Hyundai WIA S/W Development Team researcher Kang Sang-gyun is also a Science Communicator
What comes to your mind when you hear the word ‘science’? Some of you may think it’s a difficult field that’s not at all fun, that it’s something that is very distant from our lives. But our everyday lives are filled with many applied science principles, and we benefit from such technologies. There are people who find the connecting links between science technology and life and deliver them to the public in an easy, fun way. They are Science Communicators.
Science nerd meets ‘FameLab Korea’.
Science Communicator is someone who tries to incorporate science into a culture. It includes science professors and science explorers, etc. To actively discover and train talents in science, Korea started ‘FameLab Korea’ tournament since 2014 and appoints finalists with the title Science Communicator. This competition regards topics of science, math, and engineering where the competitors make 3-minute lectures to communicate with the public. It’s an international event that first took place in England. We met with Hyundai WIA researcher Kang Sang-gyun, who made it to the final round of ‘FameLab Korea 2019’ and was appointed as Science Communicator by the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Foundation for the Advancement of Science and Creativity and looked into the world of science communication.
Researcher Kang Sang-gyun gave a presentation with the topic ‘How do people recognize objects?’ (Photography by Korea Foundation for the Advancement of Science and Creativity)
Q. What does a Science Communicator do?
Science Communicator helps people who are not interested in science to feel familiar with science. They carry out science busking on the streets with science experiment performances, give lectures, or contribute to science articles or YouTube science channels. They let people know that science is embedded in everyday lives.
Before the final round, researcher Kang Sang-gyun (on the far right) and 9 other finalists had a master class with an English professional trainer for field work (Photography by Korea Foundation for the Advancement of Science and Creativity)
Q. What made you enter ‘FameLab Korea 2019’?
I was always greatly interested in science ever since college, where I studied engineering. My daily life was all about watching science documentaries, podcasts, and YouTube videos. I found out about this competition through a podcast and thought taking a part in it would allow me to do many fun things with people who have the same interest as me. As a Science Communicator, I would be able to go beyond watching science related videos and make such videos myself with people who have the same passion as me. It was a chance for me to do what I love and also educate the public on the benefits of science technology, so I decided to take part in it as it seemed like a fulfilling experience.
’FameLab Korea’ selected the finalists through 1st and 2nd preliminary rounds that took place from March this year (Photography by Korea Foundation for the Advancement of Science and Creativity)
Q. You gave a presentation on cognitive science. Was there a special reason for choosing such a topic?
It’s related to my job. I develop programs that allow machine tools that make automobile and mobile phone components, etc., to operate faster and more accurately. I provide the programs I develop and receive feedback. To develop better programs, I have to carry out researches based on the user experiences. Thus, I began to take interest in UI/UX design, which is based on user experiences. As cognitive science is the foundation of UI/UX design, I wanted to explain to the public ‘How people see and recognize objects’.
Program developed by researcher Kang Sang-gyun applied on a machine tool. Hyundai WIA S/W Development Team takes in consumer feedback to develop user customized programs
Q. How did you explain it?
I used a basketball. People go through many stages in their cornea to see the basketball via optic nerves. But how do you recognize a basketball as a basketball? That comes from experience and knowledge. We learn from early on that this round object is a basketball, but people who have not known basketball may take this object to be an exotic palm tree pattern fruit. As such, the range of ‘seeing’ differs according to the seer’s experience and knowledge.
Finding joy in communicating with the public through science
The Science Communicator appointment letter is given to ‘FameLab Korea 2019’ finalists
Q. How is your daily life different now that you are a Science Communicator?
I now have a new habit of focusing on scientific phenomenon hidden in our daily lives and rechecking abstract knowledge once again to make sure what it really is. I think it’s a pleasant new responsibility as a Science Communicator to deliver correct information. I plan to create contents to communicate with the public using the UX design I am interested in these days. It’s indeed a pleasant responsibility to contribute to making more people take interest in science.
Researcher Kang Sang-gyun says he wants everyone to think of science as a fun conversation topic
Q. What are your plans for the future?
I’m not a famous scientist, but I think I can explain science to the general public from their point of view. I want to work more towards this. I want to do a science busking with the theme of science hidden around us. It’s like giving a lecture on science principles that are applied on things that are surrounding the spectators: for example, ‘science embedded in iPhone home button’, ‘why Naver portal website’s log in window is on the right side’, etc.
Q. What goal do you wish to achieve through your activities?
To make science a type of culture. I want the public to not feel alienated when they hear the word ‘science technology’. I believe it is my job to help them use science as their everyday life conversation topic. I dream of a day when science is treated like literature and art, a type of culture that people all share together.
Q. Lastly, please share a tip so that the public can familiarize themselves with science.
There are many fun science contents on YouTube and podcasts. Among the podcasts, I recommend ‘Yoon Tae Jin, Track, and Exo’s Gwajangchang’. It explains movies, music, and humanities, etc., from a scientific point of view in a very fun manner. Common topics such as ‘Can the movie be realized in real life?’ are discussed in a way that the general public would understand. On YouTube, I watch ‘Science Cookie’. It easily explains scientific concepts through pictures. Watching a science busking will also be a great experience. Refer to Korea Foundation for the Advancement of Science and Creativity SNS channel for their event notifications.
Photography by Bae Seung-bin
