korea's number 1 student has an insane study routine

0:05I really like this, bro.

0:11You know that's a tough call. Gays

0:12level bureau acting.

0:15It's actually just like the textbook

0:17doing everything. [music] I'm really

0:18impressed like

0:19you genuinely goes this far.

0:26So as you guys probably have seen around

0:28by now, like South Korea is known for

0:29being one [music] of the most intense

0:31study cultures around the world. Like

0:3216-hour study days, hagwons until

0:34midnight, and students sleeping with

0:35their night breeze. And I've made my

0:36fair share of Asian secret study videos

0:39as well. So I thought it'd be

0:39interesting to see what the life of an

0:41actual number one South Korean student

0:43actually looks like, what they're doing

0:45right or wrong, and see if I approve

0:46what they're doing or not, and if we can

0:48learn anything from that. And so yes,

0:50today we're going to react to this video

0:51where we follow the life of Kim Hye-jin

0:53who is number one ranked in her school

0:56for all her subjects. I think it'll be

0:57really interesting to see from an

0:58insider perspective as well. Since as

1:00you guys probably may or may not know, I

1:02was actually born in Korea as well, and

1:04Korean is my first [music] language. But

1:05just before we get into it, make sure to

1:07go check their channel and the video out

1:08because it's a great video, and of

1:09course it's theirs. By the way, I run

1:11the number one free school community for

1:13students, as you can see, for students

1:15all around the world. If you want to

1:16study alongside like-minded ambitious

1:17students who just want a place to ask

1:19for advice, you can join completely for

1:21free with the link in the description.

1:22Let's waste no more time and react to

1:24the video.

1:47Sorry, but like the the the slow down

1:49like the the slow motion with the like

1:51the text PowerPoint text sliding is like

1:53it's taking me out. It just happens in

1:55all Korean shows, but anyway, let's

1:57let's actually get to the let's the

1:58point.

2:13Ah, so that's interesting. So So the

2:15teacher says that when she doesn't get a

2:16certain topic, she makes sure to ask the

2:18teacher, like even going after school to

2:20find the teacher to really make sure she

2:21understands the topic. And if you guys

2:23have been watching this video, that is

2:24very very good. If in this video, I said

2:26that you should always be using your

2:28teachers because although your teachers

2:30are obviously meant to teach you, a lot

2:32of what they're paid for and what you

2:33get the most use out of them if you go

2:35out of your way to really use them. Be

2:36proactive. Go ask them to explain

2:38something [music] that if you don't

2:39understand and ask for extra help. And

2:40that's clearly what she's also doing and

2:42it works. And this is always especially

2:44powerful also because [music] the key

2:46part here is that the teacher said that

2:48if she doesn't understand something, she

2:49makes sure to delve into it until she

2:50does. Because the really dangerous thing

2:52is that when we're revising or studying,

2:54is that [music] you kind of don't really

2:55get something. You half get it.

2:57And then you end up moving on um

3:00because you kind of get it and kind of

3:02don't and but you don't really delve

3:03into it in that moment. But the reason

3:04that's so dangerous is that especially

3:06in maths [music] or pretty much in any

3:08subject, topics build on top of each

3:09other, right? You can't do

3:10differentiation without multiplication.

3:13You can't do differential equations

3:14without really knowing differentiation.

3:16Point being, everything stacks. So if

3:18you leave a topic without with some

3:19cracks in the foundation because you're

3:21building topics on top of it, it's going

3:23to crumble. And so what she's doing

3:24where if she doesn't get it, she makes

3:26sure to really delve into it until she

3:27gets it, that's really good and that is

3:29J's Pocket Boost.

3:39And what can I say? Textbook fame and

3:41technique right here. When you explain

3:43something to um people, that is like one

3:45of the best things. Like if you look at

3:46the learning pyramid, I'm pretty sure

3:48it's teaching to others is like what

3:50even better than doing past papers,

3:51right? Because inherently, when you

3:53teach something to others,

3:54>> [music]

3:54>> you're having to think of it in your own

3:56way that makes sense, think of

3:57analogies, and also explain it in a way

3:59that obviously

3:59>> [music]

3:59>> the teacher didn't. So, you're learning

4:01from the teacher, you have you've kind

4:03of had to process it in your own way in

4:04your brain, and then you're also

4:05explaining it to your peers. That is

4:07really deep learning and [music]

4:08foundations. And also, it's really good.

