We participated in the ICPC Asia Pacific Championship 2025 and placed 27th. It was hosted by the National University of Singapore. Unfortunately, we missed out on advancing to the World Finals by a few places.
The team still consisted of me (overnap), Jaewon Yoo (jwpassion1), and Jaehyun Hwang (penguin1234). This was our team’s last competition. Thank you all.
This was also my last ICPC competition, so I’d like to share a recap and some personal thoughts.
There were so many blunders and incidents, especially from the middle of the competition.
First, penguin1234 immediately realized that the solution to Problem D required a non-commutative segment tree (also known as 금광 세그 in Korea), but he couldn’t solve it for hours. I dug through the code and discovered that a check that should have been for if (case == 0) was instead checking for 0 mod 998244353. But by the time we solved it, there were only 20 minutes left in the competition.
Second, jwpassion1, who usually excels at solving difficult problems, struggled with the relatively easy Problem H. Looking back, I think I should have swapped problems with him and let him solve something else.
Third, I’d made some headway on Problem C, but when I saw on the scoreboard that only few teams had solved it, I panicked and moved on to other problems. As it turned out, the other problems were equally or even more difficult, and I ended up solving nothing.
I realized that what sports fans call winning mentality actually exists. I’ve always played it safe, solving problems that were commonly solved on the scoreboard. However, securing a World Finals spot at a high-level competition ultimately required taking on challenges. Confidence and the ability to execute those goals were things I hadn’t learned through extensive practice.
On top of our internal struggles, we also faced external issues. During the event, heavy rain poured down, and water started leaking from the ceiling above our seat! The organizers responded quickly but said there was no other option than to relocate. We refused, not wanting to waste time. However, the leak intensified, soaking our hair and clothes, and we were worried our laptop would break.
This all resulted in about three hours of no solves in the middle of the contest. With a smaller time penalty or just one more solve, we could have advanced to the World Finals. It’s a shame to think about what could have been if even one of the issues mentioned hadn’t occurred… well, you know.
Overall, the event ran smoothly, except for the water leak. While the problems tended to be unusual, their quality was undeniably good. The sponsor booths and the tour of Universal Studios Singapore were also enjoyable.
The sponsors were quant firms with offices in Singapore, including Jane Street, Citadel, Jump Trading, and Hudson River Trading.
Jane Street, as usual, operated a board game booth and hosted a lavish dinner. The banquet was a rather fancy hotel buffet, and the food was excellent.
Jump Trading allowed me to speak with a member from each of their engineering and quant teams. I’d always wondered why quant firms favor graduates from competitive programming like ICPC, and hearing the reason completely convinced me. It also gave me some perspective on programming and risk management.
It made me think about a career in quant. However, since I majored in Artificial Intelligence, there seems to be some overlap. AI will likely play a bigger role in quant in the future, but it doesn’t seem to be happening yet.
Singapore was a beautiful city, characterized by its uniquely shaped buildings and lush greenery. The city was glamorous, filled with global corporations and luxury brands, yet it maintained a relaxed atmosphere. It had the unique feel of a wealthy Southeast Asian nation. I felt it would be a wonderful place to live.
The famous Jewel Changi at Changi Airport. I was able to make up for not seeing it during my last layover here.
A night view of Singapore that somehow reminds me of the game Hotline Miami.
Screenwalker from the University of Tokyo, who seemed to genuinely enjoy solving the problems, won. DolAndDool from Korea University put up a great performance. AMATSUKAZE from Tokyo Institute of Technology, which had also competed in the Seoul Regional, finished second among universities and failed to advance. DaXingHao from Seoul National University, the Seoul Regional champion, struggled a bit, so much so that they’re not even in this picture.
With PhoKing from Pohang University of Science and Technology and Endgame from Yonsei University, whom we met by chance.
이것으로 제 대학 생활 동안 이어진 ICPC 참가가 막을 내렸습니다. 아쉽게도 목표였던 월드 파이널 참가는 이루지 못했습니다. 단 몇 등 차이로 진출하지 못했기 때문에 더 아쉬운 것 같습니다.
지나고 보니 정말 재밌는 일이 많았네요.
코로나 시절 인터넷으로 팀을 만들어 대회 날 처음으로 얼굴을 보고 친해진 aren227 (mathdong01).
2022년에 함께했고 너무나 잘해줬지만 아쉽게 수상하지 못했던 sendol 형. 아직도 왠지 될 것 같다며 붙잡더니 데이터를 뚫어냈던 게 기억 나네요.
한창 학부 연구생으로서 AI를 연구하며 PS에 대한 열정이 사그라들었을 때, 마지막 도전에 불을 지펴준 penguin1234 형. 민트에서 1년 만에 레드를 간 대단한 사람.
마지막 ICPC를 결심하고 연락처도 없는 신입생 jwpassion1를 영입하기 위해 구글링을 하다가, 고등학생 시절 팀이었다는 jhnah917님의 글을 발견하고 초면에 다짜고짜 연락처 있냐고 DM 보냈던 일.
사업단장 교수님과 담판 지어 교내 1등을 해내는 조건으로 해외 리저널과 아시아 챔피언십 지원을 받은 일. 흔쾌히 지원해 주신 조진성 교수님과 경희대 SW중심대학사업단, 귀찮은 코치 업무를 맡아주신 박상근 교수님.
대학원 면접과 겹쳐 면접을 포기하고 참가했던 2024 서울 리저널에서, 오렌지 3명 팀으로 40등을 하는 말도 안 되는 참패를 겪고, 펑펑 울었던 일.
가볍게 놀러 가려고 신청한 2024 요코하마 리저널에 칼을 갈고 가서, 15등을 하고 기적적으로 아시아 챔피언십 마지막 진출 시드를 얻었던 일.
그리고 이번 아시아 챔피언십까지.
언급된 분들과, 언급하지 못했지만 저와 함께해주신 모든 분께 감사드립니다.