QISCA Newsletter - January 2026
- koreaquantumclubs
- Feb 24
- 7 min read
January QISCA Introductory Seminar and Journal Club Held
By Dongwon Her
The January 2026 QISCA Basic Seminar and Journal Club was held with four journal club sessions. In Jan 5th, Sangyeon Lee from SQRT introduced "How to operate T1 limited Single Qubit Gate"
In Jan 12th, Chanwoo Kim from DQQQ introduced "Violation of Bell Inequality with Unentangled Photons" with an experiment on the violation of Bell inequality through indistinguishability rather than quantum entanglement. In this experiment, a Bell parameter of S=2.275 was observed, deriving results that violate the limits of classical local realism. This study suggested a paradigm shift in the fundamental principles of quantum correlation formation by proving that the origin of Bell inequality violation is not necessarily limited to physical entanglement.
In Jan 19th, Sungbin Lee from SQRT introduced "Complexity of NISQ", giving a presentation "Are there areas where current noisy quantum computers (NISQ) are more powerful than classical computers (BPP)?" By addressing the questions of whether problems can be solved with short circuits and whether they can be solved even if data is corrupted by noise through Modified Simon's Problem and Robustified Simon's Problem, he proved an exponential difference in the oracles required to solve the problems. In other words, he proved that the quantum advantage of NISQ theoretically exists.
In Jan 26th, Seungbin Kwon from KHUantum introduced "Machine Learning Interatomic Potentials", presenting MLIPs as ab initio PES surrogates enabling near–DFT MD with large cost reduction. It decomposed models into AEF encoding and regression of atomic contributions and compared explicit descriptors with message-passing GNN representations. Symmetry handling (permutation/translation invariance and E(3)/SO(3) equivariance) and uncertainty-driven active learning workflows were also noted.
2026 QISCA Winter School Basic and Advanced Study Held
By Sunggeun Park
In January 2026, QISCA held basic and advanced study groups. This year, a total of 12 study groups were opened: 2 foundational and 10 advanced.
The Basic Study sessions were led by Chanmin Park from EQS for Basic Quantum Information Theory and Minwoo Kim from SQRT for Basic Quantum Mechanics.
Advanced studies were conducted over the past month as follows: Sungbin Lee from SQRT led a four-session study on "Quantum Many-Body Theory and Hamiltonian," covering topics such as Second Quantization, the Hubbard model, and the BCS theory of superconductivity.
Sungbin Lee from SQRT conducted a four-session study on "Topological Quantum Error Correction", covering topics such as Adiabatic state preparation, Abelian anyons and Toric code, Non-Abelian anyons and quantum double model, and the Ground state of the quantum double model.
Sunggeun Park from QUICK conducted a three-session study on "Hamiltonian Simulation Algorithms", covering topics such as the Trotter-Suzuki approximation, sparse Hamiltonian simulation algorithms, and the linear combination of unitary operators & oblivious amplitude amplification.
Woojung Choi from SQRT conducted an 8-session study on "Abstract Algebra and Homology", covering topics such as Group, Ring, Subobject, Isomorphism/Homomorphism, Quotient object, Generator and relation, composition series, Abelian group: structure theorem, group action, module, Representation theory of finite groups, Symmetric group, and Young tableaux.
Sungmin Kim from SQRT conducted a 4-session study on "Quantum Field Theory", covering topics such as Path integral of harmonic oscillator, Path integral over a string, Many-body theory, and Quantization of fields.
Chanwoo Kim from DQQQ conducted a four-session study on "Quantum Optics", lecturing on topics including Classical optics, quantum mechanics, Radiative transitions in atoms, Photon statistics, photon antibunching, Coherent states and squeezed light, and photon number states.
Junseo Lee conducted a three-session study on "Quantum Learning Theory for Bosonic Systems" with five international speakers. He covered an introduction to quantum learning theory and course overview, tomography of energy-constrained and bosonic Gaussian states, and learning t-doped fermionic and bosonic Gaussian states.
Myeongjin Shin from EQS conducted a four-session study on "Quantum Algorithms", lecturing on topics including the grand challenge of quantum applications, key concepts of decoded quantum interferometry (DQI), understanding DQI for MAX-LINSAT, and the Syndrome decoding problem.
Beomjun Cha from SQRT conducted a 4-session study on "Microwave Engineering", covering topics such as Review of Circuit Theory, Introduction to Microwave Engineering, Transmission Line Theory, Various Transmission Lines, and Two-Port Network Analysis.
Seongjun Choi from SQRT conducted a 4-session study on "Mathematics for Machine Learning", covering topics such as linear algebra, probability theory, and Hilbert space, convex analysis, risk minimization and Rademacher complexity, and linear least squares regression.
A total of 167 members, including overlapping participants, have joined each study group. Many members have been able to build their quantum information science capabilities across diverse fields.
2026 KAIST-MIT Quantum Winter School Networking Dinner
Jan 4th, 2026 (Sun)
By Sungbin Lee
QISCA members participating in the 2026 KAIST-MIT Quantum Winter School gathered for dinner together before the winter school began. Held to facilitate networking ahead of the two-week winter school period, this dinner was attended by approximately 30 participants, more than half of the winter school attendees, and took place in a warm and friendly atmosphere for two hours.
Interview with Director Seungwook Baek
Jan 7th, 2026 (Wed)
By Sungbin Lee
QISCA met with Director Seungwook Baek, Head of the Quantum Technology Division at the National Research Foundation of Korea.