4:10That's why the Feynman technique there's

4:11so many studies saying it's great

4:12because not only are you testing your

4:14own understanding and knowledge, making

4:15sure there isn't not any gaps, when you

4:17reframe it, that cements your knowledge.

4:19When I make these videos, [music] I make

4:20so many analogies. And in my most recent

4:22video, I made the analogy of a boat when

4:24it comes to studying, right? About how

4:26you need to be patching up holes in the

4:27boat as your first priority before

4:29adding like decorations on. And that's

4:30kind of like how you should be doing

4:31past papers when you study. And so,

4:33>> [music]

4:33>> kind of using analogies that you have

4:35made up and thinking of about them in

4:36your own head really tightens [music]

4:38and

4:40makes it so that you really won't forget

4:41it. For example, in protein synthesis,

4:44and in biology, I always think of RNA

4:46polymerase as the scissors that unwinds

4:49the DNA, and ligase is the thing that

4:50sticks them back together. Thinking of

4:52it in an analogy in a way that only you

4:53understand and teaching it to your

4:54friends is, yeah, really good. Textbooks

4:57Feynman technique and thumbs-up G-Spot

4:59approved.

5:02I really like this word.

5:17Yeah, exactly. You can review what you

5:18learned as well by explaining to your

5:20friends. Um when we're doing math papers

5:21at school, I really like explaining the

5:23concepts to this one friend, even if he

5:25doesn't understand, because like a lot

5:26of students don't like explaining to

5:27their friends because they're like, "Oh,

5:28it's such a waste of time. I'd rather

5:30study." But when you explain something

5:31to your friend, it's You should do it

5:33for your own benefit. I do it not to

5:34help my friend. Like obviously I do,

5:35he's my friend, but I do it to

5:36consolidate my own understanding. You'd

5:38be surprised a lot of the time you think

5:40you know it, but when you go to explain

5:41it to someone, you realize you don't

5:42know it it as well as you think you do.

5:44And so, it's an own

5:45>> [music]

5:45>> That's really good because you're

5:46getting caught out now rather than the

5:48exam. So, yeah, it's a it's a really

5:49good way.

6:02I don't think they talk about this in

6:03the documentary, but actually Oh, this

6:05is actually peak Korean content that you

6:07guys are getting inside the knowledge

6:08from me. But these posted notes are

6:10really interesting.

6:10>> [music]

6:11>> Because Okay, so what this big white one

6:13says here is

6:17So, what what this big white piece of

6:18paper says [music] is 1 year ago I think

6:20I get to come here and get a couple of

6:23my career. Okay, so basically what that

6:24means is she's saying, "If I study for

6:26this one just this [music] one year like

6:28I'm dead. Like if if I if I suffer

6:30through this one year, this is the last

6:32chance that I could change the

6:33trajectory of my life." That's what the

6:35underlying part says. That's the last

6:37chance to change the trajectory of my

6:38[music] life. It's the I start the late

6:39gratification, right? And she's really

6:41definitely living by it. It's it's the

6:43classic question of would you rather

6:45suffer and have a boring life now to

6:47live 20 years of like freedom in the

6:49future or whatever the the quote is. But

6:51yeah, this is a pretty interesting and

6:52it's good because when you have it on

6:54the wall written down like I still have

6:55my goals and posted notes written on the

6:57wall

6:58there as well. So, like I don't know,

6:59we're literally twinning. Yeah, she but

7:01she's literally living in the late

7:02gratification saying although right now

7:03it's really tough and it's going to be a

7:05long year. She's saying if I study like

7:07I'm dead for 1 year,

7:09yeah, it's the last chance you can

7:10change your life I guess. And I guess

7:12that's true. And also on the other

7:13smaller ones it says Yeah, that 1 year

7:16man. Yeah, just 1 year. You can come

7:18home and get your man. You can come home

7:20and get your man. Yo, that's a tough

7:22quote. Basically it says, "If I sleep

7:23right now, I can dream." So, as in like

7:25if you hop in bed, you can like dream.

