My very first article for The KAIST Herald was titled "Foreign Freshman - The Legend Begins", the beginning of a series of articles regarding my impressions of the expatriate life in a Korean top-notch, English-speaking technological university (yes, KAIST). Nevertheless, in the following four years I had never actually thought what it really meant to be a member of this institute besides cultural differences, constant lack of sleep and a limited social life during the regular semesters. People say that things tend to change near the end. And they did. A particular evening with friends enlightened me about what makes us special, or “non-normal.” I believe I found my answer, and I shall share it with you.
The differences between KAISTians and “normal” people start to become evident if these two different breeds attempt to match schedules for whatever activity. Of course, that is if they manage to meet at all. In my head, “what about midnight for a cup of coffee?" seemed a perfectly normal invitation. I would have kept thinking likewise if not for the astonished looks that outside-KAIST people give me when I say that. The first time I heard the reply "I usually sleep at 11," I thought straight away, "What a slacker, everybody sleeps at 2 at the earliest!" Apparently the shifted sleeping pattern is the most salient of the KAIST nationals’ features.
But most people can manage shifting their sleeping patterns. The reason why we do have a late shift in addition to the two regular shifts is one of the key points of being a KAISTian. We multitask; we have student club activities and late deadlines. And we keep the deadlines while also keeping our duties at our extra-curricular activities. Whether this is true or not, I was told once that KAIST is the only Korean Ivy League member in which the students do study hard from beginning to end instead of living a party life in college. We entered KAIST with an oath to study, and we keep it. We later join clubs with an oath to do those activities, and we keep it. We hold our end of the deal.
I can imagine the reader with that “stop stating the obvious” stare to the paper. Yes, these are remarkable but well-known traits of the members of this institute. I was also not satisfied with that explanation of KAIST’s uniqueness.
On a Sunday night, some fellow KAISTians and I were having coffee after dinner. Some of the friends who had dinner with us left earlier because they had a school meeting, which sounds perfectly normal for a Sunday night, right? While we were enjoying our share of the caffeine beverages for the evening, I couldn't help but notice that each and every one of us at the table were, in turns, entertaining the rest with some sort of talent - Rubik's cube solving techniques, paper folding and an outstanding drawing on a tablet, to name a few. Everybody has talents, but what I discovered on that night was that common feature of KAIST students that I had long been looking for. KAISTians know what they excel in, and know how to explore it. We speak multiple languages; play sports and computer games; study for that specific major; and perform in bands, plays, orchestras or by ourselves. Either because we are good or because we will become really good, no matter what it takes.
On my last article, at last, I found what it means to be a student at KAIST: all of us have a strong oath, but not to our classes and not to our university or clubs. We have an oath to excellence. We are second to none, or we have no time to rest. And we hold our end.