kim Jae-ryeol, center, enjoys his break times with his friends after lunch at his school in Daegu, Nov. 7. / Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk
Kim Jae-ryeol, center, enjoys his break times with his friends after lunch at his school in Daegu, Nov. 7. / Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk

Kim's classroom teacher Kwak Gyeoung-eun agreed that Kim is not a person who stands out among his friends in terms of personality or appearance, but he always works diligently and without complaint.

"He studies during break times and no one has to tell Jae-ryeol what to do during cleaning time," Kwak said.

Kwak was not aware of her student's physical challenge, until the classroom teacher from Kim's previous year told her about it.

"Jae-ryeol is quiet at first but once you get to know about him, he is quite a bright person. Also, you can't really tell he is physically challenged because he studies and plays just like any other student. This year, he was goalkeeper for our class in a football competition and we made it to the semifinal thanks to Jae-ryeol's performance," Kwak said.

However, Kim's actual strength lies in math.

He started solving math problems when he was a kindergartener. "I came to like math because people around me would give compliments when I was studying. It became a habit and now it is my favorite subject," he said.

Kim is currently an active member of his school's math club. He creates math problems with his friends and opened a math competition on the school campus. He is in charge of creating questions related to coding.

Utilizing his talent, Kim wants to be an expert in the IT field in the future.

"I worried about my future career a lot in the freshman year. Then our school held an event introducing the humanities to students under the title the Fourth Industrial Revolution. There, I learned about jobs related to big data. Also, I took an aptitude test and the result showed a job in the IT sector would suit me," Kim said.

His interest and talent in math and IT led him to win an award from the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning ― now the Ministry of Science and ICT ― when he was an elementary student.

Kim's goal in life is to help remove people's stereotypes about multiracial families.

"To be honest, discrimination exists for those who come from an interracial family. But I believe living up to it is the best way to fight against it. That's why I study hard at school," Kim said.

Family has always been a great motivation in Kim's life. He feels happiest when he is around them.

"Everyone faces difficulties in life. I have family and friends who support and help me when I need them. They make me move forward," Kim said.

"Students from an interracial family background are also Koreans. We have the same human rights and it is obvious we should be treated the same way as others. I dream of the day when there will be no discrimination against people from multiracial backgrounds," Kim said.


Kim Jae-heun jhkim@koreatimes.co.kr


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