7:27But if I if I study right now, I could

7:29make my dream as in like my dream career

7:33life. So, I'm not really sure on like

7:34what J-Park not approve because she's

7:36basically saying instead of sleeping I

7:37should study because instead of

7:39dreamland like

7:41she wants to go into like the her dream

7:43career which is what studying will not

7:45but as studies have shown and as I say

7:46in all my videos sleep is really really

7:48important when it comes to getting a

7:49grade and so yeah I probably not not Jay

7:52Spark approved that one to be honest but

7:54I like the fact that she's putting up

7:56posted notes with her goals and oh yeah

7:58in this one literally says us whole day

7:59at school

8:01you have some fun Kim imagine yes she's

8:02literally manifesting her way into her

8:04dream university because whole day it's

8:05like the best uni in Korea right so

8:07she's saying

8:08she's manifesting a place and it works

8:10like if you have a vision board which is

8:11what

8:13I tell my students doing the student

8:14accelerator it really does help in

8:16keeping you motivated when sometimes

8:18you're not feeling it and so yeah I mean

8:20I like the posted notes strategy I also

8:22do it as well but I'm not too some of

8:24these are pretty extreme right she's

8:25saying if I study like I'm dead or yeah

8:28I sacrifice sleep to study

8:31but I mean I guess bro.

8:40>> [laughter]

8:42>> Jay Spark level of bureau acting bro.

8:54Come on I want to see what a desk looks

8:55like. Oh sneaky bit of Latin carpe diem

8:59and seize the day.

9:00But yeah like wow literally takes off

9:03all of the stuff that I mentioned in

9:04this video about how to set up your

9:05perfect your perfect study space but no

9:07distractions in sight as you can see

9:09clean organized water by ready to reach

9:12for hydration books organized so they

9:13don't have to waste time on decision

9:15fatigue and also searching for books

9:17everything's an arms reach away no

9:18distractions as well yeah I mean it's

9:20pretty textbook great stuff Jay Spark

9:22approved. Okay but one thing that she

9:23didn't have amongst her entire study

9:25space is a second screen because imagine

9:27this right she's got her past paper open

9:29she's grinding through questions and

9:30then she needs to check the mark scheme

9:32that's a whole separate tab minimizing

9:33maximizing and losing in place it's

9:35chaos. Actually that's where today's

9:37sponsor comes in. Our sponsor this is a

9:38portable monitor the Z3 FC and honestly

9:41for studying it just makes sense. As you

9:43can see 2.5 K resolution 180 hertz and

9:45it weighs like 780 grams. So you can

9:48literally take it anywhere. It's really

9:50really light. As you can see plug in and

9:51play past paper on one screen mark

9:53scheme on the other notes on one side

9:54whatever whatever you're watching on the

9:55other. It removes so much friction. It

9:57even works for iPad. The setup is so

9:59easy. Links in the description you want

10:00to check that out and level up your

10:01studying game. But let's get straight

10:03back to the video.

10:12Actually, that's really interesting and

10:13it's something I've also said before.

10:15Studying in different environments is

10:17really crucial because your brain

10:18associates activities with environments.

10:20[music]

10:20If you study at your desk for too long

10:22it gets kind of repetitive and boring

10:23and so that's why I for me personally I

10:25find I focus pretty well when I go to

10:26the library or study at the yeah my

10:28school library or like a cafe because

10:30it's a new environment right? So what

10:32she's doing is she's doing her

10:33flashcards like walking up a mountain

10:34which I'm not really sure if that's like

10:36a health and

10:37health and safety approved. [music]

10:39But the the theory is actually really

10:41solid. Science says that when you switch

10:42up an environment and also the

10:43locomotion of moving like way in

10:45technical here but genuinely like

10:47walking is like

10:49it's it's proven to

10:52to increase brain capacity and function.

