'Qualifying in JEE Considered a Big Deal in Korea Too'
It is considered a very big deal in Korea if a student is able to crack the JEE exam for IIT admissions. It is perceived as one of the toughest exams by them. Read about the journey of a Seoul student who is currently pursuing B.Tech Biotechnology at IIT Delhi.
Jaen Hyun Kim, a native of Seoul in South Korea is currently pursuing a B.Tech in Biotechnology course at the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi (IIT Delhi). He always wanted to pursue engineering at one of the IITs which is why he decided to do his schooling from Delhi right from class 6th and shifted to India. He was aware from the beginning that in order to make it to IIT, he would have to clear the Joint Entrance Exam (JEE Advanced). He studied hard for the same and is now the first foreign student of the institute who is pursuing B.Tech Biotechnology there.
Kim feels that the foreign students who come to India in order to pursue courses from IITs face a lack of guidance and are thus forced to join coaching centres to prepare for the JEE exam. He went on to elaborate that cracking JEE exam is considered equally important in Korea as well and if a student cracks JEE, it is believed that he/she can crack any other entrance exam. He said that the JEE exam has rules of negative marking, it becomes hard to crack the exam. Such an exam pattern and marking scheme are not followed in Korea, he added.
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Korea offers the flexibility to shift countries after completing elementary education. He said that while most students prefer to move to the USA or UK, he always wanted to study at an IIT and hence shifted to India with a dream. He spoke to one of his friend who was studying in IIT back then and basis his positive feedback, he decided to pursue his goal here.
He pursued his schooling from a Hyderabad-based international school and then further enrolled for JEE coaching there. He said that the education system in India lays more stress on academics and not extra-curricular activities.
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Also, until now, his experience at IIT Delhi has been great. The infrastructural facilities available at the institute and the quality of faculty members add more value to education at the institute.