Korea has finished sixth at the International Junior Science Olympiad held from Dec. 3-12 in Pune, India, according to the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning.

The six members of the Korean team have claimed six medals, including one gold and five silver, to share sixth place with Vietnam among the 42 participating countries in the competition, the ministry said.

Taiwan finished at the top of the medal table with six gold medals, while Thailand came in second with five gold medals and one silver, followed by India, Russia and Hong Kong.

The Olympiad is an annual competition for students under 15 in natural sciences, with subjects including physics, chemistry and biology. This year more than 220 students from 42 countries around the world participated. Korea began participating in the completion in 2004 and topped the medal table in 2006 and 2008.

By Oh Kyu-wook (596story@heraldcorp.com)