Ex-Child Prodigy Meets Genius, Age 9

“Hi Song! Nice to meet you.”

At Microsoft’s Asia Research Center in Beijing, Harry Shum (aged 39, head of the research center) greeted Korea’s little genius Song Yoo-geun (aged 9) with a warm smile.

Shum was China’s young prodigy who entered Nanjing University at the age of 13, obtained a master’s degree at Hong Kong University, and a Ph.D. at Carnegie Mellon University. He is 30 years older than Song, who entered the College of Natural Sciences at Inha University in March at the age of nine.

Song was invited by MS, which has a high interest in Song’s genius.

Shum started the conversation.

“I was away from my family from a young age because I had to live in college dorms. Also, I was alone because all of the students were much older than me. Song could be even lonelier than I was, for he got admitted to a university four years faster than me.”

A translator was required as Song cannot yet speak fluently in English.

“If you were to get on a time machine and go back to the time when you were nine years old, what would you do?” asked Song.

“I would play soccer with friends. Even prodigies have to get along with people. You don’t have to hurry since life is long. Take time, and find fun and interesting things around you,” said Shum.

When Song said that “everyone goes to a bar without me,” Shum advised him to “tag along and drink an orange juice.” His advice comes from his experience of seeing so many Chinese teen prodigies come to MS Asia Research Center, which has some 200 genius researchers, but quitting after having failed to adjust.

Song’s mother, Park Ok-seon (aged 47), agrees with Shum, and she already made Song take arts and gym classes at a nearby elementary school once a week.

Song also plays the drums in a music group consisting of researchers in their 40s. He plays a song of the Sand Pebbles, which was awarded a grand prize at the 1977 Campus Song Festival. The song was written 20 years before he was even born.

He does fairly well in university, receiving a GPA of 3.8, or a B+, in his first semester. English conversation is still difficult for the young prodigy, but he reads English science books with a dictionary in his hand.

Shum gave a t-shirt that he designed to Song as a farewell gift. On the shirt is written, “Work hard, play harder.”

kimsunmi@donga.com