SHOWBOX presents a JOYRABBIT INC. production
CHOI Min-sik
KIM Dong-hwi
IN OUR PRIME
The place where Korea’s top 1% gather.
Oh, except me.
I’ve been here for 213 days.
I still feel out of place.
No, it’s only getting worse.
Han Ji-woo, what are you doing?
2V=4/3πr³.
Understand? Any questions?
It’s easy teaching a group of geniuses,
but I question myself why I became a teacher.
Even if you learned everything from your tutors,
shouldn’t you still pretend to ask me questions?
Then I can pretend to answer.
Then you go, “You’re amazing!”
Isn’t that what a normal class looks like?
All right.
That’s the entirety of grade 12 curriculum
even though you’re in grade 10.
You’re making it too easy.
No way!
- No? - Nope!
- You sure? - Yup!
Right, we’re not peasants.
As a peasant, why am I here?
Rank: 238 out of 240
Math is especially problematic.
You were flying high in middle school, right?
Yes.
But if the math is this low, there’s no hope for you.
Allow me to speak frankly.
Even with middle tiers at our school,
Ivy League is a shoe-in.
But with a tier 9 in crucial subjects,
there’s just no way.
Heard about everyone going on math bootcamps on weekends?
Yes.
You’d be in the top bracket in a normal high school, right?
I really hate to say it as a teacher,
but could you think it over?
Pardon?
Transferring out.
Go home and discuss it with your mom.
So hungry...
- Did you bring it? - Of course.
Hey, hey, hey!
Huh?
You sneaky punk.
Stirred fried pork and hard liquor...
Pork and booze are a fantastic combo.
Who was it?
What?
I need a few names.
Your 3 co-conspirators.
There are none.
4 sets of chopsticks, and 4 spoons,
you’ll still stand your ground?
Yes.
Are you being rebellious?
No.
Okay, fine!
Loyalty is important at your age.
I was like that too when I was in school.
Of course I know.
Ji-woo, look around.
Your co-conspirators are only looking out for themselves.
You’ll shed blood for these cowards?
Are you stupid?
Spill it, or you’ll be kicked out of your dorm for a month.
Now.
I...
Go on.
I was going to eat it alone.
Bud! You are a true friend, how could I ever repay you?
- It’s fine. - Oh yeah!
What is it?
Keep it, a gift of appreciation.
Forget it, it’s not necessary between friends.
Friends?
Right, friends.
Man, your mom will kill you, right?
There is a way.
Science building, B103.
The legend has it,
dorm rejects braved hardships
and lived there until they were led back in!
We stayed here - Yong-ho, Nam-hyuk, Seok-min
It was turned into storage long ago.
So no one will find out...
2 o’clock! Commie officer alert!
Our delivery routes are all blocked because of him!
If we don’t order late night snack, who’ll maintain local economy?
When did he defect?
It’s been 4 years since you defected.
Please stop working as a night guard.
Just give me the pills.
You’re relying on sleeping pills because your biorhythm is off...
Then...
you should find me a good job.
Pardon?
Prescribe me 20 days’ worth.
It ain’t easy getting time off to come here.
Seoul Milk
You punk, eat up.
Why? Don’t want to eat?
Sample Questions
This week’s assignment.
Even if you scour the internet, you’ll never find answers, why?
These problems are from hell.
Can I bum a cigarette?
Alcohol is okay, but not smokes?
I don’t drink.
But you drink 4 bottles of soju alone.
Piss off.
So cool, I almost fell for you.
I thought you were just a loser.
What?
Had you named names, you all would’ve gotten a week.
But look at you!
You’re not only a loser, but dumb as hell.
Hey, Han Ji-woo! You watched too many movies!
That's not friendship!
Hey!
Certificate of Commendation
Certificate of Appointment
Ji-woo!
Mom.
You didn’t call ahead.
Oh my, Ji-woo, so good to see you!
Are you drunk?
Drunk?
- Did you eat? - Sort of.
- You didn’t? - I ate, you?
I had chicken and beer with my colleagues.
How’s the new job?
Yeah, bank call center is much better than home shopping.
No customers who swear at you?
Come on, sit.
Sit.
How's school? Is it fun?
Yeah, it’s fun.
Good.
You look so fancy in the uniform.
Other moms are desperate to have their kids wear this uniform.
It’s nothing...
I never did anything for you.
Don’t say that.
When your dad died out of the blue, I should have died too...
Not that again.
It’s been over 10 years, that’s enough.
Yeah, I’m so glad to be alive.
I got to see you all grown up like this.
I’m gonna go, get to bed early.
You’re not staying for the night?
I came to pick up some books.
Yeah, dorms must be comfier.
I'm off.
Ji-woo.
Is everything okay?
Yeah.
Go to bed early.
Who's there?
Come on out.
