Translator: Dreamscribe
"Has it really been 15 years...."
Edward Han sat down at the judge’s table and reflected on why he had come to this place today.
It wasn’t out of academic curiosity. It was likely due to an old colleague’s request, and perhaps a bit of guilt.
However, deep inside, he had already reached a conclusion long ago.
‘Mathematics in Korea is finished. At least within this country.’
Five years ago, ten years ago, and every time he heard rumors from the academic circles in the United States, he thought the same thing. Korea ranks high in terms of the number of medals at the International Mathematical Olympiad, but the mathematical achievements left behind by those talents are few and far between. Even those were thanks to black-haired foreigners who settled overseas and continued their research. Of course, he himself was included in that group.
Creeeak-
The door opened, and the judges began to enter the review room one by one.
“Oh! Professor Han, you’re here too. Good to see you. I read the paper you presented recently. It was quite remarkable...”
‘He’s still active, huh. He’s been lecturing the same material for decades, did he really read my paper? In the U.S., someone like him would've been fired ages ago....’
Contrary to his thoughts, his body responded first. He bowed politely.
“It’s been a while, Professor Jung.”
The people entering after him were more or less the same kind.
Since they were tenured professors, they wouldn’t be dismissed even without any research output. Of course, there was likely a time when even they had shined.
‘Is it all because of money....’
In fields like mathematics and the humanities, where research funding is rarely allocated, they cling to their positions through old reputations and connections.
Since there is little funding invested, there is little pressure for results. They likely have no interest in the latest research and focus solely on selling textbooks and maintaining their networks.
“Now then! Let’s try to pick out some promising seedlings. I hope our university gets a lot of good talent again this year.”
“Hahaha! Didn’t K University scoop up all the award winners from the last competition? We need to make a living too.”
They coax outstanding talents with sweet words and scout them. This is a very important task in solidifying their cartel. It is likely the reason professors make appearances at every competition.
‘They're not scholars, more like network administrators.’
Even within universities, by using their connections and influence to recruit students, they are treated as necessary personnel even without doing research.
‘Damn Republic of Korea. Professors who actually produce real results probably don’t have time to come to places like this.’
“We’ve brought the answer sheets!”
Teaching assistants began opening the sealed answer sheets one by one and placed them on the table. Neatly aligned sheets with number tags were laid out in front of the judges.
This is different from grading.
The correctness of answers is important, but evaluation also considers the logic of the problem-solving process, originality in approach, and time management ability.
“This kid seems average.”
“It feels like the overall level keeps dropping.”
“Well, all the smart kids are going to medical school nowadays....”
Edward Han sneered at the professors’ complaints.
‘It seems like you’re the ones who helped create this mess.’
“Oh! This kid is really something.”
As one judge opened a particular answer sheet, the atmosphere around the table subtly shifted.
Applicant number 17, personal information was hidden to ensure fairness in the evaluation.
“They’ve already learned the Cauchy-Schwarz inequality. They’re using it with full understanding.”
“Well, these days, if you want to compete in the Olympiad, linear algebra is essential.”
“Ah! Is this that kid? I heard they're quite young....”
“Hey now! You’re well aware this is a blind review!”
‘This one is definitely solid.’
Edward Han stroked his chin.
There was a sense of intuition.
The ability to cut away unnecessary calculations and instantly grasp the core structure was exceptional.
He nodded.
‘A talent worth nurturing. Though, of course, there’s no way such a gift would remain in this country for long.’
There were a few other decent applicants as well.
The obedient students who followed the paths laid out by the professor’s questions....
A bitter smile surfaced. These kids had probably solved this type of problem countless times. They likely had memorized all possible variations and forms.
After staring at answer sheets for several hours, his eyes started to sting. The professors slowly stretched their backs and took off their glasses.
“Let’s eat first!”
As if they had been waiting for it, the teaching assistants came in carrying lunch boxes.
Deluxe lunch boxes with thick, glistening grilled eel on top.
‘They should’ve used that lunch budget to support those kids instead.’
The teaching assistants sat close together at a desk in the corner.
That space, piled with stacks of documents and grading sheets, was like a dark corner where sunlight didn’t reach. One of them, seemingly exhausted, was dozing off while sharpening a pencil, and another let out a sigh while sipping coffee from a paper cup.
From their sunken eyes and yellowish complexions, there wasn’t a trace of youthful energy to be found.
He couldn’t eat the fancy lunch easily, as if he were looking at a younger version of himself. The professors ignored the assistants like they were invisible, exchanging jokes with each other.
“Judging is all about stamina, you know? You gotta eat to survive. Hey! Kim, there should be some lunch boxes left, right? Bring me one.”
“Yes, professor.”
“These days I don’t even have the energy, even teaching classes is hard for me.”
“Pfft! What’s this world coming to? The country neglects natural sciences and only pushes engineering and tech. It’s a disaster.”
Munch munch.
“It’s not like this started yesterday. We should be used to it by now. At least the budget isn’t being cut.”
His throat felt dry.
He casually looked again toward the assistants in the corner. He felt like he could almost grasp what they were thinking.
‘Just a little longer, just endure a little longer and things will get better.’
But that would never be the case. Politics and personal connections overshadow academic ability, and competence is never fairly evaluated. Eventually, those assistants would one by one look for other paths or go abroad.
He felt like he might get indigestion.
And yet, even here and now, there was nothing he could do for them.
He could only feel sorry.
Clap clap.
“Everyone done eating? Let’s get back to it!”
As someone clapped their hands, the professors slowly returned to their seats.
