In Our Prime

In Our Prime
In Our Prime
	Theatrical release poster
Hangul	이상한 나라의 수학자
Hanja	異常한 나라의 數學者
Literal meaning	Mathematician in Wonderland
Revised Romanization	Isanghan Naraeui Suhakja
Directed by	Park Dong-hoon
Written by	Lee Yong-jae
Produced by	Ha Jeong-wan
Starring	Choi Min-sik; Kim Dong-hwi; Park Byung-eun; Park Hae-joon; Jo Yun-seo;
Cinematography	Park Hong-yeol
Edited by	Kim Sun-min
Music by	Lee Ji-soo
Production; company	Joy Rabbit
Distributed by	Showbox
Release date	March 9, 2022;
Running time	117 minutes
Country	South Korea
Language	Korean
Box office	US$4.1 million

In Our Prime (Korean: 이상한 나라의 수학자; Hanja: 異常한 나라의 數學者; RR: Isanghan Naraeui Suhakja; lit. Mathematician in Wonderland) is a 2022 South Korean drama film directed by Park Dong-hoon. The film stars Choi Min-sik, Kim Dong-hwi, Park Byung-eun, Park Hae-joon and Jo Yun-seo and revolves around two people: a genius mathematician with a hidden past and a student who is failing math.^[2]^[3] It was released theatrically on March 9, 2022.^[4]

Premise

Lee Hak-seong (Choi Min-sik), a genius mathematician who defected from North Korea in search of academic freedom, hid his identity and story. He lives as a security guard at a private high school where the top 1% of gifted children gather. One day, Lee Hak-seong, who is the number one target to be avoided by students due to his cold and blunt expression, meets Han Ji-woo (Kim Dong-hwi), a high school student who gave up mathematics begging him to teach him mathematics after learning his identity. While teaching Han Ji-woo — who was wandering in a world looking only for the correct answer — how to find the correct solution process, Lee Hak-seong also encounters an unexpected turning point in his life.

Cast

Choi Min-sik as Lee Hak-sung, a school security guard and defector from North Korea who is said to have proven the Riemann hypothesis.
Kim Dong-hwi as Han Ji-woo, a student who asks Lee Hak-sung to teach him math.
Park Byung-eun as Kim Geun-ho, math teacher.
Park Hae-joon as An Gi-cheol, agent of the National Intelligence Service who monitors Lee Hak-sung and the owner of a junk shop that is a front office.
Jo Yun-seo as Park Bo-ram, Ji-woo's classmate.
Tang Jun-sang as Lee Tae-yeon, Lee Hak-sung's son.^[5]
Kang Mal-geum as Han Ji-woo's mother^[5]
Kim Hee-jung as Park Bo-ram's mother

Special appearance

Joo Jin-mo as Oh Jeong-nam, a mathematician who participated in an international math competition with Lee Hak-sung when they were young.
Kim Won-hae as Park Pil-ju, a North Korean defector and Economics professor.

Reception

Box office

As of 31 January 2023^[update], the film has a gross of US$4,081,864, and 534,287 admissions.^[1]

Awards and nominations

Year	Awards	Category	Recipient	Result	Ref.
2022	Baeksang Arts Awards	Best Director	Park Dong-hoon	Nominated	^[6]
		Best Actor	Choi Min-sik	Nominated
		Best Screenplay	Lee Yong-jae	Nominated
		Best New Actor	Kim Dong-hwi	Nominated
	Chunsa Film Art Awards	Best New Actor		Won	^[7]
	Buil Film Awards			Nominated
	Busan Film Critics Awards			Won
	Grand Bell Awards			Nominated
	Blue Dragon Film Awards	Best New Actor		Won

References

^ ^a ^b "KOFIC, KOBIS (Korean Box Office Information System) The Box office: Korean films of 2022". KOFIC. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
^ Song, Seung-hyun (9 February 2022). "'Oldboy' Choi Min-sik to return to big screen as genius mathematician". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
^ Kwak, Yeon-soo (15 February 2022). "Choi Min-sik says his new film 'In Our Prime' parallels 'Good Will Hunting'". The Korea Times. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
^ Kim Ji-won (February 15, 2022). "[종합] "수포자 감독이 만든 수학 영화" 대배우 최민식X신예 김동휘의 차진 호흡 '이상한 나라의 수학자'" [[Comprehensive] "Mathematics movie made by a desperate director" Great actor Choi Min-sik X rookie Kim Dong-hwi's breathing 'Mathematician in Wonderland']. Ten Asia (in Korean). Naver. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
^ ^a ^b Kim Ye-eun (March 11, 2022). "강말금·탕준상, '이상한 나라의 수학자' 속 반가운 얼굴들" [Kang Mal-geum and Tang Jun-sang, familiar faces in 'Mathematicians in Wonderland']. Export News (in Korean). Naver. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
^ Ahn Byung-gil (April 11, 2022). "58회 백상예술대상 후보 공개…영광의 주인공은?" [58th Baeksang Arts Awards nominations revealed... Who is the hero of glory?]. Sports Kyunghyang (in Korean). Naver. Retrieved June 1, 2022.
^ "후보자(후보작) 리스트" [Candidate (Nominations) List]. Chunsa Film Festival (in Korean). August 26, 2022. Archived from the original on September 28, 2021. Retrieved August 27, 2022.

External links

In Our Prime at the Korean Movie Database (in Korean)
In Our Prime at IMDb
In Our Prime at HanCinema

[box:korea-1] "KOFIC, KOBIS (Korean Box Office Information System) The Box office: Korean films of 2022". KOFIC. Retrieved 23 March 2022.

[2] Song, Seung-hyun (9 February 2022). "'Oldboy' Choi Min-sik to return to big screen as genius mathematician". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 11 March 2022.

[3] Kwak, Yeon-soo (15 February 2022). "Choi Min-sik says his new film 'In Our Prime' parallels 'Good Will Hunting'". The Korea Times. Retrieved 11 March 2022.

[4] Kim Ji-won (February 15, 2022). "[종합] "수포자 감독이 만든 수학 영화" 대배우 최민식X신예 김동휘의 차진 호흡 '이상한 나라의 수학자'" [[Comprehensive] "Mathematics movie made by a desperate director" Great actor Choi Min-sik X rookie Kim Dong-hwi's breathing 'Mathematician in Wonderland']. Ten Asia (in Korean). Naver. Retrieved March 11, 2022.

[tang:en-5] Kim Ye-eun (March 11, 2022). "강말금·탕준상, '이상한 나라의 수학자' 속 반가운 얼굴들" [Kang Mal-geum and Tang Jun-sang, familiar faces in 'Mathematicians in Wonderland']. Export News (in Korean). Naver. Retrieved March 11, 2022.

[6] Ahn Byung-gil (April 11, 2022). "58회 백상예술대상 후보 공개…영광의 주인공은?" [58th Baeksang Arts Awards nominations revealed... Who is the hero of glory?]. Sports Kyunghyang (in Korean). Naver. Retrieved June 1, 2022.

[7] "후보자(후보작) 리스트" [Candidate (Nominations) List]. Chunsa Film Festival (in Korean). August 26, 2022. Archived from the original on September 28, 2021. Retrieved August 27, 2022.

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