What are you doing there?
Please let me stay until the rain stops.
Get back to the dorm.
I can’t.
What?
I can't go because of you!
My parents went on a trip.
They left without leaving me a key...
Honestly, had you let me go, I wouldn’t need to be here...
If you’re gonna yap, get the hell out!
- What time... - Wake the hell up!
Get out, this isn’t your home!
Get out, go away!
He could’ve let me sleep a bit more...
Stupid commie...
Okay, let’s go over the answers.
From the front.
#1 is 60.
- #2 is 2.5x. - 2.5x, okay.
#3 is 2.
No, no, no! It’s -2, get it together.
Who’s next?
Ji-woo, will you snap out of it?
What? Oh...
- 6. - What?
The answer is 6.
You actually did the work, that was a tough question.
Okay, next.
5 is -tan theta.
Okay!
Good work, who got them all?
Eh?
Him!
Shush!
You did this, right?
Thank you.
How did you solve these?
Out.
Out!
I just can't...
Hey!
What the heck is wrong with our math teacher?
Why is he giving us impossible problems?
This isn’t some genius school.
Even my elite private tutor got 7 problems wrong.
He graduated from Seoul Univ. with honors.
Heard about everyone going on math bootcamps on weekends?
Hello, I’m from the other...
I wanted to ask you about problem #17 here...
What the hell is that punk doing?
Hey!
What are you doing?
Go away!
Is the problem #18...
Dammit.
Yeah, think it over.
- Here he comes. - Go on.
Jeez.
What did he say?
He’ll give it a thought.
Don’t you have one too?
Yes, Han Ji-woo.
It’s brutal, a single mother and living in poverty...
Transferring isn’t something he can decide on his own.
What can he do? His guardian doesn’t care.
Welfare system is just too cruel.
It’s not just cruel.
Some parents love that they fill up the lowest tier.
But others don’t want them ruining the mood here.
They’re a chore too.
We need to apply scholarship for them,
can’t even joke with them, in fear of hurting feelings.
Yeah, his eyes fill up with sorrow at the mention of transfer.
I could never tell if he’s angry or hurt.
I get more nervous.
Coming from those families, they got inferiority complex.
Students from rich families got genial personalities.
Do you remember me? It’s about the math problem...
No, that’s too weird...
- Hello. - Why are you here?
Hello.
Teach you math?
What the hell for?
You know...
Raise your grades?
Yes, to be honest.
Then go to a good college, get a well-paying job?
Yeah, in the long run.
Transfer.
Transfer and get your grades up.
Wouldn’t you rather be a frog in a pond?
But how did you...
Aren’t everyone here experts at college entrance exam?
Transfer out of here.
Never!
My mom will be disappointed.
She was so happy that I got into this school.
And dad?
He won't be disappointed?
He passed away.
Didn’t he go on a trip?
I’m sorry, I was just making things up.
How did he die?
Do I have to answer that?
Of course not, isn’t this a free country?
He was hit by a drunk driver.
He was crossing the street, and died instantly.
When I was 6.
I hardly remember it, happy now?
Your dad dying isn’t some badge of honor.
What did you say?
You think you’re the most tragic person alive?
Self-pity is a terrible disease.
Even if you feel happy, you’ll be fixated on tragedy.
I’m just angry.
Everyone took extra classes,
but I never could...
I hung in there by saying it’s okay.
But no matter what I did, it was pointless.
Forget it.
Take this with you.
Look here.
Get me strawberry milk instead tomorrow.
Science Building B103
Daesung Recycling
Come work here instead of working night shifts.
This is just a junkyard.
Don’t hurt my feelings.
All my employees got permanent positions.
If you got money to hire me, give them raises instead.
I’m still Southwestern Seoul’s North Korean defector support lead.
I can at least take care of you.
No need.
That stubbornness of yours...
Is it ready?
I like to think that my fellow North Korean defectors
Writer Park Pil-ju, Kim Il-sung Univ. Graduate
that bridge both nations.
Yes, that’s what I think too.
The studio is filling up with positive vibe.
Which subjects are taught there?
Literature, English, math, physics, chemistry,
and most important of all...
I said I’d buy you new stuff...
Let’s take a look.
They all look fine.
Hold them for a sec.
Hey, don’t be like that, we’re better than this.
I didn’t do anything to contribute to this country,
I can never take things for free.
Take it.
Take it!
Oh yeah, your ledger's all wrong.
What? Again?
You added 43 cents more.
B103...
Did you bring them?
Come in.
I solved from here to here...
Promise me.
Rule 1.
Do not ever tell anyone what goes on here.
Yes, of course.
Rule 2.
No questions other than math.
Rule 3.
I will teach you math,
but I’m not interested in tests or your grades.
Okay.
Look at this.
Here’s a triangle with points A, B, C.
