The Final Round takes place on August 29th in the Garosu-gil area, Gangnam district, Seoul, gathering 144 contestants selected from the Online Preliminary Round to compete in challenges that require programming skills and strategic thinking. Within the framework of the NYPC pilot program expanding to the international market, outstanding contestants from Vietnam are sponsored by Nexon with all round-trip air tickets and accommodation costs to participate in the Final Round in Seoul.
This year, NYPC has had a major change in the competition format. Instead of focusing on solving algorithmic problems in the traditional form, the competition requires contestants to take advantage of AI to build strategies and compete with each other. Contestants highly appreciate the experience of using AI to solve problems, while developing strategies themselves and finding their own approaches. Vietnamese contestants also compete in the same playground with Korean contestants, thereby showing their thinking, ideas and programming skills.
In the Master (Master Track) category, the team consisting of Kim Hak-geon and Lee Tae-min won the highest prize after a fierce competition. Because the competition is organized in a team format, both champions acknowledged the role of teammates and emphasized the importance of cooperation spirit. Team Leader Lee Tae-min shared: "I am very happy that the efforts with teammates to analyze many different types of data since the Preliminary Round have helped us win. I really hope to have the opportunity to participate in the competition again next year.
Mr. Kim Jung-wook, Chairman of the Nexon Foundation, said: "Even in an era where AI can take on more and more jobs, the ability to self-discover algorithms and build strategies becomes more important than ever." He also emphasized: "We will continue to study in-depth the capabilities that programmers need in the new era, while accompanying and supporting candidates to develop based on that orientation.
The competition is organized in coordination with Nexon Dev Vina (NDVN) - Nexon's development company in Vietnam. The pilot program in Vietnam, with the active participation of university students and the entry of Vietnamese contestants into the Final Round, has shown significant potential in expanding NYPC to the international market. Nexon said it will continue to accompany and support programmers in the context of constantly developing technology.
