Wet Umbrellas Dried Without Electricity... Jeju Central High Student Wins Grand Prize at National Invention Competition

[Financial News, Jeju = Jung Yong-bok] On a rainy day, what should you do with a wet umbrella when you step inside a building? A high school student in Jeju turned that everyday inconvenience into an invention. By using energy generated from movement and centrifugal force instead of electricity, he created a device that removes water from umbrellas and won the top prize at a national competition.
According to Jeju Central High School on the 27th, Kim Min-jun won the grand prize at the 19th National Student Startup and Invention Competition, held on the 26th, after presenting his "Motion-Energy-Based Power-Free Centrifugal Smart Umbrella Drying System."
A total of 2,033 entries were submitted from across the country, and 84 teams were selected as award winners. The competition was organized by the Suwon Urban Foundation and the Startup and Employment Support Department of Samil Technical High School.
Kim's invention uses energy generated during movement to spin an umbrella at high speed and remove water through centrifugal force, all without a separate power supply. It began as an effort to solve the everyday inconvenience of dealing with wet umbrellas by applying scientific principles and mechanical design.
Judges gave high marks for reducing size and weight compared with existing umbrella-drying products while also securing price competitiveness. His ability to identify a real-life problem and turn an idea into a practical invention also contributed to the award.
The school said the achievement reflects Jeju Central High School's field-oriented science and invention education program.
Students are going beyond classroom experiments and learning how to connect invention ideas with intellectual property. Students in the science club are also writing patent applications for their own inventions, turning ideas into concrete technologies.
Local research institutes and industrial sites are also being used as learning spaces. Students visit places such as the Jeju Provincial Meteorological Administration, KIOST, and the Jeju Biodiversity Research Institute to experience real research settings and connect Jeju's natural, environmental and industrial resources with their research topics.
The school has also continued to produce results in science and invention. Jeju Central High School received five excellence awards and nine encouragement awards at the 72nd Jeju Science Fair. It also won three encouragement awards at the 47th Jeju Student Science Invention Competition.
The school is strengthening education that develops questions raised in local field settings into research topics and connects them to invention and eco-friendly technology development. The goal is to help students build creative problem-solving skills and integrated thinking by giving them experience not only in scientific inquiry but also in idea design, production and patent filing.
Jang Jin-hyeok, a teacher at Jeju Central High School, said, "Students have grown significantly in their scientific inquiry skills through the process of identifying everyday problems on their own and finding ways to solve them." He added, "We will continue to support them so that their ideas can lead to real outcomes and new possibilities."
Jo Seong-bae, principal of Jeju Central High School, said, "We will continue to support students so they can develop their ability to express their ideas and solve problems creatively through a wide range of field experiences and research activities."


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