Sungjong was born and raised in South Korea. He obtained his B.S. and M.S. from Korea University, where he worked on the synthesis of 2-arylindole-3-acetic acid derivatives using cyanide-mediated imino-Stetter reactions  under Prof. Cheol-Hong Cheon. Sungjong began his graduate work at UIUC in the Sarlah group in 2018, where he studied the synthesis of aminoglycosides. He joined the Han Lab in 2021 working on the synthesis and application of quantum dots. Outside the lab, Sungjong enjoys listening to music, singing songs, and playing the clarinet. He also likes pets and games.