With A at 90 degrees, it’s an isosceles right triangle.
Height is 6 and base is 10.
Define the area.
This is an elementary problem.
So you don’t know.
It’s 30.
You really are dense.
Which elementary school did you attend?
What?
I’m right, it’s 30.
Base times height, divided by 2.
It’s 30...
Look carefully.
The height is the radius, so it should be 5, not 6.
You're not full-on stupid.
Come on, you gave me an incorrect question.
In South Korea, we call it question error.
They give you a pass if it popped up on a test.
Rule 3, I’m not interested in tests or your grades.
So does this triangle exist or not?
It can’t exist.
So how does an idiot insists that the area is 30?
You insisted it 3 times.
I never insisted 3 times.
It’s 30.
I’m right, it’s 30.
It’s 30...
Who knew you’d intentionally give me an incorrect question?
It’s because you were so blind to solving problems.
Finding the answer is important,
but knowing what the problem is even more important.
You can’t get the right answer from an incorrect problem.
Ergo!
It’s all about the process of finding the solution,
that's math, got that?
Yes.
Epsilon.
Epsilon?
What's that?
Small and insignificant,
infinitely small...
Small?
Petty and trivial being.
Trivial...
Why are you following me?
I have to sleep, it’s getting late.
No more buses.
Don’t you dare touch my lesson fee.
I don’t even care...
Out of the way.
Did you defect for strawberry milk?
Is this a radio?
Wow.
This is so cool!
What music is that?
Johann Sebastian Bach.
Bach?
Him, the father of classical music.
You don’t know his music, how could you call him that?
I know the mother of music too, it’s Handel.
Uncle?
Schubert?
Beethoven.
Come on...
The sound quality is...
Isn’t this better?
It’d be better if it’s louder.
Much better?
Aren’t you going to sleep?
What?
There’s a blanket there, pass out here.
Do you like Bach?
He is the beginning and end of music.
I can kinda see that, but the end too?
Even if humanity cease to exist,
all music can be recreated with Bach’s sheet music.
Why did you defect from North Korea?
Did you come alone?
Your family...
No questions other than math.
You talked plenty about Bach...
Mr. Park! Wake up!
Shift rotation time.
Huh?
It’s not like you.
You actually slept well?
Pythagoras.
Award.
It’s Donghun Academy’s greatest math competition.
It’s not like tests you take day in and out.
You take it only once at the end of grade 10.
Renowned outside teachers will create and mark them.
Eui-joon.
Will it be awarded to 3 students again?
Of course, gold, silver and bronze.
Too harsh.
You won gold at International Mathematical Olympiad?
That’s useless for college, only school awards can be listed.
You won a Nobel Prize?
It won’t help you get into college.
But what about Pythagoras Award?
It’s usable, it’ll be on your record!
That’s the point.
Aside from 3 winners, the rest are stooges.
Good point, Bo-ram.
So those who know they can’t win tend to just give it up.
Academic record
For this reason, this competition will be turned into the final exam.
Quiet down.
Easy.
You got 2 months.
As your homeroom and math teacher,
I earnestly hope my student wins the gold.
90 cents, please.
You got an addiction?
Yup.
So it was an addiction.
What is S sub 10 at the least?
I’m confused, if you could explain...
What’s there to explain? Just add it all up.
I know that, but...
Forget it, just solve it.
So add them all up manually like a chump?
Why not?
What?
Everything manually? Really?
Of course.
I think I solved it.
Come over here.
Look at this.
What was he solving for?
1.414...
Square root of 2?
Right.
He calculated 38 decimals of square root of 2 all by hand.
He could’ve just put square root of 2...
What a perv.
This perv is none other than Georg Friedrich Bernhard Riemann.
Riemann? As in Riemann Hypothesis?
You sure know a lot of useless stuff for a dumb kid.
It’s a hypothesis about prime numbers...
It hasn’t been proven yet, right?
Well...
It has?
The real question is,
why did this world renowned mathematician
worked on a useless calculation, such as square root of 2?
Indeed!
To become intimate.
With square root of 2?
You can’t do that by memorizing a formula.
You have to get down and befriend it
to understand, then love it.
But how could you calculate it all every time?
It’s not about the calculation.
Think.
Make an effort and slowly, think with utmost effort.
Do you feel more intimate?
Well... a bit...
So what’s the answer?
Why are you asking me that?
You came up with that answer.
You have to confirm it, who else?
What?
Solving a problem without a solution, checking to see if it’s right,
and proving it is the job of a mathematician.
Wait, I’m not a mathematician, I’m a math reject.
It took me 3 hours to solve this,
if I solve test problems like this...
Rule 3.
Tell me.
Not interested in tests or grades.
Very good.
Homework.
Check and see if it’s right.
Calculus Probability and Statistics
Yo, dumbass.
