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Kim started reading in English at the age of 25 months and wrote a book in English when she was 4.
November 20, 2009
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Kim, a first-year student at Daewon International Middle School in Gwangjin, eastern Seoul, took the exam on Oct. 24. She earned her perfect score of 120 with full marks in each of the four sections: listening, reading, speaking and writing. The English proficiency test is provided by Educational Testing Service, a U.S. test provider based in New Jersey. Perhaps the only person who failed to be surprised by Kim’s achievement is her mother, Lee Wu-suk, 47. Lee said that her daughter had been earning recognition for her talents since she was young. “My daughter began reading Korean when she was 18 months old and she could read middle school English books at 25 months,” said Lee, who was the first person to spot her daughter’s talents. Lee, who minored in English language and literature in college, is good with languages herself. She studied Hebrew and Greek while she was preparing to become a missionary and she once taught English at a theological school. After Lee discovered her daughter’s abilities, she became one of her biggest supporters. “I wanted to help my daughter develop her English speaking ability so that she could speak freely,” Lee said. She bought Korean and English fairy tales for her daughter and spent time talking with her in English. Lee said that when Kim was 4, she wrote an autobiography in English titled “Am I a Special Child?” The book was based on the diaries and essays that Kim had written in English up until that point. “I didn’t send Kim to hagwon [private academies] because she liked studying English at home while she was playing,” said Lee. When asked if she still likes studying English, Kim responded by asking “Do people eat for fun? I am just learning English because I believe it is my second mother tongue,” said Kim. Kim began attending Daewon International early this year through an examination for special admission. She first applied for the school in December 2008 but failed to gain admission through the lottery system. What’s next for this bright young lady? “I want to study English literature, psychology and marine biology in college, and then I want to become a movie director,” she said. By Park Su-ryon, Lee Min-yong [smartpower@joongang.co.kr] |
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