91. Neon sixty seven
June 16th morning.
way to school.
I stopped in front of a convenience store at the subway station.
It was because of an article on the front page of the morning newspaper that was placed on the stand in front of the convenience store.
＜The Korean Peninsula of Peace in the New Millennium!>
＜The North and South Korea 6.15 Declaration. Immediate cessation of aggression and intimidation!>
＜Is this the first step towards peaceful unification?>
＜The South and North Korean leaders announce the June 15 Joint Declaration!>
I went to a convenience store and bought a copy of my newspaper today, opened the newspaper and slowly read the article.
Just today, I had a meeting with Professor Park Soo-soo, and the newspaper article contained news that Professor Park would like a lot.
After the liberal arts English test, the last final exam of this semester, I headed to the College of Science building.
Professor Park Soo-Soo’s lab.
I greeted the professor and looked around the lab.
Everything is the same as it was three months ago.
In the past, when I met Professor Park once a month, the appearance of the laboratory changed little by little.
For example, on the bookshelf, the positions of the books that the professor frequently reads were changed, there were days when new books were placed on the bookshelf, and at the very least, the positions of writing instruments and thesis on the desk were reversed.
But today is different.
Everything in the lab was the same as it was three months ago.
Even the position of the pen in the pencil holder was the same.
“You don’t come to the lab often anymore, do you?”
Professor Park answered my question with a light smile.
“When I come to the lab after retirement, I feel empty, so I didn’t come here on purpose.”
“Then you stayed at home all the time?”
“haha—! No way… . I’ve been traveling around a bit. Especially last month, the weather got warmer, so I went to China.”
“Where have you been in China?”
“I went to Mt. Baekdu through Dandong and Jian.”
“Wow—! So, did you go all the way to Mt. Baekdu?”
Professor Park smiled and nodded, and I asked again.
“How is Mt. Baekdu?”
“Since heaven and earth are quite large, I had expected them in advance, but the scale was truly enormous. By the way… .”
The professor spoke with a bitter expression on his face.
“I didn’t feel very good.”
“that is… What do you mean?”
“Of course, I thought that Mt. Baekdu was our land, but since I thought that the place I was standing on was in China, I felt a little strange.”
I nodded my head silently, and the professor continued with a bright expression on his face.
“By the way, how is college life?”
“Okay, really good.”
It was good that I didn’t have to study autonomously at night anymore, it was good to be able to think about what I wanted to do in my head during the lecture without having to pay attention to the professor, and it was good to be able to find the thesis I needed at the library right away.
And above all… .
It was nice to be able to hold Youngmi’s hand all day long.
Professor Park chuckled in response to my answer.
“I can feel how good you are just by looking at your face. when is the best time The best time of your life is now, so let’s enjoy it to the fullest. Heh heh heh—!”
“Professor, did you see the news this morning?”
“What news?”
“The June 15 North-South Joint Declaration.”
“then! I heard.”
“Then, did you also check the announcement?”
Professor Park shook his head and said.
“No, I only heard a little bit about the news… Why?”
“In the declaration, there is a story that there will be a reunion of separated families between the two Koreas in mid-August.”
“Really?”
I took the newspaper out of my bag and opened the article with the full text of the June 15 Joint Declaration and showed it to the professor.
＜The South and the North agreed to promptly solve humanitarian issues, such as resolving the issue of non-converted long-term prisoners by exchanging visiting groups of scattered families and relatives around August 15 of this year.>
I could see the professor’s face reddened when he saw the article.
I opened my mouth carefully.
“If you look on the next page, there is a story that the Ministry of Unification and the Korean Red Cross are preparing to accept applications for separated families.”
After a while, Professor Park checked the article and looked up at me.
Then, with a small smile, he opened his mouth.
“Did you know too?”
The fact is that Professor Park is a North Korean displaced person.
I nodded and said.
“yes… I knew.”
“Yeah, it was… .”
Fortunately, the professor’s expression wasn’t bad.
I opened my mouth carefully.
“Where is your hometown, Professor?”
“It was a small town called Chiso south of Pyongyang.”
A faint smile began to spread across the professor’s face as if reminiscing about the past.
“There was a Namgang near my village… In the summer, I almost lived there.”
“… .”
“On the way home from the Namgang River, there is the Tomb of King Dongmyeong to the west, so I used to go there to play… . There was a nice view behind the tomb, and the sunset was very charming. Heh heh heh—!”
“When is that time?”
“It was just before 6.25 exploded, so I must have been around fifteen. It was great back then… .”
“then… Are your family members there now?”
Professor Park shook his head in response to my question.
“maybe… it won’t be My mother died before liberation, and I had a father and an older brother, both of whom were enlisted in the military right before the war.”
“then… Professor, are you alone?”
“No, I was entrusted to my neighbor Yeon-hee’s house… After hearing the news that the U.S. and ROK troops were recovering Seoul and advancing north, they came down south.”
U.S. and ROK troops are advancing north… .
Why do you have to come down south?
Professor Park, who noticed my expression, continued speaking with a bitter smile.