You turned into a homeless only a month after the boot.
Mister, you can’t sleep here.
You got a visitation.
Where will you go?
A regular high school near my home.
Your family don’t feel bad about it?
My grandma doesn’t know about college admission.
I shouldn’t have come here.
I know it’s not my place,
but you should think it over before it’s too late.
Please follow rules when picking up your child...
Will you transfer too?
Can you piss off?
Helping welfare recipients transfer out is all the rage.
Having fun?
Messing with welfare recipients?
I’m in the same boat too.
Same boat? You serious?
You and I are nothing alike, you’re on a yacht.
But...
Bo-ram!
Hey...
Who was he?
A welfare recipient.
After all I did to enroll you, you hang out with him?
What’s wrong with 2 welfare recipients hanging out?
Nope, you’re a welfare recipient without financial aid.
Parents divorcing and being a douche is a reward,
but studying hard in a low-income family is a stigma?
Who said it was a stigma?
You don’t want me to be friends with him.
He’s not socially assisted, he’s discriminated.
Anyway, I changed your math tutor as of today.
Again?
Math is crucial to college admission, other subjects are useless.
It was hard getting you in.
Your homeroom teacher made it happen.
Isn’t that illegal?
He’s looking out for you, be thankful.
I heard the Pythagoras will replace the finals.
Everything leaks in real time at this damn school.
The tutor is supposedly amazing.
It’s an elite class with top of the top students.
That’s enough.
I told you to stop piano for your own sake!
Euler Math Research Lab Eh? A research lab?
Like I said, an elite class, it’s very expensive.
What are you doing?
I think I understand why you do this.
I feel at ease.
Stop fooling around and hit the books.
A friend of mine transferred out,
he was on welfare too.
My teacher isn’t completely wrong when he told me to transfer.
But he’s not right either.
Don’t believe anything that aren’t proven.
That’s what mathematicians do.
Look here.
What do you need the most to be good at math?
Being smart, probably.
Smart people give up first.
I hope you don’t mean ‘effort’.
Those who rely on effort give up next.
Then what is it?
Courage.
“Come on! I can do it!” stuff like that?
That’s bravado.
Rather than get angry or give up when you can’t solve a problem,
you say to yourself,
“This is really tough, I’ll try again tomorrow.”
That’s mathematical courage.
Those with composed and firm personalities
prevail in the end.
That’s a far cry for me.
I’m talking about you.
Take a look.
There are more wrongs.
There are indeed, but the process is right.
Do not transfer.
You got here this far without giving up.
That’s all you needed to do.
So...
prove it,
whether transfer is right or not.
Got it?
Head on in.
Aren’t you sad?
We lived together for a month.
Buzz off.
Hearts do not linger at home,
but drifts to the distant port like clouds.
Yo Dumbass, sorry about last time!
So reduce -6 to a common denominator,
and turn it into -12/2,
then 11/2 plus...
Where did you come from?
Hey!
- Why are you... - Out, could you leave?
The commie officer?
No way!
Go! Right now!
Wait a minute.
Good evening.
I’m so sorry for startling you.
A skull fell out of nowhere.
Come on!
I’m his classmate,
my name is Bo-ram, Park Bo-ram.
Could you leave?
I heard so much about you.
No, I never said a word to her!
I didn’t say anything to you, I really didn’t!
Even though he’s dumb, you’re looking out for him,
I don’t know how to thank you.
What is wrong with you? I’m sorry about everything!
Please...
That’s hot...
Please take care of him.
Stop saying that!
Don’t listen to her!
Actually...
I like him.
What?!
He’s so genuine and loyal too.
Right?
You must really like strawberry milk.
Should I get some next time?
Could I come by sometimes?
No way, you know you can’t.
Of course.
If you keep your secret.
Let’s go.
Eh? That was easy.
Hey, you really can’t tell anyone about this.
- I’m not like you! - Jesus!
No way, I didn’t say anything! I’m serious.
By the way, why am I a commie officer?
Because...
you came from North Korea?
But I never served in the military.
What? Seriously? You got exempted?
Cool, you’re a golden parachute.
Eh? What’s going on?
What are they doing?
Ji-woo barely finished his punishment...
They’ve got some nerves, no?
Not gonna catch them?
No need.
What? How is that fair? Only I got screwed?
- Stop mimicking me. - Stop mimicking me!
- Stop that. - Stop that!
Hey, hey, why don’t you two just get married then?
- Marry her? Come on! - Never, ever!
Do you know what his nickname is? Dumbass.
Stop it!
Dumbass? What’s dumbass?
Are you an ass?
You don’t believe that math is simple?
Whatever, it’s so complicated...
No one probably will believe you.
You will.
When you realize how complicated life is.
Did you know from the beginning?
Why did you study this?
For the scholarship.
Very practical.