While the others were sluggish from post-lunch drowsiness, Edward was flipping through the last few answer sheets.
“Hm?”
The moment he absentmindedly opened one, his pupils dilated.
From the very first problem, it was unusual. The proof of an inequality was solved with a completely different approach than the model answer.
'Extending Jensen's inequality like this?'
It was definitely more concise and intuitive.
Assuming you ignore the massive amount of thought it would take to arrive at that point.
But what truly amazed him came next.
[Problem 4: Prove that the sum of the distances from a point inside an equilateral triangle to the three sides is equal to the height of the triangle.]
-This is a special case of Viviani’s Theorem.
However, for this theorem to hold, it must be assumed that the plane follows Euclidean geometry. In curved spaces like spherical or hyperbolic geometry, a correction term is required.
If we revise the formula as follows:
h₁ + h₂ + h₃ = h - (Area × |K|)/(2π)...
They were told to solve a problem, and instead, they wrote a research paper.
This wasn’t the perspective of a student, but of a researcher. This answer reminded Edward of the feeling he had when discussing with geniuses at Stanford.
Edward took a deep breath.
“Professors, would you take a look at this for a moment?”
“Huh? What’s that? Why is the answer so long?”
Professor Jung, who approached first, flipped through the answer and his expression gradually hardened.
“This student is saying something strange about problem 4... claiming that Viviani’s Theorem doesn’t hold in spherical geometry?”
“What kind of nonsense is that?”
The middle-aged professor who had written the question approached with a displeased look.
“I mean, is there really any need to complicate a high school-level problem like this? If nothing’s stated, it’s obviously a flat plane.”
‘This is pathetic.’
There’s nothing more dangerous in mathematics than the word ‘obviously’.
Until the 19th century, all geometers believed that the parallel postulate ‘obviously’ held true. Modern mathematics only began when that ‘obvious’ notion collapsed....
“These so-called gifted kids today, they all act like this. They pick up a few complicated terms online and start pretending to be professors.”
Professor Jung waved his hand in disgust.
Scratch scratch.
Edward began verifying the correction formula written in the answer.
If this holds true, then Viviani’s Theorem will be revised as of today. It’s something that happens often in the mathematics world.
Of course, the student is probably wrong today, but this could become the beginning of further research, so it would still be a good thing for the field of mathematics.
He continued the verification.
It seemed the formula originated from the Gauss-Bonnet theorem. In curved spaces, the sum of angles in a triangle...
‘Wait a second.’
Edward’s hand froze. Then he hurriedly pulled out another sheet of paper and began calculating.
The excess angle in a triangle on a sphere, the angular defect on a hyperbolic plane.
If Viviani’s Theorem is approached through integral geometry, the concept of distance to the geodesic from point P changes depending on curvature...
“Wha...what how...”
He unconsciously muttered to himself.
“What is it, Professor Han?”
The formula fit perfectly. On a sphere, the sum of distances exceeds the height. On a hyperbolic plane, it’s less. And the difference is exactly proportional to curvature and area.
“Professor, is something wrong?”
A young teaching assistant noticed the change in Edward and cautiously asked.
“This formula is correct.”
“Sorry?”
“It’s 100% accurate. I just verified it, this formula actually works in spherical and hyperbolic geometry.”
The professors’ faces gradually hardened.
“Then how should we handle this answer?”
“Should we just mark it all correct? If we accept multiple answers, there won’t be any objections.”
“But if this generalization formula is truly correct...”
“It’s worthy of a paper.”
The old professors’ faces were filled with unmistakable greed.
“Curvature correction of Viviani’s Theorem. Wow! Even the title sounds classy. This could make quite an impact.”
“Indeed. A generalization after 360 years.”
The professors’ gazes subtly shifted. In the silence, their eyes moved rapidly, calculating.
“Uh, Professor Han, could you explain this formula in a bit more detail?”
“It looks like the proof is omitted. The derivation process might need some editing.”
“If we call in the student and conduct joint research, it could benefit everyone. If we list them as first author, it’ll help their college application, right?”
A stolen paper.
It was something he had experienced during his master’s studies.
A lightning flash of memory struck through Edward Han’s mind.
“Your idea is really good. How about developing it into a paper?”
That was the suggestion from his advisor at the time, Professor Kim Jung-sik. Edward had been naively delighted. He thought his idea had finally been recognized.
“Professor, do you really think this is possible?”
“Of course. But it’ll be difficult alone, so I’ll help you. You’ll be first author, of course.”
That was how the joint research began.
But in the paper published six months later, his name was listed as second author. Naturally, Professor Kim Jung-sik was the sole first author. The core idea was rewritten as if it had originated from the professor.
“Professor, what the hell is going on here?”
“Come now, let’s be honest. Did you really contribute enough to be first author? You only provided the initial idea. I did all the proofs, didn’t I?”
That night,
Edward no, Han Jae-hong, spent a long time staring at the dark, swirling waters from a bridge over the Han River. He swore to himself never to let it happen again.
But now, the exact same thing was about to happen.
“Fuck this. This is exactly why I didn’t want to come.”
It wasn’t loud, but loud enough for everyone to hear.
“Wha...what?”
The professors flinched at the profanity, so out of place in this setting.
Thud.
Edward stood up with a loud noise and shouted at the professors.
“Hey, you fucking bastards! Don’t you have any academic conscience? If anyone tries to steal this, I’ll personally make sure a Stanford professor buries you!”
Clack- clatter.
A teaching assistant’s pen fell to the floor with an unusually loud sound.
Everyone stared at Edward, dumbfounded, their mouths agape.
“Amazing.”
Someone whispered softly.