10:54So yeah, I mean in theory this works but

10:56this is actually pretty extreme. So

10:57props to her she actually does this but

10:59everything sound J Spock approved.

11:01>> [screaming]

11:10>> I mean I say it in all my videos that

11:11mindset is important and having a growth

11:13mindset but I mean I tend to do my

11:15affirmations inside my head but I guess

11:17shouting them off a mountain also work.

11:19Affirmations are really important guys

11:21like there's science saying that it

11:22works and having a positive outlook and

11:24saying that you can do it it's good you

11:26know J Spock approved but maybe I

11:27wouldn't shout it.

11:32Oh my god wait no he's actually just

11:34like the textbook doing everything. So,

11:36what she's doing is she stuck post-it

11:39notes around her house with a

11:40vocabulary. This is doing a lot of it

11:42once. Number one, it's batching it with

11:44non-negotiable activities. When you come

11:46here from school and you're just walking

11:47in, you're going to be inevitably walk

11:49past the door, right? So, when you have

11:50the post-it note there, you can't

11:53procrastinate it because it's just so

11:54she's made it so easy to do. She's done

11:56like all the foundational steps in

11:57Atomic Habits. She's made it so like the

12:00habit she wants to do is so easy because

12:01it's right by the door as she walks in.

12:03And so, it's just she looks at it, picks

12:05it up. And there's also a space

12:06repetition. She's spacing this out like

12:08every time she walks past it, she's

12:09looking at it. So, that's also really

12:11good for learning and memory as you we

12:12all know. And yeah, I mean, wow, this is

12:16really good. When you dot them around

12:17the house as well, it's also like yeah,

12:18batching it as well. So, like when you

12:20go to brush your teeth in the bathroom,

12:21like I'm pretty I'm sure like she

12:22probably has it there as well. But,

12:24>> [music]

12:24>> yeah, this is a really effective way to

12:25kind of get nuggets of information

12:26throughout the day. The kind of

12:28alternative of like the method that I do

12:30is that I don't actually do this, right?

12:31I basically just like look at flashcards

12:33whenever I leave the house or I'm on the

12:34train. It's a similar concept. You're

12:36basically attaching an activity of like

12:38kind of memorizing tidbits of

12:40information like this on the go. And but

12:42yeah, this is really good as well if you

12:43can stick stuff around the house, then

12:45it's really good to get like extra

12:47knowledge in really

12:49really really well-ly well-ly really

12:50good-ly.

12:59Wow, that's really interesting actually.

13:00So, she's doing something called memory

13:02palace or like loci of memory. Because

13:04if you notice, she's not just saying

13:06like do she knows the word, she's saying

13:07like

13:08on top of the refrigerator, it's this.

13:10This is some pretty advanced stuff and I

13:12did use this technique to learn how to

13:14solve a Rubik's Cube blindfolded.

13:15Basically, how it works is you you

13:18visualize in your head a memory palace

13:19or like a really familiar place, which

13:21in your case or with like which I used

13:22as up was my house. When I walk in

13:24through my house, I know that I go

13:25through my door, which is red. and then

13:27on the left there are the shoes. [music]

13:29Then on the left is the kitchen, and

13:30then I can walk back outside, and then

13:32there's a plant pot, and then the

13:33pull-up bar, then the sofa, and then the

13:35piano. So, basically, I've like a series

13:36of eight things that you visit in order,

13:38and then to each of that you associate

13:40like some sort of thing that you want to

13:42remember onto it. When it comes to

13:43cubing, basically, each of the things

13:45that like learn how to solve it

13:46blindfolded, they each have a letter.

13:48You pair the letters that you want to

13:49swap,

13:50and then you create a story, and then

13:52you put that story on each location.

13:53But, what she's done is she's she's put

13:55the post-it notes and vocabulary at each

13:57location. She's basically using that her

13:59home as a memory palace, a physical one,

14:02to learn the vocabulary. And so, wow,

14:04yeah, that that is really cool. But,

14:05that is like I'm really impressed. Like,

14:08who genuinely goes this far?