I wanted to be ahead of other comrades,
and for the sake of my family, I had to.
That was the start,
but I had a different reason for continuing.
What’s that?
Isn’t it beautiful?
What is?
Natural number.
All sloping lines can be expressed with this.
Pi.
Circular constant.
Imaginary number.
Smallest natural number 1,
and a paradoxical number 0, that exists to express ‘nil’.
All these numbers that are seemingly unrelated...
are connected this way.
When you add 1 to e to the pi times i,
how could it end up with a zero?
No matter how you look at it, it is simply breathless.
This is the formula that Euler came up with.
Isn’t it beautiful?
No?
It’s pretty cool, but not beautiful...
All right.
Why did you call me?
You said you can play.
But why?
How is math related to piano?
I’ll show you the real deal.
Look here.
1 is C, 2 is D, 3 is E,
et cetera, that’s how we’ll play.
I’ll play the numbers, so play the accompaniment.
Can you do it?
You’re playing pi.
Whoa...
This Pi Song is amazing!
m²-1, is this true or false?
True? If you select that,
you’d pick A, B, C, right?
Then the answer is #5, okay?
Okay.
- Next question... - Sir?
Take a quick washroom break.
I think C is false.
Wow, now it feels like the lesson is going places.
Please come on out and prove me wrong, Mr. Han.
m=log4,
then n=10log4 cancels 10 and log,
so n=4,
which means C is false, no?
Good, very good.
It’s not without reason, however!
The answer to this problem is #5 for sure, why?
Because that’s the examiner’s intent.
The examiner did not intent for a fiddly number as m,
but a natural number.
Therefore, it can only be #5, okay?
Then shouldn’t he have defined it in the problem?
Listen, Ji-woo.
I’m talking about test technique.
Rather than questioning the examiner, work on a few more problems.
If a problem like this pops up on the test,
and if you defy the intent and pick #3,
you’d get a fail.
Aren’t examiners wrong at times?
Examiner? Are you saying...
Right answer can’t be found from an incorrect question.
Okay, Han Ji-woo.
I’m going to put this exact problem in the next test, so you...
Yes, my answer will be #3.
Out.
Listen carefully.
There’s only one job for Korea’s examinees:
understanding the examiner’s intent.
If he says red is green, then it’s green.
If you question that?
It’s yours to lose.
Sir.
I’m going to stay, I won’t transfer.
Daesung Recycling
You must be in a good mood.
I’ve never seen that expression on you.
Stop your nonsense.
Well, what to do...
I’ll place this right here.
I’m so sorry about this.
If you cling to the norm,
you may not see the next move.
Let me take back a move, this is way too...
Let’s get to work! Time for work!
Wait a minute, hold on.
A gift.
I was gonna give you this as a consolation to losing...
Forget about it.
I’m doing me a favor.
It takes so much effort to find you and play a game.
You can take pics and listen to music.
At least have basic necessities in life.
Thanks.
You bought a phone?
How amazing is that?
I can read all theses in the world from the palm of my hand.
You can see that?
Hey.
Can you get me into the lab?
What? No way.
Just once.
Tomorrow is the day of the Pythagoras Award...
- Good afternoon. - Hello.
Did something good happen? Why are you two grinning?
Here.
What’s this?
A thesis, a mathematics thesis.
I can read it on my phone...
Aren’t you thankful?
Since you printed it, I can’t throw it out...
Jesus!
Just say, “Thank you, comrade.” That’s all it takes!
Good luck with your test tomorrow.
Rule 3,
you’re not interested in tests or grades, no?
Look here.
I can be disinterested in your tests,
but you shouldn’t be disinterested in yours.
Got that?
For victory!
With honor!
Donghun Academy’s pride, the day of Pythagoras.
I wish you all the best.
Han Ji-woo
2019 Pythagoras Award Competition
Your call cannot be connected...
To Bo-ram: What’s going on? Where are you?
Will you come by 7?
Bo-ram.
I’ll tell your teacher that you’re on a trip, so stay home.
It’s all for your own good.
Look here.
Where are we going?
You’ll find out soon.
Here you go.
Isn’t this expensive?
Bo-ram’s grandpa’s company sponsors it.
Over there, #7.
What’s going on? Where are you?
She’s not coming at all?
She must be in a foul mood because she ruined the test.
You know she does whatever she pleases.
It sounded much different than cell phone, right?
You didn’t like it?
I really liked it.
Are you hungry?
Yeah, I’m starving!
Tough life, huh?
It ain’t easy living with a prickly man.
All ready, let’s eat.
Here.
Thank you for the meal.
There isn’t much to eat...
Wow, it’s great.
- Do you like it? - Yes, absolutely.
Aren’t you eating?
Yeah, let’s eat.
It’s first time seeing you eat.
Is that so?
Thank you for the meal.
