Spring 2007 Activity: Korean Student Earns Perfect Score on the ACT

A Korean student recently scored a perfect score (36) on the ACT. Puhruen Chung, a senior at Korean Minjok Leadership Academy, a private boarding school in South Korea, said he did a few special things to prepare for the ACT.

He attended a private institute for a few months to prepare for high-level mathematics, his weakest subject. For the science portion of the test, he drew from what he’d learned in his regular school courses. To improve his English, he read books written in English and watched television shows produced in the U.S. While he did not study writing specifically, Chung wrote as much as possible under the guidance of writing teachers.

He offers this advice for fellow students preparing to take the ACT: “The ACT assesses academic achievement, which implies it assesses what we learned in school. One of the most important things you can do is review what you have learned and concentrate on what your teachers teach. You need to become familiar with English by reading many English books. When you practice writing, you should try to find your inner voice and style rather than follow any established guidelines. And, you should practice solving multiple-choice items quickly.”

Chung aspires to be a journalist. “There are many people who cannot raise their voices in Korea and in the world. I want to speak up for them,” he said. Born in Boston, Chung plans to attend college in a large American city, preferably on the East Coast. His family moved to Seoul, Korea, when Chung was in fifth grade.

In his spare time, Chung enjoys listening to music, reading books, and playing computer games. “I also like to learn new things through Wikipedia, which inspires me to have interests in a variety of areas. For example, I used to not enjoy musical drama. After learning about a musical from this website, I have begun watching musicals. I just really enjoy learning about a wide variety of things,” he said.