Scientist Overtakes Pop Star as Kids' Dream Job

A widely publicized match earlier this year pitting baduk or go champion Lee Se-dol against a proto-artificial intelligence program has evidently made science more glamorous in the eyes of Korean children.

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In a survey released Thursday by the Korea Research Institute for Vocational Education and Training, science jobs now rank among kids' top 10 dream jobs, while the old favorites -- lawyer, doctor and pop star -- are waning. The survey was conducted among 27,264 youngsters, 18,688 parents and 2,787 teachers.

Biologist and natural scientist have risen to seventh place among middle schoolers and third place among high schoolers despite not featuring in the top 10 in 2012. IT expert ranked eighth among middle schoolers and sixth among high schoolers, while mechanical engineer rose to ninth place among high schoolers.

In the same survey in the late 2000s, preference for science-related professions was at an all-time low and no science or engineering jobs ranked among the top 10.

An Education Ministry official said, "The AlphaGo craze piqued the curiosity of youngsters, while the relative abundance of science and engineering jobs appears to have boosted interest in such professions".

Chef is also newly popular, ranking fourth among elementary schoolkids, sixth among middle schoolers and seventh among high schoolers, thanks to the success of cooking shows on TV.

Teaching is still the most popular job among 9.6 percent of elementary, 13.5 percent of middle and 12 percent of high school students. Jang Hyun-jin at the institute said teaching is a job that children are familiar with and it offers good job security.