Get going.
Good night!
Anon board?
Principal Lee Hye-kyung What’s that?
It’s the students’ anonymous Facebook bulletin board.
Pythagoras Problems Leaked
Someone blew the whistle.
What happened?
Students who messed up the test could be grumbling over it.
Expose and punish them!
Of course.
They really went overboard this time.
Keep a tight lid on them.
This will start a firestorm if Education Board gets wind of it.
$228, please.
These are $228?
Did you win a lotto?
What’s the point of making money? It’s there for us to spend like this.
Thank you, take care!
You as well.
Pardon me, sir.
Aren’t you from North Korea...
Right? Dr. Ri Hak-sung?
Ri Hak-sung?
Who...
By golly! So it is you!
It’s me, Park Pil-ju!
Kim Il-Sung University, economics major, sir.
You gave us a math lecture back in the day.
It’s amazing to see North Korea’s math genius in South Korea.
It’s an honor, sir.
Wait a minute, you’re Tae-yeon, no?
He is, right?
You’re all grown up, incredible.
You take after your father and look so smart.
I almost forgot.
This is my business card, please give me a call.
Good to see you, let’s go.
Good, good.
Your real name is Ri Hak-sung?
Is Tae-yeon your son...
I’ll free him in Taedong River when reunification happens.
I love this the most.
I’d love to drink this every day.
- Have this one too. - No, it’s okay.
This is so delicious.
Zeta function has its zeros only at the negative,
even integers and complex numbers with real part 1/2.
I see.
Riemann Hypothesis, possibly the most important mathematics problem
is about to be solved after 160 years by a North Korean?
His name is Ri Hak-sung?
Yes, Ri Hak-sung, he’s a North Korean.
So a North Korean mathematician proved the Riemann Hypothesis?
It’d be more accurate to say it’s about to be proven.
Other scholars must verify his thesis.
I see, how long will this process take?
Hey!
I expect it to be about 2 years.
There will be a prize too?
Clay Mathematics Institute will award $1 million.
On a side note,
I’ve met Ri when I was young.
It was at a math Olympiad,
so it’s been 40 years already.
So that child on the left is Ri Hak-sung?
Yes, he represented North Korea at the Olympiad,
and I represented the South.
In the middle is a world renowned mathematician Paul Erdős.
He called us Epsilons, and adored us.
He also gifted us fountain pens.
This is it.
Why are you here?
Riemann Hypothesis, right?
Ri Hak-sung, this is you.
NK Ri Hak-sung Presumably Proved Riemann Hypothesis
That is so cool...
Look here.
Don’t ever mention Riemann Hypothesis, got that?
Why?
When I tell you not to do something, then don’t!
Don’t forget it!
Okay.
Euler Math Research Lab
My reputation is about to be ruined because of you, asshole!
If this gets out, we’re all dead, so just leave!
Don’t do anything until I call you, got it?!
Goddamn!
Principal
Principal?
So you got the tech lab passcode from your coding club captain.
Get out.
That’s not the test, I printed a thesis.
I printed a PDF from a site, and left right away.
Thesis? What thesis?
A mathematics thesis.
I believe you.
You’re honest and loyal to your friends.
But others?
Will they believe you after seeing this footage?
Especially the parents?
It doesn’t matter, I didn’t steal it...
Why doesn’t it matter?!
You’ll be expelled at the very least for leaking test material.
A permanent strike on your record.
I really didn’t do it, sir.
Your average math score is 40, but you got 70 this time.
A lowest 9th tier student suddenly shoots up to top 10%.
How do you explain this?
But that’s...
In the end, you’ll end up getting the blame.
Do you understand what I’m saying?
Let’s do it this way.
Transfer out, and this will blow over quietly.
I already talked to the principal.
What? Why should I...
As I’ve told you, you can’t do much with your grades here.
Will you apply to college with your grades?
Or take an entrance exam on your own?
I’ll look for the best school on your behalf.
- Sir? - Yes?
I really didn’t steal it.
I know, I know you didn’t steal,
and I believe you.
But circumstances and evidence tell a different story.
But...
Under Criminal Law 314, this is an obstruction of business,
punishable by 5-year imprisonment.
Do you want to go to jail? Wanna be a convict?
Did Ji-woo really leak it? Useless pricks are the worst.
He’s the legendary welfare recipient.
What a load of bullshit!
Comrade Ri Hak-sung, who raised our nation’s reputation
has been kidnapped by Southern spies.
This is an underhanded act that throws cold water
on the pact between two countries to work towards peace.
Kidnapped? He defected on his own.
He did, indeed.
For the freedom to study and think.
So? You got something to say?
How did we treat a man who came here to research?
I’m just thankful I’m not in charge of this.
NSA agents from America are coming in tomorrow.
NSA? What the hell for?
