High school dropout who was good at asking stupid questions, became the winner of the Nobel Prize in mathematics

"'Nobel Prize in Mathematics' Heo Jun-yi was a good talker and a good questioner"

Juni Heo (39), who holds the Fields Medal of the Nobel Prize in Mathematics, said:

At the time when Professor Heo dropped out of high school and was preparing for college, Professor Kim Cheol-min of Ulsan Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), who had tutored for about a year as a math and science tutor, said in an interview with the media that Professor Heo’s college admission, which was different from other students, was It conveyed memories of the times.

After dropping out of school at Sangmun High School in Seoul, Professor Heo received homeschooling before entering Seoul National University's College of Natural Sciences in 2002.

Professor Kim, who was in the Ph.D. course at Seoul National University at the time of tutoring, said, "Professor Huh has solved difficult math and science problems since the time he took the tutoring to prepare for the CSAT. I remember holding onto it and pulling it off together.”

These are textbooks that thoroughly cover basic concepts that are somewhat far from the popular problem-solving-type SAT preparation textbooks these days.

"I solved difficult level math and science problems, but it was very different from seeing a student studying very well at a hagwon in Gangnam. (...) He was a friend who kept on asking questions and talking nonsense rather than being confined to a box. , when I was studying, I often asked absurd questions such as ‘Why do I have to do this?’ (...) If

you want to say that you are good at (mathematics or physics), you must get the correct answer correctly and solve a lot within the given time. I was not impressed. I honestly thought I was lucky when I heard that I was accepted into Seoul National University."

Professor Kim also conveyed the unusual literary sensibility of Professor Huh, who dreamed of becoming a poet in high school, and said that he had a unique and free temperament different from other peers from an early age.

When Professor Huh received the Fields Award, Professor Kim congratulated him, saying, "I am truly happy as if it was my job."

He continued, "I don't think there is much relationship between the skills required by our entrance exam (scholastic ability problem solving skills) and receiving the Fields Award. I think our students need more space to think more freely," he said, sincere advice for the development of Korean mathematics also did not spare.

Enlarging an image

“You have to know when to give up and find a way to fail in a different way every day.”

"Finding ice on Mars and establishing a mathematical achievement comparable to the confirmation of the possibility of life"

'Received the Fields Medal' This is the evaluation of Professor Huh's achievements.

Professor Heo, who became the first Korean mathematician to receive the Fields Medal in the 126-year history of the World Mathematical Congress, was born in the United States at the age of 39 this year. I did.

After graduating from Seoul National University's Department of Mathematical Sciences and Physical Astronomy, and Master's from Seoul National University's Department of Mathematical Sciences, he received his Ph.D. in Mathematics from the University of Michigan, USA.

In particular, during his doctoral course, Professor Huh made a name for himself in the mathematics world by proving old problems such as 'lead guess' and 'rota guess' one by one.

The lead conjecture was a mathematical representation of the specific pattern of coefficients seen when calculating colored polynomials, and was one of the leading mathematical problems posed in 1968.

After receiving the award, Professor Huh said that he is happy with himself, and that he is deeply grateful to receive a meaningful award.

“You have to know when to give up, be kind to yourself, and find a way to fail each day in a different way.”

Meanwhile, in February of this year, as Korea's influence in mathematics increased as the International Mathematical Federation upgraded the national level of Korean mathematics to level 5, the highest level, Professor Huh's award raised the status of Korean mathematics even further.