The Youngest Ever to Pass the Bar Exam at 20, Why Did She Quit Kim & Chang to Prepare as an Interpreter?

Park Jiwon, Youngest Bar Exam Passer in 2012,
Leaves 8-Year Legal Career for Graduate School in Interpretation and Translation
"As Soon as I Left the Postpartum Care Center, I Studied Like I Did for the Bar Exam"

A woman who gained attention as the youngest person to pass the bar exam at the age of 20 has recently closed her 8-year career as a lawyer and chosen a new path. On June 15, a video titled "Why the 20-year-old bar exam passer quit Kim & Chang" was uploaded on 'Studio Sha,' a YouTube channel run by Seoul National University students. The video features Park Ji-won (33), who was recognized as the youngest person to pass the bar exam since the Ministry of Justice began administering it, sharing her story of recently enrolling in a graduate school of interpretation and translation.

In 2012, Park Ji-won gained attention as the youngest person to pass the Judicial Examination. YouTube

Park passed the 54th bar exam in 2012 at the age of 20 while she was a third-year student majoring in Business Administration at Seoul National University. Regarding this, Park said, "My parents were probably overly ambitious since I was young. My friends were born in 1991, but I was born in March 1992 and entered school a year early." She added, "I passed the exam in my third year of university, and since I was a year younger than the other successful candidates, I was able to enjoy the honorable title."

Park said she became interested in the bar exam due to her parents' influence. She explained, "There aren’t many opportunities to think about career paths in high school. My parents suggested that I go to the business school first and then prepare for the bar exam right away." She continued, "I started preparing in my second year and passed in my third year."

She recalled, "Although the purpose of studying for the exam was driven by my parents, once I decided I had to do it, I really wanted to pass quickly and end this grueling exam life. I studied with the determination to regain my freedom as soon as possible, and luckily, I passed quickly."

Regarding her career as a lawyer, she said, "The income was good, and it looked cool. Without much hesitation, I joined Kim & Chang law firm." Despite the tough life working seven days a week, she said she experienced personal growth. She worked at Kim & Chang for eight years, got married, and became a parent of two children.

However, she said she continuously struggled with the sustainability of her work. Park said, "I studied because my parents told me to, got lucky passing the bar exam, studied moderately at the Judicial Research and Training Institute, and because I was young, I ended up at Kim & Chang." She added, "I had doubts about whether I could continue for another 30 to 40 years."

Then, a turning point came in Park’s life through collaboration with interpreters. She said, "I have always had a deep interest and affection for languages since I was young." She continued, "I didn’t even know what kind of job I could do with that or had a chance to think about it, but watching interpretation made me think, 'Maybe I can enjoy working like this too.'"

After giving birth to her second child in 2022, Park spent two weeks at a postpartum care center and started taking online lectures to enter the graduate school of interpretation and translation as soon as she returned home. She said, "I thought I was destined to have a job I didn’t want for life, but the thought 'Isn’t this really what I want to do?' ignited my passion." She added, "I studied like I did for the bar exam and got accepted into graduate school."

After a year of contemplation, she resigned from Kim & Chang. She said, "After getting accepted, I worried a lot about whether I could quit a stable job." She added, "Looking back at this moment from the distant future, I thought I would regret not trying two years of graduate school, which is nothing in life. So I boldly closed my eyes and took the plunge."

Now a student at Ewha Womans University’s Graduate School of Interpretation and Translation, Park expressed, "I really don’t regret it now." She emphasized, "I believe the world is changing into a place where you can succeed when you do what you truly like and are good at. Not knowing what you like is a bigger problem. If you open many opportunities and try various things, I think you can find what you like and are good at."