The Riemann Hypothesis is tied to cryptography.
Not only military encryption, but e-commerce is tied to it,
online banking and shopping, they’ll be cracked wide open.
What will you do?
Isn’t it obvious?
Set the record straight, he came on his accord.
Call the stations and get us to save us a spot.
Ri is in no condition to put on a show on TV.
Just one appearance.
One segment is all it takes.
He lost his son!
Think about it, imagine your son died...
Don’t drag my son into this.
I’m sick of covering for you all the damn time.
Bosses upstairs are just waiting for a reason.
Pull this off and get on their good side.
So a Nobel Prize winner could come from North Korea?
That’s correct.
Even though it’s North Korea,
it’s still a reason to celebrate for all Koreans.
Ri should be invited here and have an interview.
International media will swarm in.
Dr. Ri!
Beef is best with some blood.
Dr. Ri.
Let’s head back to our home.
It’s from a reliable source,
they’ll treat you as a scientist.
Remember the science district by the Taedong River?
There’s a new high rise there,
you’ll be given the top floor too.
You’ll get the penthouse.
I’ll be frank.
If I bring you in, they’ll forgive me too.
I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.
Don’t be like that, could you give it a thought?
You can tell them about how the South treated you.
I heard about your son not too long ago.
You must be so heartbroken...
Shut your mouth.
Do it while they offer an olive branch.
When the State Security takes over the situation,
who knows what’ll happen?
Bastard...
2019 Second Semester Transfer Application Form
I’m sorry about everything.
I’ve been meaning to tell you, but the agency...
Instead of surveillance, think of it as support and protecti...
Look here.
Thanks for all you did.
I kept this from 3 years ago.
You were going to burn it, it’s still your life’s work,
- you should finish... - That’s enough.
Sir!
My son died because of this!
Do you understand?
You want me to take this and put on a show on TV?
The living must go on living!
The living?!
Really?
Look here.
After that day, I already died 3 years ago.
This won’t solve anything...
Get out!
My agency is comparable to State Security in the North!
Get the hell out!
Why are you here?
Are you going somewhere?
When will you be back?
You’ll come back, right?
Buzz off.
What about me?
Aren’t you just happy that you raised grades for free?
Is it because of going on TV?
I overheard...
If you don’t need anything, get out.
People don’t come around only if they need something.
Do I look like someone you play with when bored?
Why are you lashing out at me?
You all suck life out of me...
Is that...
how you see me? That’s what I am to you?
You and I are only after our own lives.
You should’ve kicked me out from the start!
Why did you let me study with you?
You told me to prove it, that I shouldn’t transfer!
You didn’t steal the test.
Why are you letting them frame you?
Mr. Park can tell them, that you printed a thesis!
It’s all over.
Mister?
Sir, what are you waiting for?
Where are you going?
Where is your destination?
Sir?
According to our research into Ri Hak-sung,
he is the mathematician mentioned by Prof. Oh Jung-nam.
He did in fact defect 4 years ago,
but his current whereabouts are unknown.
North Korea has requested the return of Ri
through an official statement announced today.
It’s the first time NK made such request, accusing SK of kidnapping.
The government...
Where is it? I can’t find it.
I don’t have it!
Dad knows nothing but himself.
Did you fight again? What happened?
My comrades were getting beaten by South Korean guys,
was I supposed to just watch?
Who do you think I came here for?
You came here for you!
Then you should’ve brought mother, before she died of tuberculosis!
You dragged me here after the lab kicked you out!
How could you only think like that?
I brought you here to show you a better world.
A better world?
It must be nice for a lifelong scholar
to chop chicken heads, and work at construction sites!
Shut your mouth!
Praise our almighty Supreme Leader!
Shut your damn mouth!
Footstep of our Supreme Leader!
Use your damn math and live alone here!
Return to the shore! I repeat, return to the shore!
If you do not comply, we will open fire!
Return to the shore!
A teenager attempting to defect to the North was shot and killed.
He did not stop despite multiple warnings,
and the border patrol followed the emergency protocols...
2019 Second Semester Transfer Application Form
17th Donghun Academy Pythagoras Award Ceremony
Seoul University
You did the right thing, I’ll take care of it.
Don’t you worry.
You may go.
You did good.
Bo-ram
Special Talk: Math and Life
North Korean Mathematician Dr. Ri Hak-sung
Ki-chul, everything’s ready here.
Don’t be late.
Manwoo County
Sir, where are you? Ji-woo’s transferring!
At my tutor’s class...
Sir! Sir!
The 17th Pythagoras Award ceremony will start soon,
so please assemble at the auditorium.
Attention please.
The 17th Pythagoras Award ceremony will start soon,
so please assemble at the auditorium.
Get back in, why should you leave?
Stop it.
Hey, Bo-ram!
Bo-ram!
Quiet down!