Director Baek expressed surprise and gratitude that the student network is operating so actively. He also stated his hope that QISCA will grow into a mainstream group representing students, just as the Quantum Information Society of Korea represents academia and the Korea Quantum Industry Association represents industry. To achieve this, he advised establishing clearer founding goals and vision, and simplifying the organization's name while avoiding terms like "club."
He further emphasized that institutional support would only follow if QISCA gained recognition from both academia and industry. He stressed the need for active participation in government-led events like Quantum Korea to raise QISCA's profile. Furthermore, it was added that compiling the achievements of students who have advanced to graduate school or industry through QISCA activities into quantifiable data would be advantageous for securing future support.
Director Baek expressed his continued interest and willingness to support QISCA, stating, "As my term ends this year, I am willing to actively convey suggestions to government ministries, so please feel free to contact me anytime."
Interview with Director Kihwan Kim
Jan 8th, 2026 (Thur)
By Sungbin Lee
QISCA met Director Kihwan Kim, Head of the Center for Trapped Ion Quantum Science at the Institute for Basic Science.
Director Kim expressed deep admiration for QISCA's activities and conveyed his gratitude for the invitation to the upcoming 1st National Undergraduate Quantum Conference scheduled for February. He also stated his intention to personally attend the poster session.
Regarding research achievements, he introduced that they recently achieved a coherence time of 10 hours, setting a new world record. He then explained the newly completed quantum building at the IBS Daejeon headquarters, constructed with an investment of approximately 120 billion won. Similar in scale to Seoul National University's Kwanjeong Library, this building houses a unified quantum cluster comprising shared equipment on the 1st floor, superconducting systems on the 2nd floor, ion traps on the 3rd floor, and the fifth floor for semiconductor quantum computers. Full operation is expected to commence within the next one to two years.
However, he noted that the ion trap research team anticipates taking about a year to set up their experimental equipment. He stated that once preparations are complete, visitors will be given a detailed tour of the experimental facilities. He also requested that the next QISCA leadership team visit again.
Interview with Division Chief Juseop Shim
Jan 9th, 2026 (Thur)
By Sungbin Lee
QISCA met Chief Juseop Shim of the Quantum Innovation Technology Development Division at the Ministry of Science and ICT.
During the meeting, QISCA emphasized that to encourage graduate school enrollment in quantum-related fields, undergraduate students must be convinced early on that the field has a promising future. To achieve this, QISCA proposed several measures: supporting quantum information clubs, facilitating visits to overseas universities and research institutes, dispatching students for overseas corporate internships, establishing exchange programs with outstanding overseas university students, creating quantum information gifted classes at domestic universities, expanding prizes for quantum information competitions, and increasing personnel costs.
Director Shim shared that the domestic quantum budget is being prioritized for increase within the Ministry of Science and ICT, but noted that it still lags significantly behind major overseas countries. He further explained that while the US and China are accelerating their efforts toward achieving fully quantum-corrected computers (FTQC) by 2028-29, Korea remains at the stage of precisely fabricating a small number of qubits, indicating a considerable gap. He urged QISCA members to actively contribute to this field within the next 5 to 6 years.
Key project plans include the KRISS launching a quantum cloud service demonstration within this year, with a call for active utilization. The IonQ cloud service will continue to be provided through KISTI even after support from the Quantum Information Research Support Center ends. To this end, approximately 38 billion won is being invested to install an IonQ quantum computer at KISTI, and the establishment of an IonQ Korea lab is also planned. Additionally, a special quantum exhibition is scheduled to open at the National Science Museum in Gwacheon starting April 2026. QISCA members were requested to help recruit booth staff for this exhibition.
QUICK Quantum Day Held
Jan 30th, 2026 (Fri)
By Juhyun Song
QUICK hosted Quantum Day with support from the School of Quantum at Korea University to foster exchange between campus quantum-related research labs and undergraduate students.
Part 1 featured lab seminars where four invited labs introduced their research fields and current projects. This provided students with opportunities to explore specific career paths.
Part 2, the Undergraduate Student Forum, featured panelists Seungwon Moon, Sunggeun Park, and Yunha Hwang sharing their experiences as undergraduate research students and institutional interns. They freely discussed their motivations for starting research, challenges and trial-and-error during their activities, and methods for overcoming them, providing practical advice and motivation to undergraduate students.
How High School Students Can Study Quantum Computing
Guest article
By Geunho Jang (Dulwich College Seoul)
Over the past six months, I have consistently pursued research in the field of quantum control, specifically using reinforcement learning to optimize noise-resistant catcode encoding pulses. This work led to my winning a gold medal at the international competition and a bronze medal at the domestic competition of the Korea Science and Engineering Fair (KSEF).
Last summer, I became interested in quantum computers and began self-studying quantum mechanics and quantum information, but I felt limited. Joining QISCA through Quantum Korea 2025 was a great honor, despite being a high school student. Since then, participating in introductory seminars and journal clubs exposed me to diverse research activities, from which I learned a lot and gained significant inspiration.
Furthermore, the opportunity to present at the introductory seminar greatly aided my preparation for the KSEF presentation. I am sincerely grateful to Jaewon Jung and President Sungbin Lee, who always kindly guided me despite their busy schedules. I look forward to actively participating in QISCA, continuing to learn and grow.
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