14:14I mean, yeah. Like I predicted, she's

14:16literally looking at the vocabulary as

14:18she's in the bathroom. Yeah, this is

14:20basically peak immersion studying as

14:21well. And wow, I haven't talked about

14:22this top tip in a while, but I used to I

14:24used to a really a lot back in the day.

14:26But, immersion studying is basically

14:27studying without studying. People think

14:29that studying is just opening your books

14:30and doing stuff at the desk. But, when

14:32you do it in this way, it's immersion

14:33studying. So, the way I taught it back

14:35in the day to my viewers and the way I

14:37used it. I studied biology, right? And

14:38then so, whenever I'm out and about and

14:40I like see the trees, I'm I'm suddenly

14:41like, "Oh, yeah. Like, what are the

14:43factors that affect transpiration

14:44again?" And I just kind of list them out

14:46in my head. Like, kind of like a live

14:47flash card. Studying without studying.

14:48Like, sometimes when I'm sitting in my

14:50bed and breathing, like, maybe I'm just

14:51kind of like on the spectrum. When I'm

14:52breathing, I'm I just think about like,

14:54"Oh, yeah, that ventilation. How does it

14:55work again? Like, how does like my

14:57thorax and diaphragm work to like

14:59breathe in in and out?" And yeah, stuff

15:01like that. Like, throughout the day,

15:02like, you're kind of just studying

15:03without studying, like, using cues

15:04around you and just kind of testing

15:06yourself on a whim. But, she's doing

15:07that basically just by having post-it

15:08notes everywhere, so that it's studying

15:10without studying, because like as she's

15:11like walking to, I don't know, get like

15:12a snack from the fridge or wash her

15:14face, she's getting like little bits of

15:15information in.

15:26>> Yeah, it's textbook perfect. But now I'm

15:28really like it's it's begging the

15:29question like is this really feasible

15:31and did she actually do this because I

15:32mean if so, fair enough, but like yeah,

15:34I I also talked about this before like

15:35if you guys go back to my oldest videos

15:37like the OG videos, your diet is really

15:39important and it affects your cognition

15:41a lot. That's why the general rule of

15:43thumb that I basically follow is

15:44basically no processed foods as far as I

15:46can do because I used to I used to also

15:48like cut down a lot on carbs and just

15:50kind of do what she's doing. Um but and

15:53it does work, but it's kind of

15:54unsustainable all the time and I used to

15:56get really frustrated if I would break

15:57it. So actually the kind of the 80/20

15:59rule of this is just if you don't eat

16:00processed foods, your mental cognitive

16:03performance is at its best. So I just

16:05basically follow that one rule, but I

16:06mean, yeah, if you if you do that,

16:08that's pretty good. So yeah, I mean, to

16:09be honest, I was really impressed with

16:11this video. Keep in mind again, she does

16:12everything textbook perfect, which is

16:14really scary. Even using advanced

16:15techniques such as like memory palace in

16:17her day-to-day life and full immersion

16:19studying and she does everything right.

16:21No wonder she gets top grades. The only

16:22caveat I'd say is like the only thing

16:25that was not J Parker approved was the

16:27sleep quotes like J Parker will not

16:28forgive any mentions of

16:30not sleeping and studying instead of

16:32sleeping cuz sleeping is very important,

16:34but yeah, I think the one thing to

16:36realize is that she probably maybe, but

16:38she probably doesn't do this that

16:39consistently. It's easy to see this and

16:40feel disheartened because like she's

16:42doing so much. You have to realize that

16:43this is probably like exaggerated,

16:45hyperbolized for viewing purposes. There

16:48are some things to learn. Maybe you

16:49found this entertaining and useful.

16:51There are stuff that you can implement

16:52in your own study days, but

16:54yeah, don't worry too much if this isn't

16:55like you, but remember to check out my

16:56free student community, biggest in the

16:58world, on school.

16:59You can check that out in the

17:00description. Let me know what you found

17:01interesting in this video and if you

17:02want me to react to anything else. I

17:04hope you found this useful. Good luck in

17:05your exams and and as always, I'll see

17:06you in the next one.