Could the homeroom teachers sit your students?
Bo-ram, over here.
Put your cell phones away!
It’s almost time!
- Who’s still standing?! - Cell phones away.
Han Ji-woo, sit over there.
Come on, sit down at once.
Sit down.
Why are you still standing?
You all know our academy’s proud alum,
and Pythagoras Award’s jury,
let’s welcome POSTECH’s mathematics chair professor, Prof. Oh Jung-nam.
A round of applause!
Seeing all these bright eyes, I feel so young.
I can’t start this without mentioning the great achievement in math recently.
Mathematicians have struggled to prove the Riemann Hypothesis for 160 years.
As you know, a new thesis has entered verification process.
The one who will turn this into the Riemann Theorem is
found to be a North Korean mathematician.
- He... - Isn’t that the commie?
- It’s the commie! - The North Korea mathematician...
is known as Ri Hak-sung...
whom I’ve had the pleasure of meeting 40 years ago...
The professor is in the middle of a speech, please leave.
No way...
Ri Hak-sung!
What’s going on?
It’s been so long.
Ri Hak-sung, I never thought I’d see you again...
How long has it been?
But what brings you here?
Please pardon my interruption, but may I say a word?
Of course! Absolutely! That’s what we want too!
This is world renowned Dr. Ri Hak-sung!
We’ve all met before.
I’m the commie officer just introduced by Prof. Oh.
The world works in a mysterious way.
It feels weird standing up here after patrolling this school for so long.
Don’t worry, I won’t talk math here.
The reason why I stand here before you discourteously
is because of one student.
Student? Which one?
He’s someone I met here...
Han Ji-woo.
Han Ji-woo?
Is he here?
If you’re present, raise your hand.
Yes, there, that’s him.
For the past few months, I’ve been studying math with him.
How could he not tell us?
As you may know,
I was told that he is in a very tough predicament.
He snuck into the lab and was framed for something...
One moment, sir.
That incident must be handled by our school.
I wouldn’t know about that.
What he printed in the lab isn’t the test,
but this thesis.
Thesis?
With my conscience and honor as a scholar,
I can tell you for certain, Han Ji-woo did not steal the test.
Your conscience and honor cannot be evidence.
Euler!
Pardon?
Euler’s formula.
It’s the most beautiful formula in the world.
From what I hear,
there’s a math tutor class using Euler’s name.
One moment, sir.
Wait, I’m not done.
But the thing is,
the class isn’t as beautiful as its name.
They are the ones who supposedly leaked
the Pythagoras test problems to its pupils...
Enough!
All right.
Let me ask you something.
When a teacher frames his pupil as a thief, is this still a school?
Can you take responsibility for what you just said?
Since we respected you, do you feel like a teacher?
Do cats and dogs pretend to be teachers too nowadays?
Am I right?
Blabber whatever you want!
I’m done with this bullshit...
Do whatever you want!
- For real? - Unbelievable.
Isn’t that proof enough?
Really? Han Ji-woo?
I risked my life to defect to study math properly.
I found out that my research was only used to build weapons,
and left the North with disillusionment.
But it’s used as a tool to get into good colleges and good paying jobs.
Freedom to study, I was mistaken to think that it existed here.
In addition, my son...
followed my greed...
to the South...
but ultimately got killed.
But to keep a promise with such a pathetic man,
17-year old Ji-woo...
he threw away his future.
Before that student,
I was just a greedy,
seemingly pathetic...
and selfish man...
who only cared about himself.
I am truly ashamed.
Han Ji-woo.
I’m sorry.
And thank you.
We’ll start an investigation committee and get to the bottom of this incident.
And we will reject Han Ji-woo’s transfer request.
Could you all return to your seats?
Everyone, sit down!
When will the interview air?
Give me your phone, the one I gave you.
Huh?
Open it.
South Koreans have the freedom of movement and travel.
It’s in the constitution.
But if you don’t return, we will kidnap you back.
Will you be okay?
Don’t you worry.
I won’t get shot like in the North.
I’ll only get fired.
Maybe I’ll continue to run the junkyard.
Thank you.
He wanted me to give this to you in person.
What about Mr. Ri?
We got a hermit mathematician on our hands.
He’s doing well, away from everything.
See you again.
I understand the fountain pen,
but what’s that?
First draft of his Riemann thesis.
Wow, a collector’s item!
Half-half?
Give it back!
Piss off.
Give it!
You’re a yappy one, comrade.
Stop kidding around and give it back!
Buzz off, asshole.
You’ll rip it!
3 years later
We are finally approaching the research institute.
This is like the holiest site for all mathematicians.
Not only as a professor, but for you students,
it is an incredible honor to visit this place!
We should all be thankful to Ji-woo for this opportunity.
Oberwolfach Research Institute for Mathematics
You punk.