“My father was an officer in the People’s Army.”
I tilted my head again.
There seemed to be no connection between the fact that his father was an officer in the People’s Army and the fact that he came down to the South.
“Perhaps… Did you leave your hometown to find your father?”
Professor Park shook his head at my question.
“At that time, when the South Korean army entered the village, because of me… Yeonhee’s family could have been annihilated.”
Professor Park continued speaking with a bitter expression.
“It was then. When the national army comes in, kill them as red gangsters… If the People’s Army came back, I would kill them as an American minion.”
I remembered the story my high school 3rd grade teacher who was in charge of national affairs told me.
A total of 1.37 million people died during the Korean War, of which 520,000 were civilians.
For reference, these deaths are officially counted numbers, and it is said that the number of military deaths is not omitted one by one, but civilian deaths are not.
It was often omitted from the statistics for various reasons. In particular, when a massacre by soldiers occurs, most of the facts are hidden, so it is said that they are not captured in the statistics.
That is why many historians estimate the actual number of civilian deaths during the Korean War to be over 1 million.
Just before the war, it is said that the total population of North and South Korea was 25 million, so the Korean War was a terrible event in which 6% of the total population, including military deaths, died.
“Then do you know the life and death of your father and brother?”
Professor Park shook his head at my question.
“There was no official notice… I only heard that both of them were killed in the vicinity of Chilgok.”
“… !”
I heard that Professor Park visits Chilgok, Gyeongsangbuk-do every year in August, and I thought that this might be the reason.
Professor Park continued, pointing to the newspaper I brought.
“I must apply for the reunion of separated families this time. If you apply, you will be able to check whether it is alive or dead. Thanks for letting me know.”
“You’re welcome. If I hadn’t told you, you would have heard about it later.”
“Hmm… But I don’t know if this is only for families… .”
“Why?”
Professor Park said with a slight smile at my words.
“It’s not my real family, but there are people I want to see.”
someone you want to see
It reminded me of a story Yoon-seok-hyung told me a while ago.
This is the story of a lover that Professor Park left behind in her hometown north of the country.
I looked at the professor with only my eyes blinking like a honey-eaten dumbass, and the professor continued with a smirk.
“Didn’t you know everything? You must have heard the story through Dr. Yun or Seok Yoon?”
“ah… ! That, that’s just, in front of the professor… I was just told not to make a mistake.”
“Heh heh heh—! it’s ok, it’s ok It’s not a flawed story, well.”
“… .”
“actually… It is thanks to him that I studied mathematics, Yeonhee-sister.”
Professor Park told me the story of his childhood as if recalling the past.
During the Japanese colonial period, Professor Park’s father was a member of the Joseon Volunteer Army, and he fought an armed independence movement in Manchuria.
And Yeon-hee’s older sister, the only daughter of the family, is said to have received a new-style education at Pyongyang Girls’ High School and Pyongyang Normal School.
“After vacation, Yeonhee’s sister came back to her hometown and taught the village children to study, and the popularity was enormous. In particular, the boys flocked to study to see your sister’s face, even if they weren’t interested.”
Professor Park’s face was full of smiles as he recalled the past.
“At that time, my sister told me to study… Especially to study math. That’s why I started studying at a late age.”
I nodded my head silently and listened to Professor Park’s story.
“I want to meet you once before I die… I don’t know if your sister is still alive.”
“… .”
“Isn’t this story interesting?”
“no.”
“ah… ! right. Have you not been contacted by Dr. Yoon? I sent you a draft of your thesis, and you said you were waiting for your reply?”
* * *
A week ago.
I received an e-mail from the major’s sister, which contained quite interesting content.
+ +
Jung Ho.
How is college life?
The first grader in elementary school, Kohligae, has already become a college student… .
It also became my junior… .
Time seems to go really fast. haha!
But what is the class of 2000 called?
Icheon class? Young-young’s class? public class?
if not… Is it a bang-bang class? ha ha ha!
Remember the student Mike Schultz I introduced you to earlier?
A graduate student working on the Poincaré conjecture.
I think he found a fun way.
It’s a way to apply the rich flow in the singularity, and I’m contacting you like this because I want to hear your thoughts, Jung-ho.
If you look in the attachments, you’ll find a document I prepared with Mike.
It’s not a complete proof yet, but I want to check if the direction is right before I start in earnest.
Overall, check it out and let me know what you think!
Well then, I’ll be waiting for you to contact me.
From the sky-like senior class of 84!
+ +
I opened the attached file and peered through the method Mike Schultz had found.
When I finished checking the document full of formulas like that, I unknowingly spoke to myself.
“her… ! This is what I was worried about.”
When I was told three years ago that my major sister was challenging Poincaré’s guess, I was frankly worried.
I was worried that my sister would fail like me.
Because there is not much time left.
read at noblemtl.com
November 2002.
So, two years and five months later, Poincare’s conjecture will be proved by a Russian mathematician named Grigory Perelman.
So I thought my sister was running out of time, but now that Mike Schultz finds out how she found it, she’s changed her mind a bit.