Korean Biology Olympiad (KBO): Official Outline of the Path to IBO
South Korea sends four students to the International Biology Olympiad (IBO). Korean news reports based on government announcements say the 2026 team won four gold medals at the 37th IBO in Vilnius, Lithuania (12 to 19 July 2026), after two gold and two silver in 2024 and one gold, two silver and one bronze in 2025.3,4,5 This page outlines how the path to that team works according to the sources we could read. It is a map of the structure, not an insider’s account of what the exams feel like. Most official pages are in Korean, so many details below rest on our own translation.
- Programme
- Korean Biology Olympiad (KBO), in Korean 한국생물올림피아드, running since 1997 according to the IBO1
- Organiser
- Korean Biology Olympiad Committee of the Korean Society for Biology Education, funded through KOFAC2
- Who can enter
- First and second year high school students, including science and gifted schools2
- Stages
- Online application, first exam, winter schools and second exam, final exam and interview, IBO team of four
- Official website
- kbo.bioedu.kr
- Language
- Korean for the national programme; the IBO itself is in English
The path at a glance
| Stage | What happens | How sure we are |
|---|---|---|
| Online application | Sign up on the KBO site in March; no fee and no document screening | Good, from the official notice for the 2027 IBO cycle (our translation) |
| First selection exam | Held in August at Seoul National University; open to everyone who applied, with or without the optional remote courses | Good for the structure; the exam format is not stated |
| Winter schools and second exam | A winter school in December with a second exam at its end, and a second winter school in February | Good, from the same notice |
| Final exam and interview | A final selection exam in February and an online interview | Good for the sequence; scoring is not stated |
| IBO team | Four students, with other candidates trained as alternates | Good: official site and news agree on four |
Stage 1: application and optional remote courses
Applications for the cycle that leads to the 38th IBO in 2027 were open from 3 to 31 March 2026 on the KBO website, with no fee and no document screening, according to the official notice.2 The notice also lists three optional remote education blocks between April and August. Taking them is not required for the first exam. Because the notice is in Korean, treat the details as our reading of it and check the current notice, which the committee posts on its site each year.
Stage 2: the first selection exam
The first selection exam for that cycle was held in August 2026 at Seoul National University, open to all applicants whether or not they had done the remote courses.2 Students who passed moved to remote training from mid September to late November, plus about six weeks of self-directed experiment training. The sources we could read do not say how many students sat the first exam or how many passed. The exam format is a point for an author, below.
Stage 3: winter schools and the second exam
The 58th KBO Winter School ran for five days at the end of December 2026 at Seoul National University, with accommodation on site, and a second selection exam took place on its last day.2 A 59th winter school follows in February 2027.2
Stage 4: the final exam, interview and IBO team
After the February winter school there is a final selection exam and an interview held online.2 Four students then represent Korea, and further candidates are trained as alternates.2 The IBO’s directory also describes a week of university training before the competition.1 In January 2026 a Korean business news report said two Samsung companies had signed a sponsorship agreement with KOFAC and the Korean Society for Biology Education to fund selection, training, travel and scholarships for the IBO team.6 The 2025 team was reported as having sat an exam split evenly between theory and lab work at the IBO.4 Dates change every year, so use the committee’s notice for the current cycle.
Points for an Author
If you went through this programme yourself, these are the points we most need you to settle. They are grouped here so that nothing uncertain is buried in the text above.
Where the sources disagree
- The selection structure. The IBO’s directory describes three selection rounds held in August, December and February, all multiple choice with a practical test in the third, plus four distance education sessions.1 The official notice for the 2027 cycle describes a first exam, a second exam, a final exam with an interview, three optional remote blocks and remote training for first-round candidates.2 The IBO page looks out of date, so this guide follows the official notice, but we cannot be sure how the multiple choice and practical parts map onto the current rounds.
- The organiser. The IBO names KOFAC as the appointing institution.1 The official site names the Korean Biology Olympiad Committee of the Korean Society for Biology Education as organiser, with KOFAC and the Ministry of Science and ICT as funders.2 These can both be true, but the emphasis differs. Which reading is right depends partly on our translation.
Gaps a firsthand author could fill
- The format, length, language and scoring of each selection exam, which the pages we read do not describe.
- How many students apply and how many reach each round.
- How the four team members are chosen from the final round, and how alternates are used.
- What the winter schools and the experiment training are actually like, and what students wish they had known.
- How the path feels for students outside the science and gifted high schools that most reported medallists attend.
A firsthand author can settle every one of these points. If that could be you, email us or read how it works.
BiOGuide tips for students aiming at this path
These are general tips from BiOGuide, not advice from a Korean participant, and they apply to any student aiming at an IBO team.
- Train for the international format early. The IBO papers are in English and test reasoning on data and experiments, not only recall. The IBO preparation guide explains the format, and past IBO papers are in our practice papers.
- Practise the practical side. The selection includes experiment training and the IBO exam has a large lab component, so learn the techniques as well as the theory. Our notes on practical skills are a start.
- Build the core theory. Work through cell and molecular biology, animal physiology and genetics first, since they underlie most IBO questions.
- Learn the English terms. Even if you study in Korean, learn the English names of structures, processes and methods, because the IBO papers are written in English.
- Use the official channels for anything dated. Application windows, exam dates and eligibility change every year. The KBO site decides, not us.
Official links and sources
- International Biology Olympiad, country page for the Korean Biology Olympiad. ibo-info.org. The page is undated and looks out of date in places, so we use it only for background.
- Korean Biology Olympiad official site, introduction page and the competition notice for the 38th IBO cycle (in Korean, our translation). kbo.bioedu.kr/kbo-introduce and the competition notice.
- Supple news report on the 2026 IBO result, announced 21 July 2026 by the Ministry of Science and ICT and KOFAC (in Korean, our translation). supple.kr
- News Seoul report on the 2025 IBO result (in Korean, our translation). newsseoul.co.kr
- Newsis report on the 2024 IBO result, 16 July 2024 (in Korean, our translation). newsis.com
- Hankyung report on the January 2026 sponsorship agreement (in Korean, our translation). hankyung.com
This outline was last checked on 8 October 2026 and will age. Spotted an error or out-of-date detail? Email r6394175@gmail.com.